Magi Apprentice Page 3

  “No! No way. Just… Surprised.”

  She was lying, Katy was sure of it.

  “Oh, okay then,” Katy answered, not at all convinced. Yuki and Felix had been close friends, but it had always seemed platonic, but now, Katy wasn’t so sure that it had been mutually platonic. It certainly seemed like Yuki was harbouring feelings towards him, anyway. It was kind of cute.

  Joining the queue, they soon collected their breakfast, and Katy spotted Dana sat by herself at a nearby table, so they went over to join her.

  “So, how did your session with Mr Spiros go?” Katy asked as she started to tuck into her breakfast.

  Dana sighed. “Alright, I guess. He seemed a little distracted. Like he was frustrated or angry at something. His telepathy actually hurt me at one point.”

  “Hurt you? That’s not right. Has he hurt you before?”

  “Only right at the start, when he was removing some of the Red Witch's conditioning. But he wasn’t doing that this time.”

  “When did this happen?” Yuki asked.

  “Yesterday,” Dana answered. “After Katy’s meeting with him and Miss Hartman.

  “Oh, yeah,” Katy replied. “Hmm. I wonder if I annoyed him or something.”

  “You think you might have done?” Yuki asked.

  “Maybe. I’m not sure how though,” Katy replied, a little bewildered. “I don’t think anything I said affected him directly.”

  “So, what was your meeting about?” Dana asked her.

  “I was telling them about being attacked in a ladies’ room by three women who wanted to know about my encounter with the Red Witch,” Katy explained. “I got out fine, and I wasn’t hurt, but I could have been. So I thought I should tell them about it, given this is the Red Witch we’re talking about.”

  “Yeah. Damn. I had no idea. I’m glad you’re alright,” Dana replied.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” Katy reassured her. “I was a little shaken up at the time, but I’m alright now. Oh, I remembered last night, they referred to one of them as a Squire. Does that ring any bells with you? Did the Red Witch ever mention anything about any Squires?”

  Dana shook her head. “No, sorry. Doesn’t ring a bell.”

  “Oh, okay. Maybe it’s nothing then.”

  “I did get the feeling, though, when she was controlling me, that there were others. Not just me.”

  “What gave you that idea?”

  “Just some of the things she would say. Some of the comments or feelings when she was in my head, you know? I just had a distinct impression that I wasn’t the only one helping her.”

  “Do you think it could have been them?”

  “I have no idea, but, maybe… Do you think it will become a problem?”

  “I hope not,” Katy said. “You know we’re going on a school trip soon? Back to the Material Realm.”

  “I heard about that,” Yuki replied.

  “So, we might be putting ourselves in danger,” Katy suggested.

  “But is it any worse than being close to Tartarus?” Yuki asked.

  “Not if the Red Witch isn’t in there anymore,” Katy replied.

  “You think she’s gone?” Dana asked.

  “You think she’s still in there?” Katy challenged her.

  “I have no idea,” Dana admitted.

  Katy shrugged. “Me neither. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, it seems.”

  “Yeah,” Dana replied.

  “Looks that way,” Yuki added. “And, speaking of difficult situations,” Yuki nodded over behind Katy, who looked back to find Titus not too far away.

  Katy sucked air in through her teeth.

  “Difficult?” Dana asked. “What’s this about?”

  Yuki leant in closer to Dana. “Trenton tried to kiss Katy last night.”

  “Yuki!” Katy exclaimed, whipping her head around.

  “What? Dana won’t say anything, will you?”

  Tracing a cross over her heart with her finger, Dana smiled at Katy. “Cross my heart and hope to die.”

  Katy sighed.

  “Hey, Katy,” Titus said as he approached.

  Pulling in a long breath, Katy calmed herself and turned to face Titus with a smile she hoped look genuine. Mainly because it was, but she hoped the guilt she felt from Trenton’s attempted kiss last night wouldn’t show up.

  “Hi,” she replied.

  “How was your visit home?”

  “Yeah, good. You know, just the usual.”

  “Yeah, mine too,” he replied. “It’s always good to see my folks.”

  Katy smiled, enjoying his American accent. It was different from Trenton’s, though. A little more refined, maybe? “Yeah. It’s good to be back, though.”

  Titus smiled and nodded.

  This whole conversation was feeling terribly stilted and uncomfortable. Did he know? Maybe someone had seen her and Trenton nearly kiss. Maybe he’d found out just how much time she was spending with him.

  He’d seen her hanging out with him maybe once that she was aware of. But that didn’t mean anything, really.

  “Oh, you’re back,” Mikayla said, her voice droll as she stepped up to their little meeting. “I’d hoped you might have gotten lost on your way back.”

  Katy turned to face Mikayla and smiled, but her expression held no humour. “I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

  Mikayla shrugged. “I could give two shits about you, Katy.”

  “Couldn’t,” Katy corrected her.

  “What?”

  “It’s ‘couldn’t give two shits,’”

  Mikayla blinked. “Whatever. Speaking of disappointment, how have your dates with Trenton been going?”

  “Trenton?” Titus asked.

  “Oh, oopsie,” Mikayla replied covering her mouth with her fingers. “Should I not have said anything? Silly me. Always opening my mouth when I shouldn’t.”

  “I wouldn’t worry,” Katy replied. “It’s a quality the guys love you for.”

  Titus laughed, and so did Yuki and Dana. Even Kasey and Nina, who were standing behind Mikayla, smirked.

  Thunder clouds settled over Mikayla’s face. “Piss off,” she replied and stormed off. Katy watched her go, and then looked up to Titus and smiled.

  “Trenton?”

  “We’re just friends,” Katy replied. “We’ve hung out a few times. That’s all. Mikayla’s blowing it up into something it’s not.”

  “So, you’re not…”

  “So what if I am? We’re not dating.”

  “Um, well no,” Titus replied.

  “Sorry,” Katy apologised.

  “No, no. It’s fine. I don’t mind, really. Look, I’ll catch you later, okay? Have a good breakfast,” he said with a grin before it dropped from his face and he walked off.

  In her head, Katy cursed.

  Back to Class

  Katy walked with Dana and Yuki to their first class with Mr Spencer, which was about Flux Magic. Ahead, Felix walked arm in arm with Josie. They were smiling and giggling.

  Beside her, Yuki was just staring at them, her brows knitted in a frown.

  “I can make him laugh like that,” Yuki said, out of nowhere.

  Katy nodded. “I know you can. You two were always laughing.”

  “So, why is he finding her so funny? She’s not funny. She’s… she’s…”

  “She’s what?” Katy asked. The jealousy was almost palpable.

  “Annoying.”

  “Not to him though, clearly.”

  “He’s just doing it to keep her happy.”

  “Oh, I see,” Katy replied with a smile. “Maybe.”

  “She’s made me laugh,” Dana cut in.

  Katy looked across at Dana, her eyes wide with concern. Dana glanced at Katy and caught her expression, before looking back at Yuki, whose expression was shooting daggers at her.

  “I mean,” Dana added, her voice squeaky, “only once, and it wasn’t a very funny joke…”

  Katy sighed and turned to Yuki. “Don’t w
orry about him, he’s just having some fun. He’s still your friend.”

  Yuki grumbled. “It’s fine. I don’t mind. I’m not jealous.”

  Yeah, right, Katy thought.

  “I just thought,” Yuki continued, “that he might go for someone…better, maybe…”

  “I’m sure she’s lovely,” Katy replied. “And he’s happy so…”

  “Hmmm,” Yuki answered as they turned into the classroom to find Mr Spencer joined by Miss Hartman at the front of the room. Katy raised an eyebrow at her presence.

  Katy crossed the room and took her usual seat by Dana. On the next desk over, Yuki sat and was joined by Felix, who was smiling and waving at Josie in front of them. Yuki watched him do it for a moment, but when he blew her a kiss, Yuki rolled her eyes and looked away.

  Katy giggled.

  “What do you think this is all about?” Dana whispered as they got their notebooks and pens out of their bags.

  “No idea,” Katy answered. “Could be anything.”

  “Welcome class,” Miss Hartman began as everyone settled down. “Welcome to the second half of your first term at the Academy of Aetheric Arts. I trust you’ve all had a restful break, and you’re ready for the studies to come.”

  Miss Hartman’s eyes landed on Katy at the mention of a restful break, and she couldn’t help but feel that it was purposeful.

  “Now, we have a busy schedule ahead with lots going on, but I wanted to come and see you today to tell you about something we’ve been planning for a while that will happen in a couple of days. Some of you might already be aware of this, but I wanted to make sure you’re all on the same page.”

  Aaah, Katy thought, the trip.

  “In a couple of days, you’ll be going on a trip to the Material Realm. The purpose of the trip is to show you several places that are either important to Magi society, or where recent events have taken place. You will be meeting with several important Magi, and I expect you to be on your best behaviour and to show this school in the best possible light. I hope I can trust you to do that.”

  That sounded ominous, Katy thought. She glanced at Dana, who caught her eye for a moment and raised her eyebrows.

  “The trip isn’t compulsory,” Miss Hartman continued, “but it would be of great benefit to you if you were to go, and I highly recommend your participation. You will be visiting at least three locations. The first, is the seat of the Council itself, then New York, where a recent event took place, and finally you will be visiting the Arcanum Headquarters in London. We might add more locations to the list, but that’s it for now.

  “So, please make sure to pack the night before so you’re ready. We’ll be making full details available to you shortly. Now, I think I’ve taken up far too much of Mr Spencer’s class, but do feel free to come and see me if you wish to discuss anything at all. Thank you.”

  With that, the Headmistress swanned out of the room. Ahead, Josie turned and looked back at Felix with a smile.

  Felix smiled back, and Josie giggled.

  Yuki dropped her head to the desk in exasperation.

  Katy smiled.

  “Welcome back class. I hope you’re all as excited about this trip as I am. I’ll be one of the teachers going with you, along with Miss Hunt and Mr Spiros.”

  Katy glanced over at Dana who was quietly grimacing at the mention of Mr Spiros' name.

  “He’s probably going to make sure you can go, to keep an eye on you,” Katy whispered.

  “Yeah, I know. But I don’t have to like it,” Dana replied.

  “No. No, you don’t.”

  “I hope you’re ready and raring to go, now that you’re back,” Mr Spencer continued. “Today, we’re going to talk a little more about Flux Magic, and its early applications for a Novice. But first, I just want to test your knowledge of the basics. So, hands up if you can answer this: What is Flux Magic the domain of?”

  Lots of hands went up.

  Mr Spencer picked one of the students. “Yes, Jason?”

  “It’s movement Magic, sir,” Jason answered.

  “Correct. So, who can tell me its most common effect?”

  More hands went up.

  “Yes, Josie,” Mr Spencer said.

  Yuki sighed, sounding annoyed.

  “Porting or Teleporting, sir.”

  “Correct, Josie, well done,” Mr Spencer replied, only for Josie to glance back at Felix again with a smug grin.

  Yuki looked at Katy and rolled her eyes.

  “Alright, so,” Mr Spencer continued, “we’ve been working a lot using Flux Magic to sense where we are. Knowledge of Flux Magic means you will almost certainly never be lost, not for any length of time, anyway, and certainly not in the Material Realm. As you are all aware, it’s a little different out here in the Aetheric, but knowledge of Flux can certainly help. Anyway, the next application we will need to work on is sensing, not only your location, but also routes and directions. If you know where you are, and where you want to go, you can use Flux to help you take the shortest or best route possible. Useful for when you’re stuck in a traffic jam.”

  So, we’ll talk a little more about how it works, and then we’ll set up some real-life examples and have you use it to navigate through the room, blindfolded.

  Walk and Talk

  As the second lesson of the day began to wind down, and Miss Hunt finished up her lesson—which had been a nice refresher of what they’d been learning and practising before their half-term break—Katy looked over at Yuki.

  She sat on Katy’s right, at a desk with Felix, but the pair of them had hardly spoken the entire lesson.

  Felix had once again been making eyes at Josie, who sat a few rows ahead, and Josie had been looking back at Felix and either smiling, winking, or just making eyes at him.

  It was cute, sure, but it was even beginning to grate on her a little just how loved up they were. They couldn’t seem to leave each other alone for two minutes without checking in.

  At one point, she’d even seen Miss Hunt have a quiet word with Josie about her fidgety behaviour.

  Katy glanced over at Josie and grimaced. She had no problem with the girl, she barely knew her to be honest, but if Josie’s behaviour was annoying her, she could only imagine how Yuki was feeling.

  Yuki was clearly and obviously jealous. She could deny it as much as she liked, but Katy could see how this was affecting her. In fact, she felt sure that anyone taking even a cursory notice of what was going on would be able to see Yuki’s mood.

  The only two people in the room who were probably blind to it were Felix and Josie. They were so caught up in their little love affair that they didn’t seem to even know what room they were in.

  She felt sorry for Yuki.

  She must have been harbouring feelings for Felix for a while. And now, without even really knowing what he was doing, he was throwing those feelings back in her face.

  If he knew, he’d probably feel terrible, so maybe she needed to have a talk with him about being a little more tactful. But that would possibly give away Yuki’s attraction to him. No, it was probably better that she speak with Yuki, and see if she could get her to open up so they could talk through her feelings.

  Lunch break was looming, which she decided would be the perfect time.

  Sitting back, Katy leaned over to Dana and whispered. “I’m going to have a little chat with Yuki after class about Felix and Josie.”

  “Good idea. She’s obviously not happy about it.”

  “No, clearly not. So, I’ll catch you a little later, yeah?”

  “Of course. Good luck.”

  “Thanks.”

  Katy glanced back at Yuki who sat back in her chair, chewing the end of her pencil, looking thoroughly annoyed. She felt terrible for her.

  “Alright class, that’s it for today, you can head to lunch now.”

  As one, the class stood as talking broke out, and people reached for their bags. Katy quickly packed hers and looked over to see Yuki taking her time,
and only half-watching what she was doing. The other half of her attention was locked on Felix and Josie.

  Katy stepped over, and purposefully planted herself in Yuki’s eye line, hiding the couple.

  “Let’s go,” Katy said.

  “What?” Yuki replied, a little bewildered.

  “We’re going for a walk, you and me, alright?”

  “Oh, are we? Where?”

  “Just grab your stuff, we can talk as we go.”

  “Talk? What about?”

  “I’m sure we’ll think of something.”

  Yuki sighed. “Alright.” She packed her bag and threw it over her shoulder. By the time Katy turned to walk with Yuki out of the classroom, Felix and Josie were gone.

  Good, she thought, one less distraction.

  They moved with the crowd, out of the base of the tower before breaking off from the majority and walking left across the courtyard. As they separated from the group, Katy took a breath before launching into it.

  “How are you?” Katy began. “You alright?”

  “Yeah, I’m okay,” Yuki replied.

  “Are you sure?”

  Yuki frowned. “Yeah…”

  Sighing, Katy, pressed on. “You don’t look okay.”

  “What do you mean?” Yuki asked, giving her a look.

  “It’s fairly obvious,” Katy replied. “I’ve seen the way you’re reacting to Felix and Josie.”

  “What’s obvious? I’m… You know. I’m not bothered by them.”

  “Yuki, I’m your friend. At least, I hope I am. You helped me a few weeks ago when I got into trouble with Mikayla. You put your life on the line for me. Now let me help you.”

  “Help me? In what way?”

  “Yuki, I can see that their relationship is bothering you. Right? Felix and Josie, I mean. You’re not happy about it. Are you?”

  “I… Well, it was a bit of a surprise, I guess.”

  “Do you like him?”

  “Well, of course, I do…”

  “No. You know what I mean. Do you really like him?”

  Yuki sighed. “Yeah. I guess. I mean, I must, right? I don’t know. I’ve not really thought about it in that way before but... Oh crap. Why does this bother me so much? I can see he’s happy. I can see he’s enjoying himself. I should be happy for him, right? I should be thrilled for him.”