Sophie wasn't expecting her first day back at school to be so jarring.
When she arrived the next morning, she was late of course, and the grounds were eerily silent. She hurried across the dewy grass and over to the doors of the glass pyramid. The smell of the morning she usually found comforting put her on edge today. Fog stayed low to the ground, although it curled and inched towards her as if it were alive. The gnomes that tended to the gardens looked up as she passed, stared for a moment, and then continued with their work. It felt like the whole campus was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.
The orientation room was empty when she stepped in, and her footsteps taunted her with echoes as she hurried across the hall. Sophie found her way to the emerald halls of the level 4 wing, grabbed her books from her locker and rushed off to find Magnate Leto's office.
When Sophie finally reached the apex of the glass pyramid, she paused. She hadn't exactly left on good terms with Mr. Forkle yesterday. She reached her hand out, but before she had the chance to knock, a voice called out from the office. "You can come in, Miss Foster."
Sophie slowly opened the door and peeked her head. "How'd you know it was me?"
"I figured you'd be needing your class schedule."
"Yeah, I do."
"I've also had security cameras installed recently." Magnate Leto clicked his tongue, motioning to an iPad on the desk in front of him, displaying an image of the hallway outside his office where Sophie had just been standing. "You can never be too careful with all the recent Neverseen chaos."
"Right."
It was still hard to get used to how different Magnate Leto looked. His dark hair and piercing blue eyes were nothing like the ruckleberry smelling Mr. Forkle she was used to seeing.
Sophie cleared her throat. "For what it's worth, I wanted to, um, apologize."
Magnate Leto raised an eyebrow.
She took a deep breath, then let it all out in one go. "I wanted to apologize for freaking out on you yesterday and for going off to New York to look for Keefe without asking and for not being completely honest with you about what happened. Even though I still think you shouldn't tell the Council, I'm sorry."
Sophie expected a lecture, but instead he said, "Apology accepted. And we will be informing the Council this afternoon."
Sophie's shoulders dropped.
"You said you weren't being completely honest yesterday. Is there anything else you need to tell me?"
Sophie hesitated. "Yeah... I think... I think I can teleport to people."
Magnate Leto leaned forward in his chair, steepling his fingers. "How so?"
"Well," she swallowed. "Yesterday when I was trying to teleport out of New York, I was thinking about Keefe, since we went there to look for him," she added the last part quickly before continuing. "He was the place or person I guess, I was picturing when the void opened. And I remember now that when we were at the airport, there was a boy being chased by the police across the tarmac."
"And you think that was him?"
"He had blond hair, and although I didn't see it, I'm pretty sure he levitated. He acted like Keefe would act too. But I realized only after we were back."
"Have you tried to teleport to him again?"
"Not yet."
Magnate Leto's expression was impossible to decipher. He sat still for a long time, staring off into space. Sophie really wished he would say something. The printer started running in the corner, startling them both in the silence of the room.
"Am I malfunctioning again?" Sophie asked quietly.
Magnate Leto shook his head. "No, no you're not."
"Then why did I only figure out I could do this now?"
He sighed. "Your ability is evolving, I believe. Take a virus for example. Naturally, there is going to be a cure developed for that virus, designed to kill it. But in order to stay alive, the virus adapts so it can continue to live and thrive like any other living thing."
(sOuNd FaMiLiAr?)
"So my ability is a virus?"
"I'm saying it's acting similar to a virus. When the void wasn't opening for you, your teleportation skill reacted, and then developed in order to keep you alive. When death threatened you, your body adapted to avoid it. When a virus is threatened, it adapts to stay alive. Make sense?"
Sophie exhaled. "Yes, but it would have been more comforting if you used a different example. Now I'm going to be worried that I'm a huge walking virus."
Magnate Leto chuckled, "I can assure you, there is nothing wrong with your ability. It's evolving, which can only be a good thing. It may make you more powerful."
"Are my other abilities going to evolve as well?"
"I guess we'll have to wait and see. It's always a mystery with you, isn't it Miss Foster."
Mysterious Miss F.
"Unfortunately," Sophie sighed, shoving the memory away. Magnate Leto stood up and made his way over to the printer.
"Well, In the meantime, you should get to the elite towers. And may I suggest you clean up? No offence, but you look very... shall I say, out of it, Miss Foster." He handed Sophie her schedule. "Lady Candance is your first class, and I can't imagine she'll be happy with your tardiness."
✿✿✿
Sophie dragged herself through the rest of the day, knowing she must look a mess and absolutely horrible to everyone. People definitely stared when she put her books back in her locker at the end of the day. She gave a weak goodbye to her friends as they lightleaped away, but not before she caught their worried expressions.
Sophie was about to head home when she spotted a lock of blonde hair across the campus.
"Marella!"
The pyrokinetic turned around at the sound of her name as Sophie sprinted through crowds of prodigies to meet her. Something that looked like a mix between shock and fear crossed her face when Marella saw Sophie barrelling towards her, and she quickly tried to escape the hallway.
"Marella!"
Sophie caught her arm. "Marella?"
A groan came from Marella, loud enough to be heard even over the busy corridor. When she turned, Sophie noticed her eyes were glassy.
"What is it," she spat.
Sophie was taken aback. "I—I wanted to check in on you."
"Yeah, well, I'm fine." And with that she stormed off.
"Wait!" Sophie caught up to her again.
Marella wheeled on her, and this time she looked only angry, any trace of her sadness now gone. "Can't you tell I want to be left alone?"
"You don't mean that."
"And how would you know?"
"Because I understand," Sophie said, catching her attention. "You probably feel awful right now, think it's your fault that your dad's..." she cleared her throat. "But it has nothing to do with you, okay? Joining the Neverseen was his decision, something that wasn't influenced by you."
Marella paled. "I—what—how..."
"You say you want to be alone, but really you just need a friend to talk to. I get it."
Her annoyance returned. "Really? You get what it's like to have someone you loved and thought you could trust turn their back on you?"
Involuntarily, an image of Keefe filled her head, but Sophie shook it away a moment later. That was... different.
"Have you told anyone?" Marella asked quietly.
Sophie shook her head. "No one knows except the people who were there."
Marella looked relieved. "Good. Keep it that way, will you?"
"Of course. You sure you're okay?"
Marella sighed. "No, but please stop bugging me about it. Besides, I already talked to Fitz."
"Fitz?"
"Yeah, Fitz. He actually understood, with Alvar and all."
"Why not Biana?"
Marella smirked. "Someone jealous?"
Sophie's eyes widened. "What? No, I don't like Fitz anymore."
"Who said anything about liking him?"
"I—you know what? Nevermind. I asked because Fitz tends to get... upset when Alvar is mentioned."
"Yeah I've noticed. But he was surprisingly... calm. I guess he just needed someone to talk to that understands beside his own family."
That definitely wasn't the most shocking thing Sophie had heard recently, but it still surprised her.
"But back to the crush thing," Marella gave a devilish grin, reminding her much too much of Ro, "if you don't like Fitz, who do you like?"
"Nobody," Sophie muttered, glancing around to see if anyone heard. But the halls had cleared out quickly.
"Yeah, that's a lie."
"I'm not ly—"
"Is it Dex?"
"No, he's my cousin."
"Tam?"
"No! Marella sto—"
"Keefe?"
The name made her freeze. She wondered if it was possible to pale and blush at the same time.
Marella's jaw dropped. "You like Keefe!"
Sophie scanned the lockers again anxiously. "Keep your voice down!" she whisper-hissed.
"So you admit it!"
"I didn't admit to anything!"
"That enormous blush on your cheeks said enough." Marella laughed when Sophie reached up to touch her face as if she could somehow wipe her flush away. "You know, you two would make a cute couple. Chaotic—that's for sure, but cute."
Sophie didn't think it was possible for her to get any redder. Marella was mad at her merely thirty seconds ago, and now she wanted to talk about this?
"What about you?" Sophie asked, turning the conversation around. "Do you like Fitz?"
The pyrokinetic didn't give anything away. "And why would I tell you that?"
Sophie gaped.
"Don't try making this about me, this is about how you and Keefe like each other," Marella said with a sly smile.
"Keefe likes me?" Sophie said, her voice small. Panic and another emotion she couldn't make out started creeping in on her.
"Uh, duh."
"Did he tell you?"
"No, but it's really obvious."
"Then you can't be sure."
"Do you want him to like you?"
"I don't know!"
"But you like him."
"I never said I liked Keefe!"
"You never denied it."
"That's because you're not giving me a chance to!"
"Then tell me right now. A simple yes or no question. Do you, or do you not like Keefe?"
Sophie struggled to find words since most of her brainpower was focused on trying to rid the wild blush off her face and defend herself against Marella's bombardment of questions.
"Keefe left again. He made me feel awful. Is still making me feel awful. I'm mad at him," She finally settled for, meaning every word. The truth in them made tears prick the corners of her eyes, but she pushed them away rapidly.
"You're avoiding the question. You can be mad at someone you like."
"I don't have time for crushes," Sophie exasperated, wishing her voice was less shaky. "My life is busy enough as it is."
Marella clicked her tongue. "Sophie Foster, there is always time for love. And in your case?" She tossed her braids over her shoulder, leaving Sophie dumbfounded as Marella marched haughtily away. "It's love for a boy named Keefe Sencen."
Updated: 7/9/21