Chapter 12 A Snake in the Grass
As awkward and difficult as things had been before, after the near-disaster in the arena, things became ten times worse. For the next few days, classes became almost unbearable as students froze when I entered a room, whispered about me, and visibly paled when I glanced at them.
In social studies, when I asked Milisandra Scabbart for an extra pencil, she gave me the only one she had and then proceeded to beg other students to give her one of theirs.
She refused to take the pencil back, no matter how many times I offered it back to her, until Miss Blyburg gave us both detention for making a nuisance of ourselves in her class.
The fear that I might smite her where she sat for getting me in detention made Milisandra run from the classroom in tears, leaving me to stare at her vacated seat with my mouth hanging open in shock like an idiot.
Miss Blyburg caught up to her in the hallway and could be heard screaming at Milisandra to stop her nonsense at once.
"If you don't come back, sit down and shut up, I will smite you myself, Miss Scabbart! Silly girl. I assure you, if one student smites another, they will be in worse trouble than a detention!"
Amber, Vivian, Natalie, and Kristin had a good laugh when I told them about the incident, and I suppose it made me feel a bit better that they didn't treat me like a weapon of mass destruction.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner times in the Great Hall were even worse.
There, it felt like every student watched my every move, waiting for me to do something out of the ordinary.
Once or twice, I noticed Trina Swift furtively talking with one of the other members of staff whom I didn't know.
They shot me angry glances, and I had no idea what to do about it.
I watched Caleb watch them, and then he looked at me.
Our eyes met, and then he looked away guiltily.
I knew then that they weren't saying nice things about me, and though he clearly didn't agree, he wasn't going to stand up for me either. He had too much history with Trina.
In magical lessons, Caleb had nervously assured me that he wasn't angry, that I hadn't exactly failed the test, but that I had to practice more control to do the firebolt spell, the third one on the list of spells we needed to master to move on to the next level of spellcasting.
He seemed relieved every time I failed to perform the spell.
I didn't know what it was, but since my disastrous demonstration, I had become afraid of my own magic, and it was creating a block in my mind.
It felt like pushing against a wall when I tried to perform any spell.
I usually left classes irritated and dejected, and at dinner and lunch, I sat quietly next to Amber and Oliver, unable to take part in their too-lively, we're-trying-to-get-your-mind-off-it chatter.
Ines and her group of gaggling bitches also whispered about me behind their hands.
When I looked over at them, they tended to fall quiet, but it made me feel even more like a freak of nature.
I was sure that Ines and her friends were spreading rumors about me, making up stories that gave strength to the idea that I was dangerous and should be driven from the school.
All because I didn't want to be friends with her at the beginning of the year.
As the days wore on, I just wished them over.
By the time it was another Saturday morning, I woke up feeling relieved.
We didn't have any formal classes. Small groups of students were scattered throughout the dining hall as most were taking advantage of the day off to sleep in or do other things to pass the time.
Amber was nowhere to be found. I was disappointed, but it wasn't completely unexpected, as she probably had breakfast earlier.
She wasn't one for sleeping late. After dutifully downing some toast with marmalade and a glass of orange juice, I walked down to the stables.
I wanted to go out for a ride alone and needed some time to myself to think.
Amber enjoyed the horse riding lessons—we all did—and I was sure I'd find her there.
I was disappointed, however, when it turned out she wasn't there either.
Then I felt a sneaky sort of relief because I didn't have to make up an excuse for why I wanted to be alone.
Perhaps, if I had told her the truth, she wouldn't have minded, but I also felt guilty for wallowing in this as much as I was.
Lots of other students were either returning from a ride or about to embark on one.
I rolled my eyes when I noticed Ines and a few of her friends standing by the fence, openly judging the horses.
I could only imagine what that conversation would be like, each of them swearing they had much better horses back home.
As I drew closer, I saw they weren't idly discussing the horses. Instead, their conversation looked serious. They had their heads together and seemed to be conspiring about something.
Another wave of shame made my face turn red from my cheeks all the way to my ears. Gods, must I always be so judgmental? They could be discussing something completely ordinary. I was really becoming rather paranoid.
Feeling dejected, I asked one of the stable boys to help me saddle Chance, a black gelding with a snow-white mane, white hair on his hooves, and a long, lush tail.
I'd been riding him the most since starting with the lessons.
He was a very sweet and gentle horse. As I led Chance out the gate to the assigned trail, a sad smile crossed my face.
I recalled how excited Amber had been when we'd gone riding for the first time.
Our riding instructor, Mister Chatsworth, had assigned Felicity, the beautiful honey-colored mare, to Amber, and I swear the girl had been in heaven that day and every Saturday since.
By now, both of us were accustomed to riding without the instructor.
It was an easy trail, and the horses knew it by heart.
Seeing as Felicity's stall had been empty, I had wondered if I wouldn't find Amber out there on the trail somewhere.
There were scenic overlooks all along the trail.
We'd stopped there before to have a gander at the spectacular view of the valleys and mountains surrounding Lucent Academy.
I was sure that if Amber were out for a ride this morning, I'd be able to find her at one of these.
Chance and I set out at an enthusiastic trot.
He seemed eager to get a sip of crystal clear water from one of the many springs.
In my pocket, I had a few apples, pilfered from the breakfast table, that I planned on giving him when we stopped at the halfway mark.
It had become a favorite routine of ours, and the horse was looking forward to earning his reward.
Bright sunlight flashed through the tree branches, and a pleasant breeze caught on my clothes and danced through my hair.
I was wearing it untied down my shoulders today.
I took a deep breath through my nose, and the mountain air, crisp and clean, was like nothing I had ever experienced before coming here.
At a stream, we stopped for a few moments, and Chance got his sip of clear mountain water.
Idly, I stuck my hand in my pocket and felt something in there that wasn't an apple.
I pulled it out and looked at the smooshed candy bar.
It was the one Ursula had given me the morning of the demonstration.
It was still edible, so I shrugged and unwrapped it.
Waste not, want not was a saying I had grown up hearing a lot.
After finishing the chocolate bar, I put the wrapper in my pocket and climbed back onto the horse's back. As we trotted down the trail again, I smiled. I was feeling relaxed and happy for the first time this week.
My thoughts were a million miles away when a nearby branch snapped loudly, its echo bouncing off the trees and rock formations at the side of the road. I froze and stared around me. I didn't see anything in the tree line, but my good mood had suddenly evaporated like mist before the sun.
Chance gave a loud whinny, and I leaned forward to stroke his neck to reassure him that my sudden nervousness was just me being silly.
I was sure I'd heard somewhere that horses were very attuned to the moods of their rider.
I didn't want to scare the horse. If he bolted suddenly, I knew I wasn't experienced enough of a rider to stay on or get him back under control.
The tension was just starting to leave my body when I heard another stealthy movement in the woods to my left: footsteps, the crackle of branches, the snap of a twig. When I looked in the direction from which it had come, I thought I saw a shadow disappearing behind a thick tree trunk.
Suddenly, the woods no longer looked bright and cheerful but seemed ominous and creepy. It was as if a cloud had moved and blocked out the sun, making the shadows longer and darker. Like they were creeping closer, crowding around me.
When the same noise came from the same direction, even though I kept moving, I knew someone was following me. Someone or something was tracking my progress, moving beside me on the trail but just out of sight.
"Hello! Is someone there?" The sound of my own voice, the way it quivered with fear, only increased the tension. It was already thick enough that it seemed like it was enveloping me, trying to smother me. "If you're trying to scare me, it's not funny!"
Chance and I had slowed down and now stood still as I surveyed the tree line.