Page 17 of Mistaken Magic

"No," he insisted. "Sheplays by her own rules, but she's the furthest thing from insaneIcan imagine.She'sjust had a very hard life, so she values different things than most other kids.I'mbetting that sounds familiar?"

"Itdoes,"Iagreed. "So, doIreally get to stay?"

Hejust nodded, slowly lifting his arm to invite me over.WhenIwas beside him, he moved his hand to my shoulder, his arm lightly around my back.Itwas a very paternal gesture, butIliked it.Itfelt... homey.Thenhe steered me to the atrium exit, up the hall, and back toward the administrative area.

Ms.Rhodeswas in her office to the side, but she stepped out as soon as we entered. "Liam?" she asked.

"Rain, wait here, would you?" he asked, gesturing to a chair. "I'mgoing to take care of a few things."

"Ok?"BecausenowIwas very confused, butIsat obediently.

Theoffice was calm and orderly.Itwas the type of place where people worked instead of chatted.Notthat there were alot of people in here, though.Icould hear papers being churned out from a printer in someone's office.ThenIheardLiam'svoice in a side room.

"Aspenis adamant she attends."

"Liam,"Ms.Rhodessighed, "she has no affinity of any kind.Itried all the tests.There'snothing special about her."

"Whatabout the crows?" he asked.

"Ihonestly don't know," she admitted. "Thegirl likes birds.Maybeshe should consider becoming a zoo keeper or something."

"Butisn't that an affinity?" he asked.

Ms.Rhodesmade a murmuring sound. "Itcould be, in some cases, but without something to support it?I'msorry.Shemight be lost, but she's not our kind of lost."

"Aspenisadamant,"Liamtold her. "Shesays she's interesting."

"When?"Ms.Rhodesasked.

"Minutesago,"Liamexplained. "Theymet in the atrium whileRainwas waiting."

"Rain..."Therewas an obvious and unspoken question in the woman's tone.

"Aspensays that's her name.RainBrooks."

"It'sjust a name,"Ms.Rhodescountered. "Plentyof people have them.Itdoesn't mean anything."

"Seemsto mean something toAspen, and from the way she talked,Ihave a feeling she won't be the only one.Ifshe wants something this bad, you know he'll demand it, and you'd have to listen to that.Wouldn'tit just be easier to not offend her?"

"Fine,"Ms.Rhodessaid. "Butyou get to explain it all."

"I'vealready agreed to handle it,"Liamsaid. "Itwas a fair trade."

"Shit,"Ms.Rhodesgrumbled. "Ok.Arrangefor her transcripts to be sent over.I'llget her enrolled.Just..."Thewoman huffed in frustration. "Wedo not need any more trouble from your brother."

"KindawhatI'mthinking,"Liamagreed. "Thinkyou can get her dorm ready bySunday?"

"Iwill make sure of it,"Ms.Rhodespromised. "Ido not envy you this.Theyhave you caught right in the middle, and the only one who's going to pay is you.Youdo know that, right?"

"Unlikeyou,Ihappen to believe they've been polished by the hardships.Ithink they're kind - in their own way.Ialso think they're only merciless when they need to be.Justget me the room andI'lldeal with everything else."

"You'rea braver soul than me," she said even asLiamstepped back into the main room.

"Ready?" he asked.

Iwas, surprisingly.Ialso had a million and one questions, but right now,Iwasn't dumb enough to ask.Evidently, sharing aPixyStixwith a crazy girl was all it took to get out of theSparks' place and into a school like this?Iwas completely on board with that.WhichmeantIdefinitely needed to make sure to tell that crazy girl thank you!

Chapter Nine

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