Kingdoms United Academy [DRAFT ONE]

8. It's Mandatory

TWO DAYS LATER

     Cinder was bored that day. The pure happiness and giddiness from her dance invite had run out, and now she was left doing nothing but homework and complaining to Criss that she was bored.

     Criss, however, was not having it. They, in fact, were swamped with literature club work, homework for their advanced classes, and avoiding the inspectors with everything going on. And, of course, Cinder was being annoying during the time they did have off.

     The Student Council was going door-to-door asking for volunteers to help set up the dance. Apparently, not enough people had signed up to help, and the Student Council did not have many members. Most students had enough on their plates.

     Finally, there was a knock at the door.

     Criss got up from their desk and shut their trigonometry textbook. They moved sluggishly on their way to answer the door, briefly glaring at Cinder, who was playing a game on her phone at maximum volume while upside-down on the couch, as they passed.

     "Hi! I'm here to ask if you have free time to help with putting up decorations for the dance!" the student council president chirped.

     Laia Marcet was possibly the most popular person in the school. They were a straight A student. She had never done anything that warranted negative gossip, so her record among the other students was squeaky clean. Most looked at her with admiration.

     The rumor mill did not tell Cinder that there would be sunshine-like energy pouring from her voice and that she would be almost impossible to refuse.

     "Nope, no thank you," Criss said as they were about to shut the door.

     Laia visibly slumped. "Aw."

     Criss paused. They turned around to look at Cinder. "Actually, she volunteers."

     Cinder leapt up and pocketed her phone. "I WHAT?!"

     "Great! Let's go, then! We're setting up in the West Ballroom!" Laia's intense pink eyes stared into Cinder's soul. Laia's gaze did not wander to stare at Cinder's horns or tail or patches of scales. She did not show fear nor disgust, only gratitude.

     Cinder had to go. Thus, she followed Laia into the West Ballroom, where several burnt-out looking council members were still setting up. One kid, sitting next to a growing pile of energy drink cans, added one more to the heap.

     "You can help put up the streamers while I set up balloons!" Laia offered as she handed Cinder a roll of blue streamers.

     "This year's theme is 'frozen garden,'" one half-awake girl sitting on the bleachers added.

     Laia nodded before she perked up and seemed to remember something. "Oh yeah, Tamara, if you have time, could you please turn in my homework for me before it's late? It's on my desk, and I need the stuff turned in to rooms 1205, 2056, and 1452 in Lionheart Hall in respective order."

     The girl on the bleachers promptly stood up and seemed to be full of energy now. "Yep, of course!"

      Laia handed over her dorm keys to Tamara as Cinder watched with horror. She could never.

     After Tamara left, Cinder asked, "You can just let people borrow your keys like that?"

     Laia looked at Cinder with confusion before the energy drink kid piped up.

     They set down their energy drink beside them. "They're like a god to us! We could never betray her."

     Laia's face was smiling, but she looked a little pained. "Thanks."

     Cinder felt a small twinge of jealousy but chose to push it aside as she climbed the ladder to hang up a streamer. Laia instructed her to hang them chaotically, occasionally as though they were intertwining.

     An hour or two passed. Cinder was sweating. She'd spent the whole time climbing ladders and straining to tape up the streamers. She was beginning to wonder why Laia hadn't just used magic or something.

     Cinder hung one more streamer before Laia gave a thumbs up. Laia was hanging another silver balloon next to a pastel blue one.

     The rest of the student council gathered around, murmuring with excitement. Cinder couldn't tell what for as she stepped off the ladder.

     Laia shut her eyes and breathed in deeply. A wave of sparkly magic washed over the room.

     This was why. 

     The streamers Cinder had just hung transformed into hanging flowering vines. Tiny floating lights, like fireflies but without form, wandered about the room. The balloon arch of various sized balloons was lit up from the inside with these lights. The walls were covered in occasional glittering, crystalline rimes of frost, which were not cold to the touch. The walls faded away and were replaced with cobbled walls, and the floor was replaced with a flagstone pavement of sorts.

     It really was a frozen garden. 

     Cinder couldn't wait to dance with Linnea underneath the motes of light.