Page 27 of The Bleak Beginning

“Sure it does,” I say, my frown deepening. “And I’m the Queen.”

Alfie’s eyes widen. “You are? I had no idea! Your Majesty, I—”

“No, you idiot,” I cut him off. “It’s called sarcasm.” Why was I humoring this kid again?

He deflates a bit, but his enthusiasm is apparently unquenchable. “I’m telling you, magic is real! Have you ever heard of fairy dust?”

Finally, I was at the front of the line.

“There. Happy now?” I ask slamming down the envelope and ignoring Alfie’s continuous chatter.

The student inspects it closely, her nose practically touching the paper. “I suppose that’ll do,” she said with a sniff.

“Fantastic,” I muttered, shoving the letter further her way. “Now can you please just mail it?”

“Well…” she drawls, glancing at an ornate clock on the wall. “We’re actually closing in two minutes.”

I felt my eye twitch. “You cannot be serious.”

She shrugs, already gathering her things to leave. “Rules are rules. Come back tomorrow.”

Suddenly my eyes go wide as a handful of shimmering particles dance around my vision, leaving a trail of tingling sparkles. The dust glows with an ever-changing array of colors.

I stared at Alfie in disbelief, my skin tingling where the shimmering particles landed. “Where did you—”

“Shhh,” Alfie whispers, pressing a finger to his lips. He winks at me, then turns to the student behind the counter with a dazzling smile. “My dear lady, I believe you’ll find that your clock is running a bit fast.”

She grabs a rectangular piece of plastic beside her and flips the “OPEN” sign to “CLOSED.”

I glanced at the clock on the wall, my heart sinking with each slow tick. “Please,” I beg. “I just need to send this one letter. It’s important.”

The girl behind the counter smirks. “Sorry, mudslide. Rules are rules.”

The venom in her tone makes my skin crawl. Realization dawns, cold and heavy in the pit of my stomach. The Legacies. Of course. Camden had no doubt done this.

I gripped the envelope tighter, worried I would have to wait an entire day to let my sister know I was okay.

I hate the no phone policy. I hate the Legacies. I hate that my dad thought Altair would fix me. What made him believe that this place was right for me?

My clinging hope was that when my father had gone here, they’d had the same policy, and he could update Clara as to why I couldn’t be in touch as often.

I hated this school.

“Well, that sucks,” Alfie huffs after the girl disappears into a back room without another word. My letter is left abandoned on the counter.

I glower, trying in vain to brush the shimmering dust off my arms. But it clung stubbornly, making my skin sparkle like I’d fallen into a vat of liquid diamonds.

Alfie’s eyes widen in panic as he realizes I’m not happy.

“I-I’m sorry! I just wanted to see if it would work,” he stammers, taking a step back from my glittering form. I could deck him, I was so frustrated.

He frantically starts brushing at my arms, sending tiny sparkles floating through the air, but I force him away.

“Work? What exactly were you hoping would happen?” I spit, annoyed beyond belief.

Alfie fumbled in his pocket and pulled out an ornate vial. “I found this right outside the door. It’s supposed to be real fairy dust! I thought maybe…”

“You found a bottle on the ground and thought it was real fairy dust?” I repeat slowly.

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