Page 19

Roxy

No shifting today.

At Urban Academy, there was some in-class shifting, but we could also do it in the courtyard or a few other places on campus. There were even locations off campus where we could walk or hitch a ride with someone to run in the hills outside of the city. And local restaurants and shops and all sorts of museums and concerts if we wanted to go.

Not that I’d had money for any of the expensive things, but museums were often free to students and other cultural-type events offered discounts. My stepmother wouldn’t have sent me an allowance if I was going to die without a chocolate bar from the canteen, but I had picked up some work-study hours tutoring first-year students, and that helped me to manage the basics. I made a mental note to ask in admin if there was any such thing because my clothes were not only not fashionable but at this point were close to falling apart, and I didn’t want to wear this itchy uniform forever.

After Mr. Haley announced the change in schedule, I whispered to Desi, “Can we just go do it ourselves in the afternoon?”

Her eyes widened, and she looked left and right. “Ourselves? Without supervision?”

“Uh yeah?” I’d been doing it unsupervised since my first shift that happened when I was all alone in the forest. “Pretty sure I know how.”

“No way. That’s like fifteen demerits…twenty maybe? Don’t even think about it.” She sat up very straight and folded her hands on the desk. So many folded hands around here. “Now sshh. Time for the test.”

I followed her gaze to the front of the room where the teacher held a sheaf of papers. We were going to take a test on a printed-out form? Why not mimeographed if we were stepping back into the past? In the olden days, my grandma told me, one of the few times I saw her before she died, they had a machine with a strong smell that nobody who had ever scented it could forget. She described it as chemically, but smiled while saying it, and told me how she was privileged to use the machine to turn the handle and magically make the letters transfer onto the test sheets.

Funny how I could miss someone who I’d spent so little time with, but my father’s mother had a magic about her that made her unforgettable.

The happiness and nostalgia of that memory flitted away, replaced by a present where a man wearing what looked like the identical jacket and pants from the day before was glaring down at me and holding out the test I’d been dreading. “Miss Swifthunt, are you prepared for this quiz? I noticed you were daydreaming yesterday as well.”

Bastard was probably hoping I’d fail. I’d never give him the satisfaction.

“Of course, Mr. Haley, I was listening. Your lecture was so filled with interesting details, it was a lot to memorize, but I promise to do my very best so you know I appreciate all the work you put into your lecture and our education.”

I heard Desi suck in a breath at my outrageous remarks. A bit over the top, but the teacher didn’t seem to notice. Rather, he preened. “We shall see, then. I get little enough appreciation around here.”

Holy shit. He bought it.

I added a winsome smile. “I’m sure people are just intimidated. I can’t wait to see what the next lecture is about. History has always been my favorite subject, especially when we learn about our own history.”

He narrowed his eyes, and I was afraid he’d caught on to my sarcasm, but then he shrugged. “Just do your best, and no one can ask more.”

When we left the room, Desi grabbed me by the arm and towed me aside. “What was that?”

“That was hypocrisy in action. Didn’t you like it?”

“You scare me, new bestie, but I did enjoy it. How do you think you did on the test?”

“Good, I think.” We started off down the hallway and toward our next classes. “But I will be sure to take my own notes next time so you don’t have to do without yours. In fact, if we both do, we can maybe study together in the library?”

“You are all gung-ho now! What changed?”

We paused outside the door of my class, and I offered her that same winsome smile, but she read it correctly and laughed.

“I listened to you and to Odin, Evander, and Sol who all basically have told me to maintain and not show any weakness, at least if I am reading it all correctly.”

“You’re right. That is the way to get by here. But maybe tone it down just a bit. Haley is gullible, obviously, and as long as you can keep up a level of ‘appreciation,’ you’ve probably got him wrapped around your little finger. I can’t believe I never thought of it. You’ve done this before, right?”

“Not at all. I’ve always prided myself on being honest. So this is a switch. I wonder how many other authority figures it will work with.”

“Guessing not many, so take it slow. If one figures it out, they’ll all talk about you.” The gong went off and she pushed me into the class. “See you at lunch.”