Crackerjack II

Chpt. 33: House Visit

At the knocks, Kristen's head jerked up and immediately began pounding. She squinted and rubbed indentations from her cheeks as she stumbled to her feet. Scorch growled and rolled over. She blinked in surprise when she opened the door.

"Amelia! Ernold!"

"Oh, good, she still knows our names."

Kristen startled when Amelia clasped her arms.

"How has fame changed you? Do you remember me, the crackerjack you used to hang out with back when you were a nobody?"

Kristen blinked, but Ernold came to her rescue.

"Amelia, geez! Let's let her talk!" He turned his attention. "You did want to talk to us, right?"

Snapping out of her astonishment, Kristen nodded quickly. "Yeah, yeah. Come in, come on in."

She scurried out of the way, wringing her hands in front of the bookshelf while they obliged.

"Is this the dragon of legend?!" Amelia cried, kneeling in front of Scorch, who couldn't have cared less about her entrance. "Oh, dragon of grace and condescension! Allow us to remain in your domain for but a moment!"

Kristen couldn't help but smile when Scorch's only response to the extravagant display was a deep breath and a raising of his wings.

Ernold laughed. "You better hope he's patient, too, the way you're going on."

Amelia stuck out her tongue but hopped to her feet. "So what did you want to talk to us about?"

The abrupt addressing of their visit's purpose threw Kristen off, and she stammered before forming a coherent thought.

"Well, um, I wanted to apologize." She breathed deeply. "I snapped at you guys earlier, and I'm...sorry."

Amelia tilted her head.

Ernold waved. "You were under a lot of stress. All the riders in our class are."

"I don't see you yelling at Amelia," Kristen muttered, scuffing her boot.

"Correction," Ernold held up a finger, "I always yell at Amelia, and the reason I haven't yelled at you is because I yell at her so much."

"It's true." Amelia nodded with a hidden smile. "I'm surprised he's gone this whole time without yelling, actually."

Kristen shifted focus. "So you haven't crossed yet?"

Ernold shook his head with a sigh. "Sylvia and them want me to go easy after–"

"The Incident," Amelia supplied.

"Right." Ernold rolled his eyes, but Kristen wasn't sure if it was in response to Amelia's interjection or the teachers' instructions. "But there's not exactly a short cut through the bond's strengthening, so, you know, I'm basically stuck."

He must not injure his mind before entering Serendipity's or he might endanger them both.

"Oh, veps!" Kristen caught the journal before it hit the ground. She was really going to have to get used to Scorch's voice.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." Kristen released a short breath as she replaced the delicate book, grateful she wouldn't be facing Drea's wrath on that account. "I don't think you should be too quick to get back into things, either. You have plenty of time to further the bond, and you don't want to endanger Serendipity."

"Yeah!" Amelia smacked Ernold's arm. "Think of your dragon instead of yourself!"

Ernold raised his arms to ward off a second attack. "Calm down! I just think you're all being too over-protective is all. I mean, look at Kristen. One day, she's mad as a netted trout, and the next, she's got the record of the school!"