Chapter Text
Quinn
“Good morning, prodigies,” Dame Alina cooed during orientation the next morning. “Everyone ready for another exciting day?”
“Hey, check it out,” Dex whispered to Quinn and Sophie. He pointed to the meter on his plain blue nexus. “I finally passed the halfway point.”
“Really?” She tried to be excited for him, but she hadn’t even reached the onethird point and it made her feel like a failure.
“Yep. Not much further till I can have my own Pathfinder. Maybe I’ll even get my nexus off younger than Fitz—man, that’d be awesome! I’d love to see Wonderboy’s face if a Dizznee broke his precious record.”
She was about to laugh about the comment when Dame Alina caught her attention.
“We are now four weeks away from midterms. For those of you worried you won’t be able to score the required seventy-five percent to pass, I recommend seeing Lady Nissa in the Tutoring Center.”
“Maybe you should sign up for alchemy tutoring,” Marella whispered to Sophie. “Not sure you’ll pass without it.” Marella’s tone was teasing, but her words must have hit a nerve. Quinn felt it.
Sophie had told Quinn that she was barely scraping by in alchemy, and that was with Lady Galvin shouting instructions across the room.
Quinn was pretty worried about her own alchemy class. Maybe she should consider getting a tutor.
But… she had Bronte to consider. He was probably waiting for her to fail her midterms. Everything in her shrank at the idea of needing a tutor. She wasn’t used to struggling with her grades. It felt so humiliating. Not as humiliating as getting expelled would be though…
“That’s it for today. Everyone work hard,” Dame Alina finished, tossing her hair before her projection disappeared.
“Ugh, what is that?” Quinn gagged and glared at the silver strip on her locker.
Dex looked a little green. “I think it’s reekrod. Elwin must’ve picked the flavor today.”
“Remind me to yell at him the next time I see him.” Quinn said, chugging her water.
“Planning another visit to the Healing Center?” Marella asked. “Going to make it a daily habit?”
“Very funny.”
Marella gave her locker the tiniest lick and shrugged. “He’s done worse.”
“Yeah, well, I’m taking all my books with me now,” Sophie said, glaring at her own strip.
Quinn followed suit. Sophie was always the smart one.
“Oooh—good thinking,” Dex agreed, reaching for the rest of his books. He grabbed a small silver box and tore it open. “Here. Take a Prattle to get rid of the taste.”
For once Dex had good taste in candy. It was sweet and chewy—like caramel mixed with peanut butter and filled with cream.
“Which pin did you get?” Marella asked as he pulled out a small velvet pouch, like a Cracker Jack prize.
Dex removed a tiny silver horse with a glittering black mane.
Marella gasped. “A Prattles’ unicorn? Please tell me you want to trade.”
“Maybe.” His eyes darted to Sophie.
“Unless you want it?”
“I don’t have any to trade.”
Marella’s eyes stretched as wide as they would go. “You don’t have any Prattles’ pins?”
Sophie stared at her feet.
“Hey, I don’t have any either.” Quinn noted. Marella muttered something about ‘uncultured.’
“I think Sophie should have it.” Dex placed the pin in her hand before she could argue.
Marella snorted. “Of course you do.”
“What? She needs to start her collection.”
“Whatever you say.” Quinn said, side-eyeing the red-head. It wasn’t too much of a secret that Dex thought Sophie was cute.
Dex blushed and Sophie apparently didn’t notice. Again. Dexie obviously had a crush.
“Can I see it Soph?” Quinn asked. Sophie shrugged and handed her the pin.
She examined the little horse, amazed by the detail.
“What’s the number mean?”
“There’s one pin for every creature alive on the planet—that we know of. Right now there are only one hundred and eighty-five unicorns—so that pin is super-rare.” Obvious bitterness leaked into Marella’s voice.
“Hey, Sophie?” a vaguely familiar voice asked behind her. “Can I talk to you?” Quinn spun around and froze when she saw Biana.
“Uh, sure,” Sophie replied. Biana glanced at Quinn, Dex, and Marella.
“Can we go somewhere more private?” Sophie hesitated half a second, then shrugged to her friends and followed Biana toward a deserted corner of the atrium.
“Uhhh anybody know why Princess Prettypants is talking to Sophie?” Marella asked.
“I’m just as confused.” Quinn agreed. What on Earth could Biana possibly want? She had never wanted anything to do with her and Sophie before.
Dex grumbled something about the Vackers.
Sophie and Biana talked in the corner for a few minutes before Biana finally turned around and walked away.
The three friends rushed over to Sophie.
“Are you going to tell us what that was all about?” Quinn asked, already at her side.
“She invited me to come over after school today.”
“What?” The three of them asked simultaneously.
“She said she wanted to be friends.”
“Why?” they all asked.
Sophie shrugged. “She didn’t say.”
“Please tell me you told her to go sniff a gulon,” Dex begged. Sophie looked down, unable to meet his eyes. “Aw, come on!”
“I didn’t know what else to say.”
“You could have told her she’s a stuck-up snob and you don’t want to be her friend,” Quinn offered.
“Look, I know you guys aren’t going to like this, but my life would be a lot easier if Biana and I got along. If it doesn’t work out, then I wasted one afternoon of my life. So what?”
“How do you know this isn’t a trap?” Marella asked. “Invite you over, then humiliate you. You could be walking into an ambush.”
“That’s not what this is.”
“What? You think she isn’t capable?” Dex sneered.
“No, but she would never do it at her house. Not with Fitz there.” Quinn said thoughtfully. She would never want to risk her relationship with her brother after all.
“Right. I forgot. You and Wonderboy are friends.”
Sophie blew out a breath. “Aren’t you guys the teeniest bit curious what she’s up to?” She had them there.
“I want details later,” Marella agreed. Quinn nodded.
“And you’d better not leave anything out,” Dex added.
“And I will know if you do.” Quinn threatened before watching her friend nod and walk away.
