Fangirl

Chapter 10 Martha

It was lonely without Phillip at the academy. We'd been in contact, albeit tentatively, for a little over a month, but a week apart felt like a year of unrelenting boredom.

I was in pain and didn't know where to put myself. I read so much that veins burst in my eyes; I slept till late morning, and once till dinner; I had no appetite, so I didn't eat; I didn't want to go out, though the sun was warming up outside; I stared at the calendar that I had nailed across my bed on the second day he left and crossed off the days. For the first time, the days seemed endless.

It was maddening not to know what Phillip was doing. He must have been spending time with his family, walking around the city with friends, going to balls, laughing a lot, enjoying his vacation. I'd love to see him, if only for a glimpse.

Only on the last day of the vacation before classes I looked at myself in the mirror. My appearance left a lot to be desired. Before the vacation. Now it was possible to throw in my address something like looks like death warmed over. I forced myself to wash thoroughly and tidy up my hair and dress. That was the end of my strength. I didn't know when Phillip would arrive, but I could probably count on seeing him at class tomorrow.

Really, that was all I could count on. The library hours were done, Phillip would deal with the fire himself — there was no reason to see me. I was drifting off into a disturbing dream again.

I was the first to arrive in Potions class. I sat down in the far corner and waited. The room was slowly filling up with students who were eager to discuss the news, the ball, and other nonsense.

The professor came in, but Phillip was still not here.

'Well,' Stephania Andreyevna looked around at the young people. 'Where is a monitor?'

'I'm here!' Phillip came running in, out of breath.

'Wonderful! Did you make a place arrangement for this semester?'

In Potions we worked in pairs, all except me — the number of students in the group was odd. The professor required us to switch pairs every six months, so we'd learn to work together, but not parasitize each other.

'Of course.'

Phillip began to read out the pairs and the number of the caldron they were to work at.

There was discontent: some were not happy about the pairing, some didn't like the place; but there were cheers too. Especially when a guy got one of the attractive girls in the group. The girls behaved more reservedly, but it was pretty easy to read everything on their faces. I waited for the end of the list, where I would be assigned a caldron to work on, but actually looked at Phillip.

Finally he said my name, then his own, and Ivan, the guy who was going to be working by himself this semester.

The audience was filled with the noise of their own appointments so no one immediately realized what had happened at the end.

'Well done, Philip.' Praised the professor. 'Very effective arrangement. Now get to your seats and open textbooks on page eight. The topic of the next classes is Mushroom Potion. Today you need to boil the broth for the potion, this is the first twelve ingredients on the list and the first five phases. You may start.'

The students scattered around the room, casting oblique glances at the corner where our caldron stood and talking in whispers. Ivan made the most noise, he was not very gifted academically and always counted on his partner. He puffed loudly and resented that he didn't have all the ingredients.

'Seliverstov.' Ivan managed to piss off the professor almost at once. 'Everyone has all the ingredients, and you don't. Go complain and, preferably, don't come back. And if you still want to work, open the visual dictionary and check the names with the pictures first. Only then come close to the cabinet with materials. If you make any more noise, I'll be happy to invite your father to the academy.'