Circle Quartet: 21

Chapter 21

The spa is located at the other side of the Main Building which means we have to walk for about 20 minutes. Some use magic, some use teleportation to go there. Tonight, Beatrice uses her special magic to get us there without being bothered to queue up in line. Plus, she also gets us special coupons for the herbal bath which is hard to get it – the coupon, I mean.

As we arrive there, we show our coupon to the person who is in-charge at the counter and we get our own locker. I put my un-needed stuff for bathing inside and go to the next room to change to bathing cloth. We are given a bathing cloth for each. This cloth is only special for the herbal bath. It looks like a mini swimming suit for me because it only covers from the neck to the knee. And it’s stretchable too.

Beatrice and Saffron take us to the special herbal bath. Abbie and I are very shock when we step inside there. Our jaws are nearly drop because this is not only a spa, this is the Japanese bath house called Onsen. And it is for only four people.

“Coolio!” Abbie and I exclaim in unison.

“Saffron and I work hard for this place, you know,” says Beatrice. Abbie and I hug Beatrice and say thank you repeatedly.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s dip in!” says Saffron and we dip slowly inside the Onsen.

Ahh! This is an absolute pleasure! As I step inside the Onsen, I can feel the cells inside my body are being healed. I feel relax. The water is lukewarm and I can smell the sweetness of the herbs. I put a small towel on my head; just the Japanese did when they are in the Onsen.

“This place is great! I never thought there will be a Japanese Onsen here,” says Abbie while splashing the water to her face.

“Like the Elders said, you can find everything in this Academy,” Saffron smiles. “Besides, this is Grandma Maegan’s idea. You know that she love spa so much.”

“I wish that I can stay in this water forever! This herbal bath is regaining my strength,” I say while closing my eyes. Maybe I can do a medication in here.

“You’ll shrink, Alice,” laughs Abbie and I splash water at her. She splashes water at me back but I dodge it. We have water splashing fight until we heard some noises from the side of the wooden wall. The boys’ Onsen is on the side of the wall.

“Hey, let’s take a peep,” Abbie smiles widely. She’s always having some nasty ideas inside of her head. Beatrice and Saffron try not to laugh and nod. Three of them get out of the Onsen and start to peep at the boys.

I roll my eyes. Sometimes those three are like to be peeping Tom. I thought the boys are more interested in peeping activity rather than girls. Oh well, let them do whatever they wanted. I’m going to enjoy my herbal bath.

“Hey, Alice,” Abbie calls me with a whispering voice. But I ignore her. Suddenly my stomach grumbles.

“Guys, I’m going to get my supply. I’ll be back in a minute,” I get out from the Onsen and reach for my towel. I wrap my body with the towel and head to the locker.

I take the supply from the locker and gulp it down. I remember that I also bring some cookies along. Those guys must be hungry after tired of peeking at the boys from the other side of the wall.

As I want to go back to the Onsen, I bump onto someone and drop the cookies. Too bad they scatter on the floor.  

“I’m…I’m sorry. Are you hurt, Alice?” says the person whom I bumped into.

How did he know my name…Oh My GOD! I’m not so seeing this!

“Alice, are you okay? You hurt?” half-naked Stefan gently pulls my hand and helps me stand up. This is the second time I’ve seen him like this.

“Umm…no. I’m okay. It’s just…the cookies,” I look on the floor at the scattered cookies. Actually, I just wanted to hide my reddening cheeks. And now I can feel my own heartbeat.

“I’m sorry,” he picks the cookies but I think those can’t be eaten anymore.

“Yo, Stefan. I thought you’re going to…Alice?” and now half-naked Jeff appears.

“Jeff?” I stare in disbelief. Sometimes my brother can be very mysterious. One day he’s not here, the next he’s in front of me.

“Hey there, little buddy. I never thought that you’re going to be here. You came alone?” he asks.

I shake my head. “I’m having an herbal bath with Abbie, Beatrice and Saffron,” I answer but I can’t stop to stare at Stefan who is still picking the cookies. Who wants to eat something that already fell on the floor? I’m not eating those!

“Here are your cookies, Alice. I think they are still edible,” Stefan hands me the cookies. I scowl at him ferociously and he automatically steps behind Jeff.

“Now, now, Alice,” Jeff tries to calm me down like he used to. “You don’t have to be mad at him. Look, you are scarring him. It’s just an accident.”

“Do you think that I’m going to eat this?” I shout at both of them while showing the dirty cookies which are now inside the paper bag.

Both of them shake their heads innocently.

“You guys ruin my special day! I’m trying to have a wonderful relaxing day with the girls and you always pop in out of nowhere. Especially you, Stefan!” I pointed to Stefan and dash to the changing room. I don’t know what happen to me right now. But I don’t want to see him at this moment.

I lie on my bed and stare at the ceiling. Abbie and the others haven’t come back yet. I send a message to Abbie by using telepathy, saying that I’m now in the room. And I apologize for not coming back to the Onsen. I keep thinking of what happened at the locker. It’s just cookies after all. Why do I have to get mad, especially to Stefan? I know that he didn’t see me coming at the corner. After I bumped into Stefan, he said sorry. And that time, I don’t think that he’s apologizing because he bumped into me, or about the cookies, or ruining my wonderful day. It’s about something else. The way he apologized showing that he’s regretting upon something.

I don’t want to think of it but this thing keeps playing around in my mind. If he really meant to ask forgiveness for what had happened ten years ago, am I going to accept his apology? For ten years I despise him, hating him so much that make my heart crumbles. I can’t just forget about that horrible incident that changed my whole life. There are things that you can’t just let them go. Those things leave deep scars. And scars won’t disappear so easily.

 I grip tightly at the pillow that I’m hugging right now. Since Stefan became my classmate and be in the same team with me, I have this kind of weird feeling. I don’t hate him like I used to be anymore. Sometimes I feel like his presence comforting me. But sometimes my anger blows up out of nowhere, like what had happened at the locker. I don’t know why. I feel like I’m going to be crazy. I can’t understand this weird feeling. Am I in love right now? Am I in love with Stefan?

*          *          *

“Welcome back to class, people. And thanks for coming back in one piece. I hope that you enjoyed your two weeks of physical training,” greets Madam Violet.

The class starts again and we’re happy to see Madam Violet again. Too bad we need to sit in group, like before. I’m not talking to Stefan and I don’t think that I’ll be talking to him today. And he seems not to know what to ask me.

“I know that you can’t wait for your special test tomorrow night. And I’m the one who’ll be evaluating all of you here. The test will be held at the Dummy Forest,” announces Madam Violet. Everyone whispers at each other. “Don’t worry. You won’t die in there. It’s just a test that will enhance your skills and your strategy. By the way, it’s a full moon tomorrow night. Perfect timing, don’t you think?”

Every one can’t wait for the test, including me. This is the time where I’m going to show what I’ve been training in the past two weeks. I’m going to make the Elders proud of me. Maybe I can be promoted to be in the Assassin Team, which has been my dream since I was small.

Madam Violet claps her hands thrice. “Alright, people. I’m going to tell you some rules. The test is a pair test which means you’ll have a partner.” Every one cheers. “But you can’t choose your partner.” Every one groans in frustration.

Madam Violet takes out a small box. “There are folded papers inside this box and each of you has to take one. Each papers has been drawn a picture and those who get the same picture will be your partner. Is that clear?”

Everyone nods in unison. Madam Violet passes the box to each team. I delve my hand into the box, hoping that I’ll be pairing with Abbie. I take out the folded paper and unfold the paper. I get a picture of cat. I love cat! Maybe this can be my lucky day!

“Umm…Alice,” Stefan calls me after being in silence since this morning. I turn at him with a frowning face. I can see he’s nervous.

“What?”

“We’re in the same pair,” Stefan shows his paper which has a picture of cat on it.

This is a disaster! Why do I have to pair with him? I raise my hand and call Madam Violet, asking her whether I can change my partner or not. Unfortunately, that is not allowed. We have to abide the rule.

The bell rings and I dash to a place where I can seek help. This is an emergency and I hope that person can save me. I quickly teleport to Hallway of Elders and appear in front of the mahogany door with a golden plate name hang near the top of the door. Zelda Black, the Chancellor of this Academy. She’s the one who can save me from that dense werewolf.