Zodiac Academy

7. Fraying Ends

  Days passed without any word from the Gemini twins. I had gone back to my normal life -the one without them in it. Those days turned into weeks.

  That was when I started to worry about them. Jaxson had slowly stopped showing up to our class we shared and Leo followed soon after. Had Jaxson convinced Leo of his thoughts? Were they planning ways to escape the campus?

  For whatever reason they were gone, they needed to come back. They owed me twenty bucks and I missed them once again.

  It was a free period tonight and I was standing outside the thirteenth empty building. I was going to ask Char if they have seen the twins. Its already been past a month since I stepped foot into this building. It seemed creepier without my best friends beside me to keep me sane.

  Instead, I brought Jenny.

  "What are we doing here?" she whispered.

  "Just keep watch. And whatever you do, do not go inside. The Gemini don't like other signs invading their territory. Believe me, one of them almost threw me out themself."

  "I don't like this," she whispered again.

  I shrugged. I left her standing outside the entrance and walked into the dark building. It was exactly the same as before.

  The door was farther back than I remembered, but finding it was still easily the same. My knuckles hit the wall without a sound. I was sure Leo had made a sound before.

  Were only Gemini born allowed to open the door?

  I rapped on the door one more time. The same problem occurred. I cursed and walked back outside.

  "You don't happen to be a Gemini hiding in an Aquarius' month do you?" I asked Jenny.

  She rubbed her arms. It wasn't even that cold out tonight. She shook her head. "No. Aquarius born all the way."

  I sighed. "Okay. Think, think," I whispered to myself. I closed my eyes and squeezed them shut. As if that would help my thinking process.

  "What do you need?" Jenny asked.

  My eyes snapped open. "Do you have any Gemini friends?"

  Jenny gave me a simple look. "No."

  Her response deflated my idea. "I guess we're going to have to go kidnap one then."

  "You are out of your mind," she responded.

 
  It didn't take long to find a Gemini wandering around. And it turned out to be Char. Maybe luck was handing me something in return for all the bad luck I've been receiving lately.

  I grabbed Char by the shoulders. "Have you seen Leo and Jaxson?"

  They flipped my body around in an instant and pinned me to the ground. "Who's asking? You reek of another sign."

  Char was one creepy human being. Maybe they weren't even human.

  "It's Aquarius," I wheeze. "We met before."

  "Ah," Char hissed, "the wrecker."

  Their arms left me and I could breathe easier. "I didn't... wreck anything."

  "Oh, but you did."

  "Just tell us if you've seen the twins," Jenny demanded behind us.

  They swirled around to look at Jenny. "Another Aquarius? My, my. To what do I owe the pleasure of this?" they snarled.

  "What's going on here?"

  I turned my head from the ground and saw another Gemini walking out of their dorm building. Great, just what we needed! Conflict!

  "I have it handled, Azalea," Char growled lowly.

  "It appears so. However, don't make me ask again."

  "They're looking for us." More voices. More people. Let's get some chips and dip and call this a party.

  I stood up from the ground. Leo and Jaxson were leaning against the Gemini dorm building. Leo shoved his shoulder off the bricks and walked over to me.

  "Aquarius."

  "Look, they're perfectly fine. Let's go, Aquarius." Jenny ran to my side and grabbed my arm.

  A breeze started to pick up around us. It had gotten too dark to see who was making it happen. I had a feeling it was Azalea or Leo.

  Char stepped back into the picture. "I don't need any help. I have this under control."

  "Do you?" Leo inquired.

  Jenny tugged at my arm. "We should go."

  "Not until I get my twenty dollars." I crossed my arms -Jenny still gripping one- and waited for a response from the twins.

  The breeze began to hit harder. It pulled at our hair and ruffled the boys'. I still couldn't tell who it was.

  I began swirling my own fingers. The wind became sharp and ice-cold with my added power. Jenny tensed beside me, her fingernails digging crescents into my arm.

  Leo pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and held it out to me. "Grab your money," he yelled over the sound of the wind.

  I snatched his wallet from his hand and took out two tens. Tossing his possession back toward him, I stopped my magic and began to walk away with Jenny. They couldn't avoid me forever. I knew Jaxson's plans. If I knew anything about loose ends, they would have to come back to me and make sure it was dealt with.

  I was definitely a loose end. I didn't give Jaxson any room to believe I wouldn't act like a four-year-old and tattle on him.

  Boundaries were set, and I was going to see just how far I could push before that push came to shove.