Authors: Lia London
Amity and I were nervous and excited when we got to school Tuesday morning. We wanted to find Miss Flinckey, so we went to the main office where teachers milled around getting their memos and complaining about the faculty lounge coffee maker. Unfortunately, Miss Flinckey wasn’t in her office again.
Still jittery, w
e headed back out into the hall, bumping into Mr. Whittle in the process.
“
Whoah, slow down,” he said pleasantly. “No one’s arresting you today, are they?” He shook his head sympathetically. “Wasn’t all of that crazy? I’m sorry you had to go through it, Kincaid.”
Amity’s nails were about to draw blood from my arm. “Oh,
it was just a misunderstanding, sir,” I said. “See you in chemistry?”
“Yes, you’re stuck with me
one more time before the new hire takes over,” he said. “We’ll try to have fun, huh?”
Out in the hall, Amity let go of my arm. “
Weird.”
“What? Whittle’s
always nice enough.”
“And he’s
in the local chapter of NMI.”
“So is Flinckey. They
obviously can’t
all
be bad. They’re supposed to be about education.”
“Whatever. Maybe we’ll catch Flinckey at lunch. See you in an hour.” Her finger traced my ear, not really flirty. More tender. It sent tingles down my spine, and I watched her walk away. I felt like I was
flying. I
was
flying a couple of inches above the ground.
I decided to glide to first period that way, saving my physical energy for P.E. As I went, I watched everyone around me. In the locker room, I glanced down at the tiled floor, thinking about how I’d never slipped on the wet surface because I could
fly low to the ground. I saw guys tossing Water Balls back and forth through the shower area. Playing catch with a Water Ball only works if both have Elemental Magic with Water, of course, and I realized a bunch of them did. The Nomers didn’t seem to mind the play. They laughed and ducked behind each other.
The bell rang, and everyone hustled faster. Mages Flash Jumped to their P.E. lockers and changed clothes.
Nomers were mostly already in their shorts because they hadn’t been goofing around.
Warming up out on the track, I felt the pound of the contact under my feet. My muscles didn’t balk like they did for some Mages. A few of t
hem would either Flash Jump or fly whenever Coach looked away. I don’t think they fooled him, but he didn’t punish them. I usually kept pace with a few other Nomers, jogging a little behind the leaders.
How bad would it be to lose my magic—or at least not be allowed to use it?
I wondered.
Could I get used to walking and running everywhere?
Panting a little as I ran, I glanced at the
Nomer on my left. “You know how to drive?” I asked casually.
He grinned
, but kept looking forward. “Not according to my old man.”
“Is it hard?”
For a few paces, he looked at me like I had just sprouted a green beard. “You never tried?”
“Oh. Well…We’ve only got the one
car, and my mom…”
He nodded. “Yeah, car insurance for teens is bad. Dad’s not
putting me on the policy until I can parallel park. That’ll be when I’m halfway through college at this rate,” he laughed.
I didn’t
get it, but I chuckled, and then said, “Let’s beat those guys back!”
We took of
f sprinting past the leaders, barely reaching Coach before they did. He raised an eyebrow at us and smirked in a friendly way. “You making Riley work?” he asked, slapping the parallel parking guy on the shoulder. “Good for you!”
The rest of class proved to be a lot of work. At first, I thought I’d turned into a klutz for the day, but then I saw a few other guys go down, too. I stopped in the middle of
a play and scanned the grass. The tell-tale shadows of small Dirt Holes were all over the place.
“Coach!”
I called out, waving my hands. “Hey, everybody, stop! Wait!”
The whistle blew, and Coach came over looking mad. “Riley, what do you think you’re—?”
“Coach, look.” I pointed out the Dirt Holes, including one right before a Nomer kid stepped into it. He toppled forward, earning some derisive laughter from the other guys, but when he stood up in obvious pain, everyone got quiet.
Coach spun around and
stared us down—at least each of us Mages. “Knock it off, whoever it is!” he roared. “Mages, over here.
Now!
” He pointed his finger in front of him, and nine of us came forward. “Which one of you did this?” No one said anything, but all the Nomers stood there watching us. I could feel the weight of their anger. “You think this is part of the game?” yelled Coach. “This is not a joke! You know that we had to sit through a thirty-minute presentation on healing techniques at our last staff meeting because there’ve been so many ‘injuries’ this year?” He punched the air. “What’s the matter, boys? I thought you liked to brag about what Magic you had.” He stood back with his arms folded across his chest. “Which of you have Earth Magic?” Silence. “Which of you can make Dirt Holes?” he asked through clenched teeth.
Two guys raised their hands, and
I could almost feel hostility flow from the Nomers in their direction.
“Well, then,” said Coach. “You two get out there and fill all those Dirt Holes back in.”
“But I didn’t—”
“Shut up and get to work!”
I started to relax until he turned back to the other seven of us. “And you can do push-ups until they’re done. Drop.
Now!
”
“But—”
“Maybe next time, you’ll keep your buddies in line.”
Push-ups
are something you can’t cheat with magic. Coach snapped his fingers at the Nomers and pointed to us. “Get a fist down in front of each Mage and make sure his chin touches it every time. No breaks.
Move
it!” Parallel parking guy knelt in front of me and placed his fist on the ground. I have no idea how the other Mages did, but even with me being in pretty good shape, I was dying. By the time the Dirt Hole Mages had repaired the damage, I had dripped sweat on the guy’s knuckles.
Coach finally blew the whistle, and I collapsed onto my stomach, breathing hard. Parallel parking guy held out his hand to pull me to my feet, which I accepted gratefully. When he wiped his hand on his shirt, I hoped it was about the sweat and not some commentary on Mages.
No one spoke for the rest of class or goofed off in the locker room afterwards. As I left, I heard a scuffle and the sound of someone being slammed against the metal bank of lockers. A gruff voice said, “Next time you’ll be making those Dirt Holes with your face.” I couldn’t tell if it was a Mage or a Nomer.
I kept my head down and Flash Jumped to chemistry.
***
Before Mr. Whittle had even finished taking roll, a student
aid from the office came in with a note. Whittle glanced at it and looked back at our lab station. “Miss Griffin, for you,” he said holding out the note.
Amity went forward and took it. “I’m supposed to go see Miss Flinckey right now.”
He looked annoyed. “Go then.”
“Should I take my stuff?”
“Are you going to be gone for the whole class?”
Amity looked back at me, her face hidden from Whittle’s view. She bit her lip.
“Um, probably not. I had some scheduling questions.”
Whittle rolled his eyes humorously. “
Still
trying to get out of chemistry, Miss Griffin?”
Amity shrugged and played along. “Well, you know.” She pointed her thumb back at me. “I’m stuck with this guy as a lab partner—”
“I can change that,” said Whittle, winking.
“Don’t you
dare!” I said. “I’ll flunk!”
The class cracked up, and Amity leaned over to me.
“Bring me my stuff at lunch if I don’t get back.”
“Good luck,” I whispered.
Amity didn’t end up returning to class, so I gathered our backpacks to go. Mr. Whittle stopped me. “Hey, Kincaid, I really am sorry about all that mess yesterday.”
“Oh, it’s over,” I said, trying to find a comfortable way to
carry two backpacks.
He saw my efforts and smiled. “
Do you need me to get someone take that to Miss Griffin?”
“Nah, I
’ll see her at lunch anyway.”
“Oh, about that.”
He made an exaggerated wince. “Can I beg a favor? I’ve got a handful of kids that still haven’t taken all the placement exams. They weren’t able to come on Orientation Day. Any chance you could help me proctor again? We’ll be up in room 264, if you can.”
I really didn’t want to, but I thought about how I needed to keep the
good-boy profile and give no one a reason to distrust me, so I shrugged. “Okay.”
Proctoring only eleven kids, I wondered why Whittle even needed me, but I guess the rules say there have to be two people present in case someone has to leave for an emergency. Anyway, I was glad it was easy because it gave me freedom to think. I chewed through all the events of the last weeks and what they might mean, and I tried not to think too much about life without Magian High if everything went badly. By the time the bell rang, I gladly switched mental gears and focused on history and writing.
Last period, I arrived at the door to Study Hall and saw the parallel parking guy. It hadn’t even clicked in my brain that I had him for that, too. He gave me a nod in greeting, and then we both spun around when we heard Rikki squealing my name. She skidded to a halt in front of me, all breathless, and handed me an elaborately folded note covered in hearts. I stared at it.
“Rikki, how many boyfriends do you
have?
” asked parallel parking guy.
She punched him playfully. “It’s not from
me
, stupid. It’s from Amity Griffin.”
“Oh.”
I watched the exchange with confusion.
“Curry’s taking me home again, so you don’t have to give me a ride,” she said.
“If he’s flying you home, you’d better beat me there, or I’m telling Mom.”
“Brat!” she laughed, and faded into the flow of students down the hall.
“Wait. You’re Rikki’s brother?”
H
e grinned. “You didn’t know that?”
“How could I possibly know that?”
I shook my head, following him into the classroom. “So, you got a name, Rikki’s brother?” I asked.
“Max.”
“Cool. And your sister’s cool, too. Amazing, in fact.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You don’t have a little sister, do you?”
“Actually, I do.”
“Well, then she must not be a teenager yet. It’s hard having an ‘amazing’ kid sister that all the guys drool over
—especially the Curry kind. I have to keep an eye on her all the time.”
I liked Max. “I think Rikki has reformed Curry pretty well.
And she seems like the kind that can hold her own.”
“I just don’t want him to use her,” he said, sitting at his usual desk. “Sorry. I guess he’s a friend of yours, huh?”
“Actually, he wasn’t until Rikki came along. He used to hang out with Jack Bagler. Not my crowd at all.” I felt a twinge of guilt for making it sound like I didn’t like Curry. I didn’t know what I thought of Curry except that I was inclined to trust him a little more now. Of course, he wasn’t dating my sister.
“Yeah, well…” Max flicked the note in my hand. “You probably better get to
that good stuff before Whittle starts class, or he’ll be reading it to everyone.”
“Right.”
I slid into my seat across the aisle and opened it. The handwriting was hers:
Dearest Lover—I’ll deliver the sugar when we’re alone together. Hurry
hurry hurry to my house after school. You won’t want to miss what I’ve got for you! XOXO Amity
“Dang!”
came Max’s voice from behind me. “That girl is
nuts
for you! I never would’ve guessed it coming from her. Isn’t she some kind of brainiac?”
I pressed the note to my chest. “Hey! This is
personal correspondence!” I said with mock-indignation. Then I grinned. “But yeah, she likes me okay, huh?”
Max
let out a low whistle, but I knew it was a code. She had important, secret information for me, and needed to get it to me fast.
***
I didn’t even stop at my locker after school, but went straight to find Amity. She saw me coming and squeaked in a most un-Amity-like way. “Kincaid, I
missed
you at lunch!” Before I could say anything, she tugged me towards the exit. “C’mon, sweetie, let’s go!” At the base of the steps, Amity clasped her hands behind my neck and said loudly, “Flash Jump me home?”
I’d never actually tried to carry anyone while Flash Jumping before
. I got in two Jumps—far enough to reach the first corner—before I had to stop. “Wait. This isn’t going to work. Can we fly instead?”
Her eyes were huge. “That
… was…
terrifying!
” she gasped. “Yeah, flying will be just fine.” She made a big show of ruffling my hair before letting me lift her. As I flew her home, her face gradually lost its crazy glow. At the front door, she glanced around and then pulled me inside, shutting the door and locking it. Her forehead dropped forward and rested on my chest.
“What’s going on, Amity? Did Miss Flinckey scramble your brain? You’re acting really weird.”
She sighed. “Did you get my note?”
“Uh, yeah.
That was…interesting.”
“But you did ‘
get
it’, right?”
“Yeah.
You’ve got information for me,” I said.
Her face broke into a grin, and she slid her backpack onto the flo
or. “Smart boy.”
“But why the big show? I mean, I’m not complaining about having a gorgeous girl throw herself at me, but…”
Amity chuckled and signaled for me to follow her to the kitchen. “I’m sorry, but we’re being watched,” she said. Something in her tone made my stomach flip. She turned back and looked at me seriously. “It’s bad, Kincaid. It’s like we have to work a whole PR thing for you. You have to be nice to everyone.”
“
Aren’t I already?”
She opened the fridge and pulled out a carton of juice.
“
Everyone.
”
“Like…?”
“Jack, Petercriss. Anyone who tries to get you riled up. You have to keep your cool to save Magian High and to keep your power from draining.”
“
Jack and Petercriss are both gone,” I said, trying not to sound defensive. “And what does that have to do with you…you know, falling all over me?”
“I know. I probably overdid it. I’m not used to acting like the typical teenage idiot.”
She helped herself to some juice and slid a box of crackers across the counter at me. “But we have to look like we’re too in love to care about solving any kind of conspiracy.”
“
We’re solving a conspiracy?”
“They have to think we’re totally normal teenagers.”
“I
am
a totally normal teenager,” I said, shaking a handful of crackers into my hand.
“
Yeah, but for a little while, we need to focus on saving Magian High and everything it means for our future.”
I felt a really big kno
t form in my intestines. “How about you fill me in on what Flinckey said.”
With her fingers, she counted off the points. “One: NMI’s educational aims started as a legit thing, trying to improve the overall quality of Mage schools, which, of course, are abysmal compared to places like Wiser. This was
a national thing, privately funded, before desegregation, obviously.”
“Obviously.”
“Two: Mrs. Bagler bought her way into the Superintendent slot, but she was so pro-education reform that there wasn’t an outcry. She garnered quite a bit of support from Magian High people—initially, at least—and Flinckey, Whittle, and Petercriss were especially interested. Since they were already part of the local chapter of NMI, that makes sense.”
“Okay,” I said, still not seeing a crisis.
“The three of them were named to the Board of Directors of the Bagler-Farrell Foundation, some kind of an investment corporation. They all got on board hoping to be involved in a better way to fund education for Mages. Point three: the Foundation is getting pressure—or possibly offers—from higher up, national leaders to turn a local NMI academy into something
more—
something that smacks of a supremacy thing. Not ‘separate, but equal’. Separate with Mages dominating everything.”
I groaned
. “You know I don’t think like that. There’s tons of stuff Nomers can do that I can’t.”
“And that’s why you’re
point number four,” she said. “Flinckey’s not one hundred percent sure, but she’s been overhearing things. This whole district support for desegregation thing’s apparently a sham. Mrs. Bagler and her bunch voted for it because they wanted to make it
fail
. They saw what you and your supporters had built, and they were afraid it would take off. But instead of shooting it down, they picked a back door approach. They were counting on the Punkers to stir up enough hostility that people would scream to take things back to segregation
permanently
—and preferably they’d scapegoat Mage minors.”
“That makes no sense. Why would they want to make the Mages look bad if they’re trying to do a Mage supremacy thing?”
“Well, for starters, there’s money in the land deal for the Baglers, but the district wouldn’t authorize a public school outside of city limits, so they’re intentionally trying to make a private school necessary. We were right. They’ll charge tuition and be out of the jurisdiction of the superintendent. We’re talking huge amounts of money, according to my Dad and Flinckey both.”
“Why would
Mrs. Bagler take away her own authority? She’s the superintendent.”
“Money, Kincaid.
She’ll make millions on the land deal, and she’ll still be in charge of the other district schools, so she can make sure that Nomers
don’t
get a competitive education. She wins at both ends.”
“I’m still trying to pin down why
I’m
so important.”
“Because you
believe
in bringing us all together. You’re putting the rocks in the river, Kincaid—and you’ve made it work already, if only on a small scale. Wiser and Corporal are having all kinds of problems, but at Magian High, there’s hope.”
“Really?”
“Bagler’s group is going to generate pressure behind the scenes to re-segregate so that they can ram the new NMI Academy option through city council without opposition.”
“
She doesn’t own the whole city council yet?”
“No. Not all. But we don’t know which ones
are still their own agents. And we don’t know which of the teachers at Magian High support the idea of an NMI Academy. Some might be hoping for positions there. We need to work really hard at pulling people together without it
looking
like we’re working really hard to pull people together. But picture it—if we can get the students on board, they’ll resist any changes back, and you know their parents will listen to them.”
“Think it’ll work?”
“Did the Mill Creek dam get bigger over time? It takes more people adding rocks. They don’t have to be forced to do it, or even asked. They just have to see it’s worth building.”