Careless Magic book 1

Chapter 8

With thoughts of my bizarre dream from the previous night swirling in my head, I stepped out of Aunt Syl's car unsteadily. Not only was my body psychologically shocked from the sense of realness of my dream, but I was also physically exhausted. My head felt very cloudy from the dull sense of electricity pumping slowly through my veins. Weak and tired, I forced myself forward.

Slowly, I walked up the hill towards the Administration Building. Students passed me as they hurried to class, but my feet felt clumsy, the electricity made me wobbly. At the top of the hill, I took a left on the brick path towards the English Building, and to my surprise, Principal Saint stood on the path, blocking the way.

"Eden, may I speak with you for a moment?" His entire presence exuded a dignitary-like respect, and I was sure people did not tell him "no" very often. Despite the request, he stepped in front of me, giving me no other option. At that moment, all I wanted to do was get to class and sit down. I entertained the thought of walking right past him, pretending I didn't hear. "Please, it will only take a second," he asked again, noticing my hesitation.

"Have I done something wrong?" I asked out of habit.

"Not that I am aware.... have you?" he flashed me a smile. He made a joke, but I was too exhausted to respond. He continued, "I am only concerned that Kingsley might be a bit overwhelming for you at first. Are you feeling all right? Has anything strange happened that would give you cause for concern?" His voice was slightly strained, and I saw real apprehension in his eyes. Suddenly he became something to be concerned about. This was getting kind of creepy.

"I'm fine, thank you," I kept it short and to the point. The last thing I wanted to do was confide in the Principal of the school from hell.

"Of course you are," he took a quick look around us before finishing with, "If you ever need anything, or if you ever have questions about anything, please feel free to find me immediately." Before I had a chance to respond, he walked away back toward his office.

That was strange. I wondered for a second if he knew about the weird things going on with me; but then I shook it off. How could he? I never told anyone, not even Aunt Syl. The only thing that could really have alerted him was the mysterious exploding plant, but I was not even sure if he saw what happened, although it was extremely out of the ordinary. I had to admit that.

I continued toward class, realizing now that I was the only student left standing outside. I tried to pick up my pace, but after my brief encounter with Principal Saint, I was more unstable than ever. The pulsing electricity was steadily growing stronger, and my blood felt like there was a current of energy rushing through it.

By the time I entered the English and Arts Building I could barely stand up. I needed to empty myself completely before I continued to class. I looked around quickly. Although no students occupied the lobby, I was afraid to cause a scene. My fingers crackled with the sound of electricity and my skin sizzled from the climbing temperature inside.

As quickly as I could, I ducked into the theater doors, across the hall from the marble staircase. I took a moment to let my eyes adjust to the darkness and started frantically looking around for a place to dispose of my building energy. A sudden burst of electricity surging through my heart made me double over in surprise. I tried to stand up, but only half succeeded. As fast as I could I hurried down the aisle, looking for anything that could be quietly destroyed.

On the stage I recognized the form of an almost hidden tin trash-can. I heard the last bell ring, informing me that I was late for class, so I took the stairs on the side of the stage two at a time and headed straight for the can. Looking around once more to make sure there were no onlookers, I pointed my hands toward the bottom of the can, hoping for a quick second, there was nothing disgusting in it, and released the energy.