The Invisible Princess of Everglen

Chapter 10: A Punchy Mood

Maruca sat next to Stina at lunch.

It was such a selfish, annoying move that Biana decided she didn't want to be friends with such an obnoxious elf.  Couldn't Maruca tell that neither of them wanted this to happen?

Fitz was undeniably smug about it.  He kept flashing smirks at her, like he was some sort of wannabe Keefe.  

Biana was so going to prank him later.  Maybe she should tell Keefe that Fitz was crushing hard on a girl in Level Five.  Keefe could and he would tease Fitz about that.

And hey, Biana hadn't made a pinky promise.

The rest of the day went far too quickly.  The classes practically zoomed by, exhausting Biana in the process.  Even PE, which she somewhat enjoyed, was a mess.  She was frazzled and worried and it felt like there was a ticking clock somewhere inside her, counting down to the second that Biana would have to be friends with Sophie.

Calm down, she thought as she changed out of her gym clothes.  It's not a big deal.  You can have a fashion show or something cool.  Just pretend she's Maruca.

Thinking about Maruca twisted Biana's gut in a way she hadn't anticipated.  And besides, she had a feeling that Sophie wasn't into that stuff.

What the heck was she going to do?

Biana was tempted for a fraction of a second to ask Fitz what Sophie liked to do.  But he wouldn't know.  And even if he did, she was far too annoyed at him to ask for help.

Maybe Alvar will know what to do, Biana thought desperately as she and Fitz lined up to leap home.  Sophie was in the line next to her, but like usual, she was talking to Dex and Marella.

And, of course, Maruca was in the farthest line away from Biana, chatting it up with Stina Heks and sending dirty glances Biana's way.

Biana's fingers curled into a fist, and she wanted to jump over there and punch the both of them.  But it was her turn to leap, and besides, she didn't want to get detention.

Even if it would be totally worth it to see Maruca with a black eye.

As soon as Biana and Fitz leaped home, Fitz started giggling like a six-year-old.  "You're so awkward," he snorted.  "And you're pretty obvious, too."

Biana tackled him to the ground.

"OW!  BIANA, WHAT THE--" Fitz yelled out, pushing back.  Biana growled like a feral animal and raised her fist to punch her brother.  She was in quite the punchy mood.

"BIANA!" yelled an angry voice that sounded an awful lot like Biana's father.

Both of the Vacker kids were assigned chores as punishment, but Biana managed to worm out of the chores by saying that Sophie was coming over.  "And I can't be doing chores while she's here," Biana reasoned, "because that would make me a bad host."

Alden ran a hand through his hair.  "Fine," he sighed, and went inside.

As soon as the front door slammed shut, Alvar appeared, grinning at the two of them.  "You need to take a shower," he chuckled to Fitz, "you're filthy."

Fitz grunted and shoved past his brother to storm into the house.

Alvar turned to Biana, his pale blue eyes shining with mirth.  "Well, you've officially done it," he said gleefully.  "Knocked the Fitzster down to size."

Biana rolled her eyes, but couldn't suppress the smile that curved her lips.  "I didn't know you called him the Fitzster."  She began checking for traces of mud on her Foxfire uniform.  Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any.

"I've been taking lessons from Keefe, you know.  I figured after teaching him everything I know, I'd take a leaf out of his book."  Alvar grinned.

"I think you taught him a little too much," Biana sighed.  "He got detention again today."

"That's my boy!" Alvar said proudly.

The front door creaked open.  Della peered out.  "Biana, I've been told that you invited Sophie over," she sang, her voice ridiculously delighted.

"Yep," Biana said unhelpfully.

"Then you'd better get out of your Foxfire uniform," Alvar pointed out.

"I was going to do that," Biana muttered, walking inside.  Della's eyes were practically glowing with excitement, which only made Biana more embarrassed as she made straight for her room.

Biana changed into a turquoise tunic with pink flowers embroidered around the hems, tied with a blush pink sash.  She ran downstairs, not wanting to keep Sophie waiting if she arrived, and ran right into Fitz.

"Dude, is that the second time you've tackled him today?" asked someone that sounded a lot like Keefe.

"Yep," Fitz answered, coughing.  "I really hope you're not going for a third."

Biana flushed red.  "I'm sorry.  This time it was accidental."

Fitz got to his feet.  "Whatever.  I'm sure you'll find--"

"Hey, is that Foster?" Keefe asked, pointing outside.  Biana whirled around and saw Sophie standing outside of the gates, gazing around Everglen in awe.

Great.  It was time to be her friend.