Apprentices: Waxing Crescent

Signs of Specialization

At dinner, I’m greeted like I just rose from the dead. Not just by my friends, but even by other students, who I usually just get admiring looks from. I smile at everyone like they’re my bitches and even talk to them. They love it. And I love to be popular without a good reason.

My friends are all happy to see me, especially Katie. She even turns to me in excitement, just blurting out of nowhere: “Maybe this was your specialization.” I blink in surprise, opening my mouth, but quickly closing it again. What?

“Okay? Why?” I ask, raising my eyebrows at her. She keeps smiling at me like I’m supposed to get it. And to be honest, it makes me quite angry. I breathe out, trying to relax. “Never mind. Whatever this is, I need food in my system before you say anything else,” I remark as I realize she won’t say anything else.

Then, I get up and stride towards the counter, happy that I don’t have to wait in the biggest line. Mrs. Bardot’s face lights up as she sees me. She starts asking how I’m doing, making me realize that Katie told her about my fever. Great. I thought I could lie and say something cool. That I was kidnapped or something.

Luckily, food is great tonight because I’m starving. I take a little of everything then get to the table with Katie tailing me. She’s been with me but didn’t have a chance to jump into Mrs. Bardot’s worried chanter.

As I sit down, she already opens her mouth, but I stop her by raising my hand and stuffing myself with spaghetti. Only as I swallow do I turn to her, a satisfied smile on my face. “Okay. Now you can explain. I’m not hangry anymore,” I say, making Marcus snort.

I send him a pointed look, but I don’t say a word. It’s been two beautiful days without seeing his face. I prefer him to stay quiet now because I could get used to that kind of silence. I turn back to Katie in expectation, who seems a little embarrassed for me.

“Well … We all react differently when our specialization happens. Some don’t know that it happened, some feel sick and vomit, others get a high fever … Get where I’m going with this?” she finally speaks up, staring at me in expectation.

I furrow my eyebrows. “I’ve been doing something constantly for the past week. That’s the reason why I got sick, not my specialization,” I answer after a while, when I manage to think her words through. Ugh, I hate it when I’m so slow. I’m not used to it.

Katie stares at me in confusion, probably asking herself how I can be so sure of that. But in the end, she just shrugs, letting me be. “Okay, if you say so. But it wouldn’t hurt to try to perform each element’s most difficult spell. Just to make sure,” she suggests innocently.

I don’t say anything in response. Instead, I stuff my mouth with more spaghetti, not bothering to think about specialization. I’m sure that my time will come. If not sooner, I’ll know my element at the end of the school year, at my specialization ceremony.

“Sometimes I have no idea what you two talk about,” Dave suddenly remarks, having stared at us for the past couple of minutes. I chuckle, swallowing before I reply.

“That’s because only half of your brain is operating on a daily basis.” Katie is the first one to chuckle, while the boys join in a moment later. I flash a smile at Dave. “Don’t take it to your heart, you know I’m just kidding.”

He smirks in return, proudly pushing his chest out. “Of course, I know that. You secretly think I’m the second best of this group. After Jake,” he responds, making me let out a short laugh. I sometimes wonder where these guys are getting the confidence from. But then I have to remind myself that I’m not any better.

I glance at Jake, who seems unusually quiet this evening. Is it because of the way he was acting today? I feel like something is squeezing at my heart as he looks up at me from his half-finished dinner, offering me a half-smile.

I just pull my lips up, when Marcus leans into my frame of view, glancing between the two of us. Finally, he turns towards Jake’s ear. “Maybe her fever was contagious, mate. You don’t look so well,” he pretends to whisper to him, but he’s loud enough for the entire table to hear.

I roll my eyes, turning back to my dinner before I start to feel sick. How the hell does he always know when Jake’s with me? Is he really such a creepy stalker or what? I can’t stand that guy, really.

It makes me feel even angrier, when I hear some girls behind us giggling. Great, so he was loud enough for everyone around us to hear him. It’s not like no one in the entire school knows that Jake and I have a thing, but it’s something else to talk about it so openly, like Marcus does. He really doesn’t have a single ounce of self-control.

“What’s up with you today, grumpy-pants? I know you were sick, but f**k, you spent two days lying in bed. There’s nothing greater than that,” Marcus suddenly remarks, making my gaze shoot up.

“I’m not in the mood to listen to your whining,” I simply say, trying to stay civil. For the sake of everyone else present. I know they hate to listen to our bickering. But I think I’ve done it.

Katie tenses up beside me and Jake doesn’t look any better, sitting opposite me and next to Marcus. Sometimes he probably wants to bang our heads together and make us pass out. Just to get some peace and quiet.

Marcus mocks to be offended, placing a hand over his chest in a dramatic way. “Oh, Pierce, how you hurt my feelings,” he breathes out in disappointment, making Gabe and Dave snort at his stupidity.

I take a deep breath, forcing myself to ignore him. I finish my dinner as quickly as I can, but I don’t have the same appetite as before. I leave the table as quickly as I can, in the hopes that Marcus keeps quiet and Jake doesn’t come after me. I don’t need more drama today. I just need my cat, while I catch up on my schoolwork.

Katie joins me as I carry my tray back to the counter and leaves with me, as I wave to the boys from afar. I walk as quickly as my feet can carry me, making it difficult even for Katie’s long legs to keep up with me.

We walk in silence for a few moments, until I open up to her myself. I don’t know how she knows it, but she manages to make me spill everything without saying a word of encouragement beforehand.

“I can’t stand him,” I begin, making her send me a knowing look. “He never keeps his mouth shut and I truly have enough of his snarky remarks. Like he knows everything about me! And Jake, f**k …” I trail off, realizing that I might have said too much.

Katie stops in her tracks, leading us up the stairs. I soon realize where we’re going. It’s the most private place for anyone to be able to talk. Up on the roof no one sees us. And most importantly, no one hears us.

We sit in the middle, watching the colorful sky, slowly turning into darkness. The sun isn’t visible anymore, but it’s traces are left like waves of fire, about to get swallowed by the night. It’s truly a sight.

“What about Jake?” Katie suddenly asks, making me look at her in desperation. How do I even say this? It should stay between me and Jake, but I can’t keep quiet. It’ll make me explode sooner or later. And it’s better if I tell my best friend than someone random, right?

I take a deep breath, explaining what happened today. I can see her blushing even in the glowing orange light of the sky. She’s such a nun. “The point is, I’m afraid he’s starting to catch feelings. And … I might be too. But I’m trying to fight it so hard, I can’t even tell you how much I don’t want it to happen,” I groan, burying my face into my hands.

I hate everything about this situation. But I would be lying if I said only Jake was on my mind. My thoughts are being crazy with everything that happened in the past week. I’m still thinking about Cincinnati, trying to figure out what feels so wrong about what happened there.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Evy. You both knew what you were getting yourselves into … As long as it’s working, okay. But if it’s not …” she trails off, sending me a meaningful gaze. Meanwhile, I send her a confused look. What the hell is she blabbing about? Oh, right. Jake. Cincinnati made me forget about what I told her in the first place.

“No, no. It’s working perfectly well. We just have to refresh our deal and it’ll all be fine. But it’s not just him, it’s Cincinnati too. I can’t get it out of my head. Everyone is f*****g quiet about it, but the whole world knows about what happened. My aunt found out about it in the same day and she’s in Dubai!” I burst out, suddenly not feeling so well.

I stare at my trembling hands, trying to figure out what’s going on with me. Did the fever leave some kind of damage behind, or what? “Hey, it’s okay. Breathe with me,” Katie jumps into action the moment she realizes something’s wrong. She takes my hands into hers and takes a deep breath, forcing me to follow her lead. I hate this spiritual s**t. But I don’t have the heart to glare at her when she’s trying to help me so badly.

“Katie …” I say after a while once I start to feel better. “Do you think I could really be specializing?” I ask, trying to suffocate the hope in my voice, but it can still be heard, loudly and clearly. Traitorous b***h.

My best friend’s face lights up and she nods, probably excited that I finally started to believe her. “Try it out when you get to your room. Or rather not. You’re still not feeling well enough for doing magic,” she tells me in a conflicted tone.

“Do you have the theory for the spells?” I ask in a hopeful voice, hating myself for sounding so desperate.

“Well … I shouldn’t have them, but I got them from the school counselor, when I suspected that I’m specializing,” she admits. I shake my head in disbelief. So much for trying out our dominant element only at our specialization ceremony.

“I totally knew it.” She stares at me like I shouldn’t be so observant, but I can’t help it. I saw it coming from miles away. She pouts, crossing her arms against her chest.

“Oh, you did? So, do you also know what we’ve been doing in class yesterday?” she asks curiously, making my face fall. This time she’s the one chuckling. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll lend you my notebooks. You can get them now, in fact. I don’t need them tomorrow,” she adds, making me smile.

“You’re a golden girl,” I tell her, making her shake her head at me. Then, her face turns a little more serious.

“Feeling better?” she asks, her voice filled with concern. I think for a moment, then nod.

“Yeah. I am. Let’s get going now, before I get sick again,” I say, making her shake her head at me. We get up to leave and I open the door for my best friend. I wasn’t kidding. She truly is golden. I don’t know where I would be without her in my life.

I turn my head to take one last glance at the now red sky, suddenly feeling grateful that I’m alive. Many warrior witches have already left this world to protect us all. I owe it to them to find out what truly happened in Cincinnati. I smile into the sky, like I’m trying to assure their souls, that they didn’t die in vain. I’ll find out the truth and expose it. I owe it to them, for making it possible for me to live a carefree life.