Avia Academy

🌊Final Chapter: Trouble and the Truth

They still argue, though not quite as often, to whom the results of Claire's final exams were owed.

Claire, arrogant as she is, has at the very least learned to stop claiming all the success as her own. She is reminded, frequently frequently, how lost she would have been-would still be-without help. Without a handful of caring people in her life. She owes everything to those true friends, true family.

But now, in this moment where thirteen year old Claire stood at the mouth of the Academy pool with her heart pounding loud in her ears, and the blue eyes of all her classmates boring down on her expectantly, Claire was alone.

Everything she'd lived for until now was riding on this last day of classes. Her Arithmetic and Literature finals had passed without a hitch, and Religion had of course been a breeze too. But they alone wouldn't be enough. She needed the Elemei exam to go flawlessly.

And she needed to stop seeing flashes of soft violet eyes and wisps of honey hair in corners of her vision.

"When you're ready, Miss Sable, you may begin," Bakshi droned.

She nodded and took a steadying breath. Then another. And one more for good measure. This was a similar setup to mid terms. She first had to cross the pool without letting the water touch her. Once on the other side, she would have to use water to lift coins from cups-there were more coins this time, two for each cup. It would be heavier.

After that, there remained a free section for Claire to display a water manipulation skill of her choice. That was where she had to make sure she shined. But first, getting there.

One more deep breath later, Claire closed her eyes and stepped into the pool. The water rose to her waist, but she didn't feel it. Her socks and shoes remained dry. So far, so good. She just had to move. Careful to keep her gaze away from the others in the room, and with a blush coloring her brown cheeks russet, she began a series of pirouettes.

If there was laughter or murmuring, Claire didn't hear it. All she heard was the rhythm of her heart pounding like a drum. She played Hadyn's audition routine in her mind, followed by the simple dance she'd demonstrated that first training session after the rain.

Claire reached the pool's edge a dozen or so twirls later and emerged perfectly dry. She exhaled. One down, two to go.

Bakshi circled her, making notes on his clipboard. If he had any personal feelings on her success, he didn't show it. "Proceed."

Next was moving the coins. Hadyn had made her practice this out at the fountain, with flat stones instead of coins. The stones had been heavier. Claire completed this task nigh effortlessly, wiggling and shuffling in place all the while to keep time with the drumbeat in her mind.

"There are no bonus points for style, Miss Sable," Bakshi sighed. This time Claire heard the giggles from her classmates. She tried her best to ignore them, focusing instead on the rhythmic sound of Bakshi's pen. "You now have two minutes to showcase what you've learned this year. Begin."

Claire nodded, wiped her sweaty hands on her skirt, and stepped back to the pools edge. This, she'd practiced on her own. After Sylva was expelled and Hadyn stopped helping her, Claire had a month of nights alone in her empty dorm room. She used that time to practice what would have been embarrassing with someone else in the room-what was going to be embarrassing now, in front of her cousin and other classmates.

She'd taught herself Hadyn's audition dance.

It wasn't nearly as graceful or beautiful when Claire did it-she'd had to simplify the routine a bit, since cartwheels and acrobatics were well beyond her skill set. The water curving from the pool and swirling around her as she moved didn't have nearly as lovely an effect as the fire, but it was more than Claire ever thought herself capable of at the beginning of the year. And she was doing it for herself.