Page 42 of Evergreen Academy (Society of Magical Botanists #1)

Chapter Forty-One

C allan and I walked through the trees together as if we were strolling along a trail on the ground.

We stepped from branch to branch, never once hearing a creak to indicate we might be a burden on the trees.

While I was cautious starting out, Callan moved with the grace of a fearless child, like he’d been doing this since he could walk.

It dawned on me that he probably had been.

We followed the tree trails all the way to the tree houses near the edge of campus and went inside our usual one.

“ Fortis compositus for all. Really, Whelan? I knew you were interesting, but now you’re going to have this whole place in a frenzy.”

“A frenzy? Why?” I felt a little sweat form on the back of my neck, and I slumped into a chair.

“Because no one has affinity for all of the plants anymore. I’m the closest, with everything except mosses. But I don’t have fortis compositus affinity for any except for the trees. The rest are just minor affinities. The same goes for Eli and Nevah and all the founders’ descendants today.”

I let out a deep breath, suddenly feeling dizzy. I wondered if I had overexerted myself in the trees. “Great. So you’re saying I went from being an outlier with no affinities to an outlier with too many? What does a girl have to do to fit in around here?”

Callan laughed softly. “You weren’t born to fit in, local. Get used to it.”

Given the choice, I think I would have preferred being singled out for having no powers, not the reverse.

At least then, most people didn’t pay any attention to me.

Most students didn’t realize I didn’t have an affinity power—they just knew I wasn’t in their affinity studies class.

But then I remembered the feeling of connecting with the plants for the first time during my affinity tests yesterday and the thrill of walking through the trees with Callan, and I wondered if I would really give that up to continue flying under the radar.

“How was your Christmas?” I asked, ready to change the subject.

Callan glanced out one of the round circles in the tree that served as a window. “It was fine. Yours?”

“My favorite part was when I received a message from some leaves. ” I eyed him with a smirk.

“Pretty cool what you can do with a strong tree affinity once you learn how to wield it.”

I wanted to ask more about his trip home, but he seemed closed off about it, so I stuck with the change of subject. “Speaking of which, is there anything I should know? Do I need to be careful of anything… odd happening? Especially when other people are wa tching?”

He shook his head. “Not really. The main one that’s visible is the flowers leaning toward you or the grasses leaning away.

Or not being affected during a storm. But honestly, non-magical people never seem to notice subtle things like that.

They’re not conditioned to expect it, so why would they?

Most of the changes that you notice will be internal.

You probably don’t feel it yet, since you need to hone your affinities, but any time you are near plants you have an affinity for, you’ll be able to feel them. ”

“Feel them?” I asked, though I knew I’d already begun to experience it in a hazy sort of way.

“It’s different for every type of plant.

You might feel a subtle vibration coming off them, have an advanced ability to smell their fragrance, feel tension if they’re in distress.

You could become the best houseplant hobbyist in town.

Eventually, you’ll be able to sense if a plant needs water or fertilizer or more or less sun just by walking past it. ”

What he described brought an onslaught of anticipation mixed with nerves. It had always been a strange concept to me that plants were alive. But being able to feel them on such a level…

“Is there a reason you asked about things to look out for? Besides other people noticing?”

“I’m going snowboarding this weekend, and there will be trees all around. Just wanted to make sure I won’t suddenly be compelled to take off my snowboard and start tree walking.”

Callan let out a surprised laugh, and I bit my lower lip with a smile. “You’re still in control of you, local. You’ll have more sensations now, but you get to decide what you’re going to do about them. Most of the time, outside of campus, you’ll just have to ignore those feelings.”

I let that sink in, and as we left the tree house, I had the feeling that my whole world was about to change. Again.

We left Professor East’s office the next day with a plan for me to rotate my affinity studies.

I would work with two different affinity groups each Friday, then another two the following week, and continue to cycle through.

But because I was so far behind and had so many affinities, I was going to have to put in some extra time in the evenings.

This meant that my tutoring time with Callan was going to have a new focus.

“I’ll see if Eli and Nevah can work with you some too,” Callan said. “We all have different combinations of affinities and different leads, so we can each provide insights the others might miss.”

I swallowed. Eli and Nevah, the other two founders’ descendants.

I’d never actually met either of them officially, and in my mind, I held them up on a pedestal as nearly mythical beings.

But Callan belonged on that pedestal, too, and the only reason that didn’t completely distract me was how comfortable I’d become in his presence over the past few months.

The same couldn’t be said for my friends, who still went totally silent whenever Callan stopped by our table at lunch.

“So, snowboarding. You said you’re going this weekend?”

“Yes,” I said suspiciously. Callan wasn’t usually big on small talk that opened him up for personal questions. “Why? ”

“I haven’t had a chance to check out the ski park here myself yet. I mentioned it to some friends, and Nevah wants to join too.”

My mind began to race. “Umm, I’m going with my friend Maci. It’s been hard enough to fend off her questions about this place. If you and Nevah come, she’s going to give you the third degree.”

Callan simply shrugged, as if Maci didn’t scare him. I pictured the four of us on the mountain. I’d never seen Callan outside of the academic settings of Evergreen Academy and SCC. Would anything about him be different?

I mulled over the idea, beginning to soften to it. If anything, this was my chance to get to know Nevah before she started tutoring me. But then another thought occurred to me. Did Callan and Nevah often hang out outside of class?

I mirrored Callan in shrugging. “Okay, you can join us. But you better have your cover stories prepared.”

Callan gave me a dazzling grin and winked. “I’m the king of cover stories.”