“Oh it’s fine,” Tabitha said, giving me a cool wave of her hand. “The healers took care of it in like five seconds and instructed me to take it easy for twenty-four hours. Which works out perfectly since all we’re doing it sitting today. By the time the magic exam rolls around I should be all healed up.”
“You really should have stayed in the tower last night, Di.” Phoebe paused to smile at five people who slipped by us to enter the examination room. “It was a blast.”
My eyes ran over her. Dark circles rimmed her usually bright eyes. “I bet. But you look tired. Aren’t you worried that your partying might affect today’s exam?”
Phoebe lifted a thermos and pretended to cheers me with it. “That’s what coffee is for! I promise, it was sooooo worth it. We had a ton of fun last night. You have to come tonight. Pu-leeaaasssse!”
“Three minutes until the exam begins! Two and a half minutes until the doors close! If you’re not inside at that time, you will be barred from taking the mental exam,” a voice rang out.
I glanced inside Kyteler Hall to find Professor Umbra, the stout Conjuring professor, pacing between the desks.
“And donotopen your exam packet until I say so,” she added, her tone terse. “I shall know if you do.”
Her gaze shot through a short, blond guy in the front row who had been fiddling with the packet that the exam was sealed inside. All the blood drained from his face as he dropped the envelope and sat on his hands.
“Maybe I’ll swing by tonight,” I said, not ready to give my friends a straight answer. I’d have to see how I felt after the mental exam. I was hoping to feel confident about my performance and finish first—that would even Alex and me out in the rankings with one test left to go.
The post entry exam rankings were important because they were made public for anyone involved with Spellcasters to view. If anyone looked, I wanted my name to show up at the top.
“I’m going to find a seat.” I gestured to the desks. “Talk to you guys later.” As I walked into Kyteler Hall I searched the room for Alex. I found him almost right away. He was sitting near the back and trying to fend off a girl who was clearly flirting with him.
Something inside me roared in displeasure but I pushed it away, not willing to let anything distract me before such an important event. Instead, I focused on finding the perfect spot. I’d barely gotten comfortable in my seat when the doors to the room snapped shut on their own accord.
Thirty seconds to go.
Professor Umbra took up pacing the rows once again. “This year’s test is one of my favorites. It is based on logic and riddles, for to become a spy you need more than just a head full of facts. You need to be able to reason through scenarios. To deduce what is true and what is not. It is, I believe, one of the most relevant exams we have given.”
A door opened at the front of the room, and my mother appeared. Her eyes were narrow and her lips set in a frown that made my spine straighten. I rarely saw that expression, but when I did, it was because Mother was truly frustrated about something. I wondered what it was.
Only after Mother took one of the two seats at the proctors’ desk did Professor Umbra speak again.
“You have five hours to complete this exam. If you have not finished at that time, you will simply hand in what you have completed. Points will be deducted for not finishing, just as points will be given for completing the exam, finishing under time,andthe order in which you complete the exam.” Umbra pointed to the far side of the room where skinny Professor Tittelbaum sat reading a book next to a second set of doors. “Restrooms are through that door and to the left. Only one student may leave this room at a time. Professor Tittelbaum will be keeping track of who leaves and enters. Any questions?”
No one spoke.
“Very well,” Professor Umbra clapped her hands, releasing a spray of magic.
A second later, the hooting of an owl sounded. A few people looked confused, but I wasn’t. The hoot was a marker that identified the beginning and ending of classes or special events.
Once the owl shut up, Professor Umbra clapped her hands once more. “You may open your pamphlets. The exam has begun.”
Four and a half hours later, I shook myself as drowsiness began to set in yet again.
I was only a page away from finishing the monstrous twenty-page test. Less than ten questions. So far, no one had turned in their packet yet. While I’d tried my best to keep my eyes on my own paper, I couldn’t help but notice that many test-takers had thrown their pencils down over the course of the exam. Some had even flung their heads into their hands and began to sob quietly. Two appeared to have given up and were staring out the window, like the exam would just go away.
I did my best to remain alert and take all the distractions in stride. When I became a real spy I’d have to make choices around others. Choices that were far more important and complex than the logic questions that filled my pamphlet.
Inhaling deeply, I read the next question.
It occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in an hour.
A grin spread across my face as I spotted the answer right away. Pressing my pencil to my paper, I wrote: The letter “M”.
Next question please, Alex. I imagined the Jeopardy host staring at me in wonder.
Suddenly, a scraping of metal on stone vibrated through Kyteler Hall. My head shot up. Though we were allowed to go to the restroom, no one had dared to leave the room since the start of the exam. Umbra and Mother had also been still at the head of the classroom, their eyes diligently scanning the tight configuration of desks for any sign of cheating. My eyes widened as I caught sight of who had caused the disturbance.
Alex Wardwell was making his way toward the front of the room, his exam packet in hand. I inhaled sharply, my dreams of being the first to finish and accruing extra points evaporating on the spot. Jealousy began to bubble inside me as I watched him hand in his packet, stride toward the door, and slip out quietly.
