Foretold (St. Bastian Institute 1)

I forced my attention away from Peter and Sophia’s conversation and tried to focus on the assignment. By the time the class was almost over, Nic and I still hadn’t made much headway. I was mixing ingredients when I felt someone’s eyes on me. This time it wasn’t Peter’s attention I sensed, but Belinda’s. She’d turned around on her stool to eye me.

“You’re up to something.”

I shot her an arch look. “Pardon?”

“Listen, if you’re plotting retaliation, you might as well just get it over and done with. I know you’re not going to let things go.”

Huh. It seemed my inaction had actually worked in my favour. Belinda had been driving herself mad looking over her shoulder all this time, growing more and more paranoid about how I planned to get her back. I bet she laid awake at night wondering why I hadn’t reported her to Principal Wolf.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I blandly replied.

Belinda’s jaw tightened. “Yes, you do.”

I glanced at Anna, who had also turned around in her seat. “Is your friend all right?”

“I’m fine,” Belinda growled irritably. “Now quit playing games and take your shot. I’m ready for it.”

Everything okay? Peter asked.

I’m good.

You sure?

Yes.

“You sound paranoid. Maybe you should talk to someone about that,” I said, enjoying winding her up.

“Just ignore her,” Anna said. “She’s clearly too scared to do anything.”

Belinda laughed. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Some people like to walk around acting tough, but when it comes down to it, they’re just cowards.”

I stood from my desk and approached Belinda. Placing my hands down on the table in front of her, I leaned forward to whisper in her ear, “Biding my time isn’t cowardice. Though, I do believe attacking someone with magic from behind is the very definition of it.”

I watched as she visibly bristled. Little princess wasn’t used to being left waiting. She had no patience, and now I knew exactly how to torture her. She’d revealed a weakness. Big mistake.

“I fucking knew you were up to something,” she seethed, her anger taking over. Her hands flew up as she muttered a spell under her breath. Her fingers moved so fast I didn’t have time to interpret the mudras. Anna joined in, adding extra power to the spell.

Okay … so maybe I’d pushed things too far. My feet went out from under me, and I slammed into the floor, pain shooting up my lower back.

I heard a stool screech as Peter rose, and a thick wave of magic filled the air as his hands shot out in a spell of his own. Belinda and Anna went completely still, and I realised Peter had frozen them with his magic.

“What on earth is going on over there?” Mrs Kanumba questioned just as a crack of thunder sounded outside. So much for getting home before the storm hit. Peter quickly released Belinda and Anna from the spell, then helped me up before returning to his seat.

When no one answered her, Mrs Kanumba went on, “If someone doesn’t explain why I just felt two defensive spells cast in this room, then all of you will be getting detention. I don’t care how bad the weather gets.”

Still, no one said a word, and then the bell rang, signalling the end of class. Nobody moved. Mrs Kanumba let out a heavy sigh then addressed the class. “Everyone not seated at these three tables can go,” she said.

I felt bad that both Nic and Sophia had to stay back since neither had been involved in the disruption. Ren Tanaka shot me a sympathetic look as he filtered out with the rest of the class. Obviously, he’d seen what happened.

“Sorry about this,” I said, turning to Nic.

He shrugged. “No worries. So long as I can catch a ride home with you.”

“Of course,” I said right before Mrs Kanumba closed the classroom door, her shoes clicking on the hardwood floor as she returned to stand before us, arms folded.

“I’m sure all of you are aware that it’s forbidden to use magic on another student within the walls of St. Bastian’s.”

“Yes,” Sophia, Nic, and Anna diligently replied. Peter, Belinda, and I remained stubbornly silent.

“So, is anyone going to fill me in on what just happened?”

She was met with quiet. I might’ve despised Belinda, but that didn’t mean I would snitch on her. Besides, then Peter would also have to explain the spell he’d cast in my defence. Yet again, I was amazed by his ability. He’d frozen both Belinda and Anna for at least thirty seconds before releasing them, and I was convinced he could’ve held them for much longer if he wanted to.

“Have it your way,” Mrs Kanumba said, her disappointment evident. “I’ll go and get Principal Wolf to deal with this matter. All of you stay right there.”

She left the room, and I turned to look at Peter.