I stepped forward and looked at Teon, his expression blank. I gulped and looked for any form of assurance. Sienna's hand was on the hilt of her sword, Keith looked like he wasn't interested. I looked at Phoenix and he smiled as always.
"Are you ready?" Teon asked, and I nodded. "Don't be scared," he whispered, and I nodded again. I raised my hand and touched the magic crystal, but it didn't react. Am I a rock? The murmurs around made me nervous. I wanted to draw my hand back, but Teon shook his head, and I stopped.
"A rock?" someone said, laughing.
"How is a rock a special grade?"
"I heard she's an Alden."
"When did the academy start allowing nepotism?" My hands were shaky; all I wanted was to leave.
"What are you still doing there?"
I drew my hand back and took a deep breath, then I put it back. The crystal released a bright light that made me move back and block my eyes. My head started hurting, and then everything went dark.
"Is it an incident?" someone shouted.
"No," another voice said. The ringing in my ears made everything hard to hear. I covered my ears to stop the ringing, but it didn't stop.
...
I opened my eyes slowly and looked at the unfamiliar ceiling. My head was hurting, and my body felt heavy.
"Where am I?" I asked as I tried to move.
"Don't move," I heard a familiar voice.
"Where am I?" I asked again as I turned my head to look at the person.
"You fainted," Teon said.
"I fainted," I repeated, still having a hard time comprehending what he was saying.
"You're in the infirmary," he continued. That's when I finally understood him. I fainted during the test. Am I a rock?
"Am I a rock?" I asked him, and he smiled. I didn't know I missed that smile until I saw it again.
"No," he said.
"What was…" I was about to ask, but I stopped when he looked up.
"I have to go. If your dorm mates see me, it'd be a whole thing. Bye, tiny," he said and stood up.
"W…" Should I tell him to wait? He turned and smiled again before jumping out of the window.
"Faina," I heard Phoenix's voice. "How do you feel?" Like I'm carrying a load on my body, like my blood vessels gained weight.
"I'm fine," I said.
"You surprised everyone again," he said, sitting down where Teon had been sitting. "Was anyone here?" he asked, and I shook my head.
"I just woke up," I replied.
"Faina," I heard Sienna's voice from the hall.
"Stop shouting," Leo scolded as they ran through the door.
"You have to…" Sienna was saying, but Leo cut in.
"Pick me. I'll help you with whatever you want. Name it," he said, and I looked at Phoenix for an explanation. "Did he… he didn't, you didn't, right?"
"I didn't," Phoenix replied, and they both sighed in relief. "Yet," he added, and the two glared at him. It's about time they explained, right?
"Faina, you are my favorite person in all of Galliel. I will make sure that you reach your goal, whatever it is," Leo said. That's definitely a lie.
"I know what you want; isn't that a plus?" Sienna asked.
"Faina," Clove shouted as she ran in. "You surprised me," she said.
"Faina, ignore them. Shouldn't you be with someone of your rank?" Sienna asked. Is this a marriage proposal? "Come with me, and I'll make everything you want possible," she continued. It is.
"Faina, I think you deserve to be somewhere productive," Skye said, jumping in through the window. How high is this building?
"Can you all please stop acting desperate?" Wolfe asked, walking through the door. Will he explain? "Faina, you'd be safer in my hands," he said, joining the line.
Phoenix helped me up and dragged me along. I followed obediently as he led me to the door. He stopped moving and turned to look at the group.
"Where do you think you're taking her?" Sienna asked with a murderous look on her face. I am not interested in their marriage proposal. She raised her hand and created a magic circle, channeling it at him.
"Do you think we'd just let you walk out?" Leo asked. The faces that were always smiling and playing around were gone; they all looked like they would start fighting any minute. This is my fault, but I don't know what I did.
"Why don't you selfish idiots start by asking her how she's feeling? Then you can explain to her why you're bothering her," Phoenix replied, kicking his leg. That's when I noticed that his leg was being held by a cluster of earth.
"Selfish idiots?" Clove remarked.
"He's right," Sienna said. "Faina, the reason why we are bothering you is because of a rank we left off," she said. "We made a deal that no one would approach you about it until after the test," she continued.
"While special grades only have respect and no power, there's something given to us that helps us build a future for ourselves both in and outside the school," she said. "It's called mentorship."
"Mentorship allows us to train other students and build our status. It is best when that student has a high magic status," she continued. "We all want you because of your magic. More people will approach you as you continue in this school until the day you graduate." The way she said it sent shivers down my spine. "And fourth to final years earn this opportunity based on their grades, but that's not important," she finished.
"What was my rank?" I asked, and they all gasped.
"You don't know?" Sienna asked, and I shook my head. "I should have used a different approach."
"You, my dear, just awakened your magic. You're a platinum magic ranker," Phoenix said, and my brain stopped working. Platinum?
"Sorry, what did you say?" I asked.
"You're a platinum ranker like Sienna," he repeated. Is that why Teon was smiling? How? I couldn't even use magic before. I walked back to the bed and sat down so that I wouldn't pass out from shock.
"Why were you holding weapons?" I asked, trying to distract my dizzy mind.
"Dormants can react to the magic crystal and awaken their magic. Some of them go berserk, so we have to restrain them," Leo said. "It's a hassle, but it's our job," he complained.
"You reacted to it and awakened yours as well, but there was no incident," Wolfe said.
"The last time was tiring," Sienna said.
"Oh," I exclaimed, still at a loss for words.
"So, who do you pick?" Leo asked.
"Why is it crowded outside?" Keith said, walking in. Everyone turned to look at him as he walked in nonchalantly.
"You really are the only one in Galliel that I can count on to be so nonchalant," Leo said.
"Thank you?" he replied. "I have a question for you, Faina," he said, and everyone frowned. "Did you see your height?" he asked before anyone could interrupt him. "She's so short," he said, laughing. Why did you have to mention it?
"Aren't you going to ask her to be your apprentice for the mentorship point?" Sienna asked.
"Oh, I forgot about that. Do you?" he asked me. I was speechless. How can someone be so carefree?
"Faina, do you want to be an apprentice?" Phoenix asked.
"I…" I looked at the expectant eyes. I don't want to; I don't think any of them would be of help, but how do I say that? "I don't know," I said, and he sighed.
"Everyone, get out," he ordered. "Don't worry; I'm not interested in the mentorship. I work best alone," he said, and they all shuffled away.
"I used to be like you, but I can't waste a platinum," Leo said as he walked out.
"You don't want to be mentored, right?" Phoenix asked, and I looked down. "Why don't you just tell them?" I wish it was as easy as he put it. It's worse now that I saw them holding weapons. I feel like I could get hurt if I turn them down.
"I…"
"Faina, let's leave. The crowd is becoming hard to control," Sienna said.
"Why don't you just use force?" Keith suggested.
"Let's go," Phoenix said, ignoring Keith's statement.
They helped me out of the building, hiding me between them until we were out of sight. I guess being short came in handy.
"That was something," Keith said as we walked into the dorm building.
"Let's get something to eat before sending Faina off to that party," Clove suggested, and everyone agreed.
We sat down, and the chef walked in and served us. How did he know we'd want to eat?
"Faina doesn't want to be mentored," Phoenix said, and everyone turned to look at me.
"Why?" Leo asked.
"I…" I'm scared.
"It's fine. None of us are medical students anyway," Sienna said.
"I study herbs," Skye said.
"You study poisons. It's not the same thing," Wolfe shot back.
"Why are you bothered? Her magic doesn't have a definite use like others," Keith said.
"That's what makes it interesting. I could draw out its potential and use her for my research," Leo said. I don't want to be a test subject either.
"Just stop," Phoenix said.
"Fine," he replied.
"I'll help Faina get ready," Sienna said, standing up. I stood up as well and followed her to my room. It's been hectic all day. I just want to sleep, but that won't be possible. I don't want to go.