Fangirl

Spring awakened the fire of life in everything. Trees and shrubs were budding and turning green. Along the rocky slopes bloomed poisonous yellow forsythia. Magnolias were blossoming out in the academy park. The deep purple and violet flashed mystically on the dark bare branches. Emerald green goosefoot crept stubbornly along the slab-lined paths. Phillip was happy filled with spring. The wind had freshened up, and Phillip was inviting to go out for a walk in the air more and more often. When the mountain trails dried out enough to be walked along, he suggested going higher on rest days. I agreed. I would agree to anything if he wanted me to. Spending more time with him was the only thing I desired. Those days were the best days of my life. I didn’t want our time to end. Spring had never been so beautiful. All my thoughts were consumed with Phillip. He became the foundation of the world: its main reason and meaning. The more I looked at him, the farther his light wind of tenderness carried me. His charm was impossible to resist, and I didn’t want to. His reverent touches on my hand, his heart-stretching glances. The translucent blush that kissed his cheeks when he lingered on me. The weightless, barely audible sighs held back in my presence. I had never seen anything more beautiful. The world must have existed for Phillip to live in it. *** I was distracted by a knock at the door. I rose from my desk, putting aside my report on fourth-level spells. It was Lana. ‘Maxim asked me to call you,’ she said peering over my shoulder, as the witch’s room was still a household name. I closed my room and walked along the passage to the common hall of my course. Lana was walking ahead. She turned to her friends, who looked at me carefully from the corner until I was at the front door of the hall. ‘Hey,’ Maxim nodded at me. ‘Phillip is waiting for you in the Artifacting room. I hurried in that direction satisfied that I didn’t have to wait until morning to see him again. I felt something wrong as I approached the door. It was open, and someone was calling Phillip by his name. What I saw a moment later, when I found myself standing beside a body stretched out on the floor, was my Phillip. There wasn’t a living spot on his face. Blazing abrasions and cuts, bleeding lips and nose, split eyebrows and cheekbones. One eye was already swollen shut. His ear is torn, his throat had the imprints of someone else’s fingers. His clothes were a pile of bloody ripped rags. ‘A peace spell,’ I said turning to Kirill who froze on the floor on the other side of Phillip. Kirill immediately put his hand on Phillip’s shoulder putting his friend to sleep. Water benders, like all elementals in general, were characterized by virtuoso performance of particular spells. Water calmed anxiety, so anything that had to do with calming was best left to them. There were also many healers among the water mages. I asked Kirill to restore the flow of fluids in Phillip’s body: to stop external and internal bleeding. While Kirill focused on the case, I warmed Phillip, slowly helping the tissues to heal. The vessels and skin responded best to fire magic. Half an hour later, Phillip looked noticeably better: the swelling was gone, his skin regenerated. ‘Get Gregory. If you meet Maxim on the way, call him too. If not, we’ll find him later.’ Kirill understood why the earth bender was needed — it was necessary to mend the bones. There was no need for a fire mage, I had already done my best. He hurried to leave the room. ‘Kirill,’ he turned around, and I added, ‘Be not to attract attention. Better not to tell Gregory what happened at all until he’s here. And pull yourself together.’ Fortunately, I did’n’t have to explain anything. Kirill realized that the matter was serious, and extra eyes and ears were the last thing he needed right now. Ten minutes later, all three of them showed up. Kirill closed the door tightly while the unsuspecting friends approached me and found Phillip. ‘I’ll explain while you,’ I looked at Gregory, ‘…to mend the bones.’ Gregory immediately bent over his friend. Confused and nervous, interrupting each other, bickering and freaking out, we reconstructed the picture of what had happened. Maxim was on his way to run an errand for Phillip — to call me, when he met Kirill on the way. The later asked him to come with him, but Maxim refused. He had to explain why he was going to the girl’s wing. They chatted for a while and parted ways. Maxim forwarded to me, and Kirill went about his business, but being halfway suddenly decided to spoil Phillip’s mood — they liked to tease each other. So he turned to the Artifactory classroom. When he entered, he saw a fight between Phillip and Nikita. Having been kept from finishing what he started, Nikita hurried away. Then I showed up. ‘But how did he know about the date? ’ Gregory frowned, rubbing his fists and looking at the still unconscious Phillip. I decided it was too early to bring him to his senses, and the guys didn’t insist, depressed by what had happened. We lifted him up and laid him down on put-together desks. ‘We discussed it in the middle of the hallway.’ Maxim was red with fury. The veins on his temples throbbed. ‘Nikita must have heard.’ ‘He probably wanted Martha to come and see for herself,’ Kirill added muffled sitting hunched over on the windowsill. ‘What a psycho.’ ‘We should go to the dean’s office and report what happened.’ Maxim straightened up, full of determination. ‘That guy’s clearly out of his mind.’ ‘Yes, you’re right,’ Gregory supported suggestion. ‘Have you thought about Phillip? ’ I asked not taking my eyes off the flawless face. Phillip looked so serene, as if nothing happened and he was just sleeping. ‘What do you mean? ’ Gregory didn’t understand. ‘What kind of talk will spread around the academy? It won’t be possible to hide such a thingas assault.’ The guys thought about it realizing where I was drawing to. Of course, the whole story will come out, and Phillip will turn into a victim of a failed rape attempt. ‘He’s already being discussed because of me. What will happen when Nikita is expelled? ’ I went on. ‘So what, we do nothing? ’ Kirill blustered, sweat beading on his forehead. ‘You saw what he looked like,’ he added quietly, his voice full of accusation. Apparently the picture was still quite vivid before his eyes. ‘I did. And you saw it too. And you also heard him begging me not to look,’ I stepped toward Kirill and stopped very close, face to face. ‘Did you hear? ’ Kirill lowered his eyes. I turned around talking to all the guys: ‘Phillip is vulnerable. This kind of dirt will wear him down for a long time. He’s trying so hard to keep us together, silently enduring the jeers and laughter. It won’t be over soon. Then that fight in the dining hall. Everyone’s been talking about us for months. Add what happened today and Phillip’s reputation is ruined. ‘What does a reputation have to do with something like this? ’ Maxim sneered angrily, sensing the validity of my words but unwilling to accept it. ‘Phillip cares about how others see him. He may never admit it, and he may not give in to the general consensus. But he does care.’ I looked at each of them. Maxim was angry with my words. Gregory was frowning — thinking was not easy for him. Kirill was taken in by my words — being a waterbender, he was born with a more sensitive perception. ‘Besides, he came from a good respectable family. He wouldn’t be happy when the news reach his nearest and dearest. The boys remained silent. ‘How did you feel when you lost to Nikita? ’ ‘Weak,’ answered for all Gregory. ‘Me, at least. It’s not often you have to consider yourself nothing.’ ‘I’m not saying already that Nikita’s a guy. Harassment from a guy puts you somewhere in the ranks of girls. After all, they’re often the ones who are victimized.’ ‘Fuck! ’ Maxim slammed his foot into a neighboring desk, unable to cope with his emotions. He finally realized that I wasn’t just talking about physical pain, but humiliation that Phillip would have to face if everything’s come up. ‘We can argue all we want here, but Phillip will decide in his own way,’ Maxim wasn’t ready to give up yet that easy. ‘He’ll decide not to say anything,’ I answered. ‘Nikita is stronger than you, so that’s the end of it. The guys froze. They suddenly realized that this was exactly what was going to happen. Phillip won’t want such a disgrace, and there’s not enough strength to punish Nikita by ourselves. I took my time to continue giving the guys a chance to ponder over it. ‘So what,’ Kirill raised his voice. ‘Should he get away with it? That brat’s sick in the head,’ the guy was clearly distraught. ‘He’s not going to get away with it.’ Everybody stared at me. ‘What do you mean? ’ Maxim asked. ‘I’ll punish him.’ ‘We’ll help,’ Gregory supported obviously liking my words. ‘No. I’ll do it alone.’ ‘But we want to help! ’ persisted the big guy. ‘I understand. But I don’t want to discuss how I will punish him. And I know for a fact you won’t accept it.’ Phillip’s friends exchanged glances. ‘Do you think we are cowards? ’ Maxim had steam coming out of his ears. ‘No. But I won’t share this pleasure with you,’ I smiled at the fate that awaited Nikita. I don’t know what the guys saw on my face, but they quieted down. ‘Phillip won’t let you.’ Maxim’s argument was reasonable. ‘I won’t discuss it with him either. There’s one more thing. I’ll fix Phillip’s memory so that he won’t remember Nikita’s attack.’ ‘That’s too complicated magic,’ Maxim got worried at once. ‘Do we have the right to do it? ’ ‘Why? ’ Gregory didn’t understand for what. ‘I can handle the spell,’ I answered Maxim. ‘I’ll burn the last scrap of memories.’ I turned to Kirill. ‘Do you want him to remember this for the rest of his life? What will be the consequences of his mental trauma? ’ And finally I turned to Gregory: ‘Phillip will forget what happened which means he won’t feel victimized, lost, weak, vulnerable. It’s as if he won’t be hurt at all.’ Everybody got silent thinking about my words. ‘I don’t like it, though it sounds good,’ Gregory interrupted the long pause first. ‘Martha, are you sure you can handle the spell? I saw my father used it on my sister once. I asked him to teach me, but he sent me away for a couple of decades to study. ‘I can do it.’ Maxim stared at me, and I could see the struggle in his soul. I didn’t blink, letting him see everything he needed to be convinced. ‘Okay, I’m in,’ he gave in finally. ‘Kirill? ’ The guy flinched when I turned to him; he was still pale. It was no accident that I’d turned to him. He’d seen how Phillip looked right after the fight. ‘All right.’ ‘I’m still against it,’ Gregory said. ‘Getting into his head, it’s too much. Don’t you get it? ’ ‘We decide by majority,’ Maxim reminded him coldly. ‘Yes, there are two of you. But maybe he,’ Gregory pointed at Phillip, ‘…is against it.’ ‘Then what to do? ’ I asked Gregory. ‘We should go to the dean and tell him everything.’ ‘It’s not your decision, but Phillip’s.’ ‘He’ll agree,’ the earth bender insisted on what suited him. ‘What if he won’t? ’ ‘We’ll convince him.’ ‘If it won’t work anyway? ’ Gregory gritted his teeth. ‘Even if you convince him and Nikita will be punished, Phillip will still have to live with it. And live with it in public. He’ll have to see sympathetic and mocking looks while he tries to digest what happened, and there’s no telling how long that may take. But the story will stick with him for the rest of his schooling, maybe even longer.’ I went around to Gregory’s side. ‘Talking to the family will bring grief and pain. And Phillip will be well aware of that. Will he want to bring tears to his mother, his sister, his loved ones? ’ I paused and continued, ‘I heard his sister is the heiress which means she took responsibility for the family long ago, if not formally, then in her heart. She’s a strong and temperamental fire bender, Phillip told me. What could she do? What would be the consequences? ’ Another long pause was simply necessary and I waited. ‘And don’t forget, Gregory, Phillip is not like you. He doesn’t have thick skin and strong fists.’ ‘We’ll stand up for him if we have to.’ ‘And then everyone will say that Phillip is no good without his friends.’ There was silence again. ‘But what will they say if you intervene? ’ It was a legitimate question. ‘No one will realize anything if they don’t know about today’s attack.’ A vapor appeared on the earth bender’s mighty forehead. ‘I still don’t like it. It doesn’t feel right.’ ‘I’m with you here,’ I agreed easily. ‘It’s wrong that some people don’t understand the word ‘no’. It’s wrong that they choose disgusting ways to get what they want. It’s all wrong, of course.’ I stood in front of Gregory. ‘But it’s for the best, for Phillip. Tonight, if you agree, he’ll go back to his room and sleep in peace. And that will be the end of the story. For him.’ ‘But we’ll know.’ ‘That’s right. And live with it. Because you’re friends. And a friend is a friend in need. You’ll protect him from that vile plume that will drag the proceedings and from mental trauma, as you protected him from physical damage just now.’ ‘Yours has taken,’ Gregory gave up at the end. ‘Are you sure you don’t need help with Nikita? ’ ‘Sure. But ask to accompany Phillip and not leave him alone anywhere until the end of the school year. And forget about this whole story, as if it never happened. ‘I don’t think that’s going to work,’ Kirill muttered under his breath. Then we got down to business. Kirill went to get new things for Phillip. He had to find something that looked like the clothes Phillip had worn on the date not arouse his friend’s suspicion that a stranger had been in his room. I, under Maxim’s watchful gaze, burnted the part of the memory where Nikita had appeared. The mental magic of fire was indeed complex, but familiar to me. Gregory restored the furniture, which was wooden and amenable to the earth bender. He arranged everything as if there had been no fight. We changed Phillip’s clothes, washed the blood from his hair, face, and hands. We sat him down at his desk and the boys left. ‘Phillip,’ I touched his shoulder. The spell no longer held sway over him. Phillip lifted his head, craned his neck, and opened his eyes wider. ‘Did I fall asleep? ’ ‘You must have.’ ‘Is it dark already? ’ He looked toward the window, surprised. ‘Why didn’t you wake me up? ’ ‘I watched you sleep.’ ‘That’s creepy, Martha,’ Phillip tried to frown, but he wasn’t angry. ‘It’s love,’ I replied making the boy freeze. ‘Okay, then,’ he averted his eyes in embarrassment. ‘I have a surprise for you. Oh, it must have got cold! ’ ‘It’s okay if you’re with a firebender,’ I winked as if nothing happened, and we started dinner.