“Then Friday will have to do.” I can almost see his pout from the manor.
I go back to studying, but by late afternoon my brain is too exhausted for homework. Usually I’d go find Dev, but that isn’t an option anymore. We still aren’t speaking. We don’t walk together in the halls or tease each other. We don’t share class notes or steal food from each other’s plates at lunch. And I’m nauseous over it. Every time I see him, my stomach lurches and my heart seizes and I want to grab his shoulders and yell,Talk to me!
But I don’t.
I’m not sure what we would say. I don’t want him mad at me, but I also don’t want to apologize. I wish we could rewind to before all this weirdness happened between us. But that would mean erasing Venice and I can’t do that.
I don’t know what I want.
So instead, I head down to the conservatory. I’ve been meaning to visit more since returning from Venice, but school has been so hectic. And, if I’m being completely honest with myself, Dev was right about me running away. I haven’t wanted to face Miriam since I abandoned my search for internships.
A bunch of students are here, including Nicole and Heather, who wave and then go back to studying. I don’t think we’re ever going to be friends, but I don’t care anymore that they were obsessed with that viral video at the beginning of the semester. No one has mentioned the video in weeks. I guess my internet fame is coming to an end.
“Ellie,” Miriam calls from the other side of the conservatory. “Come look at this.”
She’s surrounded by orchids. They’re beautiful—colorful, delicate, and tantalizingly exotic, especially when set against the backdrop of a chilly British winter.
“I was thinking of hanging these above the ferns in the corner there. And maybe including a little touch of the fairy magic you’ve sprinkled through the rest of this place.”
I laugh self-consciously. “You don’t have to keep all this stuff here. I know it’s silly.”
“Take a look around,” she says. “What do you see?”
I hesitate. “Um, lots of plants.”
Her eyes narrow. “What else?”
I scan the room. There are plants everywhere, even more than when I arrived, and my fairy houses and decorations peek out from in between leaves and nestle below foliage. But, more than all that,I see people. Nicole and Heather sit in a shady corner. There are students from my psychology and chemistry classes and another group of college students I don’t know.
“There’s, um, a lot of people here.”
“Exactly. Students. Everywhere I look there are students. They’re already here when I come in to water in the morning and they stay until who knows what time at night. They drop food on the ground and I know they’re feeding my koi even though I explicitly told them not to. And they’re always in the way when I’m trying to prune.” She shakes her head in disgust.
“I—”
“It’s the best thing to happen here since I was hired.”
My eyes widen in surprise.
“Did you know Mr. Odell was thinking of closing the conservatory? He said it was a waste of resources. But now...” She sweeps her arm in front of her. “He actually mentioned raising my budget for next year. Only by a few hundred pounds, but still.” She puts a hand on my shoulder. “So I won’t be taking out the fairy gardens. And I won’t be removing the study tables.”
My cheeks warm with happiness and I survey the room again with fresh eyes. Nicole elbows Heather and points to one of the fairy houses I made. I brace myself for her to snicker or roll her eyes, but she doesn’t. Instead, her eyes light up and she takes a picture with her phone. My chest tightens.
“They’re adorable, aren’t they?” Miriam calls out to them, and then side-eyes me.
“So cute!” Heather replies. “Are there more of them here?”
“All over.” Miriam gestures around the conservatory. “It’s like atreasure hunt trying to find them all.”
“Cool!”
Miriam leans in. “I told you, you shouldn’t underestimate yourself.”
I take a deep breath. “Actually, I was thinking about starting a fairy gardening class for kids when I get home. Parents are always looking for fun stuff to do with little kids and I thought some of the local greenhouses and craft stores would be interested if I shared the profits with them. What do you think?”
“Oh!” She nods enthusiastically. “I think that sounds like a wonderful idea.”
“Yeah?” Her enthusiasm pushes me to keep going. “And I also found a possible position at the Botanic Garden in DC, but I haven’t applied yet. College internships too. I was worried I didn’t have the experience, but... maybe I should try anyway.”
