I raised my eyebrows. “And you heard about the lemurians and still chose to come?”
He laughed. “The stranger, the better.”
“Good to know.”
“So, is there anything about Weed you think I should know? Favorite dives? Local secrets?”
“Well, you already know about Vera’s.” I racked my brain. “There’s an amazing place to get a burger and ice cream, but it’s a bit of a drive and way out in the middle of nowhere.”
“I’m not opposed to a drive. Or things that are in the middle of nowhere.”
“What else?… We have an awesome little ski park.”
“Nice. Do you ski?”
“I snowboard.”
“Really? I’ve never tried either. I might have to check it out this year.”
My brain started to swirl then, wondering if I’d have time for snowboarding this year. During my conversation with Alex, I’d almost forgotten I was attending amagicalacademy.
My world felt like it was split into two distinct halves—the time when I was at Evergreen Academy and the time when I was in my regular life.
I glanced at my phone and realized with a sinking feeling that time had run out already. I needed to get to Evergreen Academy for my second set of new classes. “Sorry, I’ve got to get going. See you Thursday?”
Alex’s smile was bright. “I’ll save you a seat.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Latin was a challenge from the very first moment. Not only was I a full month behind on the formal lessons, but most of my classmates had been using Latin at home since they were kids. I made a note in my journal to download a language-learning app once I got back to my phone.
In Latin, I was introduced to a book called theCompendium Floracantus, which contained all the botanical spells Yasmin had mentioned.
Despite my inability to read the language, I flipped through the book excitedly. Next to each Latin phrase was a description of what the Floracantus did, often accompanied by a picture or feature of a plant. There was a massive index, and I could search by task or by plant family. At the end of class, I tucked the new book into my backpack excitedly.
The second class was Basic Plant Biology again, though today it was taught by Dr. Lemna. Together, all the first-years who attended afternoon classes walked to the greenhouse by thepond. I remembered the affinity test I’d conducted with the chemicals by the water and swallowed.
But the class went better than I expected. Dr. Lemna asked us to form into groups and then work through a portion of our botanical journals. We were to collect and study one aquatic plant and test it in a series of conditions of our choice. I could tell right away that it was a practice in the scientific method, which was something I was at least familiar with.
Working with Yasmin, Coral, and Aurielle, we selected a parrot’s feather plant and took turns suggesting different conditions we could test it under. None of us had an affinity for aquatics, so we had to rely purely on science and the enhanced aspects of the academy’s plants.
“This plant is considered invasive in a lot of areas. Maybe we should work on determining if we can find any way to penetrate the waxy coating. Non-magical botanists haven’t had much luck with chemical control or herbicides,” Aurielle suggested.
“Invasive,” I mused, looking at the parrot’s feather in a new light. “But the plant is not problematic here, at the academy?”
“Any invasive species that we work with here are well controlled by our magic. Dr. Lemna has all the invasive aquatics on lockdown. They can’t reproduce without her allowing it. But we need to have them here for research purposes.”
“And why can’t those with aquatic affinities travel to places with invasive species problems and lock them down, like you’re doing here?” I asked.
“Well, because we have to work within the confines of human scientific knowledge. And we don’t want to push our control over plants too far, anyway. It’s fine here, in a researchsetting. But in the real world, there are a million variables. We have to be more subtle and calculating,” Coral said.
Yasmin smiled. “Can you tell Coral’s parents work in international plant relations?”
“Sounds fascinating,” I said, tucking away that piece of information for later. I had a million questions about this world, but my brain could barely process everything in the academy at this point, let alone the world beyond it.
“They seem to enjoy it. I think I’d like to pursue similar work. It’s like peacekeeping but for botanists,” Coral said with a shrug.
I followed their lead as we completed our work, but my mind couldn’t help being distracted. It kept reviewing Yasmin’s explanation the previous week about the verdant shield. Would it flicker again? And what did that mean for the longevity of the academy? I’d just been introduced to this place. The last thing I wanted was for its shield to be threatened.
