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The kid scowls at me and scoots away.

Great. I can’t leave late. My next class is weapons, and Mr. Brant already has it out for me.

“Four minutes!”

Already? My heart races as I stare at everything on my desk. The fish is still lunging at me. Part of his tail is tearing from all his movement. Much more of this, and he’ll be loose. And I’m certain the teacher will do nothing to help me if that does happen. Or anyone else.

“Three minutes!”

How in Hades is time going by so fast? I gather my ingredients into the bowl and swish them around like everyone else is doing. Half the class has already left. The rest of the students are speaking in a foreign language. It’s so complicated I can’t even repeat it.

Maybe it’s in the text book! I flip open my book and check the index for the spell. Can’t find it anywhere. Nothing for teeth or fish.

“Two minutes!” Ms. Falls is grinning now. She’s enjoying this.

I glance around. A girl behind me has her book open to page one-thirty-six. Bingo! I flip my book to that page. The name of the spell is something I can’t pronounce, but it’s the right one. Why not just call it the fish teeth spell?

I skim it over, getting to the foreign language part. Then I speak it, but instead of the teeth disappearing, the fish turns the color of my hair.

Someone to my left laughs.

I turn to him. “I don’t see you doing any better!”

He only laughs harder.

“One minute!”

Crap. I cannot be late for weapons class. Mr. Brant will make my life miserable for the next hour. Maybe every time I go to his class.

I re-read the words and speak them more carefully.

Pop!

The fish snaps loose from the nail and swims at me, biting. My heart races. I try saying the foreign words again. Nothing happens. I move back and try again. It’s all happening so fast—and it’s coming closer.

I put out my palms to protect my face. Heat builds in them. My palms glow a faint green color and they grow warmer.

The fish is about to bite me. Its teeth are so sharp. I can’t move back any farther. I’m already pressed against a desk.

A glowing ball forms between my hands and envelops the fish. Its teeth all fall to the ground before the fish goes limp. I push my palms out, and the ball moves away from me. When it’s over my desk, I drop my hands. The fish falls back on the wood it was originally nailed to.

Ring!

I struggle to breathe. My heart is still thundering.

Nobody in class moves. Everyone is staring at me.

I scoop up the teeth and hold them toward the teacher. “I got the teeth out with magic.”

Her mouth falls open.

I drop the teeth onto the fish, grab my things, and bolt out of the classroom. I’m not sure what just happened, but I don’t have time to worry about it. Not when I’m so close to being late for my next class. I race across the building and dart through the doorway of Mr. Brant’s class just as the bell rings.

I really hope it’s a lecture day, and not sparring. My heart is already thundering and my palms still feel weird from that ball of energy I made. However I did that. No way I could redo that even if I wanted to. I sure hope Ms. Falls doesn’t expect a repeat performance. Maybe she’ll even demand I never do it again. Although, I’m not sure I can do that either.

“Grab your weapons,” Mr. Brant says. “You’re sparring with the same partner as last time.”

I toss my bag against the wall and hold back a groan. My last sparring partner was Earwyn. She hasn’t done anything mean to me in a while, but she definitely doesn’t like me. And she’s an upper-year student. Far more advanced than me.