“Yes, Sir,” I said miserably. “I’ll do better next time,” I added, hoping to appease him.
“See that you do,” he snapped. “Dismissed—go to your next class before you’re late.”
I hurried out the door and barely made it to History in time. I did my best to pay attention, but my mind kept wandering…worrying…refusing to settle into the groove of listening attentively and taking notes.
It was like that all morning. By the time the Great Bell rang for lunch, I was dreading what I might see when I got to the Mess Hall.
But when I scanned the cavernous room, I saw neither Ryse Skoren or Chud Larson at the Second-year table. I wondered uneasily where they had gone. Were they both meeting with the Head Master? Or were they outside fighting?
Don’t be stupid, whispered the little voice in my head. Why would Ryse Skoren fight over you?
But I couldn’t get the thought out of my head and as a consequence, I couldn’t eat lunch any more than I’d been able to choke down breakfast.
“Hey, what’s wrong, Auri?” Jorn-o asked as we dumped our trays together—mine being still mostly full. “You usually eat like you’re starving.”
“I know. I just…don’t have any appetite today,” I said miserably.
“Don’t worry about the thing with Larson,” he said comfortingly. “We’ve got your back.”
“Huh—speak for yourself,” Toady remarked. “Larson’s a mean son-of-a-bitch.”
“And he’s huge,” Bugs put in, squinting from behind his glasses.
“That doesn’t give him the right to bully someone so much smaller than him,” Leaper remarked, surprising me.
“Leaper’s right—the Academy is supposed to have a no-bullying policy,” Jorn-o said, lifting his chin in a determined way.
“Well maybe somebody oughta tell Larson that,” Toady remarked, and he and Bugs cracked up, laughing.
I didn’t find the situation funny, but I knew they were never not going to make a joke out of something important, so I just shrugged and said,
“C’mon—let’s get to class.”
But as we left the Mess Hall, I wondered again where Ryse was and what exactly he was doing.
25
AURORA
I had been hoping all through my Botanical Healing class that they would have finished fixing the Flight Simulator by the time I got there for my afternoon class. However, when I ascended to the wooden platform along with the rest of my class, I saw that Woody was still hanging with one wooden wing drifting awkwardly downward. The net was only half mended too, with one corner still flapping loose.
“Sorry, Cadets,” Professor Leesbruck said when everyone exclaimed over the damage. “No flight practice today—Woody had a broken wing.”
As he spoke, he stared directly at me, and I felt like I was blushing so hard and so hot that my hair might catch on fire any moment.
“What are we supposed to do? Sit around doing homework?” One of the boys asked, making it sound like a punishment.
“No, I don’t want anyone lingering on the platform when the net is in disrepair,” Professor Leesbruck said, frowning. “Instead, I have obtained special permission from Master Yarsmouth for you to visit the Hatching Ground. However…” He held up one finger to silence the excited babble his words provoked. “The eggs are not fully hard yet and not ready for Impression. So you are not to touch them in any way. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir,” we all chorused.
“All right.” He nodded. “Go on—hurry up. And be sure you leave in time to get back to your next class after this one. There are a lot of stairs between here and the Hatching Ground.”
We all promised to be on time and then everyone practically ran for the stairs. Everyone but me, that is, because Professor Leesbruck called me back, just as I was leaving.
“Yes, Sir?” I said, my stomach fisting with dread. What was he going to say to me? Would he kick me out of his class completely?
“I know what happened this morning, Cadet Lysandra,” he said, frowning down at me. “I know you were using the simulator without proper supervision or permission.”
