Staying Under

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

After my conversation with Carter on Sunday, I had almost forgotten that I was on the risk of getting kicked out from the academy. Reality hit me back in the face when Principal Edgerton said she would like to speak to me after my Monday classes was over, which was at four. Throughout the morning I couldn't concentrate in the class. I couldn't even bring myself to be pissed off when the Dewitt girl from PE talked about me getting a night swim in the dirty pond, a news that had spread out slower than I thought it would.

I was even jittery on lunch, even though I managed to wave and smile at Carter, who was still guarding Luke for some reason he didn't want to tell me. He didn't wave back, but he did smile and gave me that brisk nod. I saw Luke glancing between the two of us, but he didn't say anything. After they passed on, the jitters were back. I felt like seconds away from biting off my own finger.

"What's up with you?" Dee asked me.

Amy, still looking at the door where Luke and Carter just left, said, "Riley is in looooove."

"Shut up," I said. It sounded more forceful than I intended to. I sighed. "Sorry. Principal Edgerton asked me to speak to her after school. I'm just trying to convince myself that this is not my last day at the academy."

"What?"

Amy filled in on Dee about what the principal had said after my drowning incident. Like Amy, Dee didn't look worried. "She's not going to expel you," Dee said with such certainty that I almost believed her. "Asphodel doesn't run on the striking system—which meant you can pull on another hundred stunts and little pranks and you still won't get expelled. The only things that will get you expelled is big things like murder, breaking huge school rules, etc. Nothing you did so far actually deserved expulsion, no matter how frequent."

Have I said I loved Dee? It was true. I did. Her logic and calm sureness was like balm to my wound. The jitters lessened after she said that.

Suddenly, the lunch hall doors were opened. A group of people in suites walked in, with Principal Edgerton at the very front. Since I couldn't use my magic yet, I couldn't put on an amplifying spell to eavesdrop to what they were saying, but from what I caught on, it seemed like the principal was giving them a tour of the school. "Who are they?" I asked.

Dee looked up, and when she did, she had a comical surprised look on her face. "Why are they here?"

"What? What?" Amy cried excitedly. "Who are they?"

"They're Council delegates," Dee said, lowering her voice. We had to lean in closer to hear what she said next. "That woman, the one in red suit, is a werewolf. The two guys with her are her second-in-command. The taller man in purple tie is Linux Warren." That name was vaguely familiar. "My uncle did a few jobs for him. Beside him—I'm not sure about this, but I think that's the Lord Ellison. The Head Council."

"Wow," Amy breathed. "Is he like a British royalty?"

"No," Dee said, frowning. "He's a descendant of the old families when monarchy was still used in our world. There were twelve houses back then—which means twelve bloodlines. They all have the blue-blooded titles. After the Council replaced monarchy, the twelve houses ceased to exist."

"You mean, like genocide?"

"What? No. No bloodshed was involved, if I'm not mistaken. They just stripped off their titles. The Head Council was the only person who still held onto his title."

"Wow," Amy repeated. "How arrogant must he be to make people call him lord?"

"Arrogance is a famed trait for Lord Ellison," Dee agreed. "But he is so powerful, everyone just went with it."

The moment the Councilmen exited the hall, all the students rounded up and began to talk wildly. Some guy was saying that they were all here because they wanted to expand our academy. Some other guy argued that he heard they were visiting because Lord Ellison's had an illegitimate kid enrolling here. The Dewitt girl said that their being here had something to do with our school's heightened security this month.

I got to say, as much as I disliked that girl, she had the most rational explanation among the others. Of course, the rest of the girls were saying they were all probably here to recruit Lucas Island for the next Head Council—exaggerate much?

The news about the delegates were so surprising, I almost forgot all about my possible expulsion until late afternoon, when my jitters came back full on. Dee had said my actions didn't deserve expulsion, but what if for all the reasons, Principal Edgerton was expelling me because she was just tired of me? Wasn't that more or less what she'd said? Rules aside, she was the principal—she could change the rules anytime she wanted. Kicking me out was totally her right.

Straight at four, I was half-mad with paranoia. I stood in front of her office, drenched in cold sweat. Taking in a deep breath, I raised my hand to knock on the door. Before my fist hit the wood, though, the door suddenly opened and Luke came out of the office. Carter wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Williams."

"Isla."

"What are you doing—" we asked each other at the same time.

"None of your—" We stopped speaking when we realized we were doing it again.

I cleared my throat, which suddenly felt thick. This could be the last time we exchanged banters like this. I supposed I should probably thank him for saving my life. "Thanks for—"

"Miss Williams?" Principal Edgerton's voice interrupted me. "Is that you? Come in."

Sighing I pushed past Luke and went inside, closing the door behind me.

Inside the office, Principal Edgerton sat behind her desk primly. "Well? Sit down."

But I didn't. "Am I being expelled?" I blurted, unable to hold it in anymore.

Principal Edgerton's surprised face was probably the most beautiful thing I had ever seen today. "Of course not, dear." Relief hit me hard, until she continued, "You are being transferred to another school."

No, no, no. I was seconds away from bursting into tears. "Why?" I croaked. "I promise if you let me stay I'm going to be good. I won't pull on pranks anymore. I won't cuss. I will be good to all the girls. I promise—"

"As much as I love to hear your promises, Miss Williams, those are not relevant to the reason why you are being transferred. You see, I have contacted your guardian. He wants you to go to the school he went to when he was younger, the Elysium Academy."

"I. Don't. Have. A. Guardian." Sniffling now, I blew my nose into the sleeve of my uniform.

"You do, Miss Williams. As a matter of fact it's time for you to know him, seeing as he's the last family member you have."

On cue, the door opened and a familiar-looking man in suit stepped in. An air of intimidation flared around him. It was probably the cutting-edge white hair he had, or probably the icy look on his face as his gaze traveled from my head to toe, like someone inspecting a breed of a horse and not finding it impressive.

"Riley," the principal said, so excited that her voice kind of trembled and made her sound so girlish, "this is your uncle and guardian, Lord Ellison."