Page 34 of Magical Academy for Delinquents
I dropped the vase.
Dammit.
Chapter 15
I didn’t knowwhat the hell Evan had done to get transferred here so quickly. I didn’t try to find out, even though he stood next to me at the table I’d been sharing with Emelia in a tension-filled standoff for the rest of class, smelling like fucking Guess cologne—a scent he’d worn for years that drove me insane. I used to steal Matthew’s pillowcases after Evan slept over so I could sniff them like a freak. That memory created a knot the size of a walnut in my throat.
I almost screwed up and let my gladiolus petals boil over because of him. His presence was like a hornet sting or a chainsaw hovering over my head. It exacerbated my need to get a move on with my recruitment so I could get the hell out of this school and away from him. I avoided looking at him, didn’t even let my mind ask how he’d already gotten a Metamorphose letterman jacket on his first damn day.
I ditched Emelia when the bell rang and fled the room. I was not talking to that fucker and I didn’t care if it made me a bitch to my newest ally or not. Part of me felt bad about it, but the boiling hot furious part of me wanted to blame him for that, for losing me what seemed to be a new friendship. He made me so angry I got fucking illogical. And that was bad.
I had work to do. I needed to avoid him and find out where the hell Malcolm was hiding. There was no way I was letting him out of tutoring me. I ditched P.E. to find the Detonator. But he wasn’t in the Spell Writing class he was registered for, wasn’t in the nurse’s office where I had to fake a blush and ask for a tampon and a note for gym class in order to excuse my search. I broke into his dorm room. He wasn’t there either.
I took a minute to snoop, fingering his jackets and carefully checking his drawers for illegal substances. But Malcolm’s room was as empty and lifeless as they come. Other than the stacked boxes of microwavable mac and cheese in the corner by his fridge and microwave, the only thing that indicated he even lived here was a framed picture of him and his mother on the desk. I picked it up, noting how pretty she was. He got his blond hair from her. But that was not fucking useful.
Dammit all!
I opened his closet, slid the doors apart, and found an entirely different side of Malcolm. Stacked inside the closet doors were at least thirty board games. I picked one up. Azul. I read the back. It was a tile game with a little bit of strategy to it. I put the box back.
“So … he likes games.” That was something Dad hadn’t seen, or at least hadn’t remembered to report when he’d visited Malcolm’s house over Christmas.
Malcolm was here, on fucking campus, according to other students I randomly stopped in the halls, like a crazy stalker. For a second, I wished he wore an ankle monitor like Zavier. It would make him easier to track down. But then it would make him a hell of a lot harder to get off campus. My mood disintegrated as I checked several guys’ bathrooms and had to temporarily blind some fuckers and burn one who grabbed me in order to get them to back off the BJ talk. I let them all think I had an amulet in my pocket when I did so, because if they realized I was a Darklight then the talk would only get worse. The guys at MAD were ten times as aggressive as my prior academies.
My phone dinged with a text from my mom at lunch.
-Honey, I’m so proud!!! Why didn’t you tell me? We just got the letter from the Pinnacle for your interview!!!-
She used a lot of exclamations and then three smileys. Mom never used emojis. Ever. Seeing them made me give a tiny smile, even though her excitement over my interview was the exact opposite of my excitement. She wanted me to scope out a job, but I was going to go scope out the security.
I texted her back as I ate.
-Awesome! I didn’t want to tell you because it wasn’t a sure thing.-
Technically, it hadn’t been, though I’d known my spell writing was kickass.
-Use the card if you need to get anything for it. Suit. Shoes. Will they let you off campus to get your hair done?-
I laughed as I imagined asking Josephine Nazer to let me leave campus get a blowout. That was gonna be a big hell no. Immediately, though, I pulled out my phone and hit buy on a couple of random items I had in my cart. A little jar of UV activated paint. Either I could use it somehow against Grayson or use it during the interview and mark a path through the Pinnacle with it. I also ordered some granola bars, dried fruit, a new set of thigh high lace socks because they looked cute … then I went back to texting Mom.
-Doubtful I’ll be able to get out of here to do my hair. I’m gonna need a flight too. What date?-
I put the date she mentioned in my planner. Eight weeks away. Over spring break. How convenient. I’d already be home in New York. I crossed my fingers and made a wish that I’d have the guys on board by then. Recon would be easier if I knew what I was looking for on their behalf.
-Gotta go to class. Love you.-
-Love you too, sweet pea.-
She called me by my childhood nickname. She never did that anymore. I had to clear my throat as I slid my phone back into my purse and navigated the crowded hallway. A fight broke out in the knot of students in front of me. Fireballs started flying. I ducked and ran to the nearest stairwell, climbing and using the second-floor hallway, taking another staircase on the far side of the building back down. Luckily, by the time I got back to the first floor, Professors Ho and Lundy seemed to have frozen the arms of the perps in blocks of ice and were dragging them off.
Never a dull day at the Madhouse,I thought as I pulled open the door and walked into Study Hall. That class was my fifth period on Saturday, and boring as all get out because no talking or eye contact were allowed. Professor Torrez, a chubby guy with a goatee, looked up from his magazine and beef jerky when I came up to his desk.
“Yes?” The gap between his teeth was full of jerky and the teriyaki smell of it made me swallow hard.
I made some dumb excuse about research to him so I could escape the scorn of Grayson-influenced classmates and go to the library.
That was where I found my quarry.
What the mother fuck? What damned delinquent student hung out in a library? For fuck’s sake.
