Chapter 6

Amaryllis attends the school ball.

Friday arrived sooner than Amaryllis had expected. The day of the school ball, Amaryllis found it hard to concentrate in class. Ball…dancing…James… Her mind drifted as she chewed a strand of hair and watched her Water magic teacher talk on and on.

“Amaryllis, can you demonstrate how to make a wave of water?” the teacher, a short woman called Ms. Evan asked. Still lost in her thoughts, Amaryllis did not hear Ms. Evan’s question.

“Amaryllis, pay attention!” Ms. Evan walked over to Amaryllis’s desk and rapped her head soundly with a hickory stick she used for pointing at the board. Startled from the impact, Amaryllis sat up straight and rubbed her sore head and then turned to see an angry looking Ms. Evan glaring at her.

“I said: can you demonstrate how to make a wave of water?” Ms. Evan repeated her question. Amaryllis nodded hurriedly and concentrated on picturing a wave. There was a loud splash as a huge wave rolled towards Ms. Evan, drenching her.

The class sniggered and hid smiles. Ms. Evan’s eyes spewed fury as she rapped Amaryllis once more on the head, “detention after class, before the school ball,” she said briskly and attempted to dry herself with a paper towel.

Amaryllis hung her head, now I’ll be late for the ball, she thought sulkily. She did her best to keep her mind from wandering for the rest of the lesson and watch Ms. Evan make water turn into ice cubes and then back into water. The lesson went on for another half an hour and finally when the clock on thse wall struck four o’ clock did Ms. Evan end the lesson by giving the students homework of reading the textbook, Theory of Transforming Water. Amaryllis watched as the class filed out of the room happily and eager for the school ball.

Resa checked the clock, “Amaryllis, I’ll wait for you in our dormitory. You’d better hurry when you’re done with this detention or you’ll be late for the school ball,” Resa swung her bag onto her shoulders, “good luck with the detention, just be honest and Ms. Evan will understand” she whispered to Amaryllis and then left the room leaving Amaryllis alone with Ms. Evan.

Amaryllis swallowed a gulp of saliva as Ms. Evan approached her table and paused right in front of Amaryllis. “I am really disappointed in your behavior today, Amaryllis. You are normally one of by star students, always ready with homework, always knowing what to do and on task. And yet today- not paying attention and drenching me in water- you know better than that,” Ms. Evan said as Amaryllis lowered her eyes to avoid Ms. Evan’s piercing blue eyes.

Amaryllis decided to go for the honest approach, “I’m really sorry, just kind of distracted because of the school ball. I’m sorry, I’ll never do it again,” Amaryllis explained. Ms. Evan seemed to soften a little and she nodded, “alright. Let’s see you make a wave then, are you sure you’ve got the trick of doing it? Put the water into the bucket there,” Ms. Evan pointed at a bucket beside her.

Focusing her mind on the bucket and picturing a wave going in it and suddenly a huge wave appeared and leaped into the bucket. “Good job,” Ms. Evan said, a little smile creasing her face, “you may leave to attend the school ball now.”

“Okay,” Amaryllis said. She gathered her belongings and left the room. The corridors of the school are quite empty, Amaryllis noticed as she sped down the hallways to her dormitory. I mustn’t be late, she thought. At the door of the girl dormitories, Amaryllis fumbled for her keys and unlocked the door. Resa was waiting inside, already dressed and looking lovely in her lilac dress. She had taken her long light brown hair out of its usual ponytail for once and it fell in waves past her shoulders, framing her face. “Hurry Amaryllis, the school ball is going to start anytime now!”

Amaryllis nodded and threw her bag onto her bed. Scrambling in her bedside table, she took out her dress and deftly undressed and put it on. Then, with a yank she pulled her hair tie off. Her long dark brown hair cascaded down her back and Amaryllis hurriedly pulled a brush through it and put shoes on. Then, done changing into her outfit, Amaryllis admired herself in the mirror. Apart from her eyes, the girl in the mirror looked perfect. The dark red cotton dress trailed to her ankles, bringing out her perfect, slender figure. Amaryllis wore a pair of dark red flats underneath it. A brown ribbon circled loosely around her slender waist and thin straps secured the dress to her shoulder blades, showing off her tanned skin. Amaryllis admired herself for a few more moments, and then left the room with Resa.

The girls hurried down the hall and stairs, not wanting to be late for the school ball. Music sounded from the large multi-purpose room where the event was being held. Full of apprehension, Amaryllis took quick, light steps and hurried to the door of the large room. She spotted Penelope on the way, surrounded by a group of fans and stunning in a long gown of azure silk that brought out her large blue eyes which hardened when she spotted Amaryllis. Penelope took up a scornful tone as she turned to face her, “what a peasant’s outfit!” she remarked and her friends smirked in reply.

Amaryllis’s face reddened and her eyes hardened, the four colours in them becoming more prominent. There’s no point in saying something back, she reasoned to herself. “Stop it,” she muttered to herself.

Penelope put on a fake mask of confusion, “sorry? I don’t speak idiot,” she said. Rage boiled up within Amaryllis, red rage as dark as her dress which Amaryllis struggled to hold back. The air fizzed slightly and the ground around her wobbled slightly.

“Stop it Penelope,” a deep clear voice interrupted the cutting comment Amaryllis was about to form with her lips. A warm hand rested on Amaryllis’s shoulder which she recognized as James’s.

Penelope froze at his voice and she let go of her scornful attitude at once, “of course,” she said sweetly. “Come Amaryllis, I think I owe you a dance,” James continued firmly and taking her slender hand in his warm one, James walked her to the dance floor. Amaryllis let his warm hand envelope hers and guide her away from Penelope, who sent her a vicious look behind James’s back that Amaryllis read as ‘what are you doing with my boyfriend’.

The music had changed from a wild disco one to a delicate waltz tune. The wild disco lights that had illuminated the room were replaced by a soft pale pink light that filled the room. Many pairs of the Gifted students joined in the dance and glided around the dance floor smoothly, in time with the calm romantic music.

“Do you want to dance?” James asked, all the nervousness that had been there when he invited her to come with him had disappeared. Shyly, Amaryllis put her hand in his and smiled. Gently, James put a hand on her slender waist and led her into the dance.

The gentle music carried them into the dance and Amaryllis put her other hand on James’s shoulder, finding it sturdy and broad. The two of them moved lightly around the dance floor, three steps forward, three steps right, three steps left, three steps back… Amaryllis felt the rhythm take over her. The song rose and fell as James spun her around and Amaryllis gave a perfect spin, her dark red dress blossoming like a rose. Amaryllis lost track of time as she danced to the gentle waltz tune with James, lost in his warm brown eyes that looked fondly at hers, belying deep emotion.

“You’re beautiful, you know?” James breathed softly as he watched her complete another spin. “I am?” Amaryllis replied softly, feeling James’s warm breath and strong arms comfort her. Amaryllis looked at James, her eyes finding his flawless features, the perfect lips, the angular cheekbones, the curve of the nose and most of all, the twinkling brown eyes. “Truly,” James replied. A feeling of giddiness ran down her spine as Amaryllis gave a light smile, “prove it,” she breathed. With a long sweeping motion, he leaned back and then caught Amaryllis, their eyes met for a moment, brown meeting eyes a mixture of four colours, and then James twirled Amaryllis and then kissed her on the lips.

Warmth spread through Amaryllis, making her tingle. Amaryllis responded, her soft red lips meeting his. James’s lips pressed against hers, tasting like dew on a fresh dawn. The two of them stayed like that for a long while, Amaryllis wanting the moment to last forever and wanting to etch the memory of her first kiss firmly into her mind, until two other Gifted, still dancing, bumped into them.

“Oh sorry, didn’t see you,” the boy among the two apologized and gave them an apologetic smile. “It’s okay,” James muttered in reply as the two of them danced away into the crowd.

James turned to Amaryllis and gave her a smile which made her feel weak as strange feeling ran up her spine. “Do you still want to dance- or go for a walk in the school gardens?” he asked her, the smile on his face lighting up his features.

“I don’t really mind,” Amaryllis said and shrugged. “Well come then, the gardens are nice to visit at night,” James put a strong arm around the small of her back and guided her out of the room. Amaryllis let her be guided away from the crowds of dancing Academy students. The music faded away as they approached the school gardens. A full moon hung above them in the sky and bathed everything in pale moonlight, making everything have a sculpted quality to it.

Flowering shrubs were everywhere, some providing herbs for the Academy students to brew potions with during lessons. James relaxed his grip on her waist and the two of them sat silently on a bench in the garden.

Finally James broke the silence by saying, “you are really beautiful, you know?” A faint smile touched Amaryllis’s lips as she remembered her giddy comment, “You wanted me to prove it, well, I can tell you, I haven’t kissed another girl apart from you.”

“Even Penelope-” Amaryllis breathed and a pang of jealously struck her, “I haven’t,” James replied softly. “Aren’t you afraid of me since I can control four elements?” Amaryllis asked. James looked into her multi-colored eyes, “why on earth would I? I think your eyes are the most beautiful part of you, they’re unique, and colorful, and pretty…”

And then James leaned over and kissed her. This time it was a long- lasting one and the two of them stayed like that for a long time. James’s hand found its place on the small of her back, where it stroked her hair, each touch sending tingles up Amaryllis’s spine. Amaryllis felt a strange emotion overwhelm her, making her feel light-hearted and thought, is this love?

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[Amy Tao]

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