The Curse (H. Academy Series #1)
Chapter 16: Conversations in the Dark

“What are you doing here?” Thar’s blank expression was hard to witness and I couldn’t form another word. Making out with Leon wasn’t a crime, but it felt a thousand times worse than actually admitting the truth.

A heavy feeling sat on my heart, guild, confusion, all mixed up in an unbelievable desire to cry.

“What does it look like we’re doing?” Fortunately, Leon was cocky enough for both of us.

“Why aren’t you at the party?” Thar never looked at him, his eyes were glued to me and I tried to apologize with my eyes. What for? I wasn’t quite sure.

“The lust charm at the party is too strong.” Leon jumped in again. “Everyone wanted to join in. And Jade, here, doesn’t like to share.” I slapped his shoulder, giving him the angriest look I could muster.

“I’ll escort you back.” Thar told me and I left the storage room, feeling like a scowled kid. There was absolutely no reason for me to feel this way. Thar wasn’t my boyfriend. Hell, we didn’t even know each other well enough to call him a friend.

He was my teacher, nothing else. Therefore, I had nothing to feel bad about. I threw a party and I wanted to have some fun. Surely, there were better places than a storage room to have the aforementioned fun, but it was no crime.

“You shouldn’t have been in this hallway.” Thar muttered under his breath. He strode through the building so fast I basically ran behind him.

“I’m sorry, okay? It was dumb. I shouldn’t have done it.” I murmured everything that came to my mind, still unsure why in the world did my action need justification.

“No need to apologize to me.” Thar said once we stepped outside. The chilly wind blew in my face. “Apologize to your dignity.”

“Excuse me?” I stopped in my tracks and put my hands on my hips. Leon caught up with us and stood next to me. “Go away, Leon!” I practically screamed at him, making him raise his hands in surrender. He was off to the party, possibly to find another girl.

“I know that kid.” Thar grimaced. His hair shone in the silver light of the moon as he ran his fingers through it. “He’s doing it with another girl every weekend.” Pure disgust crossed over his face.

“And what’s it to you?” I asked, anger reaching the tip of my tongue, making me spit the words at him.

“Forget it. You can do with your reputation whatever you want.” He said, attempting to leave.

“Oh, no, no!” I grabbed him by his arm and pulled him back. “You tell me right now what the hell is going on here. Are you mad at me because I was in your precious meeting hallway? If so, say it. If it’s something else, explain yourself. But I will not be backlashed for having fun at my party.”

“He’s using you, alright? I’ve seen him do it a countless number of times. After he’s done with you, he’ll just crawl back to that Bella girl like you never even existed.” Anger flashed in his eyes, but his frown told me he wasn’t completely honest.

“Did you stop to think for a second that maybe I’m the one using him? That maybe, just maybe, all of this is too hard to handle? You’re keeping me in the dark, Thar. Nobody’s telling me anything and I’m cracking from the inside out!” My magic flew to my fingers, sending sparks around me.

“I wish I could tell you! I want to tell you.” He lowered his voice abruptly. “But I can’t. Not without your father’s permission and I-” He bit his lip like he was physically trying to stop himself from talking.

“What?”

“I’m afraid, okay?” Pain flashed in his eyes. “I’m afraid because he’s not listening to me, nobody’s listening to me. You’re not the only one in the dark, Jade. We all are.”

My decision was made in a matter of seconds.

“There’s something I have to tell you.” I looked around. The party in the western building was still going at full blast and no one was around, except for a few drunken lovers passing by, looking for a place to share the love.

“What?” He frowned slightly.

“I can’t say it here.” I whispered. “Come to my room, okay?” His eyes widened slightly and I noticed his Adam’s apple bob. “Not tonight. Tomorrow, after class. You can do some mojo to soundproof my room.”

“What is this about, Jade?” The caution in his voice made me smile.

“I wasn’t in the hallway because I wanted to make out with Leon.” I admitted and watched realisation form on Thar’s face. “I listened to the meeting.”

“How...? I didn’t sense any magic.”

“Well, I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve.” I smiled, slightly proud of myself. “Just come tomorrow, okay? I’ll tell you everything.”

Thar nodded carefully.

“You’re looking at me like I murdered someone.” I squinted.

“Did you?” He arched his eyebrow.

“No.” I sighed. “I’ll tell you everything, I promise.” Which might have been a lie, but eh, he couldn’t know what was the truth if I didn’t tell him the truth.

“You should go back to your party.” Thar said. “You’re lucky Professor Lange wasn’t the one to catch you. She would have stripped you of your magic for a week.”

I remembered Eugene and hoped this wasn’t the fate he met.

“Do you mind the parties? I know you’re the one in charge of them.” I asked. Maybe I wanted to talk to him for a moment more or maybe I didn’t feel like going back to the party.

“Mind them? Jade, I miss them.” Thar chuckled lightly. “Do you think it’s easy to become a teacher so soon? That guy Eugene you’re hanging out with? He was a first grader when I was in third year! I remember this one time I carried the guy back to his room because he got high on magic mushrooms.”

A suspicious smile flashed over my lips. It was hard to imagine Thar being a student, no matter his age. The authority suited him.

“The students seem legitimately afraid of you.” I realised. “How did you do it? Considering you went to school with some of them.”

A hint of embarrassment glimmered in his eyes.

“They were afraid of me before.” His cheeks lifted as he smiled and his gaze collided with the ground. “I don’t know why, it was, honestly, never my intention.”

Instinctively, I came closer.

“It’s the power. People are afraid of power.” I murmured, realising I had created yet another awkward situation between us. So, I stepped away, wistfully regretting it already.

“Probably.” He caught the awkwardness, as well, but this time, he didn’t look like he would run away any time soon.

“Do you regret becoming a teacher?” I asked. His sigh was deeper than I suspected, which piqued my interest.

“Yes and no. The students need someone to teach them black magic, especially now. And beside your father and me, there was no one else there for the position and I wanted to try it out. Was it the first thing I’d choose? No. It’s a duty more than it is a passion.” He explained, his dark eyes finally finding mine. He frowned at my shivering which I didn’t realise up until now. The air became chillier as the night ticked away.

“You’re good at it. And the students respect you. But maybe, when this entire thing passes, you can try something else you’d like. Who knows, maybe I take your place.” I winked, hoping my face didn’t look all screwed up because of the coldness.

“Go back to your party, Jade. And if you don’t have to, don’t sell out your dreams because of your sense of duty.” He moved out of the way, letting me pass.

Maybe it was all the scheming and plotting behind teachers’ backs, but I felt brave.

“You should join me. You deserve a break, too.” I offered, expecting an instant ‘no.’

“I’m sorry, Jade. But you should enjoy yourself, while you’re still unbound by your duties.” He smiled and this time when I caught his gaze, I didn’t let go.

“A part of me really hates that you’re my teacher.” I said, keeping my expression serious. No humour, no sarcasm, just plain, raw honesty. His eyes widened at my comment and I enjoyed his surprise. But still, he composed himself.

“Go to the party, Jade. And find some nicer boy toy than that Leon guy. I don’t want to see you get hurt.” Thar smiled and waved his goodbyes.

His words made me smile and also made me realise I needed to put a stop to whatever was going on here. Just because I used magic to gain information that was extremely confidential, didn’t mean I would just start breaking every single rule in the school.

“For a moment there, I thought you two would start making out.” Morta’s voice made me jump and I turned to her.

“Were you listening?” I squinted.

“Of course.” Her expression was blank. “You realise he’s going to freak out when you tell him what we did, right? I mean, full on teacher-mode freak out.”

“Yes. But at least I won’t feel so awful about lying to him.” I said.

“Uh-oh.” Morta grabbed both of my shoulders and looked straight into my eyes, her eyeliner slightly smudged. “You’re actually crushing on him.”

“I’m not!” I shook her off, but giggled. “Come on, let’s go.”

I dragged her with me to the western building. We entered a smoke-filled living room, all sorts of herbs mixed in the air, hitting me straight away. Dilated pupils, naked bodies and sweat created an alluring atmosphere, one I didn’t have energy for right now.

“Morta.” I stopped her by grabbing her arm. “Can we go upstairs? I think I’m done for tonight.”

“I’m gonna steal a bottle.” Morta nodded seriously and proceeded to the bar. My eyes searched for Amma, hoping she didn’t find another boy to spend the night with. But she was nowhere to be found.

As my eyes searched for Amma, they found Leon on the dancefloor. His hand was on some brunette’s waist, while the other was gently creeping under her shirt, moments later cupping her breast. The girl kissed him gently and I saw their tongues touching under the silver light of the dancefloor.

The idea of letting everything go became that much more tangible as I saw the girl’s lips twisting in a soft moan, as Leon’s hand slid from her waist and down her leg. A sudden sensation that crawled up my spine surprised me, filling me with desire, need.

Wouldn’t it be okay if I simply ignored the world for a moment? If I got lost in his blue eyes?

“Jade, come on!” Morta waved with the bottle of witch’s brew, inviting me to follow her upstairs and my ideas of the night off shattered right in front of me.

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