I arrived in my class just in time to get settled in. I sat in the very front row, where I could see the whiteboard clearly. As I was fixing my stuff, I could not help but glance at Leo at the very back of the room. He was with his fellow student council peers, and from the looks of it, they seemed to be discussing something.
I pulled out my notes and scribbled on some of the pages to kill some time. My mind started wandering off somewhere as my hands continued to draw.
A black cat and a warm smile. A kid with black hair and red jeweled eyes. There are days wherein I forget about him, but my mind would go blank when I do remember him. I would often wonder how he is and what he’s doing right now.
“Kellar…” I found myself whispering his name for some reason.
“Nice drawing you got there, Miss Stan.” My eyes flew in the direction of the person who spoke. It was the vice president of the student council - I believe his name is Xander. “Is that a panther that you’re drawing?” He glanced down at my work in admiration.
I followed his gaze. I didn’t even notice that I was drawing a panther, but from my rough sketch, it seemed to be the image that I was going for. “Yeah. I guess so.” I answered cautiously. “Is there anything that the vice president needs with me?”
Xander smiled, “Miss Stan, would you be interested in joining the council? As of now, we badly need another member because of our hectic schedule. We need another role model that students would listen to in order to keep the school peaceful.”
I bit my lower lip at his words. It’s admirable how serious they are at their role. It’s just school, so I don’t even know why they take this so intently. But still, I have to give them credit for their diligence. “What exactly is the role that you guys are proposing?”
“A peacekeeper. Someone to hinder any incident such as bullying to make the school safer for the students.” He answered.
I shook my head. “I don’t think that I am right for the job. Sorry.” I said dismissively. But I should have known better that he wasn’t called a vice president for nothing.
“The job would be perfect for you. Students look up to you.”
I fought off a laugh that threatened to escape my lips. This guy is being ridiculous. “Not everyone,” I told him. “You guys should go and ask another person. I am sure that there’s someone better than me who would be perfect for the job.” As I kept speaking, a certain figure appeared at the back of my head. I haven’t exactly seen her in action, but I have seen her demeanor and the looks of admiration from the other students whenever she passes by. I turned to Xander and met his gaze. “If you guys really want a peacekeeper, then why not ask Miss Hailey Mae Collins? I believe that she would be the perfect person for the job.” I suggested. But as soon as the words left my lips, I saw him gritting his teeth when I mentioned her name. “Sorry, is something wrong?” I asked in concern.
Xander shook his head. “No. Nothing’s wrong.” He forced a smile at me, which was a surprise because I heard that he was such a nice person like Leo. “Thank you for your time, Miss Stan. And I do hope that you would reconsider our offer.” He said to me one last time before going back to his peers.
That was odd. His attitude seemed to change as soon as I mentioned Hailey. Is he not in good terms with her?
As soon as the professor came, I immediately changed the pages to a blank one before my mind would wander off again. I should stop this. I already promised myself before that I would stop obsessing about his whereabouts as long as he - Kellar - is doing well.
I turned the pages back to the drawing of the panther. I stared at it for a couple of minutes before I decided to tear it off, crumple it into a ball, and place it inside of my bag.
It was time to let go. Nothing good will happen if I continue to think about him. I would just be stuck in the past and would never be able to move on fully. And I believe that it’s what my sister was trying to tell me for the past years as well.
“Miss Stella Stan,” The voice of our professor brought me back to the present. She was already writing something on the whiteboard - an equation to two chemical bonds. She was looking at me with a raised brow. “Since you’re so busy taking care of other things, I can only assume that you already know the answer?”
My gaze shifted to the whiteboard and followed along with the equation that she wrote. As soon as I saw the following line, I figured out that she wanted me to fill it up. “Hydrogen Sulfide,” I answered and tilted my head to the side. “But isn’t that a dangerous gas? Exposure to it can cause frostbite.” It was probably wrong for me to question her teachings like this that could potentially anger her.
But instead of getting irritated, she seemed to smile. “Very good, as expected.” She says, which baffled me a bit at her reaction. She turned to the whole class and explained to them the other effects of the gas. “After an acute exposure, the effects of the gas may not be apparent for at least 72 hours. But inhaling a high dose of it can cause many side effects, and that’s just for the gas alone. When exposed to the liquified gas, it can cause frostbite.” Her gaze shifted to me when she said the last words and smirked.
I felt my breath get caught at the back of my throat. Is she hinting at me with that gaze? Or was it just a coincidence?
Come to think of it, she was our professor during that accident in the lab. She couldn’t have seen anything, right?
Because of my nervousness, my fingers started to turn cold, making me ball them into fists. I have to calm down. I must not allow myself to get nervous, or I might lose control.
I took even and steady breaths to settle my nerves.
The cold immediately vanished from my hands as I finally managed to control my powers. I shouldn’t jump to conclusions just yet and observe the situation.
But just to be on the safe side, I should consider telling my sister about this. I just hope that she won’t tell her husband about it, or I might not be allowed to go to Waynard High anymore.
***
As school ended, I headed back to Jen’s apartment. It was only 4 pm, and she usually finished her job at 6 pm. As I stopped by her apartment door, I pulled out the key from my neck and inserted it in the keyhole as I thought of my room back in Gija.
Before I opened the door, I made sure that no one was looking before I took the key out and entered the portal to the other realm.
I returned to my room and lay down on my bed to relax. In an attempt to change my attire for my other lessons, I went to my closet. But, just as I was about to open it, I noticed a letter on my dresser table. There was a mark with Thalia's seal on it.
I nervously took the letter and broke off the wax seal in order to read its contents. When I saw it, I was more than glad to see that classes for today have been canceled.
I smiled to myself and thought about heading into town just to buy some ingredients for the potion and maybe some new books for spells.
I don’t have magic like Witches and Warlocks, but it was nice to read their spells to know their capabilities.
I opened my closet and picked out the most comfortable dress that I could find. I picked out a light blue dress with long puffy sleeves. It didn’t go all the way to the bottom, but just in between my knees and ankles.
I also changed into some comfortable boots and wore a cloak in order to hide my hair. As much as possible, I would like to hide my identity when going into town. It’s not dangerous, but people would be too nice to me and often hand out materials for free or with a hefty discount. I know it is a good thing, but I just can’t take things for free, especially when I am a princess.
I grabbed my purse from the drawer and began to head out. I was bouncing on my feet excitedly because it had been a while since I went shopping in this realm. The area here just seems so serene and peaceful that I would prefer shopping in this realm than in the other world.
“Princess Stella, where are you going?” One of the guards called out to me. When I looked back, I saw that it was Sir Fical - one of the knights of Gija. His spirit animal, a falcon, named Miju, settled on his shoulders.
I smiled at him politely. He was one of the closest people that Rose and Ace trust, so I respect him for that. “Good Evening, Sir Fical. Can you tell my sister that I went into town to shop?”
“Shopping?” Sir Fical tilted his head to the side. “Do you need an escort?”
I grinned and shook my head. I raised my left hand, and freezing air began to float in the air. “I may not have a familiar, but I do have some pretty powerful magic,” I told him. “Don’t worry. I promise to be back before dinner!” I gave him an assuring smile, and just before he could say anything, I turned around and left.