My stomach clenched, and I couldn’t help feeling disappointed. One of my favorite activities growing up, besides drawing, had been swimming in the lakes and ponds at mygrandmother’s cabin. I hadn’t realized that I had been secretly hoping to have an aquatic affinity until that moment.
“I’ll have you wash out your glassware before you go. You can use the sink in my office.”
“Okay,” I said, unsure of what washing the glassware would entail and hoping she didn’t have a strict procedure I would unknowingly violate. “And then I should head to…”
She turned her head and looked at me sharply. Then her features softened a bit, and she sighed. “It’s always so disorganized when we have out-of-cycle enrollees. Let me see your journal again.”
I handed it to her, and she studied the index. “I believe Dr. Bowellia is free this period. You can find him by the tree houses.”
Grateful that she’d offered some guidance, I thanked her and made quick but careful work of cleaning the glassware then left the greenhouse—and its clammy warmth—behind.
Chapter Fourteen
Ihad to wander around in the forest for a few minutes before I found the tree houses. In the end, it was a familiar voice that helped me find my way.
“Try not to crush the leaves as you load them,” Callan’s clear voice said from straight ahead, and I followed it to see him and several other students collecting leaves. Air seemed to swoosh the leaves into piles and then into the bags with a subtle movement of the students’ hands.
I emerged in the clearing where they were working, and Callan’s eyes flicked to me immediately. He raised his eyebrows then walked over to me. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m looking for the tree houses. I have my affinity test with Dr. Bowellia. What are you doing here?” After I asked, I realized the answer was obvious and that he was there for a class or affinity studies.
“Everyone here has a strong tree affinity. The time around each equinox and solstice is important for collecting plant specimensas the seasons change. There’s a lot we don’t know about these transitional periods. The opportunities are greatest at the equinoxes, and the fall one just passed.”
I was surprised by the thoroughness of his answer. Callan crossed his arms, and I again noticed the tree-inspired tattoos that painted his forearms. I quickly glanced away and saw Callan’s classmates continuing to collect and sort leaves without touching them.
“Interesting,” I said, and I meant it. People often had the misconception that nature was fixed and that our knowledge of things like plant properties had long ago been determined and catalogued in textbooks. But I’d always known that what we knew was only a fragment of what was possible.
“P.B.’s office is in the first tree house.”
“P.B.?”
“Professor Bowellia.” Callan looked up, and my eyes widened as they made out the shape of wooden huts and pathways nestled in the canopy above, nearly perfectly camouflaged.
“Woah. Good thing I stumbled across you all. I don’t think I would have found those on my own.”
Callan grinned. “They were originally crafted by some botanists with tree affinities about fifty years ago, and we’ve been upgrading them ever since. Wait until you see the inside.”
A little thrill of excitement coursed through me before his words dawned on me. “Um… how do I get up there?”
Callan nodded toward a nearby tree that had wooden rungs clinging to its trunk, leading up into the canopy. I gulped but didn’t protest.
“Those of us with tree affinities can climb the trees without issue, but we added the rungs for the other students and faculty.Since we don’t know if you have this affinity yet, it’s safest to use the rungs. What other affinities have you tested so far?”
“Florals, harvesters, grasses, and aquatics. Allnon par.”
Callan gave me a strange look but quickly smoothed his face. “Well, good luck with the tree tests.” There was something in his voice that set my nerves working again.
“Thanks.” I flicked the word at him and approached the tree with the rungs, hoping Callan wasn’t going to watch me climb the whole time. I took the first few rungs easily but slowed as I neared the top. I paused for a moment to catch my breath then suddenly felt a rush of wind push up from underneath me and plop me onto a platform the size of a doormat.
I leaned back against the tree, breathing hard as the shock of what had just happened hit me. I heard a soft laugh from below and looked to the ground.
Callan was standing there, arms crossed, a smile tugging at his lips. “Looked like you could use a little help.”
Still trying to catch my breath, I tipped my head back against the tree and said, “A little warning would have been nice.”
I heard Callan laugh again, but when I looked down, he was gone. I followed the wooden path that led from the platform I was standing on to one a few trees away, stepping carefully as the rope that held the slats of the path together swung lightly. I ended on a small platform again, but this time, it stood before a doorless entryway to one of the tree houses I’d seen from below.
I had to work hard to keep my mouth closed as I carefully stepped inside. The tree house seemed to be carvedintothe tree, which had to be at least the size of one of the world’s largest redwoods. Like so many of the plantsI’d seen on campus, I knew redwoods didn’t normally grow here, but I didn’t have time to dwell on that as I took in my surroundings.
