Shift

NINETEEN.1

Blaze could tell that Kayden was actively avoiding him.

She had been acting odd for almost a week now. When they volunteered on the farm in the mornings, she refused to look him in the eye. If he asked her a question, she answered with short, succinct sentences. And when they were in the hotel room, she stayed as far away from him as possible, often leaving the bedroom as soon as he entered. Even now, as they walked together down the early-morning sidewalks of Los Angeles, her pace was quick, and Blaze struggled to keep up with her.

Blaze was beginning to regret asking her whether she felt anything towards him. Maybe if she had remained unaware of her magically-induced feelings, things wouldn't have gotten so awkward.

They arrived at the Green Tea Café in silence. It was a cute café with some outdoor seating under a mint awning. Only one table had customers, occupied by two men looking at menus. One was Celery, who they had agreed to meet for breakfast. The other was an older man with skin the color of dark chocolate. When he looked up at them, Blaze saw that his eyes were a startling green gold, the color of a frog dusted with fairy dust. He immediately recognized him: Mr. Fairden, an Alpha teacher at Sir Mallard's.

"Daniel," Mr. Fairden said, nudging Celery with his elbow. "I think our breakfast guests are here."

Celery looked up and grinned. Blaze always liked how inviting Celery was; it had been the teacher's idea to invite them to breakfast on their morning off. "Hey! Kayden and Blaze, I'm glad you could make it." He gestured to the empty chairs. "Have a seat. I hope you don't mind that I invited Mr. Fairden too. He's also a Sir Mallard's teacher."

"Not at all," Kayden said politely. Blaze was surprised to hear her speak a sentence lacking any sort of venom. It was quite different from the way she had been speaking to him all week. "It's very nice to meet you. Did you come to Los Angeles for the teaching meetings?"

Mr. Fairden nodded. "Yes. They've been quite... Interesting."

"How so?" Blaze asked, settling into his chair.

Celery shrugged. "There are still plans to reopen Sir Mallard's, but things have changed a bit now that everyone is trying to shift magic back. We've been talking with Mr. Wheeler a lot; he was a superintendent in DC before he ran for the Congregation. The consensus is that all the teachers are going to head back to our respective schools and make sure there are no damages to the infrastructure. Then, if the shift back is successful, there will be safety checks for about a month before the schools reopen. We have one final meeting to attend tomorrow, finalizing everything, and then Fairden and I will hop on a plane and be back in New York by Wednesday."

Kayden frowned. "So you're not going to cast the spell here?"

"We'll cast it in New York," Celery said. "All major cities around the globe are hosting casting events. Scientists think this will improve the chances of having the spell stick." He smiled as a waiter approached their table. "Besides, I miss New York. LA is nice, but it's not New York."

The waiter poured everyone a tall glass of water before taking their orders. Kayden ordered a stack of chocolate chip pancakes, but when Blaze asked for the same, she sent him a sharp look. Blaze met her gaze. She can't be mad at me for that, he thought, wondering briefly if the Bonding Oath was messing with their appetites as well.

"Have any of you seen Helio recently?" Mr. Fairden asked as the waiter disappeared into the café.

Blaze shook his head, surprised by the question. "Not really. He's staying at his father's place now, so he's never around the hotel. And his internship with the Congregation started last week, so if I do see him, it's usually in passing."

"It's driving Lexi crazy," Kayden said quietly, sipping her water.

Mr. Fairden drummed his fingers on the table. "He came into my office the morning you two were volunteering last month. He said he was worried about the internship. I was just curious if he is liking it better now."

Blaze thought back to that morning when Helio had walked into Mr. Duval's classroom late. He had claimed he had been visiting someone. It had to have been Mr. Fairden.

"I really don't know," Blaze admitted. "Helio and I aren't the closest of friends."

"Really?" Mr. Fairden said, looking genuinely surprised. "Helio always seemed to regard you highly."

I doubt it, Blaze thought ruefully. But aloud he said, "We grew apart when he switched to Alpha. Not as many classes together anymore, you know."

"Ah yes," Fairden said, but he sounded unconvinced.

"Next time we see him, we'll ask him for you," Kayden said.

Blaze looked over at her in disbelief. He knew Kayden had no great love for Helio, and was surprised she even suggested it to Fairden. Perhaps she's trying to be polite? Blaze thought. Or maybe she's doing it for her cousin... Lexi had been particularly quiet since settling into Le Lieu. She barely spoke to anyone and spent most of her time reading in the bedroom she shared with Mrs. Lee. Even when they were in the fields, she would only talk to the people who initiated conversations with her. It was a bit disconcerting.

But Fairden seemed pleased by Kayden's response. "Thank you," he said. When he smiled, the wrinkles in his face shifted upwards.

A ringtone went off, a song with a lot of bass guitar accompanied by frenzied buzzing. Kayden looked down to her lap, her dark hair falling over her flushed cheeks. "Sorry," she apologized, digging into her pocket and answering the call. "Hey Mom, I'm at breakfast. I really can't talk. What's up?" she asked into the phone, leaning her elbow on the table.

Blaze took a sip of water. Through his glass, he watched as Kayden's face fell, her eyes widening in disbelief. "What?" she demanded into the phone, sitting upright. "Oh God. Okay, we're coming now. Bye." She ended the call and turned towards Blaze. Blaze could see the fear in her eyes; it made his stomach churn.

"What happened?" he asked as Kayden stood up from the table.

Kayden shook her head, almost at a loss for words. "Lexi is in the hospital."

- - - 

This is a chapter that I re-wrote many times. This scene, in fact, used to be a lot longer, so let me know if anything seems rushed or sounds weird or if you find an error.

What do you think is going on with Lexi?

Today is my birthday, so today in particular, I'd love to hear what you think of this story on a whole! And if you enjoyed this part, please consider giving it a vote!

You guys are amazing. Thanks for all your feedback this year! Hopefully this next year of life will be just as exciting and full of writing! :)

~Bdicocco