“So, do anything fun last weekend?” he asked.
“I mostly worked and did homework.”
“Where do you work?”
“Vera’s Café.”
His eyes widened. “Home of the world-famous lavender scone?”
I laughed. “You’ve heard of it?”
“Oh yeah. Part of unofficial orientation at SCC is sharing the best places to eat. Vera’s is number one for baked goods. I’ve heard her scones sell out in minutes.”
“Good to know. I’ll pass that along to Aunt Vera.”
He angled himself toward me then. “You’re related to Vera? This is perfect. You can text me when she’s making a fresh batch of scones, and I’ll come get them before they sell out. I’ll be a hero with my friends.” We were walking out of the building now.
“I’ll text you, huh?” I asked, arching an eyebrow.
He reached out a hand. “Can I have your phone?”
With a nervous simmer in my belly, I fished my phone out of my bag and handed it to him.
He typed a few clicks. “There. I just texted myself. Now we have each other’s numbers.”
“For the scones,” I said, voice conspiratorial.
“For the scones,” he said with a grin, walking backward easily as he moved away from me.
I turned around and let out a breath as I walked back to the science building. This week was full of surprises.
Chapter Eleven
Idrove to Evergreen Academy after my psychology class with my heart in my throat. While the spark of friendly flirting that had flared up in Alex’s presence had pushed my concerns about the affinity tests out of my head temporarily, they were back in full. I was acutely aware that I had no idea what to expect, and that set me off balance.
As I approached the gate, I searched the area where Professor East had scanned his necklace the previous day and noticed a little carved leaf in the brick wall. I held my ringed hand out the window and felt that tiny pulse of energy again, and then the gates to the school grounds creaked open.
The sight of the massive glass-encased, vine-covered building was just as enchanting the second time. I parked in a small clearing where a few other cars were nestled in the shade then made my way to the building.
Yasmin met me in the entrance atrium and handed me adeep-green notebook engraved with a few leaves. I took it from her, noting the soft feel of the cover against my palm. On the front of the notebook read the wordsAnno Uno.
“Latin for year one,” Yasmin said, correctly realizing that I didn’t know the translation. “This is the basic level that everyone works to complete during their first year of training. Next year, you’ll get theanno duonotebook.”
Carefully, I opened the first page and saw a place to inscribe my name. That page was followed by a table of contents listing the classes I would take as a first-year.
I swallowed as I reviewed the list.
Fall:
Latin for Botanists
Basic Plant Biology
Biostatistics for Botanists
Affinity Studies
Winter:
