Page 15 of Evergreen Academy (Society of Magical Botanists #1)

Chapter Fourteen

I had to wander around in the forest for a few minutes before I found the tree houses. In the end, it was a familiar voice that helped me find my way.

“Try not to crush the leaves as you load them,” Callan’s clear voice said from straight ahead, and I followed it to see him and several other students collecting leaves. Air seemed to swoosh the leaves into piles and then into the bags with a subtle movement of the students’ hands.

I emerged in the clearing where they were working, and Callan’s eyes flicked to me immediately. He raised his eyebrows then walked over to me. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m looking for the tree houses. I have my affinity test with Dr. Bowellia. What are you doing here?” After I asked, I realized the answer was obvious and that he was there for a class or affinity studies.

“Everyone here has a strong tree affinity. The time around each equinox and solstice is important for collecting plant specimens as the seasons change. There’s a lot we don’t know about these transitional periods. The opportunities are greatest at the equinoxes, and the fall one just passed.”

I was surprised by the thoroughness of his answer. Callan crossed his arms, and I again noticed the tree-inspired tattoos that painted his forearms. I quickly glanced away and saw Callan’s classmates continuing to collect and sort leaves without touching them.

“Interesting,” I said, and I meant it. People often had the misconception that nature was fixed and that our knowledge of things like plant properties had long ago been determined and catalogued in textbooks. But I’d always known that what we knew was only a fragment of what was possible.

“P.B.’s office is in the first tree house.”

“P.B.?”

“Professor Bowellia.” Callan looked up, and my eyes widened as they made out the shape of wooden huts and pathways nestled in the canopy above, nearly perfectly camouflaged.

“Woah. Good thing I stumbled across you all. I don’t think I would have found those on my own.”

Callan grinned. “They were originally crafted by some botanists with tree affinities about fifty years ago, and we’ve been upgrading them ever since. Wait until you see the inside.”

A little thrill of excitement coursed through me before his words dawned on me. “Um… how do I get up there?”

Callan nodded toward a nearby tree that had wooden rungs clinging to its trunk, leading up into the canopy. I gulped but didn’t protest.

“Those of us with tree affinities can climb the trees without issue, but we added the rungs for the other students and faculty. Since we don’t know if you have this affinity yet, it’s safest to use the rungs. What other affinities have you tested so far?”

“Florals, harvesters, grasses, and aquatics. All non par .”

Callan gave me a strange look but quickly smoothed his face. “Well, good luck with the tree tests.” There was something in his voice that set my nerves working again.

“Thanks.” I flicked the word at him and approached the tree with the rungs, hoping Callan wasn’t going to watch me climb the whole time.

I took the first few rungs easily but slowed as I neared the top.

I paused for a moment to catch my breath then suddenly felt a rush of wind push up from underneath me and plop me onto a platform the size of a doormat.

I leaned back against the tree, breathing hard as the shock of what had just happened hit me. I heard a soft laugh from below and looked to the ground.

Callan was standing there, arms crossed, a smile tugging at his lips. “Looked like you could use a little help.”

Still trying to catch my breath, I tipped my head back against the tree and said, “A little warning would have been nice.”

I heard Callan laugh again, but when I looked down, he was gone.

I followed the wooden path that led from the platform I was standing on to one a few trees away, stepping carefully as the rope that held the slats of the path together swung lightly.

I ended on a small platform again, but this time, it stood before a doorless entryway to one of the tree houses I’d seen from below.

I had to work hard to keep my mouth closed as I carefully stepped inside.

The tree house seemed to be carved into the tree, which had to be at least the size of one of the world’s largest redwoods.

Like so many of the plants I’d seen on campus, I knew redwoods didn’t normally grow here, but I didn’t have time to dwell on that as I took in my surroundings.

In many ways, the inside was a miniature version of the classrooms in the main building, with a few tables, stools, microscopes, and solar-powered lanterns that hung throughout the space. They weren’t on now, but I imagined it would be a magical place to work in the evening.

The scent of pine and other fresh woodsy aromas I couldn’t place was strong, and I inhaled deeply as I approached the desk where Professor Bowellia sat.

His skin tone was similar to the deep, rich color of the trees, and he wore a local SCC baseball team cap.

I deemed him to be in his thirties, and his style was more that of a college student than a professor.

No wonder Callan had referred to him as P.B.

“How was the climb up?” He asked, lifting his gaze to meet mine. There were slight crinkles at the corners of his eyes.

“Fine, though Callan helped get me over the last little bit,” I admitted.

Professor Bowellia chuckled. “No surprise there. So, you’re here for your affinity test.”

It wasn’t a question, but I nodded. Professor Bowellia stood and looked out the window to where I assumed Callan’s group was still collecting leaves below.

“Are you afraid of heights?”

I braced myself, wondering what this task was going to ask of me. “A little.”

“Let’s start with the tree ring, then.” He returned to his desk and handed me a tree ring the size of a hubcap. “Tell me how old this tree is. ”

I took the ring and set it on a nearby table, starting to count the tree rings as I’d learned in elementary school.

“Not like that,” Professor Bowellia said, voice kind. “Hold on to it for a moment. For most of those with tree affinities, you will be able to tell how old it is without counting the rings.”

Startled, I gripped the ring in both hands and studied it, but I didn’t feel anything.

“Nothing?”

“It… just feels like a piece of wood,” I said, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“That’s all right. Some people have an affinity to the forest, even if not to individual trees. Trees are social creatures, after all. On to test number two.”

I relaxed at his words and followed him out the other side of the tree house with a little more confidence. He seemed so easygoing after the near hour I’d spent with Dr. Lemna.

“We’re going to see how you do with tree walking.”

My feeling of calm quickly evaporated. “Tree what ing?” I repeated, trying not to panic at the chance I might have heard him correctly.

“All with tree affinities can walk effortlessly through the canopy, just like they can climb them with ease. The branches in this portion of the canopy are thick and close together. They’ll move even closer to make a path for you, if you have the affinity.

It’ll be no more difficult than walking along the plank bridge like you did when you first came up here. ”

I tried not to let my shock show. “But, Professor Bowellia, what happens if I don’t have the affinity?”

“Don’t worry. You won’t fall. Remember how Callan helped you up those last few rungs? ”

I looked over the railing and saw Callan leaning casually against a tree below us. Great . Of all the people who could be watching as I fell to my death, I would prefer it not to be him.

Professor Bowellia nodded toward the next tree over, and I took a deep breath. If I was going to fall out of a tree today, at least no one could say I hadn’t tried.

I eyed a nearby limb that looked sturdy and, after one last nod of encouragement from P.B., stepped away from the roped path. I let out a sharp gasp of fear as my full body weight transferred to the branch and it sagged slightly.

“Good. Now step to another branch.”

I felt, more than looked, for a close branch and removed one trembling foot from the first branch to step on it. I tried to imagine my fearless childhood years of scrambling up trees, but my legs shook. As I went to transfer my second foot, I let out a scream as I felt myself fall.

Half a breath later, I was still screaming as a gust of air tucked underneath me—as it had when I’d climbed the rungs—and I was floated like a feather to the ground, where I landed with a soft rustle. I could feel my arms and legs shaking, and Callan calmly made his way to my side.

“Are you all right? I’ve never done that without a tree affinity, but I’ve heard it’s no joke. You’re safe on the ground now.”

Professor Bowellia called from the path above. “There’s no surer test than that one. Callan, float me her journal.”

Callan reached for the journal I’d left at the base of the tree with the rungs and floated it on a gust of air and leaves into Professor Bowellia’s hands. A few moments later, he sent it back, and I knew the affinities page now had an additional non par signature.