Page 36 of Zero Happily Ever Afters

“Bitches!” Gael smacked his butt and slid over to his seat, kicking his legs back and forth as he sat on the top part of his desk instead of the chair.

Ugh. Gael’s success would be the most unbearable experience of my life. How was having him treat his casting and competition seriously more exhausting than when he simply goofed off? He’d likely ride this wave, gloating until the end of the year.

It didn’t take long for the halls to crowd back up and I spotted Caleb and Katherine making their way toward the classroom, him holding a stack of books while training with his weighted blocks and her clutching her grimoire tightly to her chest as she playfully shoulder bumped her boyfriend.

“We need to celebrate,” Katherine said. “You destroyed that competition. Right now, I bet every single scout is composing areason and recommendation to their enchanters on why you’re going to be a fan-fucking-tastic intern.”

Caleb grimaced, fighting an awkward expression where his face twisted anxiously. He wanted to believe that, wanted Katherine’s hopes for his success to hold some reality, wanted to see his dedication finally pay off. But this had been a marathon of endurance his entire life and he feared the end of this semester led to a finish line he wasn’t ready to cross.

Oh, Caleb. I wanted to tell him this was merely another marker in the endless race. He’d be pacing himself for more laps, obstacles, and competition for the rest of his life as an industry witch.

“Smile.” Katherine gave Caleb a very stern face, one where he straightened his shoulders and followed her lead. While she didn’t boss him around often, Katherine refused to let Caleb bury his head during his achievements. “You got second place out of 599 people. Everyone sees you as a champion, a threat, an icon. You came so close to outscoring Kenzo. Two points.”

“A real Cinderfella story.” Kenzo brushed past Caleb, mocking tone in his voice. “And like Cinderfella, you’ve got your know-it-all fairy godmother sprinkling fake bullshit in your face.”

“You know, those two points,” Katherine said with a strained smile. “Basically a tie. Which means your branch isn’t half as special as you pretend. Or your roots are lacking. Or both.”

Kenzo scoffed. “Well, there’s that 105-point head start Branchless had. Not much of a tie.”

“I wish I had an excuse for my shortcomings at the ready every single time someone pointed them out.” Katherine locked her eyes on Kenzo, who’d stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked away.

“No. He’s right.” Caleb sulked. “I need to do better if I want to stand out.”

I pulled Kenzo aside as Caleb and Katherine walked into the classroom.

“Can you maybe not be a little jerk who picks a fight at every opportunity?” I asked. “Maybe just try it for the day.”

Kenzo stared absentmindedly, his thoughts quieting, then locked his eyes with mine. “Sure. And maybe you can you try not being a whiny eavesdropping head case, right?”

My face fell flat with shock, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. I had no words.

Kenzo nodded to himself affirmingly. “Looks like we’ve both got things to work on. Maybe we focus on ourownbusiness for the day.”

Goddamn. And with that, he walked right into the classroom.

I used the last minute of passing time to collect myself. Once the bell rang and everyone had taken a proper seat at their desks, I dove right into today’s lesson.

“That demonstration was impressive, and there’s a lot of positives I wanna discuss.” I stared at their eager expressions, indulging before I popped the bubble of their joy because, quite frankly, we didn’t have time to celebrate today. I’d pencil something in for Friday. “But that’ll come later.”

A collective sigh came from the whiners in my homeroom.

“Today, we’re working on interviews because you’ll be expected to demonstrate that very important skill soon. Much like the game where we had to impress the scouts, you’ll be doing something quite similar with interested guild witches.”

“Wait…” Caleb gripped his shaky knee and held back a flurry of confused, anxious questions bouncing through his head. “Interested guild witches? Like enchanters?”

“Enchanters, acolytes, scouts, specialists—hell, Mrs. Whitehurst might even wrangle a few guild masters.” I took a sip of my coffee, letting that reality sink into their heads. “This isone of several mini-events second-year students are expected to take part in as we lead up to the showcase itself.”

“What questions will be asked?” Caleb had a pencil already pressed to his notebook so he could jot down my response.

“These questions will be similar to what any witch applying to a guild would receive,” I explained. “Some of these questions will also be the kind enchanters are expected to handle during a public interview, which makes sense because you’ll be interviewed in the auditorium—”

“What?” Caleb clammed up, his vocalized terror louder than most of the surface thoughts asking the same question. “We’re being interviewed in front of everyone?”

“Yup.”

“Like everyone at the school?” Caleb’s face burned bright red.

“No, absolutely not.”

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