Surprise at School
By Alice Z
Based on Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey Series.
This story takes place after The Iron Daughter. No, this is not what will happen in The Iron Queen, it is merely a fan fiction I wrote for Julie Kagawa's contest. I do not plan on writing anymore, left with a cliffhanger, I guess. :P
Ash gave me a small, reassuring smile, I should have been the one trying to reassure him, not the other way around. After all, he was the one with the real first day of school. I tried to explain the way the schooling system works last night to the best of my ability. I was about to say something to Ash when suddenly, a group of cheerleaders walked in and headed straight for the back of the classroom, gossiping and giggling as usual. I recognized some of them, though I didn't remember most their names. I prayed they wouldn't notice me, at least until the late bell rang so I didn't have to endure more stares and whispers right this minute. I sulked low in my seat, and just as I thought I was getting lucky, one of them looked up and spotted me, "Oh my God! Meghan Chase?" She said it so loud, everyone heard her. As if on cue, everyone in the class turned, facing me. So much for keeping a low profile, I was blushing madly now. Thankfully, Mr. Davis, the lab teacher walked in right at the moment. Saved by the teacher.
"Shh. Quiet down, class!" Mr. Davis warned. I could tell right away he was the "no-nonsense" type of teacher. He paused briefly, waiting for the whispers to die down. "Much better. Good Morning, if you hadn't noticed, we have a new student and an old student that returned from Boarding School after several months. Please welcome back Meghan Chase and a big welcome to Ash." he said, without much enthusiasm. It didn't matter, because no one was listening anymore. Almost all the girls were staring at Ash with awe, giving him smiles, and the ones that weren't were whispering and staring at me.
"Alina Tulayrn? Seeing as you are clearly full of energy this morning, you can be Ash's lab partner for the rest of the semester. You can also inform him about the lab safety procedures and rules." Mr. Davis said with a time I checked, teachers didn't assign lab partners. I didn't want to sound like a freaky, possessive girlfriend but I was pretty sure this girl was going to try to flirt with Ash. I was going to say something, but Alina beat me to it. "But I've been working with Katie for the past few weeks!" She protested. Anyone else would have been thrilled, but apparently she didn't want to work with Ash. "Katie can work with Meghan." Mr. Davis said in the "that-is-final" tone my mom used to settle matters. With an exaggerated sigh and eye roll, Alina gathered her things and stood up. Katie, the girl that had pointed me out, gave me a death glare like it was my fault. Why the hell was she acting like it was my fault? Believe me, I did not want to work with her, or any of the cheerleaders. Alina was tall and slender with jet black hair, she was stunning. She walked over to our lab table, and stood there. "Well? Are you going to move or what?" she snapped. The class erupted into quiet giggles before Mr. Davis shushed them, and I realized I had to move to Alina's original seat next to Katie. In the cheerleader corner. I can handle it, no problem, I thought to myself. After all, they were nothing compared to Mab, and Machina; I shivered at the thought of them.
But I had to be thankful it wasn't any other girl taking my spot, Alina didn't even glance twice at Ash. I looked over at Ash, he looked a bit uncomfortable and pale, and he was staring at Alina.
"You okay?" I asked softly, forcing a smile at Ash. He nodded, but there must have been something wrong because he still looked like he just saw a ghost. The only other time he had looked like this was when Virus, a powerful Iron fey that planted a controlling bug in Ash's head. Was there to much iron in here? I couldn't concentrate on my work at all because when I wasn't worried about Ash, I heard everyone else whispering, passing notes, or texting, most likely about me.
The time wasn't moving at all. I felt like I've been in Calculus for hours. I didn't mind the actual classes much before, maybe I was worrying about Ash's weird expression this morning, or because I had no idea what the teacher was talking about. The school had been nice enough to not hold me back; granted if I go to a tutor everyday after school. Honestly, it probably would've been better to hold me back a year so I could actually catch up in classes. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the bell rang. I walked as fast as I could down the hall to the cafeteria, where Ash and I agreed to meet. I almost walked right into Katie, Alina, and the rest of their crew. "Where you going, swamp girl?" Katie taunted. Alina and the rest of them snickered, but didn't say anything. "Just because you're friends with Ash doesn't mean you're cool. In fact, you probably did something to him to make him like you. Like you did with Angie," she continued. My breath almost choked me. What? You know what, I was tired of being put down, I decided to fight back. Ignoring them wasn't going to cut it. I opened my mouth to speak, but someone else beat me to it, "Meghan?" I felt relieved hearing Ash's voice. The cheerleaders turned around to face him, and one of them spoke up "Oh, hey Ash." She said it in an awfully flirtatious way. Ash ignored her, and instead took my hand and together, we waked into the crowded cafeteria. Sure, I was a princess, well, actually an exiled one, but I never actually felt like one, but right at this moment, I felt like Cinderella being whisked away by her Prince Charming. Better yet, Ash looked pretty much normal now.
"What did these girls say?" Ash asked. breaking into my fantasy moment. "Oh, nothing much. Just their usual obnoxiousness." I replied, not really wanting to talk about them. We reached an empty table and sat down. "Do you know Alina?" Ash asked softly. Why was he asking about Alina? Oh God, did Ash like her? "Uh…n-no," I stammered, "I mean, not personally…why?" "I was just wondering." Ash murmured.
Suddenly, Katie and Alina walked up to our table. "Hey Ash," Katie said with a big smile, "Can we sit with you?" "Don't you guys always sit at table eighteen?" I asked with clenched teeth, I did not want any one of them at our table. Katie raised her eyebrows, "Yeah, but, uh, Alina wants to ask Ash something about the lab due tomorrow. Right Alina?" Alina was checking something on her phone, oblivious to everything until Katie nudged her sharply. "What? Oh, uh, sure?" Alina said it as a question, clearly confused. "Alright." Ash said with a chuckle. Katie's eyes gleamed as they returned to their table to get their stuff. "Why did you say yes? You know Katie was obviously lying." I demanded, surprising myself.
Ash looked at me, "Alina…" he drifted off. I felt like someone hit me in the stomach. So he did like her. "Go on." I said quietly, despite the fact that I didn't really want him to say it. "Alina looks almost exactly like Ariella, and she has the same surname too." he murmured, looking pained at the mention of her name. I did not see that coming, how was it possible? "Alina must be related to Ariella, somehow." Ash said, as if reading my mind. Thats why he looked so pale when he first saw Alina, I thought. Now what?