Page 30 of Mistaken Magic

Likethat was some sign,Lynnrelaxed and walked further in. "Wow, you already organized everything, huh?"

"Notmuch stuff to worry about,"Iadmitted. "Justthe basics."

"Probablyfor the best," she said. "Guesshaving an uncle working here makes it a little easier, since you know what to expect and all.We'renot supposed to talk about this stuff with pure humans, you see, butIguess he got approval since you were accepted."

Shewas rambling.Granted, there was a lot of interesting stuff in there, like the fact she thoughtLiamwas actually my real uncle.Idecided to just go with it.Oneless thing to get bullied about later.

"Soyou can't talk about this with your dad?"Iasked.

"Oh, not like that," she said. "He'sacaradil.Uh, a human in the know,Iguess you'd say.LikeLiam.Iguess you're one too."

"Right."Ijust nodded, becauseIwasn't sure what elseIcould say to that.Caradilwas a word to add to my vocabulary, though.

"Anyway,"Lynnsaid, reaching over to pluck something from the far side of the box on my desk. "I'mguessing this is yourroom key?Ifyou want,Ican give you a tour so you can find your way around a little easier?"

"Thatwould be perfect,"Iagreed.

Shepassed me the key, then warned me the doors could sometimes be tricky.Igot a demonstration on how to make sure they were secure - which was pretty standard stuff, considering the housesI'dlived in - and then we were off.Lynnled me all the way down the hall, showing me how some of the girls had signs or whiteboards posted so someone could see if they were in, studying, or leave a message.

Itwas a good idea.Theproblem wasIhad exactly no money, and no parent to ask for it.Ijust nodded, making it clearIwas keeping up.Then, at the far end, she turned right.Thiswas the hall at the front of the building.

"Overthere,"Lynnsaid, gesturing to her left, "is the study area for fourth-floor girls.Andaround this corner is our common area for this floor."Sheturned for a set of double doors in the space between two wings of the building, then paused. "Theboys have the same setup on the other side.We'reallowed to use each other's spaces during the day, but not after curfew.Well, not for those of us who are still minors.Oncewe're over eighteen, we don't have to worry about it.Therules relax a lot after we're out of theAPprogram."

"Nice,"Isaid, thinking that was only a year away.

"Oh, and don't try to use the doors between our side and theirs after-hours.They'reenchanted and locked against minors."Shetook another step, unaware of how surreal that entire phrase was. "Sometimes, we have movie nights, and the hall is a mixture ofAPand college students, but it's pretty cool.Justsucks when they're allowed to do more than we can, you know?"

"Don'tIever,"Imumbled.

Iwasn't sure if she even heard me, though.Lynnsimply pulled open one of the doors and stepped in.Ifollowed her, unsure what elseIwas expected to do.Inside, both guys and girls lounged on couches and loveseats set up to make multiple conversation areas.Onthe far side was a massiveTV, and a movie played on it that a group of girls was watching.Itactually seemed almost normal.

Butthese weren't high school kids.Ok, some were, but the age range looked to be a lot broader thanI'dexpected.Froma bit younger than me to a guy with a beer over by the corner.Thatmeant twenty-one, didn't it?Otherwise, wouldn't he be hiding it?

Ok, andIwas sorta gawking.Thenagain, quite a few of the students in here looked back.Whentheir eyes landed on me, some tapped a friend or pointed, making the others look too.Itdidn't take long before at least a dozen people were inspecting me, andIwasn't sure if they were passing judgment.

"Newgirl,"Lynnexplained. "ThisisRain,Liam'sniece."

"Whatproficiency?" someone asked, andIdidn't see who, but it was a guy.

"Legacy,"Lynnsaid, gesturing for me to head back out. "Doingthe full tour."

"Didn'tthinkLiamhad any fae in his family," a girl called after us.

"Ignoreit,"Lynntold me. "Legaciesget a lot of flak because the magic users think they'resoimportant."

Imade it back to the hall and waited to see which way we were going next. "Yeah.Notoverly shocked.Imean, someone always has to be the cool kid, which means someone else is the not cool one."

"SomeLegaciesare pretty cool," she assured me. "Anyways, this is the study area."

Thistime, she just opened the door soIcould peek my head in.Librarywould've been a better description, if there'd been more books in the room.Instead, everything was digital.Therewere a few computers against the walls, maybe six or seven, and the group of people in there all had tablets.Itwas also very, very quiet.

"Then, if you go this way,"Lynnsaid, continuing on her tour, "we get to theAwing.See, they're labeled from left to right, if you're standing at the main entrance.AandBwings are for girls.Theatrium is in the middle, thenCandDwings are for the boys.Thefirst two floors are classrooms, and the upper two are dorms."

"Cool,"Isaid, letting her knowIwas keeping up. "Andwe're just all mixed in together?Highschoolers and college students?Nostructure to keep us apart?Norules about things like the beerIsaw that guy holding?"

"Magic,"Lynnexplained. "Ms.Hawthorne, one of the pure fae instructors, spells all the dorm room doors.Minorsare not allowed in a boy's room after curfew.Well, and same thing the other way around too.Butthe spell prevents us from entering after-hours, and if we're inside when curfew hits, the floor monitor is notified."Shemade a face. "Whichis not fun.Parentsget called if you have them, compulsions are placed, and so on."

"Compulsions?"Iasked.

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