Iridescent

30| Camp

I left the class feeling cold. The sky was striking blue, the sun was warm on my back, but I didn't seem to enjoy it. I went to Defence Class, sitting at my usual seat with Yasmine, and consciously began to dim my voice as I spoke to her.

Overly enthusiastic voice?

"Have you heard? One of our healers is missing," Yasmine whispered. "She hasn't been to work."

Only one missing? I'm pretty sure we got rid of two more.

"Really?" I feinted surprise but also toned it down with a look of weariness as though I was too tired to care.

"Yeah! First, we have that boy Robin and now we have a healer gone too," Yasmine tapped her pencil on the table. "I wonder if it has anything to do with Iridescent."

"Me too," I said quietly, a dull ache in my chest that I was learning to grow numb to. I watched Professor Mortimor stride in with her heels clicking and slanted my glance to my tablet. As I wrote the date, I realised... maybe the other two people weren't in this school. They were from somewhere else? Maybe they weren't enrolled and only disguised themselves here. It wasn't exactly hard to exit and enter the universities grounds and it wasn't exactly hard to pretend to be a student here.

Whoever was walking with the girl the other day should also be part of this whole dealing. Except, I didn't see her face again. With the thousands of people on campus, I doubt I'd recognise her when I do see her again.

During class, the subject and Yasmine's small chatter managed to take my mind away from the incident with Kristen, though the memory was still there in the background, probing my thoughts.

I left the class with Yasmine, who enthusiastically linking her arms with me as she read her sheet of yellow paper. "Camp! This is the first camp I've ever had since I got into this Academy."

I offered a small smile at her and folded the sheet of paper, tucking it into my pocket.

"I like your accessory, by the way," Yasmine was eyeing the blue tassel that swung around on the handle of my sword. I caressed it softly, the tip of my fingers slipping through.

"Thank you, you can have it if you want."

"Really?"

I was already untying the tassel from Reflecta and handing it to her with a smile, an unpleasant tightness in my throat. If there was regret in there, it was all too late by then.

"Absolutely."

***

Night had fallen quickly. I went to my dorm after dinner and checked my phone. My eyes widening when I remembered the text I still had to reply to.

My dad.

I inhaled deeply, my thumb hovering over his message, pausing when my phone gave another vibrate.

Thanks for the lights. I see someone is not completely cold-blooded.

My worst nightmare

I rolled my eyes but I already felt my smile slip onto my face. With avoidance mechanism on full alert, I checked his message first. Jaxton gets priority only for that reason, of course!

Me? Cold-blooded? With your cold hands and all, I'm pretty sure you're the reptile here.

I don't recall ever having any physical contact with you, my girl. Remind me?

How testy.

Don't pretend you don't know. And, word of warning, I am NOT your girl.

;)