Akarnae (11 page)

Alex was completely ravenous when lunchtime arrived. She’d successfully whittled her morning away by completing her pile of homework—mostly from Medical Science, surprise, surprise—and she planned to spend the rest of the afternoon reading through her Core Skills textbooks to research the topic of giftings. Despite seeing Jordan use his transcendence gift and Bear use his charm, she still found the concept difficult to grasp.

After eating a quick lunch, Alex hurried back to her dorm room and deliberated which of her three textbooks she should start with. They all sounded interesting:
Unwrapping Your Gift: How To Grow Your Talent And Better Your Skills
by Miranda Crotchett;
A Comprehensive Study Of Personal Giftings
by Phillippe R. Brandon; and
So, You Think You’re Gifted?
by Laurence Tillman.

In the end, Alex decided on the comprehensive study. She didn’t think she was gifted, so that eliminated the third option, and since she didn’t have a gift to unwrap, she skirted away from the first.

Heading outside, she settled underneath a tree by the lake. It didn’t take long before she was mesmerised by the book
in front of her. Hours passed as the sun slowly moved across the horizon. A late afternoon breeze stirred up the grass and whistled through the trees. And still, Alex kept on reading.

While some scholars claim that only a minority of individuals have the ability to access personalised giftings, notable theorist Fredérike Von Duffé suggests otherwise. Von Duffé believes that every single human being has the potential to use and develop their own personal gift, but it is only the minority who have the natural biological and psychological connection to their gift that allows for easier access. Von Duffé writes in his book,
For Richer or Poorer: Gift Equality for the Common Man
, “Why would one person be given such great power and another not? Perhaps the better question is, why would one person be able to
access
such power and another not?”

While the theorist’s beliefs are stirring, especially for those desiring such gifts, Von Duffé’s research lacks supportive data and empirical evidence, and thus is generally discredited by other professionals in the field…

The feeling of hot air blowing against her ear startled Alex. Standing directly behind her was Monster, a shaggy little pony Tayla had assigned Alex to care for in her Equestrian Skills class. He was only the size of a large dog, barely coming up to her hip, but he had more than enough personality to cover his diminished height and he’d quickly found his way into her heart.

“Hey, little fella,” she cooed, scratching behind his ears. “What are you doing sneaking up on me?”

Looking out at the setting sun, Alex realised just how late it was. She’d been so caught up in her reading that she hadn’t noticed how fast the afternoon had passed.

Alex picked herself up off the ground and gave Monster one last pat before heading off to her dorm building. She was surprised when he followed along beside her like a shaggy pet dog.

“Looks like you’ve made a friend.”

Alex glanced up to find Bear leaning casually beside the entry to the dorm.

“It wasn’t hard,” she said. “I gave him an apple the other day. We’re best friends for life now.”

“If only it was always that easy,” Bear said.

Monster chose that moment to nudge Alex with his rather solid head, causing her to stumble forward. Bear laughed at the display and Alex turned her glare from the pony to her friend.

“What are you doing out here, anyway?” she asked, trying to shoo Monster away.

“I was waiting for one of you guys to get back so we can go for dinner. Have you seen Jordan yet?”

Alex shook her head. “Not since this morning. How long do you think Finn’ll keep him out?”

Bear shrugged. “I don’t—”

“SPARKER! GET BACK HERE!”

Alex turned to see Jordan sprinting towards the dorm building with Finn hot on his heels. The PE coach was waving a pitchfork in the air and looked like a rabid farmer chasing after an errant cow.

Jordan quickly reached the entryway and ducked behind them. “Hide me!” he whispered to their backs.

Alex thought his request was a bit ridiculous since it was clear that he was standing there, but she stayed where she was nevertheless. It was still difficult to resist taking a step backwards when Finn approached them, waving his pitchfork at them.

“Where’s he gone? I know he came this way!”

Alex looked at Finn as if he was crazy. Couldn’t he see Jordan standing behind them?

She could have slapped herself for being so obtuse. Of
course
Finn couldn’t see him. Jordan was probably using his gift and playing the invisible man. Thankfully, Alex had enough sense to keep her mouth closed. Bear, however, took a step towards the enraged teacher.

“Who are you looking for, Mr. Finneus?” he asked, his voice mesmerising.

Finn blinked at him a few times, as though he had to gather his thoughts. “Eh? Oh. Sparker. Jordan Sparker. He was doing detention with me and I haven’t finished with him yet.”

“Sir, it’s nearly dinner time,” Bear said, again using the smooth and captivating voice. “Surely you don’t want to miss dinner?”

Alex found herself nodding. Bear could have said anything in that voice and she would have agreed. It seemed like Finn was facing the same predicament, since he shook his head as if to clear it.

“But—but I’m not done with him yet!” Finn valiantly tried to keep himself composed, but his blazing anger had already cooled enough that he lowered the pitchfork to rest on the ground. “There’s still plenty of light left for work.”

“But surely
you
don’t want to work anymore tonight?” Bear continued. His words were so hypnotic that Alex wondered if Finn would want to work ever again, let alone tonight. “It’s such a beautiful evening. I’m sure you have plenty to do without having to worry about babysitting a student. There will be enough time for that when he joins you again tomorrow.”

Finn rubbed his stubbly chin thoughtfully. “I suppose you’re right. Plenty of time tomorrow. And I
am
a bit peckish.” His stomach gurgled and Alex saw Bear smile triumphantly.

“If you see Sparker, tell him he’d better get a good night’s sleep, ’cause he’s gonna have a big day tomorrow.”

“Certainly, Mr. Finneus,” Bear said, still using his charming voice.

Finn nodded to himself and walked away from them.

When he was out of earshot, Bear turned to Alex and said, “And that’s how it’s done.”

Before she could respond, Jordan re-materialised beside them and clapped a hand on Bear’s shoulder. “Thanks, mate. I totally owe you one.”

Bear huffed out an amused breath. “You owe me way more than one, Sparkie.”

“Good thing we’re not keeping count then, huh?” At least Jordan had the grace to look sheepish.

“I can’t believe you just charmed him like that,” Alex said, amazed again at Bear’s gift.

“I told you it comes in handy,” Jordan said.

Alex massaged her temples. “This place is so insane. Nothing makes sense here.”

It wasn’t the first time she’d longed for the simplicity of her own world. Earth—Freya—
whatever
—might have been lacking on the technological advancement scale, but at least it offered a what-you-see-is-what-you-get reality. There were no unexpected surprises, no strange abilities. Her world made
sense
, which was much more than she could say about Medora.

“It might be easier if you just embrace the senselessness,” Bear said with a compassionate look.

“After everything I’ve seen and heard this week, I think that’s all I really
can
do,” Alex agreed.

“Are you really okay with all this?” Jordan asked, and she was surprised by the genuine concern in his gaze. “Most of the time you seem to be handling it well, but other times…” He trailed off, not needing to finish his sentence.

“I’m not going to lie—it’s messing with my head a bit,” Alex admitted. “I know you said there’s no such thing as magic here, but that’s still what it seems like to me. Where I come from, we don’t have supernatural gifts, let alone all the other stuff.
It’s a lot to take in. But people also don’t jump from one world to another through disappearing doorways, so I figure that if I can accept where I am and where I’m from, then I have no reason to deny all the other crazy stuff that happens here. And besides, it’s not like I can just close my eyes, stick my fingers in my ears, and chant ‘la-la-la, I’m in my happy place’ for the next few months until the headmaster arrives. That’s impractical. Not to mention, just plain weird.”

Jordan and Bear had seemed impressed through most of her response, at least until she’d segued into the potential chanting—then they’d just looked entertained.

When she finished, there was a moment of silence before Bear grinned and said, “Supernatural gifts? Really?”

“What else am I supposed to call them?”

“Fair enough,” he accepted. “But for the record, there’s nothing magical about our abilities. It’s just biology.”

“If you say so,” Alex said, stepping forward to lead the way inside. “But if that’s the case, I still think I’m missing that strand of DNA.”

“We’ll see,” Jordan said cryptically. “You never know what the future might bring.”

Ten

The weeks passed surprisingly quickly
and soon enough almost a whole month had disappeared. Alex’s lessons continued in much the same way as her first week—they were still completely insane. Her weekdays were filled with classes, classes and more classes, while her weekends were spent catching up on her endless pile of homework and hanging out with Jordan and Bear. Despite knowing that she didn’t belong in Medora, Alex soon began to enjoy the absolute randomness of Akarnae, as well as the people who inhabited the school.

Four weeks after her arrival in Medora, Alex sat in the food court deliberating what to eat for lunch when someone sat down beside her.

“I heard about what happened this morning. Are you okay?”

Alex looked up from her menu to see Mel’s concerned expression.

“It was a bit of a shock, but I’m all right now,” Alex said, recalling the near-catastrophic events of the morning. Compared to what might have been, Alex’s sore throat and chest were nothing to complain about.

Their PE class had been held in the massive Lake Fee that morning so Finn could test their ‘water survival skills’. In the act of trying to save one of her classmates from what she’d thought was an actual drowning, Alex had nearly lost consciousness
under the water. Finn had pulled her to the surface at the last second and thumped what had seemed like the entire lake out of her lungs before she’d been able to breathe freely again. Then he’d asked her if she was an idiot, because
of course
the entire exercise had been a set-up and her classmates had never been in actual danger to begin with.

Mel leaned in closer. “I heard you nearly
drowned
.” She shuddered. “I’m so glad I’m only a Beta for PE. Finn’s a real pain in the you-know-what, but he doesn’t make us do anything
dangerous
.”

“It’s not so bad,” Alex said weakly, trying to convince them both.

Jordan snorted from across the table and she realised how untrue her statement really was. He and Bear had been beside themselves with worry for her when she hadn’t resurfaced for so long, but they’d both been too far away to do anything. She was just lucky that the PE teacher had been nearby, otherwise… well…

Just as she decided to change the topic, she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to find Fletcher standing behind her.

“Finn told me about your class this morning, Alex,” the doctor said. “How’re you feeling?”

“I’m okay,” she answered, fidgeting under his watchful gaze. He must have heard the strained tone of her raw vocal chords, since his eyes narrowed in concern. Thankfully, he didn’t press the issue.

“Very well, then,” Fletcher said after a pause in which Mel quietly excused herself to go and find her cousin. “If you’re at all concerned, please drop in to see me.”

“I will,” she promised.

Fletcher nodded and began to walk away, calling over his shoulder, “By the way, Maggie asked me to tell you that if you ever skip her class again, she’ll give you detention for a month.”

Alex groaned as soon as Fletcher was far enough away not to hear, and she looked up to see Jordan and Bear’s amused expressions. Neither of them had known she’d skipped her Archery class in favour of a hot shower and some warm clothes after PE.

“Don’t tell me that Miss Goodie-Two-Shoes skipped class?” Jordan teased.

She shrugged, trying to downplay the situation.

“Our little girl’s growing up,” he said, wiping away a fake tear.

“You’re one to talk, mate,” Bear said with a laugh. “It’s not like you’ve never skipped before.”

“It’s hardly the same,” Jordan said, “since I get permission first.”

“Permission?” Alex asked. “How can you get permission to skip class?”

They both looked at her pointedly, waiting for her to catch on. When she didn’t, Jordan leaned in to whisper in her ear. “When your best friend is a charmer, it’s easy. Remember Finn?”