Sain Clare Academy (gxg, 18+)

Chapter Three

I scanned the room, pausing uncomfortably when I noticed Grace staring silently in my direction, her eyes flickering between the professor and I. Although I was sure that my disguise as Olivia Denton was perfect, I still needed to make sure I stayed out of the spotlight as much as possible.

I was glad I'd cooled myself down considerably since my own student days. Morgan Eclaire had a... reputation, back then.

"...Now then, let's get started. Get to it-- two laps!" Ah, this I was more familiar with. My professor when I was in school mandated two warm-up laps, as well. It's probably where Professor Thurman had gotten the idea from, as he had been in the same class as me.

I worked into a steady jog, correcting my speed so it was right around everyone else. I didn't suck at running, but without magic I was rather slow.

"Olivia," came a voice from beside me. I turned reactively, polite smile plastering itself on my face before I realized who it was.

Grace.

"Ah, hello," I greeted. She stared forward as we ran. "It's nice to meet you. Thank you for helping out, earlier." She glanced away briefly, and I wondered if she wasn't used to being thanked.

A girl with a brown ponytail slowed, jogging at a steady pace next to me. She was joined by a girl with a bob haircut.

"You must have come from a pretty strict school, huh? Your language, 'it's a pleasure to meet you,' and calling the Professor 'sir' and all that was cool," she grinned, hopping into our conversation. The girl next to her nodded enthusiastically.

"Where did you come from?" She asked.

Hmm, this was something I could tease Thurman about later. Not being super hard on his kids, was he? The discipline I had gone through when I was in school was inane compared to this-- not that Thurman cut anyone any slack. He just seemed... closer to his students.

"I was actually homeschooled, I transferred here on a scholarship," I replied, the lie coming easily to my lips. The girls' eyes widened.

"Wha-at, really? I didn't know you could do that!" The ponytail girl said.

"You must be, like, really smart then?" The bobbed girl spoke. I smiled sheepishly.

"Ah, thanks," I said awkwardly, not really knowing how to reply. The two girls began to talk amongst themselves as we ran, and I sunk into a comfortable silence next to Grace.

"That's right, Grace," I remembered my mission, to get to know the Belloway kids. She turned her face imperceptibly toward me.

"Yes?"

"Uh." Shoot, I hadn't thought of what to say. I was an adult trying to act like a teenager-- even though I was hardly 23, it felt weird. I opened my mouth to say something, and at my silence she fully turned her head.

My breath was knocked out of me when I noticed the startling blue of her eyes, so crystal I was surprised I hadn't spotted it at all before. To be honest, I hadn't noticed anything about her appearance besides her long, silver hair. Its beauty glared at me every time I caught sight of it; a mocking symbol.

Seeing her now, face slightly red from exertion, I realized how much attention she probably received, how beautiful she was.

Get ahold of yourself, Morgan-- don't let a kid knock you off your feet. Right. I was an adult.

To my surprise, she cracked a smile. From all of the reports I had been given, she was a quiet, intimidating presence and wasn't seen to smile or goof off at all in the classroom. A perfect student, a perfect soldier.

"I'm sorry," I bit my lip, slowing my pace as we reached the end of the final lap, "I forgot what I was going to say." She regarded me again, though this time, instead of an impassable wall, I could read genuine curiosity in her eyes.

"...That's alright," she replied as we finally stopped.

"Olivia!" I heard the girl with the bobbed hair call, just as I was looking around trying to figure out where to go. It looked like everyone was getting into groups. "Come join up with us!"

"Yeah, okay," I called back, eyes flickering back to Grace as I moved. She had already left, joining her siblings to form a group. I noticed there was tension between them, Anna standing closely next to Annakin yet refusing to look at Grace. I felt a shiver work its way down my spine when he turned to make eye contact with me, the corner of his mouth pulling up. Grace followed his eyes, but I was pulled away before I could see anything more.

"Olivia," the ponytail girl said, "I'm glad you joined our group." I laughed lightly.

"No, I appreciate you offering-- I was worried I would be left alone or something, it seems like everyone's already got their cliques." The ponytail girl clicked her tongue.

She pointed to a group of guys in the corner of the room. "That's true. It would have been bad if you'd joined with them. Or them... not that it's likely they would have offered." This time, her finger moved to point at Grace and her siblings.

"You seem to get along with Grace," the bobbed girl noted, "I've never even seen her smile before. Have you known each other long?" The girl with the ponytail's eyes widened.

"She smiled? That Grace?" She seemed baffled. The girl with a bob nodded vigorously. I got the impression they liked to gossip.

"I know! It was so crazy," she noted. I bit my lip as they spoke animatedly with each other, realizing I didn't know their names.

"I'm sorry, I should have asked this earlier, but what are your names?" I cut in. The girl with a bob cut blinked, a bit taken aback.

"Oh shoot, I totally forgot about that. I'm May," she told me, grinning widely.

"I'm Elizabeth, but you can call me Liz if you want," the girl with the ponytail let me know.

"It's nice to meet you guys." They smiled back, and for not the first time I felt as if this whole undercover thing was going to be difficult. No matter how close in age, I was still a world apart from them and hadn't talked to anyone so casually in years. "So, what was it you said before about the groups I was lucky not to be paired with?" It was also good to collect more information to make sure I didn't blow my cover. Also, I was curious about what they thought of the Belloway kids.

"Well..." Elizabeth whispered conspiratorily, gesturing to the group of male students she had pointed out earlier, "those guys--"

"Alright! We're going to start with some sparring. Everyone should be in a group of three-- get in pairs and rotate every 5 minutes. The odd person out can be the judge," Professor Thurman's voice cut in.