Reckless Magic (3 page)

I prayed that they would not notice me
and crouched even closer to the wall. I could not have felt more
humiliated. And although, the gorgeous one did look in my
direction, he acted as though he couldn’t see me and they continued
down the steps.

“
What are we doing here
Talbott?” the one named Kiran demanded, almost growled.

“
Please sir; you know what
we are doing here,” Talbott replied, almost too softly to be
heard.

“
No I do not,” Kiran snapped
again. “Aren’t there any qualified girls in London? This is
ridiculous. I don’t even know where we are. This is the ugliest
place I have ever seen. I cannot possibly be expected to spend the
next two years of my life here. I want to talk to my father,” his
voice had almost turned into a whine, but his accent was so sexy
that I could hardly tell.

“
There are none in London
with her pedigree and power. Your father looked. Your father looked
everywhere. And this place is called Omaha…. Nebraska. And I’m
afraid he will not be moved; this was his idea,” Talbott said
humbly but persistently. Although inferior in looks, he certainly
seemed to be more mature.

“
This is ridiculous. Where
is she?” Kiran looked around himself with such pride and arrogance
that I found his beauty quickly fading. Crouching closer to the
wall, I could not believe they still hadn’t noticed me.

“
Please calm down. I believe
you will meet her soon; but we must get to class now or you will be
late on your first day,” Talbott half smiled and started walking in
the direction of the academic buildings, Kiran followed slowly
behind, arms crossed, looking less god-like and much more
child-like.

I breathed a sigh of relief and slowly
stood up. Reluctantly, I collected my papers and adjusted my
uniform, which consisted of a navy blue pleated skirt and white
button down, collared shirt, knee high navy blue stockings and of
course the classic prep school tie: navy blue with red plaid. I
gathered my nerve and headed in the same direction as Talbott and
Kiran, already afraid of the rest of my day.

2.

My thoughts were preoccupied as I
walked into class, not realizing that English had already started
until I stumbled clumsily through the door. Not only was I starting
school a week later than everybody else, but I walked in loudly to
a class that had already started…. awesome. The teacher, a skinny,
bald man, dressed in a very nice, navy blue suit and tie, looked up
from a text book and glared at me.

“
Why do I even bother to
start class when we’re going to have all of these interruptions?”
he said, still glaring at me.

“
Um, I’m sorry, I’m new,” I
replied guiltily, my face turning bright red once again.

“
Obviously. Are you Eden?”
he asked, speaking through his nose.

“
Um, yes, Eden Matthews,” I
clarified, just to be sure, but obviously he knew that. I could
barely contain my nerves. Usually a shy person, I hated having the
attention on me, and at that moment, the entire class was staring,
probably laughing, at me.

“
Nobody’s laughing at you,”
the teacher declared out of the blue. “I’m Mr. Lambert, welcome to
Honors English. Please take a seat over there,” he tried to smile
and pointed to the back of the classroom where an empty desk sat in
between none other than the two boys from earlier.
Fantastic.

Although I had been oddly reminded by
Mr. Lambert that nobody was laughing at me, I still felt all eyes
on me as I walked quickly, head down, to my desk and slid in as
quietly as I could. I glanced around the room and realized,
thankfully, that no one was looking in my direction; well no one
except Kiran who was sitting directly to my left and staring openly
at me. I quickly pulled my long hair from over my shoulder and
brushed it in front of my face. I hoped to build a wall of tangled
curls to separate me from this curious stranger.

I fumbled through my back pack looking
for the same book that everyone else was holding but I suddenly
found it hard to concentrate. My bag was full of books for every
class and the covers all began to look the same. My vision blurred,
I squinted to give myself a clearer view. I could hear the lecture,
but it sounded far off, and I was beginning to feel dizzy. My
breath became quick and shallow; I grabbed on to my desk with both
hands, trying to find my bearings.

As if from everywhere around me, I
started to feel a wave of heat overcome me. My skin began to
prickle again as if I were going through a low dose of electroshock
therapy and there was a high pitched sound resonating in my ears.
And then I could feel my head hit the ground as I slid back out of
my desk and onto the floor.

“
Good grief, I’m never going
to get through this lecture,” I heard a very exasperated voice and
wondered what a nasally man was doing in my bedroom. I was trying
to sleep.

“
What did you do? This kind
of thing is strictly prohibited Mr. Kendrick, I don’t care who you
are. You will obey your father’s ordinances when you are in my
class,” the aggravated voice kept going on and on…. just let me
sleep!

“
I didn’t do anything!” a
familiar English accent defended himself. Where had I heard that
voice before? “I don’t know what happened to her, she just fell
over!”

“
Ms. Matthews, Ms. Matthews,
can you hear me?” It was the annoyed voice again. I could hear him,
but I didn’t want to; I wanted to go back to sleep.

And then it hit me. Oh no! I’d done it
again. Well, I don’t know what I’d done again, but I was too afraid
to open my eyes and find out. Strong, small hands gripped my
shoulders and began to shake me roughly.

“
Maybe you should slap her,”
I high pitched girl’s voice offered. That got my
attention.

“
What have I done now?” I
groaned, closing my eyes even tighter. I refused to open them and
assess the damage I had just caused. I also refused to be slapped,
I wasn’t unconscious anymore.

“
You’ve fainted,” the
English accent that I could now identify as Kiran’s said plainly. I
thought I could also detect a smile in his voice and maybe
something else…. amusement?

“
What else?” I groaned
again.

“
What do you mean what else?
Well, you’ve also interrupted my class,” Mr. Lambert’s unmistakably
irritated voice replied impatiently. “What’s wrong with you, do you
need to go to the nurse?”

I finally summoned enough courage to
open my eyes. The world around me was perfectly intact, perfectly
as it should have been and I was completely confused. This wasn’t
the first time I had awoken in a daze after experiencing similar
feelings. This was just the first time I had awoken to things still
normal around me. Usually, it was all mass panic and chaos, due to
lethal insects or flooding waters, or even burning flames. But,
truthfully, I much preferred a crowd of confusion. I was inwardly
overjoyed there wouldn’t be mass lawsuits and a new school in my
near future.

“
No, I am fine, thank you,”
I think I was actually smiling on the outside now too, because the
entire class of faces staring down at me were looking more confused
than ever. If only they had known what could have happened to them;
if only they had known that miraculously their lives were saved. I
could feel my smile get bigger and I knew without a doubt that I
looked crazy.

I tried to push myself up onto my
elbows, but was still a little shaky and fell back down. A nervous,
almost hysteric laugh escaped me and it was the only sound in the
room. I had officially begun my first day at my new school as a
freak. A swarm of students stared down at me, a sea of white and
navy blue, with islands of hanging red plaid ties.

I decided to try to sit up again; I
needed to move since nobody else had moved from gawking at me. As I
struggled, I could see that Kiran and Talbott, both of whom were
the closest to me, due to the proximity of their desks, attempted
to help me. I watched as their arms reached out to grab mine and
assist me in sitting up. As soon as their skin touched mine, I
started all over again with the heat and electricity and let out a
mild scream.

Both sets of arms immediately dropped
from mine and I found myself back on the ground, wishing I was
dead. I had no idea what was going on, but I soon realized that
everyone staring at me wanted an explanation. I wished I had one to
give them; one that wouldn’t completely brand me as
nuts.

“
Maybe I should go to the
nurse,” I said as I struggled to get up once again. I could see
both sets of arms reaching out to help me in another attempt of
chivalry and I overreacted a little by shouting, “That’s ok, I can
do it on my own!”

I knew that I sound like a lunatic,
like certifiably crazy; but for whatever reason these two boys were
bringing out the scariest part of me and I didn’t want them or
anyone else to get hurt. I looked up at Kiran apologetically, but
instead of looking concerned for the crazy person, like I expected,
he just gazed back entertained, almost like he was about to
laugh.

“
Can someone help Ms.
Matthews to the Nurse’s Office, please?” Mr. Lambert sounded
exasperated.

“
I can,” Kiran
volunteered.

“
No, that’s alright,” I
blurted out, afraid I’d faint again. “I’m sure I can find it on my
own,” I gave a weak smile, but finally stood up. I actually had no
intention to find the nurse, I just needed to calm down and get
some space. I grabbed the back of my chair to steady myself, and
inhaled big breaths of air.

“
Lilly, can you take her?”
Mr. Lambert turned to look at a fragile looking girl with short,
vibrant, red, curly hair.

“
Sure,” she said sweetly.
She took a few steps from the back of the crowd of students to wait
for me by the door.

I grabbed my backpack, terrified to
look at anyone until I was almost to the safety of the hallway.
Once I reached the door, I took a brave look back only to see Kiran
smile and wink at me from his desk. This had been the most bizarre
day, and unfortunately it wasn’t even the end of first
hour.

3.

Once the door was closed behind me, I
headed straight to the nearest bathroom. Kingsley was a school for
the privileged; the girl’s bathroom reflected this. The stalls,
sinks and hand dryers were all made of the latest bathroom
technology and porcelain, I guessed. The mixture of class and
technology seemed a little strange, especially in a bathroom.
Conveniently, there was a plush sitting room adjoined where I could
hide my shame in private.

I plopped down on the nearest duvet,
pulling my knees to my chest. I rested my head in my hands and let
out an audible groan. What was wrong with me?

“
Ugh. What is wrong with
me?” I echoed out loud.

“
Is there something wrong
with you?” a soft, sweet voice asked. I had forgotten all about the
girl who was supposed to take me to the Nurse’s Office. I would
have rather not had an audience during my impending breakdown, but
it was a little late to think up an excuse now.

“
It seems like it,” I looked
up and gave her a small smile. She was pretty, with bright green
eyes and clear, pale skin. She was shorter than me, maybe 5’6 or
5’5, and had impeccable posture; which I was sure was a sign of her
upbringing. I expected her to look back at me like I was crazy, but
to my surprise she only looked concerned. Her forehead had creased
together and her plump red lips formed a frown.

“
What happened back there?”
she sat down beside me and waited for an answer. At least she
hadn’t tried to console me by assuring me everything was fine. We
both knew everything was not fine. She sounded genuinely concerned
though, and I was suddenly grateful not to be alone.

“
I wish I knew. Sometimes I
just, uh, faint,” I knew it was a weak explanation, but I didn’t
think she would believe me if I told her that sometimes I felt like
my body was a giant microwave. “I am a freak show; I was kind of
hoping to avoid drawing that much attention to myself today….. or
like ever,” I started to laugh, this was absurd.

“
I’m Lilly Mason, by the
way. And I know exactly what you mean,” she thankfully didn’t ask
for more of an explanation, but I was one hundred percent positive
that she had no idea what I meant.

“
Nice to meet you,” I gave
her a genuine smile. “Thank you for volunteering to help me! I know
that you didn’t have to, but I would have just died if Kiran
witnessed anymore of my meltdown.” I rolled my eyes, expecting her
to understand.

“
Oh do you know him?” her
question caught me off guard because clearly I was new to this
school.

“
No, not at all. I don’t
know anyone here. I ran into him in the Administration
Building.”

“
That’s so strange. He’s new
today too,” her forehead creased in confusion.

“
Why is that strange?” I had
just assumed that he was a student here already, why else would he
have offered to take me to the Nurse’s Office?

“
Well, Kingsley doesn’t
usually allow anyone to start classes late, let alone three
students in one day. I can understand Kiran Kendrick, but why did
they let you in?” her question could have been taken offensively,
but the way she asked it seemed only curious. Her voice was so
pure, and her eyes so innocent that I could hardly believe this
girl had ever had a hurtful thought about anyone.