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18
Harper
Damon takesover with the mixing and weighing of ingredients. I figure if I let him do the bulk of the work, even if we’re successful, he should get more points than me.
I still have no idea how they calculate rank, but it is supposed to be based off the work you do. So if I step back a little, maybe it won’t be so bad.
“Here.” He hands me the chopped nightshade.
I frown as I take it from him. There goes that plan. He’s making me help. Reluctantly, I add it to our potion and automatically start working on grinding the snail shells.
The two of us work well together. We anticipate what the other needs and even with being the last to get ingredients, we’re the first to finish.
Our darkness potion bubbles slightly and the deep purple color tells me it was made correctly.
Professor Lee is at our desk before we have a chance to call her over. She leans down and looks at the liquid bubbling in our glass container. “Well done. But can you use the potion with the spell?”
“Of course we can,” Damon says.
“Very well, in the hall,” Professor Lee says as she turns and walks toward the door.
I pick up the potion and follow her but I only get two steps before a gust of wind slams into me, knocking me down. The potion flies from the container, covering my face, chest, and hair in foul smelling purple goo.
Laughter erupts around me and I turn to see Em staring at me, her expression smug. “Guess you better practice walking.”
I toss the now empty container aside and pick myself up as anger blurs my vision. Before I can consider the consequences, I charge Em, throwing her to the ground. I wipe the goo from myself and smear it all over her face.
She screams and squirms under me but I pin her down, mashing as much of the potion in her hair and on her face as I can.
Someone pulls me off her but I try to break free, lunging toward her.
Em is on her feet now and she scrambles behind Corbin. “Keep your crazy girlfriend away from me.”
I move toward her again but a strong pair of arms holds me in place. “She’s not worth it,” Damon says. “She’s not worth it.”
“Listen to him,” Corbin says. “Back off, Harper.”
“You’re on her side?” I say.
Em lifts her eyebrows and smiles. “They’re all on my side. The sooner you learn that the better. See if you’re still in the top ten after this.”
“That’s enough, all of you,” Professor Lee says.
“Hey, for real, she’s not worth it,” Damon says again. “I got you.”
His words are surprisingly comforting and I take a deep breath, letting the tension release. He’s right. She’s not worth it. She’s awful, but she’s not worth me losing too much rank. I don’t want to be up too high, but I know I can’t afford to drop to the bottom. And there’s no way of knowing where you are if you’re not in the top twenty.
“Damon, Harper, clean up your mess,” Professor Lee says. “The rest of you, in the hall. Time’s up.”
I glare at Em as she smugly walks by me. If not for Damon’s grip on me, I’d have charged her again. But he’s like a warm balm and I find that the longer I’m in his arms, the more at ease I feel.
As soon as the rest of the class is out of the room, he lets go of me and I turn to face him. “Why didn’t you let me take her out?”
“Because the headmaster is her uncle,” he says. “You cross her, you’ll never get that pass.”
“And how do you know I want the pass?” I ask.
“Everyone wants the pass,” he says.
