I pushed off the pillar, brushing the dust off my black suit and telling myself to stop gawking. Selene stopped in front of me, and I held her gaze. I was about to tell her she looked beautiful, but someone else spoke.
“Are you two just going to stand there and ogle each other all night or are you actually going to make it to the ball?” Sydney started toward the gym. “I’m going to go dance.”
I hadn’t realized Sydney had come out right behind her.
“Shall we?” I held out my arm.
Selene nodded, slipping an arm into mine, and I steered her toward the gym. A stone path led to each building and the grounds behind the main building were covered in snow, the air a bit cooler than normal. They went the whole nine yards every year for the Winter Ball.
A medium-sized wooden sign was staked by the pathway to the entrance:
NO magic or any elemental use.
NO alcohol.
You must sign in and sign out.
A sign-in book lay open on a small wooden table just outside the entrance. A guard stood next to the door, wearing his typical black garb with his gold insignia jacket.
“Okay.” Sydney dropped the elegant wood pen on the sign-in book and turned to face us. “Let’s go.”
“You signed us in?” Selene strode over to check the book as Sydney took off through the entrance. “Looks like she did.”
Selene glanced up at me, and I held out my arm once again for her to take.
Inside, the gym was turned into a winter wonderland, but the temperature felt like a spring day. Small pine trees scattered about, sprouting from low flowerpots, and the walls were decorated in fake cotton to resemble snow—one of the few things not created from magic. The lighting made the ceiling dark likethe night sky as snowflakes fell, vaporizing before they hit the ground.
Selene held out her free hand, catching a snowflake in her palm before it disappeared. She glanced around, her shoulders dropping as she took everything in. She was clearly well-rehearsed in elemental magic, but she must’ve never experienced something like this. The upbeat pop music was a bit out of place, complements of one of my classmates the Winter Ball Committee had deemed fit to be the DJ.
“It’s a bit much.” I leaned in toward her.
“It is.” She looked out into the rows of tables next to the dance floor, her gaze fixating on something. “There’s Viv.”
We made our way toward the table where her sister, April, Sydney, Denise, David, and Joseph sat, passing Ivy in the process. Gwen stood next to her with Nick’s arm wrapped around her waist. I gave him a nod, and he winked in response. Gwen must’ve finally said yes to coming to the ball with him after all these years. Ivy didn’t glance at us, to my shock. Her constant need to follow me around and tell me her melodramatic stories had been nonexistent lately—which was to a relief.
As soon as we reached the table, Vivian began enthusiastically discussing the decorations with Selene. Focusing on the discourse of ornate flowers sprouting from the tables was not easy, and the hum of conversations and thumping of the awful pop music drowned my thoughts. Wanting to slow the rising anxiety in my chest, I concentrated on Selene and the touch of her arm still wrapped around mine. She wore a gold chain necklace with a white pearl complementing her pantsuit. A slight glimmer of gold powder was dashed across her cheeks, matching her eye shadow. The color brought out the warmth in her brown eyes, diluting the fire I’d grown attached to that usually resided there.
Sydney started laughing, which trailed off into a cough, bringing me back to my surroundings. She tapped her chest and I glanced around the table, realizing no one had any drinks.
“If you’ll excuse me,” I slid my arm from Selene’s and rested my hand at the small of her back, “I’ll go get the table some punch.”
She gave me a nod, her gaze lingering a little longer with mine, before giving her attention to Sydney.
The crowd parted for me as I made my way over to a large punch bowl. I was filling the third cup when Miss Lee joined me.
“What a handsome young gentleman you are. Getting all the ladies punch?” Miss Lee asked. She often chaperoned these events, saying it made herfeel youthful again.
“I wouldn’t say a gentleman, but yes to the handsome.” I smiled.
“Ah. Typical Ender.” She laughed. “Ruffle any feathers yet?”
“Not yet.” I gave her a friendly wink.
Miss Lee glanced behind me.
“I see you finally came—and with a date,” she said.
“I did.” I turned to look at Selene.
