“Yes,” I said. “YouandIshould go.”
I hopped off the counter, sandwich in hand. There was no way I was wasting food, so the rest was coming with me. I contemplated taking another, but Sydney always stored snacks in our room. That would satisfy me enough so I could retreat there until I had to come out.
On second thought, I wanted another sandwich. I walked over to the fridge and grabbed another sub, then tucked the wrappedsandwich between my arm and side so I could easily eat. Without looking at Ender, I left the kitchen with Viv.
I had been worried about the headmaster, not Ender. I would have to tread carefully with him.
Chapter Nine
Ender
Ispunthecardboardwaterbottle on the table, tuning out Ivy and Gwen’s mundane conversation. Gwen had recovered from yesterday’s rock creature attack, having spent time in the infirmary with Nurse Adair. The two of them acted like nothing happened. Ivy’s leg was covered by her pants, but she still favored it when she walked. I had questions but didn’t ask. I wasn’t going to get in the middle of whatever illegal magic the two of them had tangled themselves up in.
For the fourth time, I glanced over at the table Selene and her friends usually sat at for lunch. She wasn’t there.
“Hey, man. You okay?” Nick asked.
“Yeah.” I stopped twirling the bottle. “Just distracted.”
Nick’s gaze followed mine to Sydney and Denise. If it had been dinner, I would have assumed she was with Vivian, but she had a different lunch period.
“Ah.” Nick smirked and leaned back in his chair, running a hand through the curly blond hair he took an inordinate amount of pride in. “She’s not even over there. Or is that the problem?”
“It’s not like that,” I said, my voice low.
“Oh, come on, man.” He patted my back with a thud. “I’m just messing around.”
“Hmm,” I grunted.
Nick was the closest I had to a best friend. He was flawed, but so was I. His biggest problem was following Gwen around like a mindless lovesick puppy. I vowed to never lower myself to such behavior.
“I’ll see you later.” I stood, grabbing my bottle, and headed toward the door leading to the end of the courtyard.
“Where are you going?” Nick called from his seat.
“Fresh air,” I tossed over my shoulder. A walk would do me some good.
“Where is he off to?” Gwen asked.
As I got farther away, I barely heard Nick say, “Chasing tail.”
I shook my head and walked outside, the urge to feel fresh wind against my skin beckoning me. I stopped short of the field, intending to cross it and go into the woods for a short walk, but Selene sat under a tree with her nose in a book. Her brown locks fell just below her shoulders—not in her normal braids. The wind caught a few of the strands, blowing them across her face.
I rubbed my eyes with one hand, feeling pressure build behind them, and sighed, then started toward her. Why? I didn’t know.
Chasing tail, maybe?
I passed David, who looked up from his own book as I walked by. Normally he sat with Selene, Sydney, and Denise. He had probably chosen a shaded picnic table outside rather than the girls flaunting over him in the cafeteria. He would learn just like I had—don’t be friendly and the ones with any self-preserving instinct will stay away.
My shadow fell across Selene, blocking the sun, and she looked up. Her eyes narrowed when she recognized it was me, as if I was the most insufferable thing at this academy—more so than the notorious Professor Eaten, who’s rumored to eat students.
“What do you want?” She didn’t take her eyes off me.
“Learning anything interesting?” I asked, avoiding the question I didn’t have an answer to.
“Not anything I don’t already know.” She sighed and her cheeks reddened a touch, as if she hadn’t meant to say more than one word.
I glanced at the cover—Water Magic and Its Beyond. “You know everything about water mages despite being an earth mage? Is that because of your sister?”
