Page 12 of A Dose of Agony
“Barely managing not to freak out.”
Janet smiles sweetly. Though I’m the only truly human of my friend group, Janet is close. She’s part troll, and her skin has a slight green hue, but you wouldn’t know it unless you were looking for it. She curls her arm in mine.
“Do you know what this is about?” I ask them.
“I’ve heard rumors, but they’re kinda hard to believe.”
I frown, but before I’m able to ask anything more, Mrs. Bhatt begins speaking, her voice magnified over the whole room. “Welcome, students. Today, we have a special announcement.”
The chattering settles, but whispering continues as an undercurrent.
“It has been several months since we’ve done an update to the typical inner circle lists. As you know, the school allows the two top students to select three people to be an official part of their inner circle. Those students will have all of the same opportunities as the top students. They will have access to every corner of the school, including Elite Hall and the highest clearance sections of the library. But things are very different now than they were at the beginning of the year when the lists were last established. Trevor Blackthorn has disenrolled from the academy, leaving us with not only an open space but an open list. The student council and the staff have deliberated about how to handle this change. We debated several different replacements, but one concern we had was that we did not want to alienate the Orizian’s loyalty that were in controlling power previously. The obvious choice would have been one of the last remaining royals—Auren and her brother from the Frost Court. Auren herself was the one to pitch a new idea. Instead of splitting the lists and choosing a separate culture to share the honor, we decided to allow the second list to be an extension of the first. The second list will be created by the name at the top of Prince Jarron’s.”
I blink, my palms slick.
“Jarron’s list remains firm, as we’ve verified several times over the last months, and even with his infrequent attendance due to conflict in his home world, he is still very much committed to the school—and those he’s established as his inner circle. Which means, our second inner circle list will belong to his first rank. Candice Montgomery.”
My stomach twists, and my vision peppers with black for a moment. Janet squeezes my arm tighter.
“What?” I breathe. And a chorus repeating the sentiment drifts through the crowd. The disbelief and shock are obvious. But there is also a scattering of annoyance and bitter laughter.
“But she’s from Minor Hall,” someone calls out, followed by grunts of agreement and whoops of pride.
I take in a deep breath.
“Now, this is a new established rule, and Candice has not yet had a chance to think over her choices. I have a suggested order, but of course she can make any changes she prefers. Candice, please come forward.”
Still dizzy and confused, I’m surprised when my feet move. She holds out a parchment for only me to see.
Janet
Lola
Thompson
“This is our estimation, but if you would like a day to decide, we absolutely could justify that.”
I swallow but shake my head. “No, that’s perfect.”
Of course, choosing which would get the first spot out of Janet and Lola would be near impossible, so I kind of like that Mrs. Bhatt chose the order. Or else, I could say it was just alphabetical order.
“You’re certain?”
“Yes.”
She smiles big and wide. “Wonderful! Let’s make the official announcement then. Corolla, would you please do us the honor?”
A red pixie soars up over head.
“Wait!” I call out before I fully thought it through. The pixie pauses, as does Mrs. Bhatt.
I lean in to ask Lola.
“You’re both on the list. I didn’t pay much attention to the order, but I just had a thought. Do you want to write the names, Lola? Is that like a good thing or demeaning, given the situation?”
Lola blinks. “Oh, um…” Her wings shiver.
“Let Corolla do it,” Janet answers for her in a tight whisper. “Some people see pixies as lesser than others. They’re workers. Let Lola be more than that.”
