Chapter Text
Charlie slid into his usual place next to me, a grin crossing his face. “You’re lucky I was nice and didn’t scare you today. I thought I’d be merciful.”
He and his habit of scaring me to death instead of walking up to someone like a normal person were the reasons for my constant looking around these days.
“How kind.” I quipped, holding my hands behind my back.
How I loved seeing the confused faces of the new children as they passed by. It made up for the bad sleep I usually have.
I felt as though the young ones hardly resembled me at all. Not that I was looking for a mirror of my adolescence, but I liked knowing that there was maybe a kid like me who had the same emotions running through their head as I once did.
Charlie snapped and pointed to a child in the crowd. “Him. He’ll be with me. I’m sure of it.”
I looked at him and tilted my head. “And you’re sure of this because…?”
He sent me a smile. “I can just tell as usual. Unless you want to challenge me?”
I should have known better than to try to beat his guess, but I couldn’t help the next words to come out of my mouth.
“I bet he’s with me, or maybe he’s something new.”
Charlie bristled and beamed, “That was brave of you. Loser has to do the other’s chores for the day. Fair deal?”
I nodded, accepting his terms. My mouth mirrored his grin now. He would most likely beat me once more, but maybe that kid, or any of the others, could end up surprising us.
Both of us stood there for a few minutes, watching the children of all ages come in. Some already seemed to understand their powers, while others seemed to be confused out of their minds.
“Charles and Dorothea?!” A voice called, “A word?!”
We both sighed in unison before turning to the sound of the voice, “Yes, Ms Meryl?”
The older woman beckoned with her head for us to follow her, likely starting towards The Head Room.
Charlie and I exchanged a glance before following her, curious about what we might possibly be in trouble for this time.
He disappeared for a moment before returning to me. “She has papers in her office.”
It amazed me how quickly he could teleport.
“How do you know that it’s about us? There are a bunch of students here. Plus, she always has papers on her desk. She’s an unorganized woman.” I pointed out, our steps falling into sync.
“Eh.” He shrugged, looking around at the number of students coming in. “But calling us in on the first day? I don’t know Dorothy. It sounds like we’re really in for it this time.”
His sarcasm was evident in his tone. I knew him too well.
Even if we did get into some sort of trouble, I knew that neither of us really cared at all. The two of us had a knack for getting into trouble as often as we could, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we laughed it off later.
Once we reached her office, the two of us sat down on one side of her desk. Ms Meryl closed the door with a soft click, then she took her usual seat. She folded her hands together and leaned forward.
“I understand that it’s only the first day of school, but I have some… asks of the two of you.” Ms Meryl appeared hesitant for once, like this truly was a big ask of her.
Charlie shifted in his seat beside me. “Like what?”
“There’s been some Hexes problems in New York City. I might possibly need some… assistance if you will.” She looked between the two of us, examining our reactions. “I know Charles- Charlie can teleport, so I assume it wouldn’t be too much of a hassle.”
Seriously? It was the first day with everyone back, and she was already asking for favors from us. Just because Charlie and I stayed here year long, she deemed us as “responsible”.
But I knew that we didn’t have much of a choice right now.
“We can go.” I agreed, “Just not tonight. But maybe tomorrow, before school starts.”
I glanced at the boy beside me before focusing my eyes back on our principal.
Every night before the first day of school (don’t ask me how long ago it started), my friends and I would sneak out and go to the nearby lake. A lot went into the planning of the simple act, due to the strict policies of the school.
But we pulled it off every night.
Ms Meryl nodded. “That can be arranged. I’ll let you know the fine details tomorrow. I’m sorry it’s such short notice, but we can’t be too safe with them so close.”
Ms Meryl apologizing? Now that’s something new.
With that, she swiftly sent the two of us out of her office, making the meeting short-lived.
Charlie ran a hand through his dark curls as we stalked the busy halls of the school. “I guess we’re still on for tonight then. At least they didn’t ruin that for us.”
The halls were quieter than before, seeming that most children had finally settled into their dorms and so on. Sure, our school lacked a lot of things, but it never lacked dorms.
Shadowmyst Academy, everyone.
He turned to me, pausing our stroll. “I’m gonna head to my dorm, see how Will is settling in.”
I nodded, “Yeah. I’m probably gonna head back as well. I think Odette and Callie got here a bit ago. But I’ll see you tonight, right?”
“Yes, yes,” Charlie responded, walking backwards now towards his dorm. “That brilliant plan of yours will come together once again. I trust that it will work like every other year.”
I grinned as he almost ran into a wall and had to hold back my laughter.
He shot me a quick look before disappearing down another hallway.
This was going to be a fun year.
“You’ve outdone yourself, Callie…” I gestured to her portion of the room. She somehow seemed to make the small space her own.
Calista smiled. “As always. I must outdo myself last year. Duh.”
Odette lay on her bed lazily as her objects floated into place. Her braids sprawled out against her pillows as she moved her belongings with her mind.
Sounds crazy, but it’s just her telekinesis.
Well, I guess that is kind of crazy to some people.
“So,” Odette started. “How was spending yet another summer here with Charlie when I clearly invited you to come stay with my family?”
I laughed and sat on the edge of her bed, swinging my legs a bit. “I’m sorry, okay? Ms Meryl needs me to watch the kids during the summer when they have nowhere else to go. And I didn’t want to burden your family with another annoying kid.”
Calista sighed from another part of the dorm, “And what about you, Dorothy? You deserve to have a break, too.”
I shrugged. I never went home. Not a single summer I had been here. I didn’t really have a place to go back to. In all honesty, I never had a good relationship with my parents. They weren’t like us. They just sent me and left me alone. No contact. No nothing. That was the last I had ever heard from them, and that was seven years ago.
But Charlie had made it better. He always stayed, too. His parents died in a fight against the Hexes, but they wished for him to just stay at this school rather than go to foster care.
So maybe it wasn’t too bad.
“I know, I just…” I trailed off, trying to find the words. “I just feel like it’s my duty to be here.”
Odette hit my side, causing her book to fall from the air. “Ha. Duty.”
“You dropped your book.” I hit her back, but lay down next to her, staring up at the ceiling. “But seriously, I missed you guys a lot. It felt weird staying here alone for three months.”
I meant it. The room felt fuller when the two girls were with me. The air felt a little less tense, and the world seemed to finally take a breath.
They made this place calmer than before.
“We missed you, too,” Callie called, making me smile at my spot from Odette’s bed.
I sat up and attempted to avoid Odette’s flying objects as I crossed the room to my dresser. I started to search for a swimsuit in the mess of clothes.
“Remember, we’re swimming tonight.” I reminded my friends as I pulled out a two-piece swimsuit to wear.
“We know. We do it every year.” Odette responded, also sitting up in her bed.
“Don’t have an attitude, Dottie.” Calista scolded in that motherly tone of hers. “She’s just reminding us, as you usually forget until the last minute and make it our problem.”
I laughed. It was funny when Callie got all mother-like and chastised us. One day, when she has kids, I would tell them about how she chided me for the same things.
“Just be ready in twenty. Both of you.”