The Academy: Book 2 (75 page)

             
Asa was straightening up his jacket when he looked down and saw a jewelry box in the bag that his tuxedo came in. He took it out, opened it, and saw a gold Rolex sitting inside foam outcroppings.

             
He wasn’t even sure that he had seen a Rolex before. He took it out, put it on, and stepped out of the bathroom.

             
Asa and Viola left shortly after that.

             
Outside, the air was cold. The sun was setting in the West and fog had moved over the mountains. Asa looked up, and could barely see the summit of Mount Two high above him; it was a dark shadow in the hanging moisture.

             
Asa and Viola moved down the mountainside, walked beside the pavilion, and then crossed over to the rope bridge towards Fishie Mountain. The dance was to be held at Town Hall, and since none of the students could fly in their formal wear, the second semester students were going to meet the Fishies in front of Fishie Mountain, where boats would carry them over the water toward Town.

             
Asa felt stiff and constricted in his tuxedo. His Academy issued suit moved so freely, and he had grown accustomed to its flexibility. He wiggled his wings out of his shoulder blades a couple of inches and pressed the tips against the back of his shirt. The fabric was strong; he wouldn’t be able to force his wings out if he needed to.

             
Asa watched as other students moved across the rope-bridge towards Fishie Mountain. They looked like ghosts in the fog.

             
When it was Asa’s turn to cross, he felt dizzy, trapped. It was unnerving to be on an unsteady bridge, so high above the earth, and not be able to withdraw his wings if he fell.

             
Although he was a bit anxious, he made his way over the bridge without incident.

             
As he and Viola walked through the marble hallways of Fishie Mountain, he was emotionally brought back to last semester. There was a fresh, lemony smell that covered the hallways, and everything shined from the raccoons cleaning. The sights and smells reminded him of how incredibly anxious he had been last semester, when the Multipliers within the Academy were actively making attempts to take his life.
Something has definitely changed. Not only did they allow me to compete fairly in Winggame, but my team won the championship.
Asa strongly believed that the Gill Initiative, and this semester’s fairness were a result of the message the crows released about Alfatrex. That had been a warning shot to Robert King that communicated a clear message:
Treat Asa Palmer fairly, or we will release more.

             
Asa reflected on this semester’s predicament.
The Academy Multipliers have let me be, for the most part. But now I have to worry about Multipliers from the Hive.
He felt nauseated as he thought of what he would have to do that night.

             
It wasn’t until they had made it all the way through the winding corridors, out the front door, and down the long pebbled path at the foot of the mountain that Asa saw Jen, standing on the shore, waiting to board one of the Academy’s Viking-like wooden ships. She wore a red dress, and her hair was pinned up with golden clips. A dozen gold bracelets wrapped around her left wrist. In the formal wear, her confident, tough demeanor looked somewhat out of place. There was a feminine flare to the way that she carried herself, but there was also something very strong and enduring about her. Asa thought that this might be due to years of having to care for herself at home after her father died.

             
Also standing, waiting for the boat, was Charlotte. Asa inhaled deeply and a wave of emotions came crashing over him.
She’s not dead!
he thought. He had been nervous about her ever since she went on the jog out in the woods.

             
Charlotte and Jen were standing five yards away from each other, and Asa couldn’t help comparing them.

             
They were both beautiful. Jen was shorter and looked more athletic, like a gymnast, whereas Charlotte was tall and slender. They both had confidences and insecurities.

Jen moved with an unmatched sureness. She was brash, bold, and sometimes did things without thinking (like sneaking away from the Sharks’ morning run to smoke cigarettes in the ar
ctic jungle). But Jen had human, normal emotions, too. Asa had seen this when she broke out in braying sobs after Bruce had been killed. But immediately after watching him be slaughtered, she wanted to follow the Multipliers. She was capable of making quick decisions.

             
Charlotte had shown a similar level of composure, but in different ways. When Conway and McCoy initially kidnapped Asa and Charlotte from their homes, Charlotte never screamed, or cried. She remained calm, and kept a level head as she asked the graduates questions about the Academy. When Conway went to the bathroom, she probed McCoy with questions she knew Conway wouldn’t be comfortable answering. Charlotte was sly. She was more contemplative than Jen was.

             
Asa looked at Charlotte. He watched her green eyes as she looked out onto the water and her pale, smooth skin. She was wearing a black, floor length dress made of delicate material.

             
Though Charlotte and Jen were different, Asa had feelings for both of them.
But don’t worry about Charlotte; you can’t have her,
he thought. He remembered how she used to be pained to see him, and how when they ran into each other on the mountainside a few days ago, she had been so easygoing. She had been so relaxed.
She has gotten over me,
he thought.

             
Charlotte looked over and caught Asa staring at him. He started to look away, then stopped. It was something in her eyes. She kept her gaze on Asa for a moment, and he felt like she was trying to communicate something to him.

             
“Look at you, Palmer. In a tuxedo. Wow!” Jen said, breaking his train of thought. She smiled and stood next to him. “It’s good to see you standing again, I was worried about you after the game.”

             
Asa smiled back at her, but the expression felt heavy on his lips. It felt forced. His mind was on Charlotte. “I’m glad to be standing too. That always happens to me when I use my electrocution ability; it takes so much energy.”

             
They boarded the boat, sat on the rows of wooden benches, and sailed towards Town. The fog was thickening by the minute. Asa and Jen sat near the back of the boat; Jen sat very close to Asa, and they talked for the entire trip about the Winggame match. Asa was only half invested in the conversation. For one thing, he kept thinking that he would leave in a short time and return to the Multiplier’s lair—this was constantly on his mind. Also, Charlotte kept
giving him looks.
She sat next to Shashowt, who was her date. They were involved in a conversation, but Charlotte looked just as distracted as Asa was. Asa felt that her glances were too long for her to not be communicating something.

             
But what?

             
They arrived in Town, and walked along the cobble stone path. Asa was somewhat taken aback by how normal everyone looked in their formal wear.
We look like average teenagers. No one would guess that we all had folded up wings within our shoulder blades, and different special powers.

             
They walked for a few minutes in between the stone buildings before reaching the green lawn that stretched out in front of Town Hall. The white pillars of Town Hall had been wrapped in strings of light for the celebration. The windows were polished to perfection, and the grass was clipped like a golf course.

             
Jen took Asa’s hand as they climbed the front steps. He felt slightly guilty for doing so, given his apprehensions about her and his lingering feelings for Charlotte. He did not pull away, though. Her touch felt nice.
And, I might die tonight,
Asa told himself.
Or, I might be bitten, become a Multiplier, and never see Jen again.
These were real possibilities that he was trying to fully understand.
I might as well try to have a good time for the hour that I’m here.

             
Raccoons in black bow ties held the doors open for the students. The raccoons themselves looked cleaner than usual, with fluffy, dry fur that looked like it had just been shampooed and blow-dried.

             
As they walked inside to the foyer, Asa was beginning to feel uneasy about the prospect of the dance.
What if the Multipliers don’t wait to come and attack? What if they barge in in the first five minutes?

             
His anxiety mounting, Asa tried to act as normal as possible, keeping up polite conversation with Jen.

             
They entered one of the banquet halls, which was meticulously decorated for the occasion. Thousands of candles surrounded the room, atop decorative tables of differing heights. It gave the room a beautiful ambiance, but all Asa could think was how easy it would be for the Multipliers to come in, knock over the candles, and then lock the doors.
We would all burn alive,
Asa thought. There were dozens of large, round tables draped with gold-encrusted white table clothes spaced out in the room. There was a great wooden dance floor near the center. Along the walls, interspersed with the candle tables, were refreshments. There were cookies, pieces of cheese, meats, and crackers, punch, soda, water, and liquor.

             
Why would the Academy want there to be liquor here?
Asa thought. He was beginning to wonder if the Multipliers from the Hive had a hand in the organization of this event.

             
Asa and Jen sat at a table. Raccoons brought them glasses of wine. Asa didn’t take a sip of his, but just sat it on the table. He didn’t like illicit drugs or alcohol; he thought that they were maladaptive. The only drug he used regularly was caffeine, and he hoped that it would stay that way.
And, tonight is especially not a good time for me to start a new habit of drinking. I don’t need to be handling bombs while I’m drunk.

             
Jen didn’t seem to feel the same way as Asa. She sipped on the glass of wine in the first few minutes they talked, as other students began to fill into the hall. Charlotte passed behind them, and gave Asa another meaningful glance that he couldn’t decipher.

             
Asa watched as Jen drank the wine and thought about how she was bolder than Charlotte. Asa didn’t think that Charlotte would be a person who would like alcohol, but he was quickly proven incorrect on this assumption as he watched her from across the room.

He saw a raccoon in a tie walk over to their table and hand Charlotte a glass of red wine. He expected her to do as he had done, and put the glass on the table, still full. But before she sat it down, she not only took a sip, but she tipped the stem up and drank the whole glass. Asa found this extremely odd.
It’s like she knows she’s going to die tonight,
Asa thought, and felt a chill go up his spine. Charlotte looked at him again with her sad, knowing eyes, and then made her way across the room to the refreshment table.

             
A live jazz band was taking the stage. There were five members, all male; there was a clarinet player, a trumpet player, a trombone player, a percussionist, and a pianist. They kicked off the night with a lively, fast moving song as students took their seats, were served wine, and began to talk.

             
Jen looked at Asa. She appeared to be having such a good time, and Asa reflected with some jealousy that she wasn’t about to go to the Multipliers lair. Asa honestly believed that Jen either didn’t pick up on what Allen had said to Bruce regarding attacking tonight, or that she thought he was lying.
There is no other explanation. She looks relaxed; she wouldn’t be that way if she thought that she was about to be killed.
“So what did Robert King say to you? All the Sharks were wondering.”