Secret Academy - Deuteronomy

XII: Being Different

Alice walked calmly towards Barbara, who was still searching for Jasper inside the library.

“Ms. Reynaldi, who are you looking for?” her voice was soft but Barbara was evidently startled.

“I-I was looking for Jasper…” she refrained from telling the lie she made up earlier.

“Mr. McCurdy would be unavailable for a couple of days. It seemed that he had failed to meet the standards of our Ability Classes. You know well enough that failure isn’t something that we tolerate” she smiled at her.

Barbara was speechless for a moment: she wasn’t sure whether it would be safe to ask a few questions, or to simply walk away. Alice had never really spoken to her for this long before, and she felt awkward. Although she was taller, Alice was after all, still a Principal student. They gazed at each other for a few seconds, with Barbara thinking how beautiful she was when she smiled – it rarely happened; and this smile felt intimidating.

“But Alice, where-”

“He’ll stay momentarily at the Principal Students’ Headquarters where I’ll tutor him personally. If you have anything for him, you may drop it off at the Post. He’ll be joining your friends again by next week” she casually waived her hand and hastily turned and walked away.

Barbara scratched her head and stomped her way outside. She can’t believe that she’d just been told off by someone shorter and younger than her – all because she didn’t hold any position in the academy. She muttered curses under her breath until she saw Coco and the others.

“Well? Did you see where he went?” Kat asked anxiously.

“No! Plus, Alice told me off” she pouted.

“Did she say anything important?” insisted Coco.

“She said she’ll be tutoring Jasper until next week” replied Barbara with disgust.

Both boys exchanged knowing looks and smiled, but Kat seemed to be worried.

“Whoa…he’s lucky indeed! Imagine having Alice for a tutor!” cried Coco.

“I bet she doesn’t fail to mention anything that’s important” teased Gail, and Barbara punched him in the rib.

He pretended to be hurt as Kat embraced him, while Coco tried to hide a chuckle.

*

“Let me go – or I’ll-”

“Or you’ll what?! Try to save yourself using your own ability then!”

Alice wasn’t surprised when she stepped out of the elevator to find the men in an argument. She saw Ilse take notice of her, but she gestured for her to keep quiet. She wanted to observe the commotion without any interference.

Jasper was sitting on a small chair in the middle of the room, with Marko and Sinan standing a few feet away. He didn’t appear to be tied down by anything, but his hands and feet looked stiff and frozen – Alice knew he wouldn’t be able to move them. Ilse was standing behind Jasper, trying hard to ignore Alice who was watching them. The two men at the bar were now gazing lazily at the scene; while the pianist and his ballerina stood at one corner of the room, their arms folded tightly to their chest defensively. Hana was the only one unaffected by it all – she was still lying on her stomach, idly coloring on the paper.

Alice scrutinized Jasper’s angry face, with his eyes looking directly at Marko and Sinan. His dark hair and eyes made him look dangerous. She put her hands on her hips as she studied all three men.

“Start apologizing before Alice shows up!” shouted Sinan.

“Shut up! I didn’t do anything! What the hell is this?!” Jasper struggled under the invisible forces that held his limbs together.