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1
Raven
Nobody even triedto mask their whispers as I slowly entered the cafeteria. The nurse in the school clinic had insisted on keeping me for observation until the end of the week. They had hoped my magic would return by Monday.
Here we were, Monday morning.
No magic.
I've been dreading this since last night when I realized I'd have to return here to try to figure this out. The only thing that kept me going was seeing Makayla and finding out how Ben was doing. They'd kept me locked down in the hospital wing. And they didn't even have television. It was three days with textbooks as my only company.
My whole body relaxed as I saw Makayla and I flagged her down, a smile on my face. At least she looked the same. Hopefully none of this impacted her. I could deal with the rumors, whatever they were, and the stares, if I had a few people in my corner.
Makayla sprinted toward me, pulling me into an unexpected hug.
"I was so worried about you, and they wouldn't let me in to visit. The rumors are crazy. Did you really break out of confinement and kill a school guard?"
I broke away from the embrace and stared at her wide eyed. "Seriously? Kill a guard?"
She shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time."
"I knew this place was dangerous, but students have killed guards?"
"Once or twice," she said. "They said it was an accident."
"Well, I didn't kill a guard," I said.
"So, the other rumor is true?" She lowered her voice. "The one about the magic thief?" She shuddered. "I was hoping that wasn't the case. They creep me the fuck out."
"Didn't Ben talk to you?" I asked.
"He's kept to himself. He's not really talking to anyone, I mean, he's really being hard on himself about you getting hurt."
"That wasn't his fault. If anything, he's the one who saved me from worse. I lost my magic, but I'm alive." My throat bobbed as I realized I wasn't sure how much worse it could be. I was stuck in a magic school without magic. Just the hope that it would returnsoon.Whatever that meant.
"Hey, little mage," Remi said as he strode up to me. "I heard you took out a magic thief or a guard. Either way, you're more of a badass than I thought. Hope there's no hard feelings about the other day."
"Um, sure, yeah," I said.
He winked. "Looking forward to seeing you around."
"Alright, enough of that," Makayla said. "Come on."
She grabbed my upper arm and dragged me toward the food line. "I'm sure you need something to eat. Full day of classes ahead and all."
I walked with her but looked over my shoulder at Remi. He was still smiling at me. It was an odd turn of events. A few weeks ago, he was threatening me. Now he was offering to be my friend. This really was a weird school. The fact that I'd beat someone up had gained me some positive attention. I guess it wasn't all that different from prison in that sense.
The only difference was, it wasn't how I wanted to gain attention. And at this moment, I knew my magic wasn't responding. So, for now, I was a badass but as soon as I had to demonstrate something, everyone would know I was a fraud.
I had to figure out a way to get my magic back.
"Welcome back, little mage," one of the sirens called as I walked past their table. I could feel their eyes boring into me, but I kept my gaze on my tray of food.
"Thanks," I said, without turning back to them.
Makayla took us to the usual table but none of the others were here. Just us. "Where is everyone? I asked.
"They already ate. I waited. Hoping you'd come," she said.
