SpellShocked (SpellShocked Saga: Book 1)

Chapter 29 - Vive La Révolution

I was walking back to the dorms after a late-night stint in the library – Ryo snoozing gently on my shoulder – when I turned a corner and almost walked straight into Olivia. We both stalled just in time to avoid bashing into each other.

"Sorry!" I shouted in surprise, feeling Ryo stir slightly.

"Oh, Charlie. Don't worry about it, I wasn't looking where I was going," she mumbled.

She made to walk around but I blurted, "W-Wait! Are you okay?" I had never seen Olivia like this; she was usually perpetually smiling, but now she looked like someone had seriously pissed her off and that traitorous little voice in my head was telling me that it was because I had almost walked straight into her.

She sighed and said, "It's nothing, I'm fine."

She definitely was not fine, but I was debating whether to push the subject or not. We were friends, but we weren't super close yet and I didn't want to intrude. I opted to let her make the choice for herself.

"O-Olivia...Um...you c-can talk to me...you know, i-if you want to. I'm pretty g-good at listening."

She thought for a second before replying. "Want to come a walk with me?"

"Yeah," I smiled a little, pleased that she seemed comfortable enough to open up to me, "I'd love to."

I sent a quick text to Hunter to let him know I would be a little bit later in getting back, and the reason why, so that he wouldn't worry.

We walked the same route that we usually ran in the morning and completed a full lap without speaking. I gave her the space to talk and half way through the second lap, she did.

"I'm sorry I'm in such a foul mood," she said, "It's not because of you though, don't worry."

"What h-happened though?" I asked, slightly relieved, but still anxious for her.

"My father happened," she muttered darkly.

"Wh-what did he do?"

"He's an elitist prick," she spat, the venom with which she spoke shocking me.

"My father is one of the members of The Council, and he and my mother are all about status and how the family presents itself. I have two older brothers and an older sister, all of who became Sentinels after leaving MerPrep, with Foci in Evocation or Abjuration."

"I'm the supposed black sheep of the family; my parents think Divination is useless and that I won't make anything of myself with such a 'weak' Focus. Which is bullshit! Being a powerful sorcerer is about how you use your Focus, not about what it is. I'm a damn good sorcerer, I know I am."

"But when I told him I was competing in The Clash this year, he tried to make me drop out. Said I couldn't match up to people with a 'real Focus'."

"He actually said that?!" I gasped.

"Yeah!" she yelled, throwing her hands up. "I'm sick of him and his obsession with image. I'm not allowed to prove myself because he's already decided I'm not good enough. All he wants me to do is come home at weekends, look presentable at Council events and be the perfect, pretty little pin-up girl for the Lewis family."

"That's disgusting," I spluttered, horrified that someone could have such a low opinion of their own daughter, just because of something as stupid as their magic ability; it was even more horrible since he was also completely wrong about her talents.

"Right?!" she cried, "I thought about competing before just to prove him wrong but then I decided not to; I wasn't ready before now and I didn't want to compete just to prove him wrong. This year I'm competing for me, because I know my own worth and I want to give myself the best shot at what I want for my future. He can take his opinions and shove it."