5. Lea
5
LEA
W here are those two?
I couldn’t believe that, of all days, they decided to sleep in.
They would be disqualified from the competition if they didn’t hurry up.
I bit down nervously on my fingernail as I looked down the hall at the menagerie of students walking in, none of whom were Zane or Jax.
“All the contestants, please report to the auditorium at once. We will begin momentarily. If you haven’t turned in your ingredients list, I urge you to do so immediately. Tardiness will not be tolerated and will result in immediate disqualification! Thank you,” said Headmaster Katrina’s voice over the intercom, blaring its way through the tall corridors.
The hallways quickly emptied.
They didn’t make it…
Defeated, I slumped my shoulders and headed toward the auditorium.
I didn’t want to have to do my first potion competition alone, but ? —
Before I could finish my thoughts, I heard heavy and quick footsteps barreling down the hall. I spun so quickly that I almost knocked myself off balance.
Relief washed over me as I saw Zane and Jax charging at me like a couple of bulls.
“Where in Lunaira’s name have you been?” I reprimanded them as they stopped before me, hands on their knees, to catch their breath.
“We were—” Zane was about to speak when Jax smacked him. Zane immediately went quiet and dropped his head so I couldn’t see his face.
“It doesn’t matter. We made it.” Jax snapped back at me.
“Did you? You still have to drop your ingredients list at the front. Everyone is meeting in the auditorium already to begin the competition.” My aggression came more from concern than it did from actual anger.
“Here, give me your ingredients list. I’ll turn them in for you. Just get to the auditorium.” I grabbed their papers from their hands and bolted down toward the front of the winding building. I figured in their state, they wouldn’t have been able to run at full speed. I had a better chance of turning them in and making it to the auditorium before it was too late.
My stomach twisted into knots.
Instead, I was overjoyed despite risking my spot in the competition.
My face flushed with warmth, and a small smile pulled up the corners of my mouth.
Jax Ransom. Even as disheveled as he looked, he was still the most handsome thing I’ve ever beheld.
I smacked the two lists before the Aquarian attendant and darted back before he could ask further questions. I was almost there. I was going to make it!
“All right, students. All the contestants have now been accounted for. Everyone else, please take your seats.” The announcement came over the intercom just as I entered the auditorium.
My jaw dropped as I realized I had missed it just by a hair.
Zane was the first to notice me standing in the doorway, stunned.
“Wait, what about Lea?”
Headmaster Katrina narrowed her snake eyes at me. Her tan scales shimmered under the lights as she turned fully to face me. “Tardiness will not be accepted. I’m sorry, Miss Nadir. You’ll just have to wait until next year.”
Her long pink tongue would stick out with every “S” as headmaster Katrina spoke.
Suddenly, my heart was pounding in my ears.
My throat tightened up.
My mind went all fuzzy, and my palms became sweaty.
But I’ve been practicing…
My head slowly moved in an uneven nod as my eyes dropped from hers.
“Very well. The rest of you take your assigned stations. We will begin momentarily with the prewritten potion prepared for you by your potions professor, Mr. Traigue.” The headmaster moved away from me, and I stood there, prepared to waste away on the spot.
Everything I had worked so hard to prove just went down the drain.
I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t bring myself to do anything other than look up at the two idiot boys responsible for this.
However, my mood changed when Jax smiled and mouthed a “Thank you.”
It was hard to be mad at him when he was so charming.
I found a seat toward the front row of the audience and settled into it.
The other students around me were gossiping about who they thought would win, except for a few groups of girls who were swooning over Jax.
I wanted to roll my eyes, but I was no better than them. I had just blown my chances of being in front of all the famous potion producers in Carvel, so my pathetic schoolgirl crush could perform. As much as I was angry with myself, I was entranced by Jax’s handsome face.
His olive complexion complemented the deep sage green of his eyes, which is why I loved using moss so much in my potions. The color reminded me of him.
He was always dressed nicely, too, despite where he came from. His family had no money, just like mine, but his uncle gave generously to them.
He neatly groomed back his silky raven hair.
The picture of perfection…
“Pst!” The obnoxious noise pulled me from my precious thoughts.
I wondered who was rude enough to interrupt me. I was annoyed until I saw Mairy Cecil standing beside my row of chairs and trying to get my attention. I gave her a threatening look before motioning her to sit next to me before she managed to anger everyone in the auditorium.
She scooted down and bumped a few students before sitting next to me. “Geez, I thought I was never going to get your attention with how hard you were staring at Jax Ransom!”
“Shut up, Mair,” I grumbled, regretting having saved her a seat.
“So, what happened? I thought you were training for this thing for months. Why aren’t you up there?” She crossed her leg over and wove her arms into mine so that she could pull me in.
“I was late. It doesn’t matter anymore.” I furrowed my brows, pleading with her to stop.
“I find that hard to believe. You aren’t the type of person to be late. I’m almost sure you were here 3 hours early.” She was relentless in her interrogation. Of course, she was right, but I didn’t want her to know that.
Thank goodness one of the students managed to blow up their potion. This caused a rumble through the floor and drew our attention back to the competition.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Now, I could focus on how Jax was doing.
He and Zane managed to get past the first two rounds without a problem.
The final trial would be the trickiest one because it had to be a potion written by them.
“What a shame. You would have aced this competition.” Mair pouted her lips at me. She was done teasing me and had moved on to heartfelt sympathy.
I sunk deeper into my chair, thinking of ways to impress the judges and potion producers.
My eyes observed Jax’s actions carefully.
I noticed before the judges did that he was preparing a potion that had already been published.
It wasn’t a very well-known potion, but still, they were going to notice. I tried to signal to Jax to stop, but the judges saw what he was doing before he looked up at me.
One of them approached Jax, leaning in to whisper in his ear. My stomach twisted into knots. I fidgeted with my fingers, anxiously awaiting what would happen next. Were they going to disqualify him on the spot?
Suddenly, the judge turned and walked away. Jax grabbed the premixed bottle and tossed it into the trash. I exhaled the stale air I’d been holding. He would have to start over with much less time, but at least he could continue.
Or so I thought. I watched helplessly as Jax looked around, uncertainty clouding his face. His eyes scanned the crowd, and I saw defeat settling in. Then, he found me in the audience, and for a moment, he paused.
Part of me knew I should have let him rise or fall on his merit, but watching him stand helpless was too much.
My eyes pointed down next to him.
Next to his right hand were a few petals of the Blood Scorn Flower.
I motioned for him to use his mortar and pestle to grind the ingredients as a base for his potion. I tried to mouth some other ingredients, but he didn’t understand.
Then the judge came up behind him to see what he was doing, and his eyes dropped to his table.
He remained concentrated on the ingredients in front of him. What Jax lacked in raw skill, he made up for in book smarts. He knew exactly what ingredients worked well together and which ones didn’t. He was also a werewolf, which played in his favor.
The humans couldn’t explain why so much money was involved in the potion industry. Only supernatural beings were able to create potions.
A magical essence in our bodies gave potions their effectiveness, and for whatever reason, that essence is strongest with werewolves.
He poured the different ingredients into the bottle, which turned it bright red. Then, he discreetly pricked his finger and rubbed the top of the potion bottle before closing it.
With one or two shakes, the bright red liquid turned soft pink.
He looked content with himself, and I hoped it was enough.
I’ve read about how other potionists expel their magical essence differently, but I’ve never seen anyone do that before; that must make the potion so powerful!
The judges went around and tested each potion meticulously.
Some potions didn’t even work, and some blew up in the judges’ faces, garnering a laugh from the other students.
Finally, they approached Jax, who was waiting anxiously with his hands behind his back.
The Owler judge ruffled his neck feathers, preparing to be attacked by yet another potion. He allowed a single drop to touch his beak and waited patiently, but nothing happened.
Oh no! That should have worked.
The Owler lifted his beak and grunted in displeasure. “That is unfortunate.”
As the judge turned from Jax, small pink petals sprinkled around his head. He stopped in his tracks, and his talons scraped the wood floors. “What is this?”
“A spring look.” Jax smiled as the judge turned around, and a great green grass beard sprouted from just beneath his beak.
“Oh, my!” The Owler used the ends of his wings as hands to pull the grass beard off his face, but it wasn’t some cheap trick. It had actually sprouted from between his feathers. “I’m glad to see that your potion professors were wrong about you, Mr. Ransom.”
Then, the judges lined up at the front of the stage and whispered to each other, giving me time to make eye contact with Jax again.
I clapped along with the rest of the audience but gave him a content nod for doing so well.
The crowd went silent once more as the judges faced us.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for attending the 583rd Annual Potion Competition. We would now like to announce the winners. Jaricn Ransom, please step forward.” The Owler judge looked down at the students who had already lined up next to the judges at the front of the stage.
Jax flashed an award-winning smile that caused half of the crowd to swoon.
“In fourth place, Zayden Willow!”
Zane’s shoulders dropped in defeat, but fourth place was still incredibly impressive.
The Headmaster moved on to third place, and Jax didn’t falter for a moment when she named someone else.
It was like he already knew he won.
“This year, I will be awarding second place to Jaricn Ransom,” he announced, raising his wings and expecting the crowd to cheer for Jax.
Jax’s face fell.
He clenched his teeth together, causing his jaw to flex.
His whole body shook from how tense his muscles were.
A few people gave half-hearted claps, and the rest looked confused.
Everyone expected Jax to win.
The judges continued announcing, but people were already getting up and leaving.
After the ceremony, I filed outside to look for Zane and Jax to congratulate them.
Mair, of course, was following closely behind, quietly teasing me about Jax.
I spotted Zane and rushed over to him. “Zane!” I flailed my arms in the air, trying to get his attention.
The closer I got, the more the rest of the crowd came into view.
“I’m so incredibly proud—” I started to say, but my sentence trailed off as I got close enough to see Jax and his girlfriend Chika making out behind one of the marbled columns of the auditorium. I felt like I was sucker punched in my heart. I backed away slowly, trying to erase the image from my mind.
“What was I thinking? That just because I gave up my chance to compete, that he was suddenly going to turn around and want to be with me? I really am just a foolish girl if I thought that.”
Zane tried to wave me down, but his face dropped as he saw my expression change.
“I don’t feel so good, Mair.” I clutched my clothes’ thin, cheap material, hoping it would alleviate the building-up inside pain.
Mair grabbed my shoulders and led me away. “Come on, you don’t need to see this,” she said.
As soon as I wasn’t within earshot of anyone, I let out a heartbreaking cry. I crumbled over myself, clutching my knees to my chest, as I sat in the grass next to a quiet pond and sobbed harder than I ever had in my young life.
Mair knelt next to me and patiently waited. “I don’t know why you do this to yourself, Lea. He’s only making you miserable, so what’s the point? You’re worth so much more than that. If you stopped talking to him right now, you’d be better off for it, and he’d be lost without you. You and I both know that’s the truth.”
Although her voice was firm, it was exactly what I needed to hear.
She held my face with both hands and forced me to look into her blue eyes. “You are so ridiculously talented. It pains me that your self-worth equates only to whether Jax notices you in a day. Some boys are far more worthy of your attention.”
I dragged my wrist across my face, wiping my wet cheeks.
“Who? Zane?”
I scoffed at the idea, but her face dropped suddenly as if she wasn’t expecting me to say his name. “I’m only kidding, Mairy! I have no interest in Zane.”
She laughed it off, shaking her head unevenly, but I could tell that it bothered her. “Of course! Why would I think otherwise?”
“You don’t have to worry, Mair. It’s me and you. I would never do anything to jeopardize our friendship.” I pulled her into my arms and hugged her tightly.
“I know, Lea… I know.”