Fangirl

I showed up just in time. The girls surrounded Martha on all sides. I heard the question and gave the answer I had hoped for. Martha wore the bracelet, and it gave me the confidence to fight for both of us. I came to the dining hall with the usual company. My friends were pressuring me for details, but I was worried about something else. ‘Guys, I’m going to sit with Martha today. But if I could invite her to our table, that would be great.’ I glanced at my friends on either side of me hoping for support. ‘I’m not sure it’s a good idea,’ Kirill said. ‘This is all kind of weird.’ ‘Call her,’ Maxim agreed after some thought. Gregory’s words decided everything. ‘I like to stay with men’s company, but one girl probably wouldn’t hurt.’ Kirill frowned, but didn’t object. It had long been customary for us to decide common questions by majority. Martha, fortunately, didn’t oppose it either. At our table, we had the conversation I’d feared — it wasn’t every day you introduce your gorlfriend to your friends… Your first girlfriend. But even then, it went great. Surprisingly, being strikingly eccentric, Martha seemed to fit in well with us. She wasn’t chatty like all my friends and didn’t seem anxious to meet me; I was more anxious to tell the truth. And I was ready to celebrate victory when Nikita showed up. This problem had arisen in my life not so long ago. The senior student clung to me worse than a leech and responded to all my turndowns with stupid flirtation and a nasty smirk. He was clearly out of his mind and just didn’t take no for an answer. Even if Martha hadn’t appeared in my life, Nikita had no chance. Aggressive, insolent, arrogant, narcissistic — I was sick of this type. He was just an unpleasant person I’d never deal with. My friends also tried to explain to him that his claims were inappropriate, but the insane firebender, alas, was stronger than all of us put together. It wasn’t just that he was older and knew more than us, he was also considered the strongest elementalist of the group. The high degree of magical gift was clearly not in favor of the mage’s arrogance. That jerk even thought to give me a bracelet! I found out about it from the guys, who were usually sorting through the piles of gifts in the common room. I asked someone to burn the abomination. Nothing good could come of his sudden appearance. For a moment, when I heard what he was after, I thought there was a glimmer of hope on the horizon. If he could see I was busy, maybe he’d leave me alone. I didn’t get my hopes up. I don’t know why, but Nikita’s appearance embarrassed me immensely. I wished the earth would swallow me up even though the academy was sympathetic to any relationship — no one checked into someone else’s bed; and my friends, as well as the guys in the group, knew about the fire mage. The senior wasn’t shy about giving me a lot of attention during gym class or during free time when we were practising our skills in magical and traditional combat, but Martha was hardly aware of that. And now I was terrified of what she’d think of me. Frankly, I thought I was going to start a fight in front of everyone, despite knowing that I’d be the instigator and would be punished, but Martha’s sudden question confused me. I could hardly keep up with the rapidly unfolding events. I didn’t immediately realize what he had done to Martha, and when I did, I was furious. Had he lost his mind? I was absolutely going to punch the bastard in the face! Maxim had stopped me with his controversial claim that Martha allegedly ‘burnt’ the jerk. And when he asked Martha directly about it, she didn’t answer. But she didn’t deny it either. I felt completely confused. What the hell happened? No one gave me time to figure it out — a moment later they were discussing me and Nikita. In front of my girlfriend! I didn’t know where to put myself and, at the same time, I was terribly worried about Martha. Only at that moment I suddenly realized that while Martha was standing in front of Nikita, she hadn’t blinked once, a grimace of pain hadn’t distorted her face. And she wasn’t the first to pull her hand away… ‘Martha, are you sure you’re all right? ’ ‘Never better.’ She must have been brave. I couldn’t believe how easy it was. ‘The most amazing guy in the academy is mine,’ she added, looking at me without a trace of embarrassment. I opened my mouth and couldn’t think of anything to say. Later, when class was over and we were heading back to our wing, I caught a moment when Kirill and Gregory weren’t around. ‘Max, what were you saying about her burnt him? ’ ‘Ah,’my friend’s face lit up with excitement, ‘you know how fire benders take the first test of each other’s power, right? ’ ‘Not sure what you mean.’ ‘Well, how we determine who is favored magically, who has a stronger source? ’ I shook my head. Maxim looked a little surprised, but he didn’t emphasize it. ‘When we shake hands, we try to burn each other. Whose fire is hotter comes stronger. The weaker one can’t close from the opponent’s fire or, as we say, ‘burnt’. ‘I’ve seen the younger ones in my family constantly reaching out to sister. But you’re not saying that it really helps determine the balance of power? Isn’t that just a game? ’ ‘Game? ’ Maxim resented vigorously. ‘Sure, we used to play it when we were kids, especially with our peers. But at that age the result is not reliable. As we get older, we are more careful with such tests. You know how explosive firebenders can be. Before you can even smell smoke, you’re already in a magical duel. We only test each other like this when we don’t know one another very well, so we don’t know the strength, and almost always when we have a chip on our shoulder.’ ‘Are you saying that’s what Martha did? ’ ‘Definitely! And I think she burnt him.’ ‘What makes you think that? ’ ‘Didn’t you see how long they stared at each other? ’ ‘Just for a moment.’ ‘Forever! ’ Maxim argued. ‘Martha should have taken her hand away immediately. On the other hand, why would she have suggested it first? You saw what she was up to, didn’t you? ’ All I could do was to nod. ‘And she wasn’t the one who pulled her hand away first,’ Maxim played with his eyebrows meaningfully. ‘That can’t be. Her gift is average. You know, I even checked it.’ ‘And here comes a question, my friend,’ Maxim picked my words with joy. ‘Why did you even check it? Did you have doubts about her powers? ’ ‘No,’ I rubbed the bridge of my nose as my thoughts swarmed in my head. ‘I just didn’t understand a lot of things about her, that’s why I checked, I guess.’ ‘You mean, she’s’ Maxim paused choosing words, ‘…unusual, you’re right. And yet, we saw her broken arm, and Nikita hid his in the pocket.’ ‘What does that supposed to mean? ’ ‘Well, barring a simple gesture, he was hiding a cauterized palm. The palm of a lo-oser,’ Maxim smiled contentedly. *** I wanted to discuss it with Martha afterward, but each time I hesitated. The opportunities to start an ignominious conversation in which my girlfriend locked horns to my admirer looked one worse than the other. In the end we never got to talk about what had happened. In the classrooms we continued to be looked at like bugs under a magnifying glass, but we had to bear with it. Sooner or later the fervor would die down and everyone would get used to it. Unless, of course, no excesses would follow. The story with Nikita was noticed and much discussed. I was glad that apart from incredible guesses and assumptions, no one really understood what exactly happened. Unfortunately the crazy sixth year student didn’t seem to have any intention of giving up his endeavors. On the contrary. I hadn’t yet figured out exactly how Martha had outplayed him, but Maxim must have been right. After that incident in the dinning hall he’d been acting more brazenly, pestering me with his vulgar remarks in the passages. It got to my knees, we had a fight. I didn’t care how badly I got hurt. He was just an arrogant asshole. Besides, I’ll never forgive him for breaking Martha’s bones. We were separated by the boys before the teacher arrived. Gregory put my nasal septum back in place, Kirill cleaned up the bruises that had swollen. Maxim predicted it wouldn’t end well. I brushed it off worried only that the rumors wouldn’t reach Martha. No one still talked to her except me and my friends, so I could hope. We were doing so well. Well, me. I basked in her warmth, felt myself flush against her hot hands. I wanted to sit closer. To touch. Of course, I didn’t allow myself anything extra, only to touch her fingers when we walked together to the chime of the April drip in the park. The warmer it got, the higher we climbed into the mountains. She was a pleasure to walk with. Unlike my friends, she didn’t complain, didn’t ask where we were going and when we would get there, and whether we would turn back soon. My element is air, and so I liked to go wherever I was going, to feel the wind in the armholes of my sleeves, to let it ruffle my hair. And seeing Martha as my companion. I wished I knew if Martha was as comfortable with me as I was with her. But pride prevented me from asking. The closer I felt to her, the more hesitant I became with my questions. Now they seemed harsh, clumsy, inappropriate — not worthy of being asked. Martha was still not verbose. She only opened up when she really wanted to, or when I asked. But the thing was, all my resolve had melted away back in March, and the owner of the beautiful name seemed more and more pensive. And those looks of hers — so long that it made my chest ache. The second month of spring was in full bloom when I decided to surprise Martha. Nothing fancy, just a dinner in the Artifacting classroom. I ordered a set of spicy dishes from the capital — fire benders were very fond of spicy and burning things, set up candles and waited. I asked Maxim to call her to the agreed place at a certain hour. I had about twenty minutes more. The doors creaked behind me. ‘You’re early,’ I responded, already smiling. I turned around and froze. Nikita entered the room. ‘I hope you’ll forgive me for this,’ he grinned wryly in response. His eyes burnt with a dangerous fire, and his face bore the markings of wandering excitement, like a predator expecting to hunt gloriously. His muscles worked with a slight tension as he took another step toward me. ‘How to get rid of you, scum? ’ I asked, but a sticky fear already touched my scruff. He’d come for a reason. After I’d attacked him in the gym, he seemed to back off. Now I could see that it was ostentatious: he was just waiting for the moment, and he was going to get even with me. Whether it was for the turndowns, Martha, or a couple of scratches, it didn’t matter. ‘It’s simple, pretty boy. You give me what I want.’ ‘Go to spirits! ’ I hissed backing away from the window. I had nowhere to run. We’re on the eighth floor of the academy — the fall is very high. Hypothetically, I could have glided, but I didn’t have the strength to hold my weight for that long. And the spell was very complicated. I couldn’t fight back either. He was a head stronger than me, we’d already checked. ‘The cat and mouse game is over, honey,’ he said when we were only a few steps apart. We clashed. He came down to me, and I tried to throw him off with a powerful gust. Nikita spun around extinguishing the force of inertia. Lunged, trying to reach me, I dodged. He set fire to the lapel of my shirt to distract me and he succeeded — I was still afraid of fire. Trying to put out the flames, I got disoriented. He took advantage of the moment and threw me to the floor. We rolled. I fought back with all my might. I shot out my fists, tried to twist around, biting and poking the bastard in the eyes. He was cursing and fuming with rage. Blood was oozing from my lip, my eye was swollen, and I couldn’t see much. It looked ragged. My clothes were tattered, but I wasn’t going to give in to him no matter what. I’d rather die. I didn’t immediately hear the noise — the blood was pounding in my ears frantically. But Nikita was gone. At least no one else was trying to strangle me or smash my face into the floor. ‘Phillip, hey, are you alive? ’ Kirill’s voice. ‘Spirit? Did he try?..’ Kirill was right next to me. He squatted down, pale, scared. ‘Phillip? ’ Marta’s voice in the distance. ‘No! No, stay away! ’I tried to shout not wanting her to see me like this. The worst of it hadn’t happened, but I felt broken, and I looked worse. ‘Phillip?! ’ Of course Martha was unstoppable. She was right next to me in a flash. ‘Don’t look at me, please,’ I could feel the salty moisture on my lips, and I preferred to think of it as blood. ‘Please,’ I begged. ‘Look away.’ I couldn’t make out the silhouette of the girl leaning over me. One eye was burning hot, the other was covered with a haze I couldn’t get rid of. ‘A peace spell,’ Martha said, and I didn’t get what she meant, but the next thing I knew the blessing darkness swallowed me.