“How can the school look this beautiful when things are going so wrong?” Aurielle asked.
“I think that’s the point the students were trying to make,” Heath answered. “Not everyone fights in the same way. Some of us continue to create the beautiful things in the midst of all the chaos so that once the struggle is over, there is something worth coming back to.”
I inhaled sharply, knowing deep in my gut that, even though the Root and Vine Society was doing the heavy lifting in the plan, the work of keeping the academy a place we all wanted to be and showing that it was worth fighting for was just as important.
At the end of the night, if everything went well, the environment that the floral students had created was the type of school I wanted to come back to. And I was willing to fight for it.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Heath’s words and reminders about what we were fighting for energized me, adding a zip of motivation to the nerves that were already pulsing through my veins. As we continued to walk under the wisteria-covered trellises toward the pond, I looked around, searching for only one person.
Despite any nerves I was feeling about the night, my heart soared when I caught sight of Callan. He wore a perfectly tailored pair of pants, a vest, and a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up so that I could catch the rich lines of the browns, blacks, blues, and greens in his tattoos. His hair was tousled just right, a tendril on the top of it catching a bit of a breeze.
I froze, wanting to take in how he looked in the moment, a coy smile pulling at the corner of his mouth at something Hollis had said.
Coral elbowed me. “Spores. Hollis cleans up good.”
“We already knew that,” Yasmin muttered. “Callan, too, of course. What is it with founders’ descendants men? Is there something in their DNA that makes them look good in a suit?”
“While you all are ogling, I’m getting some food,” Aurielle said. “We’re going to need our energy if we want to pull this off tonight. And we still have to monitor our research presentations.”
As my friends began to make for the appetizer table, Callan turned, and the smile that was only partially there with Hollis stretched across his face. We were striding toward each other when I spotted someone familiar in the background, speaking with Feathergrass.
“Your mom is here,” I said, nodding in her direction and keeping my distance from him.
“I thought she might be.”
“Should we pretend we don’t know each other?” I asked, unease settling on me. That was how it had been the previous times she came to the academy.
Callan stepped forward, put his hands around my waist, and gently tugged me toward him. “No. I meant what I said when Wyatt showed up. We’re stronger together. I’m done being afraid of what they might do.”
Heat rose in my cheeks at the feeling in his voice. “So we don’t have to sneak around if I want to put my hands on you?”
Callan entwined my hand firmly in his. “I don’t plan on letting you go all night.”
“Until the charging hour,” I said, though I was reluctant to break the moment. The idea of holding hands with Callan all evening almost made me want to scrap the entire plan—almost.
Callan squeezed my hand. “Even then, I won’t be far.”
When we headed toward the dinner table, Wendy Rhodes intercepted us. She eyed our clasped hands meaningfully. “Well, I was under the impression you two were barely friends, and now look at this. Quite the development.” As she assessed us, I got the distinct feeling she was plotting how to use our relationship to her advantage.
“Happy equinox, Mother,” Callan said, his voice neutral. “Is Dad here?”
“He had business to attend to at the capital. Speaking of which, how is your field study assignment going? They said you haven’t been to Sacramento recently.”
“You didn’t hear? I transferred my field study.”
I straightened, turning to Callan in surprise. I quickly hid the expression, though. The discussion was between him and his mom.
“What?” Wendy cast her eyes around before stepping closer and pitching her voice low. “Callan, that is unacceptable. If you want to be a senator?—”
“That’s the thing. Idon’twant to be a senator. I never have. I want to be a doctor and a medical researcher. I have since I was a kid. You know this, but you choose to ignore it. So now I’m ignoring your wishes and pursuing the researchIwant to pursue.”
I tried to keep my face relaxed, but I was cheering inside.Leaves, Callan was attractive when he was standing up for himself.
“I suppose you had something to do with this?” Wendy asked, turning her attention toward me. “Are you still under the belief that botanists should follow their… What was the term you used? Oh yes.Passions.”
“Absolutely,” I said, not hesitating for a moment. “You’re lucky that your son’s passions are ones that are going to directly save lives and make our world a better place.”
