The Beauty Page 3

  It was like someone sprinkled some growth powder on their usual flower garden and things just sort of exploded.

  I ran to the little pink building. I could see it. I hurried, anxious to get there on time. According to my pocket watch, I had all of two minutes to get there before class would begin, so I ran. I seemed to move in slow motion, but eventually, I reached the building, took a second to catch my breath, and pulled the door open.

  Then I walked inside.

  But it wasn’t a classroom.

  It wasn’t really a school building at all.

  My heart sunk as I realized I’d been totally and completely tricked. I’d been pushed to hurry to this place, which wasn’t actually a classroom. It was a shed. Not just any shed, either. It was a damn garden shed full of tools and dirt and fertilizer and other things that a magical school probably didn’t need to keep the grounds looking as beautiful as they did.

  I’d been tricked.

  I kicked the dirt in front of the little shed and looked around, just in case I was missing something. I was doubting myself, all of a sudden. Was there any chance there was a classroom here? Was there some sort of secret entrance? But even as I looked, I knew that I was totally out of luck.

  I knew that he had tricked me, and he’d done it on purpose because I was new and didn’t know better, but damn, that totally stung. I was embarrassed, too. I should have known better. I shouldn’t have hoped that some random person would be willing to help me do something as simple as find my class. That was something I should have been able to do on my own. What did it say about me that I hadn’t been able to?

  I shook my head and looked around. I had two choices now. I could either hide out until my fourth class of the day, or I could head back inside and look around once more. The choice was easier than it should have been. I didn’t want to be the girl who hid outside. I didn’t want to be the loser who was too scared to face people. So I was going to be late. So what? It wasn’t really that big of a deal.

  Who knew?

  Maybe at the end of the school year, no one would even remember that I had messed up so much at the start of the year.

  Maybe they’d forget about me.

  Maybe.

  But I also knew that high-schoolers had long memories: much longer than people tended to give them credit for.

  And I knew that no matter what happened this week, the choices I made and the impressions that I gave people were going to last a lot longer than I ever wanted them to.

  Crap.

  Turning around, I hurried back toward the castle. I didn’t see anyone outside at all, which was kind of strange. Usually, there were people loitering around. Was everyone in class? Most of us had six classes a day, but some students had free periods, and some had lunch scheduled at random times and some students had chosen to take fewer classes for various reasons.

  Still, I thought there would be someone outside.

  Anyone.

  Nope.

  I reached the doors of the castle and tugged, but nothing happened.

  “Are you serious right now?” I yelled at the door. Not only was I outside of the main castle, but now I couldn’t even get back inside? The main doors were clear on the other side of the castle. There was no way for me to get there before the class ended, if I could even get there at all.

  I knocked on the door, hopping from one foot to the other, and I hoped that someone would hear me and take pity on me.

  “Anyone in there?” I yelled, knocking again.

  There was a small metal circle to the right of the doors. It looked like the lock I used to unlock my bedroom door. Would using my charm work to open the door? I could try it. Yeah, I should definitely try it. I pulled the necklace out from beneath my shirt and dangled it next to the little circle.

  Nothing.

  Nothing happened at all.

  I tried again.

  Still nothing.

  I knocked on the door once more.

  This was getting ridiculous.

  “Trouble in paradise?” A feminine voice said from behind me. I turned to see a tall girl with dark hair looking at me. She was leaning against the side of the building and she was playing with a magical fire ball. She bounced it in her hand. The flame went up and then back down. She caught it easily. Up and down it went. She looked at me curiously, but never stopped throwing the little ball.

  Did she make that?

  How did she do it?

  For a second, I forgot all about class and instead wanted to know how I could make a magic fire flame like that. It looked really cool, and I wanted to be able to do that. Was that something I’d be able to learn at Enchanted Academy?

  There was this idea that you had to come from a magical background in order to get anything out of the school, but I had this really big problem. I believed in myself. Like, a lot.

  And I thought that maybe, just maybe, with enough practice and enough perseverance, I’d be able to do just that.

  “Uh, a little.”

  “What’s the problem?”

  “The problem is that I got bad directions,” I mumbled.

  “Say that again.”

  “Bad directions,” I told her. “It’s my first day and I’m trying to find Room 111.”

  “So?”

  “So, I asked for help and this guy directed me to that,” I jerked my head toward the little path, toward the pink shed I’d so innocently – or ignorantly – fallen for.

  The girl pushed away from the wall and looked over my shoulder.

  “Let me guess,” she said. “Tall guy with long hair?”

  “That’s the one.”

  “He’s a jerk.”

  “Thanks. I kind of gathered that. Do you know how to get inside?” I asked.

  “They lock the doors after the first class begins.”

  “So, I’m just stuck outside all day?” I asked with a sigh. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all. I had a feeling that missing my first day of class wasn’t going to be a good thing at all. It certainly wasn’t going to look good on my transcripts.

  And I wasn’t going back.

  Nope.

  Nuh-uh.

  No damn way.

  I wasn’t going back to Millbrook High. There was simply no way. It had taken me forever toe scape from there. It had taken me an eternity: a lifetime. And I wasn’t about to sacrifice everything I’d worked for just to go back to that school.

  “Looks like it,” the girl said, but I wasn’t going to take that answer.

  “Please,” I said. “Help me.”

  I wasn’t above begging.

  I wasn’t above anything.

  I’d do anything I had to do to get inside because I needed this.

  She looked at me, considering. Then she walked over. She was taller than me, and older. Maybe she was even a senior. It might have been rude to ask, so I swallowed my questions and just looked at her.

  “You’re a new kid,” she said. “So, I’m going to give you a piece of advice.”

  “Um, okay.”

  “Don’t trust anyone.”

  “But-”

  “No buts. Don’t trust anyone. No one. Okay? People here are not your friend, little girl. They aren’t here to keep you safe. They aren’t here to protect you. We all have our own trauma and our own issues to deal with. Nobody wants to take you on as a burden.”

  Wow, dramatic much?

  My eyes narrowed at her because glaring was better than crying, and I wasn’t going to let this girl see me cry. I didn’t know who she was or what she was going to do with her magic fire balls, but I did know that she had a mean streak.

  She looked around and stepped closer to the key panel. Obviously, there was some sort of charm that would unlock it. My charm didn’t work. As if understanding my silent question, the girl looked over at me.

  “Your charm is only good for the dormitory and your bedroom in particular,” she said. “Everyone gets their own charm, and they’re enchanted to work for differ
ent locks. Teachers have charms that will open these doors. Students don’t get those.”

  She waved her hands in front of the panel and suddenly, a little tiny fire ball appeared in her hand. It was flaming blue, and it was no bigger than a large gumball. She held it in place for just a minute, and then I heard a click.

  The door swung open.

  She had done it.

  She had opened the door.

  She had saved me.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “You owe me.”

  “Um, okay?”

  “I mean it,” she said. “One favor.”

  I didn’t really expect that I’d be owing people favors on my first day of school, but if that’s what took to get me to class on time, then so be it.

  “Sure,” I said. “One favor.”

  I stepped into the school and to my surprise, the girl followed me. She closed the door quietly behind us.

  “First things first,” she said. “Don’t tell anybody I let you inside.”

  “Why not?”

  “Don’t be stupid. Think about it for two seconds and then tell me.”

  “Um, because nobody knows you can open the locks with your magic?”

  “Ding! Ding!”

  “No need to be rude about it,” I muttered.

  “And there’s no need to dawdle any longer. You’re almost ten minutes late,” she said. “Go.”

  “Where?”

  The girl sighed, as though she couldn’t believe she was still helping me. Honestly, I kind of couldn’t believe it, either. She walked with me about halfway down the hallway where there was a large, door-sized book on the wall. The title of the book was “Eleven One.” Only it wasn’t a book at all. It actually was a door, and it was one I’d walked by several times in my haste to find it.

  “Remember,” she said. “Not a word.”

  Then the girl left, and it was up to me. I had to go into the room and introduce myself and explain why I’d been late. A wave of nausea washed over me as I took a deep breath.

  “Come on, Jessica,” I said out loud. “You can do this.”

  Chapter 4

  I pulled on the oversized book-shaped door only to find that I had to step through a series of actual, literal pages in order to get into the classroom. I managed to push my way past them and step into the room.

  Then all eyes were on me.

  “Can I help you?” I looked toward the voice. The teacher was very short and very unhappy to see me coming into her classroom so late. Guilt washed over me, coupled with anxiety and stress and annoyance. This time, it hadn’t been my fault I was late.

  “Get lost?” A familiar voice said from the back of the room. I looked over to see him: Beast. He was a monster. I knew that now. I wondered why he thought it was okay to do what he’d done. He had pushed me, and he’d been mean, and now I was definitely, absolutely, certainly going to be in trouble with this teacher who looked like she was about ready to bite my head off.

  “I’m Jessica,” I said, but my voice made it come out like a question.

  “Are you or aren’t you?”

  “I am.”

  “And what can I do for you, Jessica?”

  “It’s my first day. I’m in this class,” I said. I casually looked at the desks throughout the room, but I didn’t see a single empty one.

  “Jessica, are you aware that class started nearly fifteen minutes ago?”

  “Yes, and I’m very sorry for being late, I-”

  I looked back at Beast. I wanted to say that I had been given the wrong directions. I wanted to say that I’d been sabotaged, but I also knew that nobody liked a snitch. He leaned back in his desk chair quite comfortably, and he cocked his head and raised an eyebrow, as if to ask me, “Well? What’s it going to be, kid?”

  And I had to make a snap decision.

  Who was I going to be this year?

  Was I going to be the loser who blamed other people for her problems?

  Or was I going to be tough?

  “Sorry,” I said. “I got turned around. First day and all. You know how it goes.” I handed her a rolled-up scroll, which contained a note from the headmistress of the school allowing me to attend the class. The teacher sighed and unrolled it. She glanced quickly at the letter, and I suppose she must have been satisfied, because she simply motioned for me to go sit down.

  I looked again and started walking through the row of chairs and desks. I felt dozens of eyes on me. How many kids were in this classroom, anyway? Twenty? Thirty? I kept walking until I reached the back and found an empty chair.

  It was right next to Beast’s.

  Perfect.

  I slumped in my chair and stared at the textbook that sat on the desk in front of me. Apparently, I’d showed up on the first day they were started a new story. Twisted Tales was going to be a good class, apparently, judging by the cover of the book we were going to read.

  It was going to be a bad class, judging by the way the other students were glaring at me for interrupting the lesson.

  “As I was saying,” the teacher continued. “The Lost Key is more than just a story of forbidden love.”

  A girl with blonde pigtails raised her hand, and the teacher pointed at her.

  “It’s also a story of forbidden truth,” the girl offered.

  “That’s right. Forbidden truth is a powerful tool, especially when it comes to writing a story, and especially when it comes to writing a story as bold and remarkable as this one.”

  “Hey,” a voice hissed at me.

  Beast.

  He was trying to get my attention.

  Now?

  In class?

  Forget that.

  I ignored him and stared at my copy of The Lost Key. Maybe if I ignored him long enough, he’d forget all about me and just move on with his life. I had no idea why he had chosen to bully me, out of everyone he knew, but I wasn’t really interested in it.

  I was here to learn, and that was enough.

  He tried to get my attention once more, but again, I ignored him. Eventually, he stopped trying, and the class continued without anything weird, strange, or unusual happening.

  “All right,” the teacher finally said. “Read the first three chapters and we’ll talk about them tomorrow.” The class started gathering their wands, bags, and other magical items, and I grabbed my book to shove it in my bag.

  “Hey,” Beast was suddenly standing next to my desk. I looked up at him and frowned, but didn’t say anything. He just stood there for a minute, and so did I. I shouldn’t have played such a stupid little game with him. A staring contest, really? I had another class to go to. I needed to get to Absolute Energy 1.

  All of my classes were level 1 classes. There would be a mixture of students in each of them. Level 1 courses weren’t necessarily only for freshman or sophomores. A lot of older kids, including Beast, I was guessing, would be in them, too. That was because some students got to choose electives and some had transferred here from other places.

  Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore.

  “What do you want?”

  “I just wanted to see how you liked class.”

  “Please,” I said, standing up. I pushed by him. “Leave me alone.”

  “It was just a prank,” he said, but I ignored him and kept walking. When I reached the front of the classroom, the teacher motioned for me to stop by her desk.

  “Jessica,” she said. “It was nice to meet you today.”

  “Thank you,” I said quietly, waiting for the “but.” There was always a “but” when it came to stuff like this. Always. You couldn’t make a mistake in life without people noticing.No, most people sat around and waited for you to screw up. They were more than happy when you made mistakes than when you succeeded. I’d learned that a long time ago.

  “I know that you’re jumping into your classes a little later than the other students,” she continued. “So if you need any assistance or you have any questions, please feel free to sto
p by my office.”

  Wait, what?

  “You aren’t going to punish me for being late?” I asked.

  She looked confused.

  “Why would I punish you?”

  “Because I was late,” I said again. This time, I spoke a little more slowly in case she hadn’t really heard me clearly.

  “Jessica, it’s your first day. I don’t think a single teacher here expects you to be on time.”

  “Wow.”

  She raised an eyebrow.

  “A bit different from your old school, is it?”

  “Just a smidge.”

  “Well, the offer stands,” she said. “If you need me, just go to the main office and ask for Miss May’s office. They’ll make sure you find me.”

  She turned and started messing with her books, effectively dismissing me. I ducked through the pages of the door-book and walked back to the hallway. Beast was a few feet away and he was looking at me. I wasn’t sure where Absolute Energy 1 was located, but I knew one thing: I wasn’t going to be asking anyone for directions this time.

  Chapter 5

  “How were your classes?” Wolf asked when I walked into the suite that night. She was sitting on one of the pillow cushions and was dumping the contents of a packet into a small cauldron.

  So far, Enchanted Academy was pretty damn weird.

  There was no real way to explain how it worked or why it was strange or what I thought. All I knew was that it was uncomfortable, and I wondered if it was because I was new or if it was because I couldn’t do magic. Neither answer felt right to me.

  “They were fine,” I said, sitting down beside her. “What are you doing?”

  “Magic.”

  “I can see that. What kind of magic?”

  “I’m in Cooking in Cauldrons,” she said. “It’s a class that helps us learn exactly what it takes to create things like witch’s brew.”

  “What does it take?”

  “Too much work,” Wolf shook her head. “You don’t even want to know.”

  I sat down beside her and watched her measuring in different ingredients. Some of them were things I was already familiar with. Things like baking soda and salt were ingredients I’d used plenty of times in normal cooking. Tossing in different herbs, though...Well, it was safe to say I had a lot to learn if I was going to succeed at this school.