Chatoyant College Book 8: From the Earth

Chapter 16: Dry

Of course, only those closest to Corrie noticed that the water had stopped. The rest of the classroom was still flooding slowly—in fact, Dawn saw as she considered and rejected the idea of getting down from her seat, the water had gone up to several inches on the floor and was still moving. People in the rest of the room were still shrieking and making noises of disgust, and Dawn could hear chairs moving around and footsteps on the hollow-sounding wood as people followed her example.

Corrie, of course, was still standing in the water (at least it was pure water, not muddy), and it had splashed all down her front as well. She had a stricken expression on her face, and she stepped away from Professor Lal quickly. Thankfully, the water didn't start up again.

Professor Lal took a deep breath and splashed over to her desk, then said clearly, "I apologize, class, but I'm sure you see why this is necessary." She waved her hand and in a moment, all the water had vanished.

Dawn, looking around, didn't see what there was to apologize for. The water from Corrie's bucket, desk, and floor was entirely gone. True, Corrie was still wet up and down, and the hems of Dawn's jeans were still wet, but it was a lot better than it had been. She was relieved to be able to climb down from her desk. But then she heard something that made her understand: Roe, disappointed, said, "Oh, that's just great. Now I have to start all over again."

Dawn leaned over and peeked into her empty bucket. "Did you have some water in your bucket?"

Roe nodded glumly. "Now you can't tell that I created any. I was doing really well, too."

"Well, I still think you're in better shape than me," said Dawn. "I hadn't even gotten any yet. You can probably do it again."

Roe sighed. "I guess you're right." She looked up and over at Corrie. Dawn followed her gaze. Professor Lal was talking quietly to Corrie, evidently taking advantage of the momentary confusion in the classroom to speak without being overheard. Dawn couldn't even hear what she was saying. But it seemed to be working, because Corrie's expression relaxed and finally she even smiled a little bit. Then Professor Lal pointed her palm toward Corrie and walked toward Dawn. Dawn quickly looked down at her bucket as though she hadn't been trying to eavesdrop.

"Are you wet?" Professor Lal asked crisply. When Dawn nodded, she pointed her palm toward her, and Dawn felt a jet of warm air hitting her ankles, where her jeans were damp. The air dried her, though only partway. "I'm afraid I can't vanish the water once it's soaked into your clothing, but I can help, at least. You may continue with your practice; there is no danger. Had you gotten any water into your bucket before the flood?"

"Not yet," said Dawn.

The professor nodded. "All right. Work on that." She moved on to Roe, repeating the drying action and the question. Dawn was prepared to back up Roe's claim that she had, indeed, created some water, but the professor appeared to believe her without difficulty.

Dawn watched Corrie out of the corner of her eye even as she lifted her hands above her bucket and prepared to try creating water again. Corrie looked nervous but determined. She was holding her hands above the bucket again, and while there wasn't any water coming out of them, there wasn't a flood, either.

After that Dawn really did focus. By the time class ended, she'd only filled her bucket with about an inch of water, but at least she'd learned to stop and start. Professor Lal pronounced her perfectly accomplished. Roe had gotten a lot more, and Corrie had again filled her bucket, but it wasn't overflowing. The professor vanished the water as she came to each desk, and they piled the buckets in the back of the room again.

As soon as Professor Lal left the classroom erupted in whispers while everyone put their coats on, but no one seemed to want to talk directly to Corrie. Dawn caught Roe's eye, and, with one accord, each took one of Corrie's arms and walked her out of there, away from all the chatter.

"Do you know what happened?" Dawn asked softly as they left the building.

Corrie shook her head. "Sort of? I mean, I know what was going on with my magic, and Professor Lal explained that this can happen sometimes. Apparently she's had a couple of other students over the years with magic as strong as mine. She had me working on trying to vanish the water again."

"But she didn't warn you this could happen," said Roe.

"No." Corrie took a deep breath. "I really do think I need to read that book."