Ayan's excitement over the snow had made any thoughts of Tilli and Miriam fade from Key's mind. They had grabbed their coats and joined the rest of Victoria House in a snowball fight. Even Mat had come out for it.
The next few weeks, she focused on her embroidery. She dedicated every Springday to the baby shawl, since Mat was in the infirmary and usually ate dinner with Charlie afterward. He spent an increasing amount of time with his new friend, but he hadn't disappeared like he had with Antony. Instead, she could see a spark of the old Matsias returning. He even started speaking up in history class.
But any hopes Key had of settling in herself blew out when she walked into Mrs. Theelnin's class to find strings of lights hung up everywhere. The room reminded her of an abandoned house. Worse, her teacher had an extra broad smile on her face--the kind teachers only wore when they were planning something truly evil.
"Good afternoon, class. As you can see, I've begun decorating for Messengers Day." She gestured to the dead strings of lights. "And if any of you bothered to count them, you'd have noticed there's one for each of you." Key's stomach flipped. "Of course, there aren't near enough outlets in this room to turn them all on, so I'll need your help. We began this year by lighting a single bulb. Your semester test will be to light a string of them. You will earn points for each light you light and lose points for each one you break. You have from now until the mid-year break to complete the assignment." Then she stepped around to the other side of her desk and sat down.
One girl put up a shaky hand.
"Yes, Miss Wasay?" Mrs. Theelnin nodded.
"Do you mean this is the only assignment we have left for the rest of the semester?"
"That is correct, Miss Wasay."
"So we could... do it today and..." Key noticed the girl had never actually lowered her hand.
"And have the next two weeks off, yes. Would you like to do yours today?" Mrs. Theelnin's tone was matter-of-fact, without a hint of condescension. Somehow, that made her even more terrifying.
Apparently the other girl agreed with Key because she squeaked out a no and yanked her hand out of the air.
"In that case, you may use the rest of your time today to practice. Anyone who has not volunteered to do the test before exam day will do it then, in an order of my choosing."
In a sudden burst of motion, everyone scrambled to get a look at the lights. Each strand was different--from the one hung over the doorway with three inch long multi-color bulbs to a delicate strand with barely a dozen the side of Key's thumbnail. Then there was the strand that went across the length of the ceiling and fizzed and sparked whenever someone tried to put electricity into it. Going first would offer the benefit of selecting which strand to use, while going later would mean more time to practice. Every other student was a ticking bomb trying to determine how to ensure they got the most advantageous set of lights.
Since no one wanted to touch the fizzing ones, Key and Kaylee took turns on a six-foot strand of white lights. Key closed her eyes and felt the current in the air. She felt it running through her body. Current was everywhere. She tugged on some in her fingers and threaded it into the end of the string of lights. Once it had a direction, it liked moving, but putting it through a light was like trying to embroider through three layers of fabric. As she tried to push it through, her imaginary needle snapped, and the current swung back into her. It didn't hurt, really, but it made her jump and drop the string.
Kaylee picked it up. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I short circuited myself. You know what the worst part of this is? I think it might actually make me stop enjoying Messengers Day."
Kaylee giggled. "Maybe that's her plan."
Key watched as the first two lights lit. "Mrs. Theelnin doesn't like Messengers Day, so she had to ruin it for everyone." The whole string of lights suddenly blazed and then all popped at once. Several people turned to look at them, and even Mrs. Theelnin looked surprised. Kaylee looked back at the teacher for a moment and then burst into a fit of giggles all over again.
"Miss Rulaw, do you need to step outside?"
Kaylee suppressed her laughter. "Sorry Mrs. Theelnin. Do I need to replace your lights?"
"No need. It happens every year." Though from her tone, Key suspected an entire string breaking at once did not happen every year.
They continued practicing until class had ended. Unsurprisingly, no one volunteered to complete the exam that day.
Then, as Key walked into her sewing class, Ayan pulled her aside. "I know what Tilli and Miriam are trying to do."
"What?"
"During break, I saw a letter on Miriam's desk. It's supposedly from Jo, but I think it's forged. It says she wants to meet him at dinnertime because..." Ayan took a breath. "She wants to have no barriers between them and wants him to walk in her mind."
"Mindwalking? Isn't that really dangerous?"
"I think that's the point. Antony got Mat in trouble for using magic recklessly, so they want him to get in trouble for the same reason."
"But even if he thinks the letter is from her, why would he try to go through with it?"
"Based on the letter, they had a pretty big fight. I think they're trying to convince him that Jo wants to make up with him."
Key wanted to ask why Ayan hadn't stolen it, but then Mr. Depping cleared his throat. "Miss Tyeen, Miss Truuit, is this important class business, or would you like to take your seats?"
Ayan opened her mouth, but Key stepped on her foot. She pushed the other girl toward her seat. "We can't do anything about it right now. Meet me at Victoria House after eighth period."
She had tried to stay calm in front of Ayan, but Key couldn't focus for the rest of the day. She considered telling Mat about it in channeling objects, but decided against it. She didn't want him involved unless he had to be. He did notice that something was wrong, but Key lied with frightening ease and told him she was going to her room to lie down. Ayan was waiting in the common, but Mrs. Putyam's door was closed.
Valerie was sitting behind the front desk working on something. Key dragged Ayan over. "We need to talk to Mrs. Putyam. It's an emergency."
"When it rains, it pours," Valerie muttered. Then she indicated the couches behind them. "She's already dealing with one emergency. You can wait there until she gets back."
Key wanted to protest, but there was nothing to be done, so they sat on the couch and stared out the window, watching for Mrs. Putyam. At last, she swept in, Antony trailing behind her. Apparently, she and Ayan were too late.
Still, Ayan tried to grab the teacher's attention as they swept by. "Mrs. Putyam?"
She unlocked the door to her office, and after instructing Antony to wait inside, she turned her hawkish eyes on them. "You girls need me?"
Key wanted to shrink behind the couch and wondered if this was how Mat felt around teachers. But Ayan's diplomatic training must have kicked in. "Is Antony in trouble?"
Mrs. Putyam arched an eyebrow. "That's none of your business, Ayan."
"Actually," Key jumped in, "we think he was... set-up." She stood her ground as Mrs. Putyam's glare grew harsher.
The teacher pursed her lips, but didn't argue. Key wondered if she believed them. "Wait there," she commanded and walked into her office.
