Call of the Water (COMPLETE)

43. PRINCESS' SHADOW

Opal stood in the Literature classroom, facing Ardea, Mathais and me. She could feel our anger, triggered by her blabbing.

"Don't throw me out the window," she said with an insecure smile. "I didn't mean to say that."

"You never do!" Ardea replied. "You speak first and think second."

"Or don't think at all," Mathias added.

Surprisingly, she didn't respond. I thought that was wise, considering his current mood.

An audible sigh made us turn to our Literature professor. She still stood there, clenching the backrest of the blue chair with her fingers. I was sure that under the gloves, her knuckles were white.

"You told them," she said quietly. She didn't name the person she was accusing, but I knew it had to be me.

"No," I said. "I didn't say anything. Opal... she found out."

"By snooping," Mathias added.

"I accidentally overheard," Opal explained and walked up to Professor Cyan. "Do you know to whom I told your secret? To you. That's it. Only to you. But since it's your secret, it doesn't count. And you should know that you can trust me."

"I can trust you?" Professor Cyan glanced at Opal sideways. "This whole situation just proves I can't trust anyone."

"Don't say that, Professor Cyan. Here," Opal pulled out a sand-colored chair, "have a seat. Let's talk about it some more. Can we get you anything? A beverage maybe? Ardea, go get Professor Cyan some tea."

Ardea raised her eyebrows at Opal. "Excuse me?" she said. "I'm not leaving you in the same room with Mathias."

Opal smiled and turned to Ms. Cyan again. "See, she's reliable too. I've made her angry but she's still looking out for me."

"At this point, I'm looking out for Mathias more than I'm looking out for you," Ardea replied. "He shouldn't get in trouble just because you can't keep your mouth shut."

I looked in Mathias' direction just in time to see him smile at my elven friend's comment.

"Isn't that nice? You would pick a werewolf over your best friend," Opal said with her hands on her hips. Then she turned towards Mathias and added, "And you, stop smiling like an idiot."

The smile was gone, replaced by a scowl.

"See, this is what I'm talking about," Ardea said. "You have no boundaries. And you need to learn when to back down. Look at him," the palm of her hand indicated in his direction, "he's having a hard time as it is even without your remarks."

Opal's forehead furrowed. I was sure she was trying to come up with a reply that would ultimately only prove Ardea right. I used that time to approach Ms. Cyan. One of her hands was still gripping the chair while the other one covered her mouth.

"Professor Cyan, I'm really sorry," I said softly. "About all of this."

"I should have stayed in that town by the sea," she murmured. Her eyes were staring blankly at the table before her.

"Is that where you went? To the town by the sea?" I asked with hope.

The silence filled the classroom. I looked around only to meet Ardea's, Mathia's and Opal's eyes.

Ms. Cyan noticed the silence as well. She lifted her head and whispered, "Home. I went home."

"So, you went diving, right?" Opal asked to make sure she got it right. "Cause you wanted to feel the connection between you and your home."