Fortnight Field Academy

Chapter 30

Daria pestered us with questions for the rest of the night. Who all was involved? What exactly happened? What were the arrangements of the candles? Was the whether the same inside and outside the dome? What was Aimee chanting? Are we sure we didn't remember anything else?

When she was done, she told us she'd never heard of anything like that and promised to look into it. She also made us swear not to say a word to anybody and act as naturally as possible we could around Aimee. With her family's power and mind control abilities, letting them know we were on to them was very dangerous.

By the time she finally left, we were all exhausted. Maggie, who had class in less than an hour, passed out next to Nix on my bed (again, I tried not to think about that). I sent Aaron home, making sure he got his story straight; he didn't come to class because he forgot to do his homework. Then he would sheepishly ask Aimee to get her father to excuse him. Just pretend to be a lazy goofball. That shouldn't be too hard. "Of course," he said with a yawn, "but all be back later to talk about this." I decided not to think about that now. It would only drive me crazy. So I crawled on the couch and let myself drift off.

The slam of the front door woke me up. "I'm sorry. Were you sleeping?" Maggie asked with overt facetiousness.

"What time is it?" I groaned.

"Almost nine."

I jolted up. "What?! Why didn't you get me? How was math? Was Aimee-"

"Everything is fine," she interrupted. "Aimee hardly paid attention to me, and when she did I pretended not to remember a thing, just like she wanted."

I smiled, impressed. "Look at you playing double agent. So how's Nix?"

"I don't know. She was still asleep when I left."

Our silent communication sent us leaping to my room in less than a second, only to find her sprawled out cold on my bed. She was already looking a little better than she did in the woods. She must've waken up at some point to braid her hair in two neat cornrows. Dried blood and dirt was still glopped on her face, so she didn't take a shower. The moles on either side of her nose had gone down to about the size of the tip of a pen. They were actually kind of cute now.

As quietly as I could, I grabbed a pair of clothes from my closet and snuck out behind Maggie.

"So the plan is still to stay casual around Aimee?"

"Yep," I confirmed. "Just float under her radar."

And for the rest of the day, that's exactly what we did. Coming out of Latin, Maggie and I passed the entire whore hoard. Maggie sagged her shoulders and her eyes glazed over. She was playing the mindless zombie part, at least, I hoped. I shot them a dirty look because that's what I always did. I saw Aaron once, but Aimee's redhead roommate Jordan stood nearby, eyeing us, so we didn't exchange even a glance.

Nix's condition slowly, but surely improved. She could stand up on her own for a little while, but she still slept most of the day. I made it all the way to witch studies, feeling a slight weight off my shoulders, when things, like always, took a turn for the worse.

Barely two steps in the door, Mrs. Ciever slammed and inch thick binder against my chest. "I wasn't planning on giving this assignment this year, but since you feel the need to ditch my class, you're a special case. The directions are on the first page. Turn it in by Monday, or I will report you to the school board."

Wonderful. Now Aimee was causing me problems on top of problems, and she didn't even know it. I trudged my way back to my seat to see what I would be working with.

"When something goes wrong in the Alii world, it is often a witch's job to fix it," the assignment page read. "In this packet, you will find a descriptive list of real Alii Court cases in which witch help was needed. Your assignment is to pick two and write a comparative essay on them. Good luck!"

"Ugh," I sighed banging my head on the desk.

The slight buzz of my phone signaling a text brought me back to reality. Aaron's name flashed on the screen.

A said there's gonna be an announcement at midnight. Stay tuned.

What the hell does that mean? I replied.

I don't know.

For the second day in a row, I didn't pay attention in Mrs. Ciever's class. I felt a little guilty- I actually liked this class.

My eyes bore into the clock until the second, minute, and hour hand all met at the twelve. A loud beep blared over the intercom, and everyone in the class shut their mouths at once.

"Hello Fortnight Field Academy, this is vice Principal Marianne Anderson speaking. Against everything that's been going on lately, we thought you guys deserve some fun. So, since next week is the week before the first full moon of the year, we've decided to let you take it off. There will be activities around the school all week long for anyone who would like to participate. Teachers, we're sorry for the late notice. There will be a meeting Sunday at noon. Thank you for your time and have a good day."

Excited cheers fell over the room. Kids were waving their hands around, thanking the heavens, and high- fiving their friends. Normally, I'd be right there with them, but considering Aimee's "farewell party" yesterday, I felt how Mrs. Ciever looked: suspicious.