The Dark God

Chapter 28: Callioneil-School

Lina frowns at me. "Calli, why are you so distracted all the time? And when did you get a necklace like that?"

I frown down at the necklace Sera gave me before I look up at Lina again. "It was a gift. Why? Is something wrong?"

Lina shakes her head. "Oh, no! But I want one! Where'd you get it, or . . . who gave it to you?"

"Ummm."

"You don't remember?"

I wince at Lina's indignant tone. "I'm sorry!"

As much as I adore my friend, it probably wouldn't be good to tell her what is actually going on. She sighs.

"Will you tell me what's distracting you, at least?"

I frown. I can't tell her the full truth, but what about . . . Yes, that will work. "I'm just recovering still, that's all."

Lina raises an eyebrow but looks down at her textbook. I move to look down at mine when I hear the soft tapping of a foot against the floor. I raise my head again to see my teacher standing in front of me. I nudge Lina's leg with my foot. She looks up at me, irritation in her eyes, but I just nod my head to Mrs. Leras. My teachers voice is stern, but the corners of her lips tip up into a smile.

"As much as I'm glad that Calli's back, you two need to be focusing on your work instead of chatting. This is your warning. Alright, girls?"

We chime back in unison. "Yes, Mrs. Leras."

"Good. You have . . . ten minutes to finish the assignment." We gape at her. "You two have been talking for five minutes already. You were only supposed to have fifteen minutes."

I flush. "Sorry, Mrs. Leras."

She gives me a small smile and turns away, heading back to her desk.

~~~

Mrs. Leras paces the room. We're handing the assignments up the rows of desks, and she collects them from each row as she passes. When she has them all, she shuffles them into a neat stack and places them on her desk.

"What have you all heard about the school trip this summer?"

We all sit up straighter in our seats. This is the best part of being a Junior in high school. Our school does this trip only for the Juniors, as a transition between Junior and Senior year. It's almost always to somewhere outside the U.S. Last year it was Costa Rica. Rhea, who sits two rows away from me, raises her hand.

"I heard that it's to somewhere in Europe this year."

My classmates start chattering and Lina looks at me excitedly. She mouths, "Where?"

I shrug as Mrs. Leras continues. "That's true, we are going somewhere in Europe, but what are your guesses?"

My classmates pipe up from around the room.

"France!"

"England!"

"Norway!"

"Germany!"

From beside me, Lina calls out her own guess. "Italy!"

Mrs. Leras laughs. "That's enough. We aren't going to any of those countries, we're going somewhere that straddles two continents."

I inhale shakily. Could she be talking about where I think she is? I let it whisper out. "Russia."

Mrs. Leras claps. "Correct, Calli! We're going to Russia."

The bell rings from above her, but we all stay in our seats. Normally, half my class would have already been out the door, but we're too focused on the thought of the school trip. Going home can wait a minute. She grabs a fresh stack of papers from her desk and starts passing them around the room.

"These are your permission slips, and there will be an information night in Thursday. Class dismissed, I'll see you all tomorrow."
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What do you think? Is Calli going to go to Russia? How will her Babushka react to this? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.