Electracademy

Chapter 13

A couple months later...

   I love the holidays. I always have. My favorite thing would be is drinking hot cocoa and sledding on the hill in our backyard. I figured I would do that this year as well. What I never expected was this.
   
A massive Christmas tree is right underneath the motto in the dining hall. It's decorated with glowing orbs and ribbons. They have a fire lit in the fireplace (thanks to Grayson). The tables are decorated with tinsel and holly. Mistletoe hangs from the ceiling.
I walk to breakfast wearing a festive sweater and knee high boots. My friends wave to me from their table. I go sit next to them and start tucking in to my breakfast,which is powdered sugar pancakes.
   
"I still can't believe nobody asked me to the Winter Ball." Alice says over breakfast. Tonight is the Winter Ball at Electracademy. I hear its a massive fancy ball. Me and my friends had bought fancy dresses for the occasion. Apparently it's a big deal. "Did anyone ask you guys?" She asks the table.
  
I put a forkful of my breakfast in my mouth to avoid the question. I do indeed have a date,but I'm not about to tell Alice that. Alice looks at Isa. "Isa, you have to know. Tell meee."
 
Isa, if you tell her I will make you do something drastically crazy. I think.
 
But Isa just shrugs. "I'll wait till they play Single Ladies."
 
"What about them?" Alice asks motioning to me and Vandailia, who are both being very quiet. I send Isa another mental threat.
 
Isa just shakes her head and sips her cocoa.
 
Alice leans back in her chair. "Come on. You guys have to tell me."
 
"I will tell you later." I tell her.
 
"When's 'later'?"

Later...

   
I admire myself in the full length mirror. Isa stands behind me, fixing my hair. I hardly recognize myself. The dress is beautiful. It's a silver silk dress. The full skirt has a pattern of frosty trees. The silver leaves of the trees grow up the dress to form the bodice. The long lacy sleeves are snowflakes dancing through the air. The dress is old-fashioned but it will look great in the ball.

"This is going to give him a heart attack." Isa says while adding tinsel to my hair. She wears a dark green dress that clashes with her vibrant red hair.
 
I nod. "Oh yeah."

   
Isa and me walk to the dance chattering like schoolgirls. I stop when I see the ballroom. I have never been to this part of the school before. The polished floor has a massive snowflake design on it. A chandelier hangs above it all. Music plays from someplace and I'm suprised to find that I recognize it. A few couples already start dancing. A familiar face runs to us right off.
  
It's Alice in a red dress that shows her curves. "Have you seen Vandailia?!" She asks frantically.
 
"No we haven't, we just got here." I tell her.
  
Alice points to two figures dancing on the dance floor. Vandailia has on a flowy black dress. And then I see what Alice is frantic about. The person dancing with her is Owen. I see that Vandailia looks very happy.
  
"Why out of all the eligible bachelors must she choose my nerdy older brother?!" Alice practically yells.
  
"Chill out." Isa tells her. "Lets go get you some hot cocoa." And with that Isa leads her away.
  
And that's when I see him. He's standing in the doorway. He wears a black tuxedo with silver accents. I realize that our outfits match. I blush a little.
  
That's when he spots me. He smiles and comes toward me. "You
look gorgeous." He says as we hug.
 
"You don't clean up too badly yourself." I tell Grayson with a smile.
 
"Hey Carly,we were going to-" Alice cuts off when she sees us. "Oh..." She turns to Isa. "Did you know this?"
  
"Of course. She was thinking about him constantly." Isa says.
  I shrug a little when Alice gives me a look.
   
"Wanna get out of here and go dance?" Grayson whispers to me.
    
"Of course." My hand in his he leads me to the dance floor. A soft violin music plays. Grayson takes my waist. He leads me around the floor. At school in New York, kids would just kind of awkwardly shuffle around the floor. Now, we glide around the dance floor. I can't even dance that well. I'm glad Grayson is leading.
   
My beautiful dress flows around my ankles as we dance. A laugh escapes my throat. Grayson laughs too. "I'm still shocked that you said you would come with me."
  
"I'm still shocked that you asked." I say. We both smile at that. While we're dancing we pass by Vandailia and Owen,who are also dancing. "You guys look like a perfect couple." Vandailia says.
 
"You too." I tell them. They really do look perfect.
   
After a few more minutes of gliding around the floor, we take a break for hot cocoa. I sit at a table off to the side and wait for Grayson to come back with our cocoa. I see Vandailia and Owen come toward our table. "Mind if we join?" Owen asks.
  
"Of course not." I say waving them over. "Grayson went to get some hot chocolate."
  
They both sit down. They have been dancing for most if the time. This may be the most I have ever seen Vandailia smile. Another I noticed is when she usually keeps her long black hair loose around her,tonight she has it in a long braid. Grayson comes holding two foamy mugs of hot chocolate. I smile and take one from him. It seems silly how much smiling I have been doing today. I feel like I may have to get facial surgery in order to stop. Owen goes off to get some hot chocolate for him and Vandailia. Vandailia smiles and runs her hand over her hair. "This may be the most fun I've had like, ever."
  
"I must admit." I say,taking a sip of my hot chocolate. "It is by far the best school dance I have been to."
  
"It is pretty great." Grayson says. Just then a song I recognize plays. It's an upbeat pop song. I look to Grayson. He obviously has the same idea. We go out onto the dance floor again. This time instead of the formal dance we were doing earlier it's a freeform dance. I take his hand and spin. We do whatever we want. Some dances we do are silly. Just as the song is ending, he looks down at me. We stop dancing. He pulls me close to him and looks into my eyes. For a second I think we might kiss...
  
Suddenly an inhuman sounding howl echoes through the ballroom. Everything stops. The dancers stop in their places. People stop talking. The music stops playing. I run over where the sound came from. I have to push through the crowds, but once I get in front I gasp. It's the table me and Grayson were sitting at moments ago. Vandailia's limp form is on the floor. And Owen is shocked. "I-I don't know what happened." He stutters. The poor boy is shaking. "One second s-she was fine and...and then there was all this...and then she j-just collapsed."
  
Professor McKinley and some other professors rush over to where Vandailia lays. "Take her to the infirmary. Notify her father, and tell him not to come near here." She says to the other professors. I watch as they pick up Vandailia and carry her away. Owen sinks to his knees, still looking shocked. "Students, don't worry. Just head to your dormitories." Professor McKinley tells us all. 
  
I stay in Grayson's arms for a while with him stroking my hair and murmuring. "It'll be okay."