Calfuray Academy (ManxMan)

Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Aftermath

“So, it is your responsibility to find out what your specialty is and master it in your own way.” Ms. Dovermal told the large class. “Bring your uniqueness to the craft of magic. Doing so will make it far better than you ever could have anticipated.”

I was nodding absentmindedly, more focused on writing down her words than truly taking them in. I would probably realize how important and profound her words were when I read my notes later. But, for now, my main focus was getting them down for later.

“Alright, please complete your assignments by this Friday at the end of the day.” She announced loudly, walking around to sit behind her desk. “Anything turned in a minute later will be considered late and points will be taken off.”

In a matter of seconds, the bell was ringing again, signalling the end of class and telling us to leave.

The students flowed out of the classroom, being ‘filtered’ out of through the door and eventually finding their way out. While I sat in the middle of the classroom, I took my time, letting enough people pass me to the point where I was close to the back of the large group.

My eyes caught those of our teacher. She was looking over the large group of students disinterestedly. Her eyes then met mine and she gave me a small smile. Ms. Dovermal and I were not close, far from it, but I did not want to ignore one of her few displays of kindness, and hesitantly smiled back.

The moment was quickly broken when she turned away again and, already used to her behaviour, I simply shrugged and continued on my way.

As I sat in my next class, I felt some apprehension at the thought of going to lunch later on. The mood was a bit odd after what happened the previous day and I had a feeling it would be far more awkward than before.

~~~~~

I sighed heavily, making my way from the lunchroom to my next class. I had to use the bathroom before I went to class and I tried to use that time to prepare myself, mentally. Lunch was not as bad as I expected.

Awkward pauses and shared looks passed around the table like a well-inflated beach ball? Yes, that happened. But for the most part, we were able to act as if nothing happened.

What made it easier was the fact that Sam hadn’t shown up. Where exactly she could have run off to, I’m not completely sure. The six of us just had to assume that she was alright and give her time. We could not act as if what Harvey did was not shocking and for now, we hoped that the space would help her calm down and get perspective.

Right now, though, I was the man who sat next to her in Species class. I had no idea if she planned on moving her seat or not, but regardless, she and I had a project to work on.

If she decided to bounce to ignore me because I reminded her of the guy that she made out with, then it would be harder to finish our project. If she stayed around, then it would be extremely awkward to be around her. Either way, I was dreading Dean’s class.

And, to top it all off, Dean was still acting distant. He was still texting me, but it was limited to simple, “hello”s, “goodbye”s, and “goodnight”s. It may have been alright to some people, but to me, who was accustomed to full-fledged conversations, it was concerning.

The first thing that I noticed when I entered the classroom, was Sam beaming widely in my direction. I was startled into a shocked silence and simply gave a small wave in return. While her long red hair was a bit messier than usual, she appeared to be completely normal.

While I tried to ignore him, I couldn’t help myself and found myself glancing back at Dean longingly. As I expected, his eyes were glued to his paper and I, disappointedly, turned back to Sam.