There has to be some mistake.
It's only been a week into classes and she's already behind Scarrow in three. How did this happen? Teagan throws him a nasty glare as he holds his well-marked paper with a smug smirk that she wishes she could zap with a petrifaction spell. See how he likes to have his face frozen in that position.
"Carful Monicroff, you keep frowning like that and you'll put trolls out of business." Scarrow taunts her in passing.
Lila scoffs at him next to her.
"I rather like trolls."
Teagan startles at the quiet voice next to her on the other side, Scarrow and Lila look surprised too as Chrys seems to have appeared out of thin air. She smiles dreamily at them.
"They're so cute and vicious and warty too. "
Scarrow's face is pricelessly confused for a moment before he shakes his head and resumes sneering at them.
"Just face it Monicroff, you got lucky at last year's S.A.M's. This year - I won't hold back." He threatens rather full of himself.
Teagan rolls her pretty blue eyes at him, Lila had told her it makes for an excellent level of sass, especially against an annoying boy. "Please, you think I was trying last time Scarrow? You don't know a thing yet."
He scowls at her and Lila pats her proudly on the back as they walk away from him coolly. Teagan likes the feeling of control she's having right at the moment.
"Care to bet on it."
She stops.
"Pardon?" She glances back at him with narrowed eyes. "What is that supposed to me? Are you insinuating that you can beat me this year?
"I know I can. I will. But academics are last year's quarrel. This year we'll sweeten the challenge." Scarrow crosses his arms with a sly smirk on his face.
Teagan wants to punch it off like she has before. But she refrains. "I don't make bets with idiots." She knows he's not. And it is an intriguing situation - but she wants to go through this year as painlessly as possible.
She turns away.
"What? Are you scared you'll lose, Monicroff?"
That does it. Her pride rises up and she hates that about herself as she whirls around on him and stomps into his personal space, disgust evident on her face as she pokes a finger at him. "I'm not scared of anything Scarrow. Least of all you." She snaps venomously, her eyes crackling angrily at him.
For some unfathomable reason, Scarrow seems to find this amusing. He scoffs in her face and smacks her finger out of the way. "Fine then. Try outs for Gracers are tomorrow. Get the captains spot on the second year team and I might consider you a challenge."
"That makes no sense. One, why would I do that? And two, I don't need to prove anything to you to be challenging."
"Loser has the shame of acknowledging the superiority of the winner in front of everyone."
Teagan's eyes narrow harder at him. "And the winner gets what? Gratification in proving she's better?"
"And the loser's acceptance." Scarrow sounds awfully smug about this.
Teagan decides it's not worth it. She already considers herself the best, she doesn't need Scarrow to acknowledge that.
"I have better things to do."
She aims to walk away again and this time ignores him utterly.
"You're just scared because no Monicroff has ever been Captain of the Gracers. Especially not a girl." Scarrow taunts.
Teagan's eyes widen as she stops again. Her ego tugs. No Monicroff has ever been captain of the Gracers? Ever? Why not? Why hasn't her father told her about this? This could be her chance to put a name in their history. The first Monicroff to captain the Gracers of Ridgemoor.
That sounds tempting.
"I think we'd better go." Chrys says, picking at her skirt as if to pull off invisible lint.
"I agree with crazy girl. We should leave this alone Teagan." Lila tugs at her arm
Teagan sighs. She's never turned down a challenge yet. She whirls sound and copies Scarrow sneer and holds out her hand.
"You've got yourself a deal Scarrow. When I beat you though - well sweeten the bet and say the loser has to clean the lavatories for a week." She doesn't know why she adds that part, maybe to add to his humiliation when he loses.
Scarrow sneers back and takes her hand forcefully. They shake. "Deal. Prepare your cleaning supplies then, while I prepare my acceptance speech for when I accept your humiliation."
Teagan snorts ungracefully and flips a hand at him airily. "The only thing you're going to be accepting, Scarrow, is your utter defeat."
She walks away proudly before he can ruin her excellent comeback.
"Um - Teagan?" Lila cuts into her friend's superiority high. "Do you know how to ride a horse?"
"No, why?"
Lila sighs and pinches her nose tightly as Chrys looks at Teagan as if she's a strange sort of troll.
"Do you know how to ride a Pegasus then?" She says in her soft voice.
Teagan looks at them in confusion. . . Then it dawns on her. "Oh."
Lila nods as if to say, you're an idiot. "Yes. Oh."
Perhaps she should have thought this challenge through before she accepted it.
She just might have bitten off more than she could chew. . . Again.
-
'
'
'
"You want to what?" Thad looks at the red haired girl squirming in front of him as his cousin and a weird girl that's following them lately nod slowly at him.
"You heard me, Thad."
He sighs and pushes his glasses on top of his messy black head. "I was hoping I'd heard wrong. Why on earth would you accept a challenge from Scarrow with such humiliating consequences if you don't know how to ride a flying horse?" Thad sounds exasperated. Teagan expects he deserves to.
"But Lila said you do!" She perks up hopefully.
Thad throws his cousin a tired look. "I do. . . I was going to try out for Gracers myself this year..."
Teagan looks up with wide eyes and clasps her hands begging him for help. She would never do this for anyone else.
"Anyone ever notice how pretty the sky is when it's quiet?"
They all look at Chrysanthemum's dazed face as she stares out of the open window of the common room they were sitting in.
Silence for a moment.
"Alright then." Thad shakes his head and resumes the present problem. "I'll take you out tomorrow, try outs are in the afternoon. . . Maybe you could at least get into the team?"
"I have to get Captain!" Teagan says, tugging at her hair worriedly. However was she to become Captain like this?
Thad holds up his hands and pats the air. "Relax. Captain positions don't open until the end of practice month. The heads of the sport watch to see who's deserving of the position before they set the try out." Thad explains kindly.
Lila deflates next to him as does Teagan.
"Oh good. " Lila says in relief. "Because I thought Teagan was going to have to scrub toilets for a week for a moment there."
Teagan gives her a flat look. "Your belief in me is so touching Lila."
Lila shrugs with a smile.
"Does anyone have any extra Goblin toes per chance? I have this awful itch that a potion would help with. It needs goblin toes though, there so hard to find these days." Chrys says suddenly, coming out of a trance as she rummages through her bag with a dainty hand.
They stare at her. It's silent for another moment.
Thad points at the girl over his shoulder. "I'm sorry, who is she again?"
Chrysanthemum brightens suddenly and puts out her hand, she has spider webs wrapped around it which she brushes on her skirt nonchalantly. "Chrys Mainsfield. Nice to meet me." She says easily.
Thad takes her hand unsurely. "Um - Thad Westing. Please to meet you, I guess."
"Well, I should hope it is. I'm pleased to know me so I'd like it if you were too. Anywhos, has anyone seen my dragon fruit snappers? I had one in my bag the other day, I hope he didn't escape." She looks around slowly, her violet eyes flickering around the room. "Those things tend to like a good nip at people now and again."
Thad blinks at her, as do Lila and Teagan.
"Dragon snappers? Why - student aren't allowed to carry dragon snapper with them." Thad says, his tone almost accusing.
Chrys shrugs, evidently not bothered by this. "I brought him from home. Doesn't go anywhere without me. Must have gotten cramped in my bag though. Oh well, I'm sure someone will yell when they find him." And she calmly buttons her bag and smiles at them.
Neither young mage in training have anything to say to that.
"Riiiight. So as I was saying. Tomorrow, bright and early, we'll get you on a Pegasus and hopefully you'll figure out how to stay on long enough to get into the team." Thad says, scratching his head and glancing at Chrys who's swaying on the balls of her feel, smiling a strange dreamy smile at no one in particular.
Teagan nods in thanks. The bell chimes signaling dinner and the end of another day at Ridgemoor.
Teagan decides she likes days like this.