Alpha Academy: Misfit's Rise

Chapter Four: The Magi

"Your daughter took out a wall without receiving a single mark, Ms. Stargazer," Mr. Gavon said. "And you're telling us this happened without magic? That's impossible."

Sophie shot me a glanced, but I didn't return it.

"Move over." I pushed her aside. "I want to see my mom's face."

"Wait." Sophie tried to squeeze her knees past mine. "Give me a moment to ..."

"Ow!" Ana said.

"Shh!" we both said.

I ran my hand across my forehead and came away sticky. The air was thick with our sweat, and we were breathing so heavily it was a miracle they hadn't heard us.

Maybe the crawl space above our kitchen wasn't a good idea, but it had seemed like a brilliant way to eavesdrop undetected moments before. Our house was old, with a vent to release the heat from the boiler. We even had a tree growing right next to the entrance. If it wasn't for the sauna-like temperatures it would have been perfect. From this angle, I could see both Mom and the two officials.

"Nonsense. Billie's a Misfit." Mom looked ragged next to the stunning Mrs. Waverunner, her dark hair pulled into a messy knot, a dirty white apron over her faded blue shirt and jeans.

"I wouldn't advise lying to us, Ms. Stargazer," Mrs. Waverunner said. "We'll be sending a team to review the evidence, and you can rest assured if there are any traces of magic, we will find it." Mom stiffened, and Mrs. Waverunner smiled briefly.

"So, what if she has magic? What does that prove?" Mom said. "Several Misfits have magical qualities."

"But none like this," Mrs. Waverunner said.

"We're not sure the Rustlands are equipped to handle someone like her," Mr. Gavon finished Mrs. Waverunner sentence again.

My pulse quickened, but my mother shook her head. "No, Billie's lived here her whole life."

"But you haven't," Mr. Gavon said. "Is it true you attended Alpha?"

"Yes."

"And you studied healing?"

Mom looked just as confused as I felt about Mr. Gavon's questions. They were supposed to be talking about me, so why the interrogation?

"Yes," Mom said.

"Yet you worked at the Homakan facility?"

She just nodded. The Magi exchanged glances. Clearly that meant something to them, though I had no idea what. I'd learned more about my mom's life in the Realm in the last thirty seconds than I had in the last fourteen years.

Mrs. Waverunner checked her notes again. "There's no denying your daughter's case is peculiar. There's never—"

"There's never been a recorded half-human with magic," Mr. Gavon interrupted. He did that a lot. The way Mrs. Waverunner glared at him every time was almost funny enough to relieve the tension. Almost.

Mrs. Waverunner stepped around the counter. "She came to the Rustlands as an infant, correct?"

Mom nodded curtly.

Mr. Gavon stepped around the other side, like tigers cornering their prey. That was a disturbing thought.

"And you came with her," he said. "Why?"

Hold up. Why was he asking that? I thought she got sentenced here with me, but he made it sound like she had a choice.

"She's my daughter," Mom said. "How could I not?"