Page 123 of Magical Academy for Delinquents
I looked over, stomach churning, as I watched him write on the notebook. I couldn’t be sure if the sweat rolling down his brow was left from before, or if he was as nervous as I was.
I glanced back up at the door, and as my hand moved, so did the door’s gleam. Like it was winking at me.
My heart felt like it was leaking into my body. Like I was a tea bag steeping and somehow my essence was leaving me. Soon there’d be nothing left. Because this serum was all I’d wanted for so long. I’d obsessed over it. Behind that door was the promise of a future for Matthew.
It felt like I was staring at heaven’s pearly gate—waiting to see if it would open for me. So close. Would it be? Would it be true? I’d seen the serum in Dad’s memories. But he had no memory of it actually working.
As I stared at that vault door, adrenaline making me feel light-headed, I wondered if it was all just a dream. This cure. Was it just some pretty picture my dad made up, some windmill giant, some fake Don Quixote-like quest? Something—anything to give me purpose? To get me through those hard times?
My stomach churned at the thought that the serum might not be real. Had I built my entire life around a lie? People did it every day. Convinced themselves things were real. Gave themselves false hope. Was it worth it? Most of them would never know. Their lies were less concrete. Goodness, kindness, joy. They were devoted to ethereal things. Emotions and beliefs.
Me?
I’d built everything around this. Done everything for this moment. Was it worth the slings and arrows I’d shot?
Or would death have been easier?
When they opened that door, would I realize that forgetful bliss was the better option?
I realized I’d stopped breathing. I forced air into my lungs. I might want to die after this job. But I’d be damned if I died before I knew.
Z stepped back and Andros stepped up. And Evan took out his wand. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him start to write.
I shoved aside my thoughts and pulled out the Honesty Amulet.Thoughts are the enemy of action,I repeated one of Matthew’s old lines, the one he’d used on me when he’d built the zip line off our roof. “Don’t think, Hayley,” he’d told me. “Just do.”
I looked down at the amulet. It glowed, a dull orange glass triangle in my hand. I walked over to Malcolm with it and said, “Remember, I’m going in there. Opening drawer 94. But I don’t want to take the cure out of here. I just want to study it.”
Malcolm studied my face. Then he shook his head. “Not good enough. You’re lying. You want it to much.”
I tried again.
Again, Malcolm shook his head. I wanted to yank my hair out in frustration. But I blew out a breath and tried again. “I just want to see the serum so I can help people.”
Malcolm started to shake his head again when Z snatched the Honesty Amulet from me. “I just want to look at this serum. I mean, I’ve heard so much about it, I kinda just want to see if it’s real.”
Malcolm nodded.
Z looked at me.
My heart cracked a little, knowing that I wasn’t going in there, that I wasn’t going to get to pick up the amulet. But outcomes were more important than glory—more important than living out the stupid fantasies in my head. “Get it done.”
The vault door swung open with a creak and Z strode it, me lighting his path.
He didn’t hesitate when a deep, magical voice inside the vault boomed, “State your purpose.”
“Drawer 94. I want to check on the serum, see if it’s real.”
The amulet glowed brighter in Z’s hand and then faded. He pocketed it.
“Access granted,” the magical male voice said.
Z scanned the rows of deposit boxes. He walked through slowly, each step echoing in the metallic vault room. He crouched and checked a number, then turned to me and nodded.
He’d found it.
My body felt like a helicopter. Spinning and whirling and mechanical and completely beyond my control. All I could do was hover as Z slowly pulled open drawer 94, careful to use the side of his hands to pull the curved handle and avoid leaving fingerprints.
Evan came over and grabbed my hand, squeezing tight. I glanced up, momentarily pulled from my out-of-body experience. Evan had almost as much riding on this moment as I did. His jaw was tense, black hair plastered to his forehead.
