Page 19 of Class Studies

The energy around me plummeted as my morning wore on. Even the students who usually treated me with indifference gave me dark looks.

Halfway through my last lecture before lunch, I asked to be excused for my new daily sessions with Doctor Roy. The girl near the door scooted her chair forward, the fast drag loud on the stone floor. She glared at me. “I’m not unnatural.”

“I know,” I said and hurried out of the room.

I rushed to Doctor Roy’s office, keeping my gaze trained on the ground. As his door clicked shut behind me, fury I’d forgotten about boiled to the surface.

In our first session, he told me to tell him everything. So, I had. Because that’s how Damon programmed me. But I’d found out the MA could look at his notes even when he didn’t want them to. Whatever haven he’d become to me died.

After exchanging some pleasantries, I clammed upland, our gazes locked.

Doctor Roy looked away first. “I don’t blame you. In fact, I think it’s a good idea. Outside of the Institute, what you say to your therapist is private.” He gestured around his office. “I believe those rules should apply here as well.” His mad hand motions cut off, and he folded his hands on his lap. “Not all change is made through violence.”

I narrowed my eyes but still didn’t speak.

Doctor Roy sighed and turned to his computer. Solitaire reflected off his glasses. White cards with red and black faces filled a fake green tabletop.

Taking a deep breath, I slipped into a mage trance to pass the time faster. Doctor Roy’s cards shuffled and organized. Little fake fireworks made me yearn to see them in real life.

The bell sounded twice, snapping me back to reality. Partway to standing, I hesitated. Lunch was with students my age. None of my guys had it with me. If the younger students were angry with me, how mad were the older ones who had control over their magic? I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling my side hit the wall again while Cozbi’s magic pinned Saffron to the floor.

Doctor Roy studied me before pulling a foil-wrapped square from his desk. “I’m having a BLT for lunch.” He gave me a knowing look. “Half of it’s got your name on it.”

I scowled. “I’m still not telling you anything.”

“I read Mêler too.” Doctor Roy stood. “The cameras may or may not be working. Saffron’s being dragged through the mud, and you along with him. Not to mention your closeness with Ashe, who’s still a hated MA Officer. I wouldn’t want to eat in the cafeteria, either.” He made an odd snorting noise, his hands moving a mile a minute. “The teacher’s lounges aren’t the best places for a non-magical human, working here of their own violation either.”

I couldn’t stop my curiosity. “Why do you work here?”

“Do you know Sandy?” Doctor Roy asked.

I blinked. “Like my old roommate?”

Doctor Roy meticulously unfolded the foil on his sandwich before holding half of it out for me. “Sandy’s my goddaughter. I took the job to look out for her, but even if she graduates, I can’t leave. There are a lot of kids in here like her. Good kids, stuck in a bad situation.”

I took the sandwich.

He gestured around the room with his hands. “When I see something broken, I want to fix it.”

My heart warmed, but I refused to acknowledge it. “Professor Garnet said something similar.”

“He’s smart for a mage with an underdeveloped frontal lobe.” Doctor Roy let out a whoop of laughter.

I couldn’t stop a smile from cracking my face. Schooling it, I took a big bite and swallowed. “I’m still not talking to you.”

Doctor Roy nodded and turned to his laptop. “I wouldn’t either, honestly.”

I giggled.

He turned his laptop so we could both see it. “Blackjack over red queen?”

“Sure?” I said, confused by why he asked.

“The institute’s broken, A,” he said, double-clicking his mouse. “It needs someone willing to sort through the cards to put it back together.”

I narrowed my eyes and took another bite of his sandwich.

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