Listen to my Heartbeat

Chapter 3 - Foxfire

So in this book, Tam was never taken by the Neverseen, and Sophie hasn't gone to the matchmakers.

The next day, Sophie met up with Linh at Foxfire. Tam was with them too, but preferred not to take part in conversations.

"So." Linh looked at her with a sneaky smile. "Fitz was at your house yesterday-"

"Wait," Sophie interrupted. "How did you know that?"

"Biana," Linh said simply. Sophie nodded in understanding.

"Hey, did you hear about that announcement that Magnate Leto was supposed to be making today?" Sophie tried to change the subject. Linh just frowned at her, an expression that looked weird pared with her rosy cheeks and usually sweet look.

"You're avoiding the topic, Sophie. What was Fitz doing at your house yesterday?" Sophie really didn't know what to say.

"Well, he came over to talk. That's it." Linh raised an eyebrow. "It's true," Sophie said defensively. "That's all that happened."

"If you say so." Linh shrugged. "What was that about an announcement by Magnate Leto?"

"Oh, Grady told me that the Council said Magnate Leto was going to talk to the whole school later," Sophie replied. "I don't know what about."

"Well," Linh said. "I guess we'll find out later. Oh! There's Biana!" She waved across the hall to where a chocolate haired girl was standing with a similarly colored haired boy. "And Fitz!" She nudged Sophie in the side.

Fitz turned to look at her and smiled. Her heart raced as she felt her cheeks start to heat up. She smiled back at him, then turned back to Linh and hid her face in her tunic. Then she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Hey!"

The speaker was Biana, a breathtakingly beautiful girl whose teal eyes shone like diamonds and her whole face lit up when she smiled, which she was currently doing.

"What's up, Sophie?" Sophie tried to hide her flaming cheeks as she smiled back.

"Grady and Edaline are getting a new animal at Havenfield today!"

"That's cool," Fitz's voice said from behind her. She turned around to see HIS smile. "What kind?"

"We don't know. The Council only informed us that we needed a big enclosure, a domed one. Like the one we used for Silveny." Fitz frowned in thought.

"Well unless they found another Alicorn, it sounds dangerous," he said. "But don't worry. Grady and Edaline are more than capable of dealing any animal." Sophie smiled at him.

"I know."

A bell suddenly rang, signaling the start of the assembly. Magnate Leto's face was projected as he made his daily announcements. Sophie tuned out, until he got to the end of the list.

"And finally, I have a big announcement to make. This year, we are starting a, hopefully lasting, school tradition. The Elven Ball." The room filled with excited whispers. "This will be a school wide event held right before midterms. Its theme will be winter, and it will be in the new ballroom at the end of the school. More details will come out closer to the date. Remember, this is fancy, so dress up!" With that, all the prodigies started leaving for their classes.

"OH MY GOD! A BALL! I'm so excited!" Biana had been rupturing Sophie's eardrums for the past couple of minutes, but her mind was elsewhere. Keefe was leaning against the door, his hair (thankfully) styled up, but he still had dark circles under his eyes. She turned to Biana.

"Excuse me for a moment." She walked over to Keefe and waved her hand in front of her face.

"Helloooo. Earth to Keefe!" He was still staring into nothingness. "KEEFE!"

He jolted, and looked around, seeming confused. Then he spotted Sophie.

"Oh. Hey, Foster. What are you doing?" Sophie frowned.

"Checking on you! You've been ignoring of us all week!"

"I just talked to you, Foster. Like yesterday," Keefe complained.

"Because I called YOU," Sophie shot back.

"Whatever." Keefe turned around and walked away. Sophie groaned in frustration. Why were boys so hard to understand?

Biana grabbed her arm and pulled her away from where Keefe had stood.

"C'mon Sophie! Let's get to class."