Chapter 33
"I would feel more comfortable if you went with someone."
"They're all training. And besides, it's just Grovehills, another highly secure and safe school."
She thinks about it for a second. "Fine, you can go. But David will follow you everywhere, don't leave his side."
"I won't, thank you." I get my permission slip from Cyan and start my journey to Grovehills. The school is held back by a big iron gate and huge stone walls. I expect the school to have a hostile feel to it but it's so much nicer inside. Old stone buildings are on the west and new modern, glass building are on the east side.
The driver parks as close as he can to the big hall the fair is being held at. I come down from the car and straighten my outfit. I'm wearing a grey sweater and black jean shorts. I pair this with pink and white sneakers and my signature gold necklace. My purse, phone and notebook are in a dark blue mini backpack hanging securely on my mid-back.
I adjust my hair and walk into the building. I try to keep a low profile, David walking three feet behind me doesn't help. I survey the tables, the projects on them are very impressive. There are the cliche volcanoes and ecosystem presentations. There are also some unique ones, like robots and other kinds of machines. Some tables have vials containing glowing substances. I don't ask what they are.
I see one table with a familiar project. My suspicions are confirmed when I see the banner above the person's station.
"Hot ice," I say to her and her friend. They both look too stunned to move or talk. "I won my fourth-grade science fair with this. It was so much fun. May I?" I point at their project.
One of the girls snaps out of her trance and hands me the ladle. I take it and pour its content on the disk. It doesn't reach it though, it freezes mid-air and stays up strong. I laugh.
"I love this, it's amazing." I move to the table opposite them. Being here feels even better than I thought it would. It all feels so normal and ordinary.
The person manning this table is a lot more confident. "Hello, thank you for coming. I would like to give you a report on my project." He points up at his sign. It's bare, just plain white.
Then it hits me. "Invisible messages." I guess. The guy nods, he's pleased that I got it. "Can I try?" He hurriedly hands me the pen and paper and I scribble something down.
He takes it and uses his power to light the other side, handy. He reads the message out loud. "Your project is really cool."
I nod. "It is, I wish I had thought of this in the sixth grade. Maybe then I wouldn't have come second. Good luck." As I'm walking away, I spot Arin at his table. "Hey, I'm glad you told me about this. I love it here."
He laughs. "You're welcome. Also, people love you. You have a certain way with them."
I place my palms at the edge of the table. "It's the month of training, and the fact that I actually feel comfortable here."
"Well why wouldn't you. I'll feel safe and comfortable if I had a royal guard following me 24/7."
I turn back and see David at his usual place a few feet behind me. "Be grateful, it was the one condition I had for coming here."
"I thought you were here because you love science."
"And also to miss an equestrian meeting. We were supposed to ride today, no thank you."
"You're not a fan of horse riding." He says it more like a question. He wipes the smile off his face as three people appear at the table, they look middle-aged and are clad in formal wear. They have strict faces but manage to soften them when they see me.
"I thought the students were making things up when they said you were here." The woman in the middle says. "But it is you."
The man to her left clears his throat. "Princess Cassandra, I would like to welcome you to our esteemed school. I am the director and these are my administrative assistants." He shakes my hand. "I wasn't aware the Queen was sending a royal representative to our little affair."
I laugh. "Oh, I'm not here on official business, just supporting a friend."
They look behind me at Arin. "Mr. Hames is one of our brightest students, I'm sure he will do very well." The woman says. "But while you're here, why not take a tour of the school."
"Oh that sounds lovely, thank you." They nod before leaving. "That felt really creepy."
Arin sighs. "Yep, the three furies is what we call them. They're also the three judges for today."
"Oh relax, Mr. Hames. Aren't you one of our brightest." I mock in a stuffy voice.
"Just go on your tour."
"Not until you tell me about your project." I walk behind the table and stand next to him, I move things around eagerly.
"Okay, I'll tell you but it's going to be from the other side." He removes my hands and pushes me away. I stand in front of his table and he starts his presentation. "My project is on a question that has been asked many times before. Does music affect the growth of plants?"
I start laughing. "How creative, please go on."
"I started this project four months ago. I got three seeds and planted them in the same type of soil. I give them the same amount of water, sunlight and overall care." He hands me a tablet. "I also put them on 24/7 recording. Playing now is a video going a thousand times faster than the original. It's showing the growth of the plants. On the left is the progress without music and on the right is the progress with music."
I smile and watch the tablet. I see a stem sprouting from both of them. The one on the right grows faster. "You proved your theory." I'm happy for him.
"I did, if you slide to the next image you'll see the progress of plants that listened to rock music and classical music." I do, it shows that rock music killed the plant while classical music made it healthier.
"Don't show this to my Mom, she'll never let me hear the end of it." I'm not sure why I said that, I don't listen to rock music.
"And now for the final piece." He brings some potted plants from under his table, they're marked. The first says no music, the second says rock music and the third and healthiest says classical music. "And that is how you do a science project."
The judges are nearing his table, Arin struggles to put everything back together. "They're coming, get out."
"Ouch." I move to other tables and examine projects. Some students ask me for pictures, some for autographs. I stay and smile for the pictures even though I don't want to.
There's some feedback from the microphone and the students all move to their tables. The director calls for everyone's attention. "It's time to announce the winners, after careful consideration, my team and I have decided on a winner for the junior and senior classes. A winner has also been selected for having the most impressive project."
I move to Arin's table and offer him an encouraging look. "The winner for the junior classes is...Arin Hames." Everyone in the arena claps for him. The judges give him his trophy and he looks more excited receiving it than he did the last one.
"Congrats," I say. "Will I also be getting this one?”
He snorts. "No way, I'm putting this with the others."
The director announces the winner for the senior classes, it's a girl named Fiona. The special award goes to a fifth-year who constructed a dome and created a perfect ecosystem for different plants and species.
The event draws to a close and the director asks Arin to give me a tour of the school. I help him pack up and he drops his stuff off at his dorm. I wait outside and we start the tour as soon as he comes back.
He shows me the school's facilities; sports arenas, classrooms, labs. They're all so grande. "And this is our dining hall where students are currently having lunch. Do you want anything?" I shake my head. "Okay then, do you want to meet my friends? Don't want you thinking I made them up."
I look around awkwardly. "Okay, let's go meet your friends." I use air quotes around friends. "You know, the ones that are very real."
"Wow, okay we're doing that." I follow him to a nice grassy area behind the library. There are low chairs and tables scattered around the field. I see a group of people sitting under a big tree.
"As promised, my very real friends." He presents them.
I look them over. "How do I know you didn't pay them to pretend?" I counter. "I'm going to need to see some more evidence."
The girl laughs. She has such a pretty laugh. "I like her, she's funny."
The guy whose head is currently on her lap sighs. "Val, she's a princess. Don't be crass."
The other guy smiles up at me. "I saw you at the fair, you were really nice."
"Thank you," I say. "Hi, I'm Cass."
"They know, everyone in Illyria knows who you are," Arin plops down next to his friends. "This blonde sweetheart is Val and the idiot on her lap is her boyfriend, Headon. This other lad is Owen."
Val offers me a nice smile. "Who's your friend?” She points behind me.
"That's David, I can't leave his sight." I sit down with my legs crossed.
"So, your majesty. Tell us, how is life in the amazing and magical Brimstone?" Headon asks dramatically.
"It's alright, I guess. I have friends, my cousin and brother are there. It's good."
"Nice to hear that," Arin sticks his hand into a red backpack and pulls out a bag of crisps. "Want one?"
I shake my head. "No, I should get going. Tomorrow is unity day and I promised my friends I'll support them. Today's the last day of training."
"Too bad, you could have gone horse riding with us later today." He jokes.
"Haha, very funny." I stand up and dust the nonexistent grass off my clothes. "It was nice meeting you guys, Arin, congrats again on your win."
"Thanks, am I a bad person for not seeing you off?" He settles closer to the tree.
"Yes." I offer him my hand. He sighs and takes it. I pull him up.
"I'll be back in a minute guys." He says to his friends. "I have to see our princess off."
We walk back to the car I came in and I once again get in the back seat. "Thanks for coming." He says to me. "And yes, I know you came for you but still, I appreciate it."
"You're welcome, it was fun." We're talking through the open window.
"You seem to like the school."
I shrug. "I like the feel of it. The students don't seem too tense and the academic program is amazing, more Earth-centric. It's a good school."
"Then transfer, next year."
I stop laughing when I realize that he's serious. "Oh, you're not joking. Arin, I can't. My family will never let me."
He nods. "I know, don't know why I suggested it. I just imagined you going here. It would have been fun."
"Thanks, I kind of imagined myself attending too."
We're silent for a few seconds before he taps the car gently. "It's getting late."
"Yeah, goodbye," I say to him. "Goodbye." He replies. I wave as David pulls out of the school and soon both he and Grovehills are too far for me to see.