Page 27 of Evergreen Academy (Society of Magical Botanists #1)

Chapter Twenty-Six

D uring my Saturday work shift, I’d looked up hopefully each time the doorbell tinkled, wishing to see Alex. He’d alluded that he might stop by, but the closer it grew to noon, I realized that it had been more of a passing phrase than a commitment.

I spent Saturday afternoon and all of Sunday cranking out my SCC homework and flipping through the Compendium Floracantus when my aunt wasn’t around. Any time I came across a Floracantus that sounded interesting, I wrote it down.

There was one for sustaining a flower’s bloom for a long period of time, and I decided to try it out on one of the flowers on my aunt’s balcony. Her petunias were still blooming, but it wouldn’t be long before the colder weather caused them to die.

“ Longum flore ,” I whispered, even though my aunt wasn’t home.

I did my best guess on the pronunciation.

Nothing happened, and I wasn’t sure if I was even supposed to see anything visibly.

The petunias didn’t move or change color or do anything to indicate a magical botanical spell had been used on them.

I made a mental note to try to observe if they bloomed longer this year then put the Compendium Floracantus away for the night.

By the time Monday came around, I rolled from my SCC history class to math class with a yawn. I was starting to wish I had my Evergreen Academy classes in the morning instead of the afternoon just so I could have some of their magically enhanced coffees and teas.

Despite my tendency to wake up early, I required a dose of caffeine by midmorning. The caffeine from my cup of basic light roast barely seemed to be taking effect this morning, and the hard seat of my math chair felt like an assault on my senses.

“You look like you need one of these.” A far too familiar voice came from my left, and I looked up to see Callan sliding into the desk next to mine, his hand outstretched with a paper to-go cup stenciled with leaves.

I stifled a gasp but attempted to pull myself together quickly.

“Callan, hi. Um, what are you doing here? Do you have a message from Evergreen?” I whispered the last question, taking a furtive look at my SCC classmates.

Most were slumped in their chairs or nursing their coffees, trying to wake up for the early morning math class.

“You assume I’m here because of you? Maybe I need remedial math.” He nudged the cup onto my desk, and I wrapped my hands around it instinctively, inhaling the sweet scent of orange blossom tea.

I snorted. “Yeah, right.”

Callan turned toward me then, one elbow resting casually on the desk as he eyed my textbook. “If I’m going to tutor you, it’s easiest to know where you’re starting from.”

I flicked my gaze to his eyes, unable to continue feigning nonchalance. “What do you mean, you’re going to tutor me?”

“Professor East thinks we need to help you get up to speed in some of your math and science skills.”

I narrowed my eyes. On Friday night, Callan had asked if Professor East had offered me any support, and now, here he was, being sent to tutor me. That couldn’t be a coincidence.

“And you volunteered for the job.” I said it flatly, but my brain was disbelieving. Callan was one of the busiest and most powerful students at Evergreen. He had founder duties that I didn’t even know about. I couldn’t imagine him having an abundance of time to tutor anyone, let alone me.

“Something like that.”

My mind swam, trying to imagine what this was going to be like.

With all the ways Evergreen Academy had upended my world in the past few weeks, my time at Siskiyous Community College felt like a sea of normalcy.

I was an average student at SCC. Sure, I wasn’t a star pupil in any class besides Art, but I wasn’t a lifetime behind in magical scientific plant studies either.

And now, my two worlds were colliding.

“I’m assuming I don’t get a say in this?”

Callan shrugged. “No one’s going to force you into tutoring. But if you want to stay at Evergreen, you’re going to need to keep up. Especially since you don’t have any affinities yet.”

I tried not to bristle. Did he really have to point out that we hadn’t been able to identify any affinities for me? And what did he mean by “yet”? I swished my hair over my shoulder and turned my face toward the front of the classroom.

“I didn’t even know you could still enroll this late in the semester.”

“Professor East pulled some strings.”

“Well, if agreeing to let you tutor me means you have to sit through classes that will probably be super boring for you, how could I say no?” I wasn’t trying to be rude or snarky, but I really couldn’t imagine why Callan would take the time to tutor me.

Any number of students could do that. He must have had some ulterior motive.

Besides, did I really want him to see how truly bad I was at anything to do with numbers or equations?

Callan hefted out a large book from his backpack, and from the corner of my eye, I recognized the math text we were using for the class. He glanced up at the board then flicked to the page number that was listed there.

“I have the patience of the trees, remember? Now, drink up, local. Caffeine is going to be your friend this semester.”

I frowned and flipped my textbook to the same page and tried to suppress a sigh. The patience of trees. Well, with my math skills, he was going to need it.

It wasn’t until class had started and we were forced to be quiet that I realized he’d called me “local” like he had in the woods at the beginning of summer. All this time, I’d been wondering if he remembered, and if so, why he seemingly hadn’t said anything to Professor East about it.

But based on his tiny smirk, I was pretty sure I had the answer to one of those questions. He remembered.

Maci was waiting for me when I emerged from math forty-five minutes later. From the corner of my eye, I could see her studying us with interest as Callan said goodbye.

“Professor East gave me a copy of your schedule,” Callan said. “I’ve got to get back to Evergreen for a few hours, but I’ll be available this evening after our classes. Do you prefer to study there or here?”

I leaned back slightly, surprised that he was giving me an option and that we were getting started so soon. The answer was out of my mouth in seconds. “There.”

Callan nodded. “See you then.”

“Hope your patience is still holding up because you’re going to need a lot of it to tutor me.”

A ghost of a smile tugged at Callan’s mouth. “Patience of the trees.” He turned and walked away.

“Who was that gorgeous guy you were talking to?” Maci asked when I joined her.

“Just someone from my math class.”

“It seemed like things were a little charged between you two.”

“He’s tutoring me, apparently.”

“He works at the tutoring center?” I could see the gears in Maci’s brain working in overdrive, wondering why she’d never seen him there.

“Not exactly. It’s a private tutoring arrangement.”

“Wow, I’m impressed that you’re taking your grades so seriously.” She gave me a high five. “Does he tutor for calc? He looks like he’d be more fun to work with than my current tutor.”

“I think you’re out of luck. I’m not sure that tutoring is usually his thing.” I paused. “He actually attends Evergreen Academy with me.”

Maci’s eyes widened. “Why didn’t you lead with that? He’s the first person I’ve seen from that mysterious academy, besides you. You should introduce me.”

I squeezed my fingers more tightly around the cup Callan had brought me, which I’d nearly finished. Callan’s presence on campus was going to make it more difficult to fend off Maci’s questions about Evergreen Academy.

“We’re not friends or anything like that. He’s just super smart, and they asked him to tutor me on some of the basics, since I’m, well, not doing so well in their classes.”

Maci frowned. “You’re not? What kind of classes are they?”

I stiffened, chastising myself for my slip. “It’s mostly high-level science stuff. Way out of my wheelhouse. He’s helping me with math.”

“Well, don’t stress yourself out about it. I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Just give it time.”

I forced a smile and tried to relax. “Thanks, Mace. Math and science just aren’t my strong suits. I’m going to have to work hard to keep up.”

Maci pursed her lips. I knew she was still confused about why I’d been selected for the “research project” in the first place, but she was too cognizant of my feelings to ask a second time.

My flimsy explanation about Evergreen Academy being interested in my artistic skills was the best she was going to get.

We reached the tutoring center, and Maci darted her eyes to where Callan was disappearing around the corner of the math building. “Well, even if he’s no good as a tutor, he’s certainly fun to look at.”