How It Should Have Been: Sokeefe AU

Episode 18: (Sophie's POV)

Before:

"Will you be okay?" She felt the need to clarify.

"Sure," Keefe reassured her. "I'm me, after all." What a horrible lie.

Sophie laughed and handed him the crystal. He held it up to the light streaming through the windows in her room, but before he stepped into the light, he said,

"And, Ruewen? I missed you too."

Then he stepped into the light and glittered away.

Midterms!

Sophie's heart pounded in her stomach. Or maybe her throat. Or maybe her stomach pounded in her throat. She wasn't really sure.

All she knew was that it was midterms. If she didn't pass, she would be sent to Exilium. Sure, it wouldn't be as bad as it had been when Tam and Linh went, thanks to Councillor Oralie, but it would still be horrible. And getting expelled from Foxfire? The worst thing EVER. Especially since Jolie hadn't struggled with anything at all, so Sophie would be The Girl Who Was Expelled And Brought Shame Upon Her Family.

Fitz grabbed her hand, bringing her out of her worry cycle.

"Excited?" he asked, flashing his perfect smile.

Right. He wouldn't be nervous because he was Fitz, who always got one hundred percent and passed every class.

The smile Sophie tried to muster must not have been very convincing, because Fitz placed his hand on her back and asked, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah!" Sophie replied, a bit too loudly. "Yeah," she repeated more convincingly.

"Okay, good!" Fitz bought the act and led Sophie over to her locker, where the thinking cap hung.

Just looking at the white hat designed to stop cheating sent butterflies coursing through Sophie's stomach. Or maybe that was Fitz's hand, which was still wrapped in hers.

"I have to go, okay? See you at lunch!" Fitz kissed her on the cheek, causing several girls around them to glare at Sophie with jealousy, and hurried to his own locker, on the other side of the atrium with the other Level Sixes, while Sophie stayed at her locker with the Level Fours.

She managed to make her legs move and licked the DNA sensor, which tasted like cinnacreme. The locker popped open and Sophie grabbed her books and the thinking cap. She plopped it onto her head and rushed over to her first exam, Multispeciesial Studies.

That one was not one she was worried about. She had been fascinated by humans and other species since she was little, and wanted to be a delegate to other cities when she left Foxfire. If the Human Assistance Program hadn't been canceled, she would probably have been one of the elves on it. And the ogres were so complex, with their traditions and heirlooms and hierarchy. Alvar had told her all about the ogres one day at Everglen, because she'd mentioned her interest in them.

Some of her friends were gnomes, and she'd witnessed their skills and visited their homes several times.

She didn't know too much about the dwarves or trolls, who were generally secretive creatures, but she was definitely taking that as a subject in the elite levels.

The first bells chimed, reminding Sophie that she actually had to get to class, and she scurried across the halls, and opened the door to her class, shutting it behind her. She took a seat and began the sheet in front of her.

...

Sophie tromped into the cafeteria, worn out and slightly singed from the lightning she'd nearly failed to bottle in Elemetalism. Dex was sitting at the table already, talking with Biana. They were sitting very close together, and the tips of Dex's fingers were just touching Biana's.