Chatoyant College Book 2: Initiates

Chapter 23: Statuary

Despite the amount of work involved, Dawn didn't really regret taking any of her classes; while none was as exciting as Intro to Magic, most of the others (with the notable exception of FYE) were really interesting and fun. Sociology, which was after Intro to Magic, definitely had the second most interesting teacher; Professor Addams was a heavyset Asian woman with waist-length black hair and a penchant for bright colors and tall boots. While they were only just starting out in the study of sociology, Dawn found the class very engaging. Professor Addams had started a debate about race the first day--she was obviously not afraid of controversy. The second day, they were discussing the first chapter of the textbook, which was mostly an introduction to the terms used in sociology. The book had been fairly dry, unfortunately, but Professor Addams had livened it up with examples and metaphors that made Dawn sure she would remember exactly what each term meant--and a good thing, too, since the professor had hinted there might be a quiz during Friday's class.

After sociology, she grabbed a bagel, cream cheese, and cappuccino from the little cafe in the building and hurried to her history class--thankfully, that teacher allowed eating in the class as long as the smell or sound of the food didn't disturb anyone. History wasn't as thrilling as either magic or sociology, but that wasn't the teacher's fault or the subject's; this was a survey class that had to be taken before any other history classes, taking place in a fairly large lecture hall, and so far it wasn't anything she hadn't already learned in high school. At least there was no question but that she was going to do well.

After history, there was a surprise waiting for her. She exited the building with a crowd of other students, head bent, anticipating only a quick walk back to her dorm and probably a little homework, but was stopped by a hand reaching out and grabbing her arm. She jumped and whirled, her eyes wide, automatically trying to pull her arm out of the strong grip. "Whoa! It's just me," said Rico, letting go of her arm just as her eyes fell on him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!"

She overbalanced a little and caught herself on a railing, smiling with relief. "No, I'm sorry! I guess I'm just jumpy." She gave him a quick, one-armed hug that he returned; both of them had books in their other hands. The warmth of his embrace relaxed her the rest of the way, and she closed her eyes for a moment, glad that she didn't have to suspect him, before pulling away. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged, smiling at her. "I was just hanging around after class, enjoying the sun, and then I saw you coming out of the building looking particularly lovely so I thought I'd get your attention. What are you up to now?"

She still blushed at his compliments. "I was just going to head back to Gilkey--I'm done with classes for the day."

"Why don't we both go drop our books off and then go for a walk?" he suggested. "It's such a beautiful day."

Dawn shook her head mockingly at him as they set off on the path toward Gilkey. "You have a strange sense of what's beautiful. I'd have melted by now if the classrooms weren't air conditioned."

Rico laughed. "That's just because you're Canadian. You don't know heat."

"Even Corrie said it was hot, and she's from the city!"

"Well, maybe it is my hot Latin blood, then," he said, putting on an exaggerated Spanish accent.

"I am going to melt," she said as they entered Gilkey. "No air conditioning here. It was fine this morning--the sun must be getting inside better now."

"Yeah, the forest was shading it earlier, I think."

After they'd dropped off their things--Naomi had been sitting on her bed sewing, but had given Dawn a wink--and were heading back outside (at least, Dawn thought, there was a possibility of a breeze out there), Dawn had a thought. "Hey, did you ever notice that statue to the north of Gilkey?"

"The girl in the long dress? Yeah, I remember seeing it on my tour. Do you want to walk past it?"

"Sure." Well, that put one of her worries to rest--she'd been struck by an irrational fear that the statue had only appeared in the last few days, or that only people who were in some way shielded from the faeries' magic could see it. If Rico had seen it on his first visit to the school, then it was probably real.

They walked up the dirt path to it as she and Corrie had done earlier. "Did your tour guide say who she was?"

He shook his head. "I assumed it was Alienor Chatoyant."

"No, it says Vertiline Gravette."

"Never heard of her." He reached out to touch the statue's face, then pulled his hand back with an exclamation.

"What's wrong?" Dawn asked quickly, looking at his hand. Was the statue protected by magic?

He laughed a little, waving his fingers in the air. "The stone's hot. I didn't think."

She laughed too, relieved at the mundanity of it. "You poor thing. Should I kiss it better?"

"I can think of nothing that would help more."