Winter picked at the skin on her thumb considering the possibilities. If the monsters were the headmaster's doing, why would he need to turn the students into weapons? Mandy sprinted towards Winter, interrupting her thoughts, "Did you see how fast we did the course?" Winter nodded, smiling. Layla eyed her, "It's not difficult for you to do anything physical. What gives?" Winter gestured to the gym, "We're always being watched. Which means I can't let my guard down." Winter tapped her fingers against her leg as she studied the group. She saw Brenna's eyes continually flicker from her to Sam in envy. If she confronted him, their plan would fall through. Winter smiled to herself. Brenna wouldn't dare, knowing Sam's personality. The only thing she could do was give up. Winter watched the hope fade from Brenna's eyes. Now they could move on to step two, making M.J. more appealing. Winter moved her fingers and sunk part of the ground where Brenna was stepping, causing her to lose her balance. Quick as a serpent, M.J. reached out and caught her. They stared into each others eyes for a moment, Winter could see the pull of their connection as though it were a physical thing. Brenna pushed him away and walked ahead. M.J. looked at the indent Winter made in the floor. His eyes met hers and he lowered his head as a thank you.
Della entered the gym and Winter tugged on her braid. She walked up to Coach Russo and said something Winter couldn't hear. Coach Russo sauntered up to Winter and said, "Get up and complete the course." Winter looked over at Della before standing and walking over to the obstacle course. They were probably still trying to gauge the extent of Winter's magic. Winter made the same lousy attempt at scaling the tall wall. Coach Russo crossed her arms, "You're going to keep doing it until you finish the whole thing." Winter glanced at her hands, tired from failing. When she scaled the wall slowly and finally made it over, Coach Russo sneered. Winter made several failed attempts at the rest of the obstacles before getting past them. When she got to the part specialized for elementals, she peered at Della. Coach Russo had no way of knowing what she was. The only reason she was going through as an elemental was because they were always watching her. Every time she used her magic, they knew. Winter stared. The obstacle required her to produce all of the elements before the latch was raised. Winter cracked her knuckles, feeling the weight of many eyes on her. She produced all of the elements as weakly as she could. It wasn't enough to raise the latch. The bell rang and the rest of the students filed out of the gym. Winter looked at Coach Russo and shrugged. Coach Russo pressed, "Again." Realizing she wouldn't be allowed to leave until she got through, Winter gave it a little more power, but it still wasn't enough to open the latch. "Again." She tried a few more times and on the last attempt she gave it the minimum amount necessary to raise the latch. When she finally got through, she met Della's eyes. Della challenged her stare before leaving the gym. Winter finished the rest of the obstacle course as timely as she could while still appearing weak. When she was done, Coach Russo grumbled, "Get out."
Winter rushed out of the gym and on her way back to her class for self studying, she ran into Sam. His eyes were filled with more resentment than usual. His anger seemed contagious. In a low voice he said, "You have eyes. Use them." Winter brushed herself off, "I could say the same to you." He glowered at her before walking away.
When class was over, Winter stretched. She waved as Mandy and Layla left to buy snacks. Winter walked over to class eight and leaned against the doorframe waiting for M.J. and Leo. Lucas eyed her curiously, but kept the majority of his focus on Jax. Leo and M.J. were laughing with each other when they noticed her. She gestured for them to follow her. They went to a secluded room. She turned to face them. "Why were you in the gym so long?" Winter folded her hands together, "Coach Russo made me keep trying until I got through the whole course, for observational purposes." M.J. furrowed his eyebrows, "Coach Russo usually doesn't care about individuals." Leo turned his hands over, "She doesn't. Endora Della was there." M.J. blinked, "The headmaster's right hand?" Winter nodded, "Which is why we have to be careful, keep up our act." They grinned at each other in agreement. She cleared her throat, "Speaking of acts, the illusion of Sam was successful. She's giving up." M.J. nodded and Leo added, "In the gym she was infuriated that Sam picked a girl like you over her." He stifled a laugh, "Since you couldn't even scale the wall." She shoved him, "You know that was part of the plan." He grinned, "I know." M.J. leaned forward, "You tripped her earlier right?" Winter shrugged, "That could've been anyone." M.J. rolled his eyes, "Right, but it was you." "It was and it worked," she smirked. M.J. eyed her, "The next step is to make me more attractive right?" Leo punched his arm, "Shouldn't be too hard. You're already the whole package." M.J. stood taller. Winter rose her eyebrows, "I can leave if you two need a moment." She gestured to them, "I'm thinking we just need to give you more opportunities to sweep her off her feet." Winter sized him, "I mean the bond is already doing half of the work." Leo patted M.J. on the back, "At this rate, you'll have her in no time."
Winter walked back to her dorm and opened the door. She noticed fresh flowers in the vase on her dresser. She looked for a card to no avail. Who kept leaving her flowers? Was it Lucas? He was the only one who'd been to her dorm before. She shook her head and sighed, flopping onto her bed. It didn't take long for sleep to claim her.
That night the boy visited her dreams again. His hushed giggles followed her as she ran through the courtyard to the garden. She played with him rambunctiously until another little boy came over and said, "Aliana you're supposed to be practicing." She just stared at him, unable to make out his features. The first little boy grabbed her hand and ran away with her. From behind them, she heard the other little boy yell, "Hey!" They both giggled as they snuck off to the secret room again. She heard herself whisper, "What if we get in trouble?" The little boy squeezed her hand in response, "Don't worry. I'll protect you."