During final period, I’d received a text from Aiden. When the bell finally rang, I checked it and saw it was about training.
“Aiden can’t make it.” I whispered to Dawn when we left the room. “No training today.”
“Awe.” She pouted. “But I practiced last night. I can even do this now.” She held up her right index finger and the tip started to glow. “Pretty impressive, right?”
“Put that away!” I hissed, looking around frantically. “If anyone sees you, they’ll—”
“You practice magic?!” A soft voice greeted us at the stairwell. Looking forward, I saw Ciela staring up at us, her eyes sparkling and her clothes drenched. “When did you start?”
Dawn quickly hid her hand behind her back. “Just the other day.” She gave me a sidelong glance. “I’m still practicing.”
Ciela jumped up the stairs to us and we stood to the side so we weren’t blocking other students. “A boy I knew at my old school liked magic. He had a cool trick to go with the glowing finger, too.” She held up her finger and pointed to just above the last knuckle. “Put the magic cap on, then wrap a band-aid around the bottom. That way, it’s hard to see the edge.”
“Cool.” Dawn nodded along. “I’ll try that.”
“Ciela, what happened to your clothes?” I asked, changing the subject.
She shrugged. “Fell in the pool. My gym clothes are in my locker.” She pointed up to the third floor. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. “I’d better get changed before I catch a cold.” She flashed a sheepish grin before running up the stairs.
Something’s definitely wrong. I mused.
“That’s not right.” Dawn hissed in my ear. “Only juniors and seniors have access to the pool. A freshman shouldn’t be anywhere near there.”
“She’s a freshman?” I’d assumed she wasn’t older than me, but was she really younger?
Dawn nodded. “We were in a split class together in elementary school.” She took hold of my wrist and pulled me down the stairs. “Hey, since we aren’t training, lets go shopping.”
I laughed. “Welcome home, Dawn.”
I followed her through the streets to the local shopping district. The large tent that covered the street had been retracted to let the sun soak into the brick walkway. The scent of flowers drifted around from the florist shop situated midway through the strip.
Dawn inhaled and sighed. “Fresh chocolate!” She exclaimed and pulled me toward the shop. We watched the chocolatier mix and mold the little treats for a while. When he looked up and saw us, he came over with some free samples.
“I’ve never had chili peppers in chocolate before.” Dawn told him. “But it’s amazing.” She bought a box of them and stuffed it in her backpack. “Mom’s gonna love these.”
We walked along the strip, commenting on the window displays and occasionally going into the stores. Dawn bought a new cellphone strap, since hers was basically shredded to get the stone out.
“Let’s look at the flowers.” Dawn suggested. “I saw these cacti when I was in Spain and my dad said they’re really hard to kill.”
“Perfect for your brother, right?” I joked. Her older brother, Terry, had managed to kill three plants by just being near them for an hour. The autopsy reported the cause of death as drowning, but he claimed he only gave them a little water.
We walked into the florist shop and Dawn immediately went to the sunflowers by the window. I looked around for a bit and found a display of miniature rock gardens. One of them was arranged just like Stonehenge.
“Looking for anything in particular?” A saleslady asked me, brushing her long hair off her shoulder. “We have a sale right now on roses.”
I couldn’t help but stare. Her hair was the same shade of green as the leaves on the sunflowers Dawn was wrestling with. She had most of it clipped away from her face, but what was free was clinging to her blouse.
“I’m… waiting for my friend.” I gestured vaguely toward Dawn. “She likes flowers.”
She nodded and gestured to the rock gardens. “Nature is more than just flowers.” She winked. “It’s believed some stones can even hold the spirits of the deceased.”
I looked back to the mini-Stonehenge. There was definitely something gnawing at the back of my mind. I thought about the gems on the tiara and how they chose new guardians. Could there be spirits in them?
I rejoined Dawn as she perused cacti. She’d picked out a large spiky one, but was also looking at ones with flowers. I reminded her about her active dog and his tendency to bat things off tables. She chose one of the flowering ones.
The green-haired saleslady was at the cash when we finally made our way over. She recommended a ceramic pot and stand, which Dawn also purchased.
As we left the store, I became aware that the nagging feeling I’d had earlier was diminishing. I turned back to look at the store. With all the plants in there, could it be attracting the Earth Guardian?
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