Becoming Magical [2]

C H A P T E R - 1 4

"So what'd you get?" Dex asked, snatching Sophie's schedule.

He frowned as he read the list, and she knew he had to be thinking the same thing she was.

Why was Fitz and Meredith in her telepathy session?

Except for PE—where they needed teams—all Foxfire sessions were taught one-on-one between Mentor and prodigy, so the curriculum could be customized.

"Aw, are you guys sad that your lockers aren't next to each other?" Marella asked, nudging her way between them. "Because I might be willing to trade mine for a few rare Prattles' pins." She pointed to a locker a few doors down from Sophie's.

"Maybe later," Dex mumbled, still glaring at Sophie's schedule.

Marella read over shoulder. "Whoa—you have a session with Fitz Vacker?"

"I guess."

"Fitz Vacker," Marella repeated. "You get to spend four hours a week alone with Fitz. Vacker?"

"Not alone," Sophie whispered, wishing Marella would keep her voice down. Several heads had turned their way, and Dex was turning redder by the second. "Sir Tiergan and Mer will be there too."

"Still." Marella's eyes turned dreamy. "You're the luckiest girl alive."

"Oh, please," Dex muttered.

"Man—why can't I be a Telepath?" Marella said, ignoring him. "I'd better manifest a special ability this year—and it better be something good, like Vanishing. Though I'll probably be a Guster like my dad. Controlling the wind—whoop-de-freaking-do." She let out a dramatic sigh. "Meanwhile Sophie gets three ability training sessions."

"Only two," Sophie corrected.

"Uh-uh. Linguistics is an elite subject, so the only reason you're in it is because you're a Polyglot."

"Wait—an elite subject? Like, the elite levels?" Sophie asked.

Marella nodded. "Level Eight, I think. No point in learning to speak Ogre if you aren't going to be nobility, ya know?"

She'd be learning to speak Ogre?

"Whoa, it says your session is in the Silver Tower," Dex said, holding out her schedule to show her.

"Wait—you get to go inside the Silver Tower?" Jensi asked as he and Biana joined the group. "Do you realize how insanely cool that is—no one's allowed in the elite towers except elite prodigies—you have to tell us what it's like!"

"I'll try," Sophie said, struggling to wrap her head around this huge new information.

How did she go back to being the super-young-prodigy-with-all-the-older-kids? She'd done that already as the twelve-year-old high school senior—and it hadn't exactly gone well. Not to mention she'd be totally lost in the new building, and it wasn't like she knew anyone there who could help show her around.

Well . . . she did know one person, or know of him anyway—but that was actually worse.

She'd always been relieved that she didn't have to worry about running into Prentice's son, Wylie. He had his part of the school, and she had hers, and they never had to meet.

What if they did now?

What would she say?

What would he say?

"You're still coming over today, right?" Biana asked, interrupting her mounting panic.

Sophie shook her head to clear it. "Sorry. Yep. I just need to run home to change first and then I'll head over." Alden was back from wherever the Council had sent him and she was planning to finally show him the clue.