Project Moonlark: A Fanfiction

13. REPORT

I didn't tell anyone anything that night—not even when Grady and Edaline gave me glares and strange looks. I couldn't tell them that I was part of the Black Swan now. I was part of a rebellion.

The next morning, when I came down to have breakfast, Grady was already at the table, drinking RedFizz wine again.

"Report books are coming in, Kristen," he reminded me. "The exams have finished, but these are your grades. And the Council wants to see you." Actually, I'm against the Council now.

"Perfect," I almost chirped, then cringed at how forced I sounded. Report books? That would definitely have my grades on it. And I didn't even want to know how badly I was doing.

What got me to eventually spin the crystal facet to the Everlore Academy crystal was the fact that I could see the Vackers again!

"Wait, we're going with you," Edaline stopped me, hand on the Leapmaster.

"What?" I asked.

"It's a tradition for the parents to go with their children to receive gradebooks. We will also be having a quick one-on-one chat with your teachers."

"The Council decided to shift their visit with you forward by a couple months," Grady continued. "They claimed that you've made excellent progress settling into your new school and would like to check in with you as soon as possible, so I scheduled a visit for next week."

"That makes sense," I muttered, but it didn't. Clearly the Council suspected something, right? Were they going to exile me?

When I got to my locker, Grady and Edaline lined up at a booth set up in front of the main building, near the entrance. The booth was decorated with jewels and expensive items, and there was a huge sign that read "TIME SLOTS" on it.

I headed to my locker, and was pleasantly surprised at the note and crush cuffs that still lay inside it. I'd forgotten to pick it up yesterday when I was hurrying to get to the office. I took out my pen and read the note over and over again, wondering what I should write.

I couldn't just circle no, could I? Oh, great, and now I had no excuse not to talk to him! What would I tell him? I had no time to think. He was already walking towards me, and I dropped the note in my locker and slammed the door shut.

"Hey, how's it going?" I asked, my voice as smooth as I could get it to be.

"Feeling better?" Rob asked me, and I realized that no one had told him about my strange behavior yesterday.

"Yeah. Much better." I fiddled with the pen in my hand.

"I heard about Miss Washington," he continued. "Taylor told me."

"She did?" I ran a finger through my hair, scared. "What did she tell you? Are you in danger too?"

"What? No." He laughed. "She told me that Miss Washington told..." He paused. "You... that you couldn't talk to me. You're being a real rebel right now, talking to me."

"Um," I struggled to come up with a lie. "Well, Miss Washington informed me that she changed her mind about not talking to you." I could barely keep a straight face as I said that, and we both cracked up.

"Did you receive the crush cuffs?" Rob asked. "I got green ones for you."

"Yeah..." I stopped laughing instantly. "I saw your note as well."

"I wrote extra neatly for that," he told me. "Write back to me anytime."

My cheeks were flaming, and it suddenly felt so hot in my school uniform. I adjusted my cape uncomfortably.