Black Mist: Seedling

9. Trip...and Fall

Rose was sorry to see the semi-solitude of Thanksgiving break come to an end, wanting more time alone in the Arts room, but even she was ready for classes to begin again. As she got up that morning, she wondered if Ellie was going to continue spending time with her. This was answered pretty quickly, as Ellie was waiting for Rose just outside her dorm room in the sitting area. It was strange seeing her in uniform again. She looked like a doll, or maybe an anime character, in her plaid skirt, complete with curly blue ribbons in her hair and knee socks pulled up. Rose looked down at her own uniform and felt sloppy. She had scuffed Converse, messy hair, and no sweater. Her new pants and button down shirt were already too small.

I've grown, she thought, tugging at the untucked ends of her shirt in frustration. She had no idea how she was going to get a new uniform.

"Hi, Rose. You ready for breakfast? Too bad they won't have pie anymore. Are you all finished with all your homework? Of course you are. Me too. It was easy."

Rose smiled as they made their way to the dining hall. It was nice to have someone to--it was just nice to have someone, period. Rose hadn't stayed in one place long enough to have friends the past few years--the last good friends she could really remember were Shayla Fisher and Abigail Thompson in third and fourth grade at St. Matthew's. And those friendships had been shaky at times. Their parents had thought her odd and didn't want her over for sleepovers. She didn't really blame them, in retrospect.

As Rose and Ellie carried their loaded trays towards their table, Porsche Warner, one of the girls from Rose's dorm room sneered, "Ellie, are you sure you want to associate yourself with that freak?"

"Huh?" Ellie looked confused.

"It's called social suicide. People who hang around with freaks are freaks," she explained, flipping her coppery red hair over her shoulder. "Come sit with us."

Ellie shook her head quickly. "No thanks."

Rose was amazed that Ellie stayed. Porsche was a popular kid, and everyone seemed to want to be her friend. But Porsche had made it clear pretty much from the first day that she had no interest in being friends with Rose. She called Rose a freak on pretty much a daily basis. Rose and Ellie ate breakfast in relative quiet after Porsche rolled her eyes and walked away, the clamor of the dining hall providing enough noise to satisfy Ellie. When finished, they headed to the library together. Rose exchanged some of the books on Empathic Magic that she had already finished. She found some on people whose EM had led them to fame, fortune, and failure. That was literally the title of one book, Fame, Fortune, and Failure. It featured a selection of famous painters and sculptors, current actors and athletes, and major figures throughout history on its cover. They made a quick stop at the dorm to drop off their books before heading into class.

Rose stared off into space through most of her classes that day, music rolling through her mind. Since she learned to read music, she began to see the notes as well as hear them. Lines and dots, a staff of notes waving across her eyes. So she looked blankly at her desk, allowing her pen to write whatever it heard. The few times she looked up, her teachers seemed supremely annoyed with her.

««•»»

Alastair had AP US history with Fitzhugh third period, but he wasn't there. Dean Whitley was standing at the front of the room. When everyone had taken their seats, she explained.

"Where's Fitzhugh?" piped Maggie.

"Dr. Fitzhugh," the dean corrected. "Hello, everyone, welcome back from the break. As Ms. Weintraub pointed out, Dr. Fitzhugh isn't here. He traveled to Maine this Thanksgiving and is stuck in the snow up there. He won't be back for a couple of days at least, so I will be covering his class until then. Someone please tell me where you are in the lessons."