Valiant (Fighter Book #2)

Chapter 3

            As always, the halls of Maleficis School buzzed with excitement and gossip. Students bustled down the hall on their way to their next class or to meet their friends for a free period. The Infans seemed noticeable now more than ever, constantly looking down at their schedules and bumping into their superiors as they went. But even they somehow found the courage to speak up and ask any student they saw, no matter what career path or year, to help guide them in the right direction. With a side-glance to make sure their friends were not looking or a direct glare if they had an audience, the selected older student would help the Infan. They had to be trained early; Alexa had learned that the hard way.

            Amid all the commotion, it seemed as though only two students in the whole school were not partaking in the first day of school frenzy. Alexandra Clemmons and Travis Kaneland walked hand-in-hand down the hall on the way to their first class of the day. Neither one smiled or acknowledged anyone who came up to them. In some instances, students would clear the way and make a path for the Trien power couple. By now, nearly everyone in the school knew that the two were an item and rightfully so considering one half was also a two time highest honors winner.

            Their steps began to happen in sync at this point in their journey to their classroom, and Travis suspected it would happen the rest of the day as well. He had made sure that he and Alexa had the same schedule as soon as she had told him hers. But the trickiest part of that was getting the switch to happen without letting President Preston know. After the questioning and near reveal of Alexa’s mortal and wizard blood status at the end of the previous year, an attempt to be with her all the time could look like a protection strategy. Of course that was exactly the way Travis looked at it and he knew Preston would figure that out soon enough. Luckily, his parents’ influence on the school had helped him some in keeping the change under wraps.

            Alexa never looked anywhere but straight ahead while Travis’s gaze moved every which way. No one could be trusted anymore. Now that suspicions about Alexa were in the air, there was no telling who had heard even the slightest hint that a student had a mortal parent. Gossip spread quicker than fire at Maleficis, but Travis hoped that such a serious topic would not have escaped the confines of President Preston’s office. Once students heard, parents would hear, and once parents heard the school would be on lock down, or worse, attacked until the suspect was found. Mayra Preston would never let that happen to her beloved and prestigious school. But even so, Travis’s nerves were still on edge; every person that even looked at Alexa the wrong way got a glare back. Despite his preppy clothing, Travis Kaneland was a force to be reckoned with, especially when it came to something or someone he cared about.

            The classroom became eerily silent when Alexa and Travis entered. She looked around sheepishly before looking down at her feet and dragging Travis over to two empty seats. He continued to give every student that gave off a weird look a glare only to be returned with a startled reaction. Assumedly, the ones who reacted like that had no actually been gossiping about he or Alexa in any way, and he felt slightly bad about his treatment toward them.

            “I have never heard a room so quiet on the first day of class!” Professor Maudio exclaimed when she walked into the classroom, peppy as ever. “I hope that your summer holidays were better than your attitudes are letting on.”

            Alexa let out a huff, not quite wanting to laugh but still finding some irony in the comment. Her attitude matched her summer perfectly: no Travis, no socializing, and no magic. She had chosen to ostracize herself in fear, but books could only prove to be entertaining for so long. Not even Macbeth could provide joy. Her mind just kept racing around the idea of mortals and wizards, and every word in the play heightened her anxiety. Even going outside to take the trash to the curb made her look around, feeling like someone watched her every step. Now, at school, she felt the same way, except she knew that people were. Well, person, rather. Alexa had not seen President Preston in the flesh, but Maleficis had so many secret passages and hidden crevices that the head of the school had to have seen her at some point since her return the previous day.