Chapter 16: Beginning of Change
Our first week back to the academy after break was a depressing one. All morning everyone sulked and whined about their missing animals. I felt bad for the children who lost their companions. I wondered how many other children were like Benjamin and didn't have anyone else. I was never allowed to have pets as a child. My "mother" hated them, but I'm sure I would have been a lot less lonely if I would have been allowed to have one.
"Are you an empath as part of your endowment or is selflessness just a part of your personality?" Salem came up from behind me as I rummaged through my locker to find the things I would need for the first few classes of the day. I jumped at the suddenness of his presence.
"I don't know." I said, smiling at him. I noticed that his hair was a mess, his shirt was untucked, his cape was wrinkled and his tie wasn't tied correctly. "Do you even own a mirror?" I asked him as I sat my books back down and began to fix his tie. Charlie didn't know how to tie one, so I had to learn because he didn't want to. "You're just as bad as my brother." I sighed. I reached up and combed my fingers through his hair trying to maintain some kind of order and he tucked in his shirt. "You usually do a better job at taking care of yourself. Is something wrong?"
Salem shrugged. He had been acting strange since we had run into that creepy man with the cloak. "I'm fine." He picked up his guitar case and walked away from me briskly.
"Okay, weirdo." I sighed under my breath and picked all of my books back up. In all of my classes, I just heard students talking about their pets. I felt bad when I had to give a couple of students detention for talking in the Great Hall about their problems, but I didn't want Asa to have a reason to yell at me for giving out less detentions than all of the other prefects.
Before my piano lesson with Mr. Pilgrim, who had finally returned, I walked into the prefect's room to turn in my detention slips when I had the misfortune of running into Asa. He was leaning against the wall, flipping through a book. I knew he wasn't reading it, but he was trying to put up some kind of show for me. I decided to play along. "Oh, Infinity. I didn't see you there." He sat the book down on his desk and took a few steps towards me. When his yellow eyes locked into mine, I didn't find the same ferociousness that I usually did. He seemed so unsure of himself and looked uncomfortable in his own skin. The animal exodus probably affected him too. He was part animal after all. "I actually wanted to ask you for a favor…"
"Why would I help you with anything, Asa Pike?" I handed him my paperwork for the detentions I had given out. I thought he was reaching out to grab them, but he grabbed my wrist instead and pulled me close.
"A lot about me changed while you were in that coma. You wouldn't talk to me last semester so I couldn't show you." He reached out and grabbed my other wrist, holding me firmly in place. The shy look receded and the wolfish glare came back. I was too scared to move. "I figured out who I really am."
Before I could move, he pulled me even closer and planted his lips on mine. I was incredibly shocked. My first kiss was stolen by someone whom I disliked. A burst of rage ran through me and I could feel the heat rising into my cheeks. I yanked myself away and reared my fist back. When my fist connected with his eye with a satisfying smack, I heard a burst of laughter from the doorway.
I turned to see Manfred standing in the doorway, blocking my only exit. My heart began to beat faster. Last time I had been left alone with the two of them, I had ended up in the hospital in a coma. "She hits hard, doesn't she?" Manfred shook his head and stepped to the side. He was going to let me pass. Manfred was actually doing be a favor. I averted my eyes from his and stormed out the door. "You really made her angry." I heard him say. I pulled my cape tightly around me and walked to my music lesson. I figured I could just sit in peace during my music lesson with Mr. Pilgrim. He didn't seem to care if I played or not.
When I opened up the door, Mr. Pilgrim was sitting in silence. Much to my surprise, he acknowledged me and spoke. "You're crying." He said calmly. I hadn't noticed that my eyes were stinging with tears and my cheeks were damp.
"I'm fine." I sat down next to him and wiped my face with my cape. I wondered if the incident from last year had given me some type of post-traumatic stress disorder.
"Are you hurt?" This was the most he had ever talked to me. I was annoyed that he chose today to actually care about me as a student. I was hoping for just a regular silent lesson.
"I'll get over it." I looked him in the eye. Something in his gaze had changed.
"Please don't cry, Amy." He frowned.
"Amy? Mr. Pilgrim, I'm Infinity. Amy is the girl who has class after me." I rolled my eyes and looked back down at my hands. At least he was making some kind of effort to remember his student's names this semester. He only had five.
"Oh." He went back to being the regular closed off, space cadet he usually was. I even got to leave my lesson early because I was pretty sure that he fell asleep with his eyes open. As I was heading down the stairs, I ran into the familiar mop of curly brown hair.
"How is Mr. Pilgrim today?" Amy Peterson asked me. She asked me the same question every day when we passed each other.
"Eh. He's fading in and out. He called me Amy today."
We shared a laugh but I was still upset over what had happened with Asa. I wanted to see Salem and talk to him, but I wouldn't have that chance until after dinner. We both had serving duty today and would be on opposite ends of the table. This also wasn't something that I wanted to tell him with telepathy so I tried to keep my brain busy with mundane and unimportant things.
I didn't get to see him after dinner either. I dreaded going to the king's room and seeing Asa, so I found myself reaching my arm out to grab Lysander when he passed. He looked down at me with surprised and wide eyes. "Are you okay, Infinity? You look like you're going to cry." I shook my head and I awkwardly explained my problem while we stood in the middle of the hallway. "He really is an animal." Lysander said angrily when I was done. "Of course I'll go to the King's room with you. Any time you don't feel safe and you can't find Salem, come tell me or Tancred. I'm sorry that happened to you. I'm surprised Manfred didn't take advantage of the situation and make it worse for you though. I think he lives off of fear. And I know it must be hard dealing with him after the close call you had last year."
Lysander and I walked into the king's room together where Manfred, Asa, Dorcas, the Branko Twins and Joshua already sat at their spot at the table. I sat down next to Lysander and refused to look up until I heard Salem roar with laughter. "Jesus, Asa. What the hell happened to your eye? You piss off the rugby team?"
"Language. You are in school and you're supposed to be the head boy." Manfred said stiffly. I looked up to peek at Asa and before I could stop myself, a surprised escaped my mouth. His eye was completely swollen shut. I would like to bet that I broke almost every single blood vessel in that area.
"I wanna know who punched Asa so I know to stay away from that guy." Tancred joked as he began to take his seat on the other side of Lysander.
Lysander shifted uncomfortably and Manfred tried to suppress a grin. Although he had been on the other side of my fist at one point in his life, Manfred was getting enjoyment out of knowing that someone else had been injured at the hands of a girl.
Other students began to flood into the room, all whispering about Asa's eye when they noticed it. "What happened?" Salem continued to ask. "I really think as the head boy I should know what happened."
"Talk about it on your own time." Manfred warned.
"I think you should listen to Manfred." I murmured quietly. Salem looked at me and then looked down at my hand. I hadn't noticed that it was bruised and an angry red color. I had been too disturbed.
Salem was able to put two and two together and figured out that I was the one who had hit Asa. "It was Infinity that hit you."
"Whaaaat?" Tancred choked back a laugh and looked over at me. "Who taught you how to fight? There is no way that a girl your size could punch someone that hard."
"Torsson." Manfred growled in a warning tone. He was losing control of the situation fast. He stood up and tried to intimidate everyone, but this was too exciting for everyone to ignore. I was starting to get embarrassed. I wanted to run and hide. Manfred's hand came down on my shoulder. "You can leave if you want to." He said in a low voice.
When I stood up, Salem gave me a look that forced me back into my chair. He was angry and annoyed. "No one is going anywhere. Tell me what you did that made Infinity hit you, because she wouldn't have done it if she wasn't in danger."
Asa didn't answer. Instead he looked up at him silently with a smug smile on his face. He must have been thinking about what happened, because for the first time in the year I had known him, I saw Salem get legitimately enraged and jealous. I looked down at Salem's hands which had formed themselves into fists clenched so tight that his knuckles began to turn white. I knew Salem wanted to punch him as well. "Salem." Manfred raised his voice again. Although they had their differences and disliked each other occasionally, Manfred was always a little nicer to Salem than he was to anyone else. I knew he cared about his mother and his brother in a backhanded way even if they stood against everything he did (and rightfully so). Just like Salem cared about his father and Manfred even though they did things he didn't approve of. "You can handle it, but you need to handle it on your own time. You have a reputation to uphold."
"Oh, I'll handle it." Salem reached forward and snatched Asa up by his shirt.
"Do you think I'm afraid of you?" Asa pulled out of Salem's grasp.
"If you're not afraid of Salem, then you should be afraid of me." Manfred's ominous tone surprised everyone, especially me. "You're disposable, Asa. Especially if you become a problem." Both Salem and Asa backed away from each other, clearly just as surprised as everyone else. "I think it would be best if you took Infinity to the headmaster to file a formal complaint against Asa for his actions so he can be punished accordingly."
"What?" Asa looked back at Manfred again, still shocked. "Are you kidding me?"
"No. You two are dismissed." Manfred waved a hand at us to shoo us out. I went to object but Salem grabbed my arm and pulled me out. I grabbed my bag just as he did so and followed him to the west wing where Dr. Bloor's study was.
"Manfred used Asa to help him try to kill me. Twice. Why does he care about this?" I asked as he pulled me along by my wrist.
"Because he's drawing unwanted attention to the endowed. You left a physical mark on Asa that can't just be explained away. People will talk. Asa also did what he did for himself, not to the benefit of Manfred."
"How was Manfred's black eye and Asa's broken foot excused after I tried to fight them off?"
"They told people they fought each other." He let go of my arm and stopped walking so he could turn and look at me. "I'm going to beat the shit out of him."
"No, you're not." I stopped walking as well. "I hit him and that was enough physical punishment. Let Dr. Bloor handle the rest."
"Do you think I'm just going to let him get away with disrespecting my girlfriend? He violated you, Fin. That's sexual harassment!"
"Sexual harassment?" I scoffed. "Hardly. He kissed me without my permission. It's not like he groped me."
"It's sexual harassment. Public displays of affection are grounds for detention. Sexual harassment is grounds for expulsion." Salem turned away from me and I had no choice but to follow him in uncomfortable silence.
When we approached the study, Salem didn't knock. He threw the door open and caught Dr. Bloor by surprise. "Jesus Christ, son. You know better than to not knock." He slammed down the file he had been writing in and noticed that I was silently trailing behind. "What trouble have you caused today, Infinity Bone?" He became even more annoyed because I was there. "You and your brother are nothing but one issue after the next."
"I want Asa Pike expelled. Now." He grabbed a blank complaint form from a pile on Dr. Bloor's desk and began to write so hard on it that he broke two pencils. "Is there a god damn pen anywhere?" He yelled. Dr. Bloor awkwardly handed him one and Salem continued writing furiously.
"Sexual harassment?" He turned his head slightly to see what his son was writing. "That's certainly a bold accusation and grounds for expulsion. But an endowed child will never be expelled by the academy. What happened?"
I was too embarrassed to answer him. I felt a blush creep up to my cheeks. "You need to tell him yourself, Fin." Salem gave me a stern look before continuing his report.
"Well, uh…" I kicked my toe into the floor a few times and played with my hands. "I went to the Prefect's lounge to turn in a few detention reports and Asa was there and he struck up a conversation with me. I just wanted to give him my reports and leave, but when I went to hand them over, he grabbed my wrists so I couldn't get away and he kissed me. I was angry and panicked so I pulled away and punched him in the face."
"Hmm." Dr. Bloor took the completed form from Salem. "Did anyone see it happen?"
"Manfred did. He was the one who told me to speak with you." I murmured as he read it over. "He said that Asa needed to be punished."
"Then it will be handled. I can't expel Asa or give him detention, but I can put him in isolated suspension for a few days." He filled out a few things on the form. "Given the severity of the situation, I'll have to notify your mother. Asa will also lose his place as head prefect. This is entirely inconvenient." He let out an annoyed sigh. "I noticed that he had an injury. I figured it was related to his endowment. I wouldn't have guessed that came from you."
"Why don't you let Infinity be head prefect? She's strict but fair. She doesn't let anyone get away with anything." Salem suggested.
I shook my head but to my surprise, Dr. Bloor hesitantly agreed. "I'll alert the staff. You will use one of your free periods to go over detention reports and do more rounds. Now, please leave me be. Thanks to Asa, I have even more paperwork to do."
With that, Salem and I left the room. We didn't know where to go. We didn't have to go back to the king's room but mostly everything was closed off at the end of the day. "You won't be mad if I say I just want to go to my room and do homework before going to bed, will you? I've had a long day and I just kind of want to be alone."
"Why would I be mad? I understand." He gave me a shy smile. "I guess I'll go do the same." He pulled me into a loose hug with one arm and kissed the top of my head. "Goodnight, Infinity."
"Goodnight, Salem." I forced a smile and walked back to my dorm alone. I used my time alone to catch up on homework like I said I would, shower without fighting the other girls for a stall and unpack my things for the week. When the other girls arrived to their dorms, I could still hear them complaining about their missing animals. Dorcas Loom was the loudest of all.
"Forget the missing animals for a minute." Two of my roommates walked in, full of gossip as always. "Did you see Asa Pike's eye? Hey, Bone! You're endowed. What do you know about the fight Asa got in?"
"Nothing." I murmured.
"You're a liar! Tell us!"
Their curiosity was then turned towards something else. A chorus of screams came from the hallway. My other roommates crowded the door, curious of what was going on. When they screamed as well, I decided to get up and look. I pushed them out of my way and peeked into the hallway. What I saw almost made me scream as well, but the sound wouldn't come out. I was making eye contact with a six foot long alligator with incredibly sharp teeth. I heard a loud "OH MY GOD!" From the stairwell and turned to see Charlie, Fidelio and Gabriel who had come to investigate as well.
The sudden loud noise made the great beast swing it's head and charge in their direction. I ran out into the hallway and threw my hand out. "STOP!" I yelled. My fingertips tingled began to glow with a dull light. A force-field formed around the creature.
"Charlie Bone, what have you done now?" Aunt Lucretia's voice was sharp and made my blood freeze. It also caused the alligator to disappear. She threw a bony hand onto my shoulder. "You, go to bed. NOW."
"You can't possibly blame Charlie for this." I shrank away from her touch and returned her glare.
"It was Charlie!" I heard Dorcas Loom yell from her doorway. "Infinity was doing something too!"
"Next time, I'll let the alligator get a full meal and eat you instead." I hissed back at her. She gave me a nasty look and I clenched my fists. That was enough to make her turn pale and slam her door to put a barrier between the two of us. I snorted. I wouldn't hit Dorcas, but she didn't need to know that.
"Dorcas is lying!" Olivia Vertigo came out of her room. Of course it was her who caused the illusion. But why? We were trying our hardest to keep her a secret. Matron Yewbeam didn't care. Charlie was still sent to the headmaster (who would be annoyed even more) and Olivia was yelled at until the lights went out.