The Echoes of Rivalry & Ruin (The Acamancy Series I)

Chapter 12: The Banquet

The dinner went by quickly, the food and drinks were delicious, much better than the cafeteria food. Toasts were short, Mrs. Philips opened up as usual and said a few encouraging words. Dean Philips was short and sweet, but in his stern tone of voice of course, with the welcomes and the thanks. They again were dressed to impress in their coordinated outfits, looking like the Queen and King of the school. Rather than Emerald this time, they wore Gold. Where Summer's dress is a golden color of glitter and is beautiful but clearly more for a young woman at a nice occasion, which she is. Mrs. Philip's dress looks like it was woven of threads made of pure gold. It shines under the lights without any sequins, glitter or rhinestones. And Dean Philips compliments her perfectly. His tie, vest and handkerchief match his wife's dress exactly. He wears a white tuxedo that matches the shade of his hair. And both went all out with their jewelry but it doesn't look overdone in the least. They demand attention, and capture your eye in the most elegant way possible.

The Element Leaders: Jameson, Arbor, Alaska, Remi, Clay and Jonny all took turns saying a few words to close out the speeches. Lylah was sitting to my left and let me know that Alaska is Luther's girlfriend. I had not seen her around before, and I would have remembered. She has a unique and stunning look to her, I remember Phoebe referring to her as "The Ice Queen," and that complement fits her to a T. She is dressed in a white mermaid cut gown that has hints of silver on it in the shape of icicles and snowflakes. The dress highlights her beautiful curves, she radiates beauty, confidence, and strength. Her pale skin brings out the blue of her eyes and the lavender color of her long, perfectly curled hair. There is no question she and Luther are a sight to see, The Ice Queen, and the Fire King.

As for the other Element Leaders, Jameson looks handsome as always in his classic suit. He opted for a pale blue tie to match the color of the simple, but elegant, dress Waverly is wearing. Remi, Bee's sister, admittedly looks nothing like her little sister. It makes me wonder how many of the siblings in her large family have golden locks like Brynn, and how many have the darker brown shade of Remi's hair. Remi is hiding her curves in a simple, modest dress that is dark green in color. Her hair is pulled back into a curled ponytail, just like Waverly's is. Brynn and Remi have the same complexion, but where Brynn has doe-like bright green eyes, Remi has oval shaped golden-brown eyes. She appears to be here with Jonny or at least be friends with the Year Three Stone Mani she is sitting next to. Despite Remi's height, Jonny is at least 5 inches taller than her and makes her look tiny next to his massive biceps and chest.

Jonny and Arbor are other Element Leaders I have not seen around. Even though I have a roommate and best friends that are Wind Mani's I haven't spent much time around them in order to meet Arbor. And Stone Mani's and Water Mani's don't tend to interact too much, there is no overlap in our skills like there is with Water Mani's and basically every other Element Classification. Clay, I saw briefly earlier in the night. His younger brother, Jett, is a Year Two and is on the Planning Board with Callie and Alaska. Clay is a Plan Mani, so he was talking to Brynn and Callie and overseeing their floral arrangements while his brother, an Ice Mani, was helping Alaska with the ice sculptures.

Unlike Brynn and Remi, Clay and Jett share quite a bit of resemblance. Despite being different Element Classifications and those tending to come with their own changes to appearance, both brothers have very light blonde hair. It is not white like Dean Philips, or Phoebe, but both have very little pigmentation to their hair. While Clay has yellow undertones, Jett has brown, and while Clay has green eyes, Jett has blue. But their hair remains similar, and neither have bright or piercing eyes to see the difference in color unless you are close enough to them. Clay is taller, Jett is more muscular, but neither are towering or incredibly buff. Clay wears glasses and has a slightly tanner complexion, which isn't surprising since he's a Plant Mani and Jett handles Ice. But their hands are the biggest difference. Jett has large hands, that when they brushed my hand to pass me silverware, were smooth as silk. Clay has rough and calloused hands that seem to be stained with dirt or mud and moss, his fingernails were filthy and even his dress shoes had mud cakes onto the bottoms.

I spent most of the time that the Leaders were talking, just taking in everyone's appearance. And by the time they were finished and walking off I was still so lost in thought, that I didn't notice Mitch asking me to dance until he was pulling me to my feet. For someone as awkwardly proportioned, with long arms and legs that are basically twigs, and a short torso with big hands and feet but a small head, I am actually not a bad dancer. I took lessons as a child and all the way through middle school. I stopped when I started high school, to shift my focus to the swim team, but I still performed in synchronized swimming and did a few dance classes here and there. My background in ballet helped me a lot with gliding through water, synchronized swimming and even balance and core strength to learn to surf, and water ski, but sadly it does not help much with this club style dancing Mitch and my friends are doing around me.

I awkwardly try to bounce along to the music, swaying a bit, and nodding my head. Mitch tries not to laugh at me, I am crossing my fingers and toes for a slow song. Not because I want to slow dance with Mitch, but because I actually know how to slow dance. Mitch and I have danced together a handful of times. He was my partner at my 16th birthday party, as well as Mal's. He danced with me, and went with me to many dances in high school, and he invited me to escort him to his parent's wedding vow renewal as well.

As the night goes on, I dance with Mitch a few times, being in his arms, with them firmly on my waist and mine on his shoulder, is comfortable and safe. I lean my head on his chest and listen to the thump of his heart and we slowly sway and turn in time with the tempo. A few of the dances I look at the "couples around us" Callie is snuggling in close with EJ and he doesn't seem too upset, in fact by the time the night ends I lose sight of the pair of them. Lylah and Summer are dancing together, since Ryker went off to talk to Jett and a different dark hair male that has his back to me, but I don't think I know him. Winona is sitting with Mal, who is eyeing Ryker, and are sipping their drinks and chatting. Bee rotates between dancing with Tyler, and another Year Two I do not recognize. She also flits around the room chatting with everyone, and then dances with Ryker and his group, and Mal watches even closer. It appears my best friend has eyes on a certain Light Mani.

The night winds down. The girls have all taken off their shoes, the boys take off their jackets and ties. Everyone is leaning or sitting, and half of the crowd has dissipated. I ask Mitch to walk me, Mal, Lylah and Winona back to our dorms, since Callie, Summer, and Brynn insist they'll have Ryker, EJ, or Tyler walk them back when they are ready to go. I spy Callie and EJ kissing in the corner of the room, EJ getting handsy and Callie enjoying every second of it. I shake my head and laugh as I say goodbye to my friends and head out of the Banquet.

Mitch walks with one arm around my waist, and another around Mal's shoulders, like he always did when we were younger. The walk seems so much longer on the way back. It's after midnight and I am exhausted. I plan to sleep most of my Saturday away, but I cannot let it throw off my schedule too much. Sunday needs to be an early wake up, and early turn in, because Monday my future officially begins.