Ace of Minds

The Help

By lunch, Irene’s ‘Make Friends for a Better Life’ plan didn’t have any significant progress. Not that she made much effort, either. Having someone as chattery as Denzel already made her feel like she was talking to three people at once. Denzel already told his friends everything about Irene and she didn’t really get the chance to talk. He even added extra things like how beautiful she was when she walked into the Law class (which she knew was bullshit because he had been sleeping then) and how awesome she was for getting detention on her first day. Irene hit him lightly at that. Detention was not something to brag.

Denzel’s friends were just like him - loud. There was one guy, Brian, that looked nothing like Denzel, but deep down Irene suspected he was Denzel’s long lost twin. They just clicked in every way. He was equally loud and silly and had so many stories to tell like Denzel. What distinguished the two was while Denzel gave the surfer vibe (though he claimed he was more of a chill and Netflix type of guy), Brian gave an intellectual, flower boy vibe with his blond hair that was slicked back flawlessly with pale, unblemished skin.

If the two guys were to marry and had a baby somehow, Fleur Chaplin, another student Irene had met, would most likely be their daughter. She was worse than the two combined. Her laugh could grab everyone's attention within a mile radius. She could pass as Brian's twin too with the same platinum blond hair and pale skin. She bore blue eyes while Brian shared Denzel's brown ones.

The rest of the people who were sitting on the long, rectangular table had their own groups of friends, not joining in other groups’ conversations.

“You guys remember Liana? Liana Baker?” asked Fleur. “She was super annoying this morning. I think she’s on her period because she was so irritating I wanted to slap her with a cupboard!”

One more thing about Fleur, her talent was lifting things most people couldn’t. And by saying she wanted to slap someone with a cupboard, she probably meant it.

Brian furrowed his brows while munching on a grilled tuna. “Isn’t Liana that quiet, short girl with drowsy talent or whatever? I think I had Floras class with her when I was an Unknown. She’s pretty nice … Wait, which one is she again?”

“Maybe you’re the one having a period,” suggested Denzel with his brow raised with a cocky grin.

Fleur ignored the latter and scoffed. “Quiet?” she almost shouted. “Oh, please. She’s a naggy little girl! I can’t believe she dared to splash her filthy mineral water on me this morning.” She huffed in annoyance.

Irene was pretty sure the Liana girl couldn’t be worse than Ruby Harkin.

Brian took a gulp from his glass of water, swallowing the tuna with it. He gave Fleur a look. “She tried to wake you up?” It sounded more like a statement rather than a question.

“She tried to wake you up,” confirmed Denzel, giving her the same look as Brian’s.

Fleur sighed, “Yes, but—”

“You think she’s impossibly annoying because she tried to wake you up,” said Denzel. “You know how hard it is to wake you up!” he scolded. “Remember that one time a year ago when you didn't show up for lunch? We thought you were dead or something!” He turned sharply to Irene, “I'm glad you're not rooming with her.” He pointed at Fleur and got a slap on the head.

“You’re exaggerating!” whined Fleur.

“No, we’re not,” said Denzel to Irene. Brian nodded with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Not knowing what they were talking about nor how to respond, Irene only gave a small chuckle. The three friends were hilarious. Fleur would’ve made a kickass friend. They got into an argument for the tiniest of matters and made up again in about ten seconds. Denzel had tried to include Irene in the conversation, but she felt it was rather hard to blend in with them because the three of them and herself were polar opposites.

She couldn’t finish her food because it was too distracting to eat with all the chatterboxes spiting out word after word, one after another. But unlike her, the three of them didn’t have any problem devouring their tunas. They sometimes even talked before swallowing, which Irene found disgusting but let it pass.

“I’m also a sleepyhead,” confessed Irene, as Denzel and Fleur were still arguing over the matter.

Fleur gave the two boys a smug look. “Pretty people are sleepyheads.” She flipped her hair. “And us sleepyheads are fabulous.”

“Never thought the day would come when someone takes her side,” muttered Brian. “But you’re wrong,” he said to Fleur. “I’m fabulous and I’m not a sleepyhead.”

“Whatever.” Fleur rolled her eyes at Brian. She shifted her attention to Irene and changed the topic. “So, what’s your next class? I have History but I have to think of a way to ditch it though. Should I tell Sir Gerard that I have a broken arm?” The first question was for Irene, although when she said it, it sounded like she was asking all the students at their table.

Irene hadn’t got the chance to memorize her timetable. She had to bring it everywhere she went. “I have History with Sir Gerard … too? And then Floras with Sir White,” she read the timetable. “Are there two Sir Gerards here? Because I'm placed in beginner History.”

“No, silly. There's only one Sir Gerard. The one everyone hates,” said Denzel, grunting. “His talent is multiplying himself. So, he can attend all his classes at once. He's the only History teacher now since Sir Matthew fled last year. I heard it's been hard for him, teaching every class. But let me tell you something,” he paused, a scary look plastered on his face. “When that darn old man walks into class, I see nothing but a triumphant smirk. One that basically said, you freaks are stuck with me for two hours, which is usually followed by an evil laugh.” Denzel mimicked an evil laugh heard in cartoon shows.

“Hey, doesn’t Sir White teach advanced classes? I mean, no offense, but you’re kind of new …” Brian trailed off.

Fleur chimed in. “Heard Madam Jenkins resigned. Not many students are fond of Floras so they kind of just let it go or something.”

“Yeah, Madam Clay said the other teacher fled not long ago and there’s no replacement yet. So I’m placed in the advanced class,” explained Irene.

No one said anything for three dead seconds. Brian tried to steal Denzel’s food but Denzel stopped him by hitting him, then Fleur gasped like a fish. “No way!” she yelped.

The other three just shot her questioning looks, although Brian’s face was more annoyed.

“She’s going to be in the same class as him!” exclaimed Fleur.

Irene didn't know who she was referring to when her newly acquainted friend flapped her arms in excitement, unable to elaborate. She was acting pretty much like Madam Clay when she’d found out Elswood was Irene’s dad.

“Him?” asked the three others altogether.

Fleur rolled her eyes and let out an exaggerated sigh. “You know, Mr. No-One-Can-Beat-Me Kassel. Ring any bells?”

Brian’s mouth shaped into an ‘o’ while Denzel groaned.

“You memorized his timetable?” Brian narrowed his eyes, leaning closer to the girl.

“Every girl knows it by heart!”

“What’s so special about him that he gets every girl fawning over him? Seriously, he’s just ordinary.” Denzel hit the table. It wasn’t hard but loud enough to get curious stares.

“Ordinary? Are you mental? With those eyes and that hair and that freaking talent?” Fleur looked up to the sky and let out a loud sigh. “I wouldn’t call him ordinary, Mister.”

Denzel rolled his eyes and shook his head. He turned to Irene. “He’s bad news. You better stay away from him. You’ll know which one he is. His whole package just screams bad news. Trust me, I know it the hard way.”

If Irene was not mistaken, Denzel shuddered as he said the last sentence.

“Uh, sure,” she said. While she didn’t enjoy being told who she could or could not be friends with, she couldn’t really argue with Denzel. First, he sounded really worried, like he actually cared, which she appreciated. Second, he was a good friend. The trio was fun to be with and she didn’t want to go back to the Sherwoods’ table.

She remembered the twins telling her about how Kassel had never lost the Tournament, and about how it was best to leave him alone. But if Floras was as normal as Irene thought, she doubted anyone who took that class could be dangerous. What kind of dangerous guy plays with flowers?

They stopped talking about Kassel after a while. Then, Brian finished Irene’s meal (she claimed that she was already full and he volunteered to help her) and Fleur gave up on a silly argument with Denzel (seriously, arguing which color was better, blue or yellow?). The sound of the bell stopped them.

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Just like how Denzel had described, Sir Gerard waltzed into the classroom with an evil look on his face, as if thinking, look at these morons, I’m going to be super pissed today.

Other than that, History had gone fairly normal. Well, as normal as it could be. Instead of studying World War II, students learned about the three possibilities of where their talents came from, which were either genetics, gifts from god, or science experiments. The first and last theory were more plausible, since the first Ace was the only son of Dr. Schozel, who was a mad scientist in 1899.

Irene learned about other things as well - the fact that History class would always be boring no matter what and where you were, and that Harkin was sitting at the table beside her and Jojo Philipi’s. The big girl was boring a hole into her head through the whole lesson.

Irene was late to class looking for the classroom. It was on the 4th floor, in the south wing—nearly impossible to find. The moment she got into the classroom, her eyes landed on Harkin and her shoulders slumped. She wanted to flee to Floras class as soon as possible. When the bells rang, Irene made a deadly sprint out of the room. She made a quick stop at her room to drop off her History textbook and grabbed her Floras one before heading to the greenhouse.

When she arrived, there weren’t many students inside the greenhouse. In fact, there were only three blond girls giggling at the back of the greenhouse, two guys wearing glasses as ridiculous as Sir Alec’s, and a guy sitting alone with his back towards Irene. By the familiarity of his broad shoulders, tousled hair blacker than the devil’s soul, and the way he slung his sweater over his shoulder, she had a pretty good guess on who he was - Kassel.

As more students gathered, he remained in his seat, reading the textbook ever so quietly. No one approached him.

She stared at him while pretending to be busy examining all sorts of flowers and leaves. What was so dangerous about him? In Hawthorne, he’d be a goth loner who’s surprisingly also a nerd (judging from how he intently read the book). Or is he a goth-nerd that everyone stays away from?

Irene could’ve sworn the moment she thought about it, Kassel sort of turned his head partially, like he knew someone was standing merely two meters away studying him. She decided to turn towards the other side of the greenhouse, keeping herself busy reading the plant names.

Not long after that, the teacher, Sir White came in. He was a short man with streaks of gray on his brunette hair who looked rather like an overgrown baby. So he was the guy who controlled the gate, thought Irene. She had expected him to look bigger and scarier.

Sir White cleared his throat and muttered an apology.

“Afternoon, class.” There was a faint accent in his voice, possibly French.

“Afternoon, Sir,” students answered without spirit. Kassel only stood up to see who came before sitting down again, not saying a thing. But it was long enough for Irene to see his face.

Why wasn’t she surprised that he was the guy who had given her directions to the bathroom?

Sir White started to call out the students' names. Starting from Kristen Abel, Danielle Adams, to a bunch of other students until it fell to Irene Elswood.

The teacher’s eyes darted to Irene, who had raised her arm as low as she could. “Look what we have! A new student! Finally! I am so fed up with seeing these faces again and again and again.” He grabbed her by the shoulder, pulling her to his side. “Please introduce yourself!” He was ecstatic, a little jumpy too.

Irene had assumed everybody thought Floras was lame and didn’t choose it voluntarily. She had learned from Denzel that once your talent was determined, you were allowed to choose classes, leaving History and Law as compulsory subjects. Not many students chose Floras, most of them took Faunas over it.

Her eyes drifted to the bored looks on her classmates faces. “Uh, hi.” she forced out a toothy smile. “I’m Irene … Irene Elswood. I’m actually new here but, um, since the beginner Floras teacher is not here anymore … yeah, that’s why I’m in the advanced class.”

Great, they’re looking at me like I’m retarded, she thought while fidgeting. Judging from the looks from her classmates, she doubted they cared why she was in the class. Why did she have to say it anyway? Maybe, unlike other students, they didn’t know who Elswood was, or simply didn’t care.

But at the mention of her dad’s name, Kassel turned his head sharply to her, as if the name had awakened his senses.

“Ah, your father was also my student. He was an excellent student, I must say. I’ll be expecting a lot from you, Aislin,” said Sir White.

“It’s Irene, Sir.” Sir White was the first man ever said her name wrong, as far as she knew.

“Yes, yes, Eye-reen.” Before Irene could say thank you, he dismissed her and continued calling out names. After a while, the class began.

“Alright, now open your books to page two hundred and seventy-three, read the passages about Veracium leaves, and go find them. I'll be back in ten.” He walked out of the greenhouse.

Students started to open their books. They walked away in groups, leaving Irene and Logan by themselves. Irene busied herself flipping through page after page until she found page two hundred and seventy-three. There it said: Veracium – Leaf of Truth.

Cool, thought Irene, even the plants aren’t normal in this world.

Underneath the title was a short passage:

Veracium Leaf was found by Sir Nicolus in 1958 at Belize Island. Sir Nicolus, whose talent was incredible intelligence, fathomed out the function of the leaf. He took the exotic, smooth-edged leaf to the Z Institute and began his research. After a year of experiments, it was discovered that the leaf would make anyone who drinks it spill every truth within. With this newfound knowledge, he named the leaf Veracium.

Next to the passage was the picture of a Veracium leaf. Its faded, greenish-brown color made it look like it was dying, but it had perfectly smooth edges. Irene found nothing special about the leaf. It looked like a regular leaf, not one with truth serum.

She began looking for it.

The greenhouse was big enough to contain at least three hundred species of plants. There were five long aisles, with plants and vines all over the walls. Irene would not be surprised if she did not found the leaf by the time Sir White came back. Especially when she basically wasted her time adoring the beautiful, colorful flowers.

One particular flower attracted her the most. Its vase was placed in a glass box. It looked like a purple lily, except that it wasn't. The bottom of the petals was a soft pink. As her eyes moved upwards of the flower, the shade of its color darkened into a purple, with the tips of the petals an exotic blue. The anthers and stamens also had the same colors, but were pink at the top.

It was extremely fascinating. Irene couldn’t figure out why but she just wanted to grab it, smell it, or anything- she felt like she must pull it out of the vase. Maybe her mom would like to see it. Or her dad! Or would Sir White be proud if she found such a striking flower? She must do it. She had to. She—

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Her head snapped toward the owner of the hoarse, deep voice.

Standing behind her was Logan Kassel, with a pretty big leaf looking just the same as the one indicated as Veracium leaf in her book. That was the first time she had a clear view of him after she knew who he was. He was still not wearing his sweater. His cold, grayish green eyes seemed intent, as if he was staring into her soul instead of her. That face he possessed made you want to scream to God for being so unfair. How could his hair be so messy yet so good on his head?

“Huh?” was all she could manage to say.

“Enthrallum, one of the deadliest and most beautiful flower,” he explained. “It’s supposed to make you feel that way. Fascinated, engrossed, the need to embrace it, to brag about it to the whole world. But once you lay a hand on it, you’ll regret ever seeing that pretty little thing.”

Irene raised a brow. “Why?” The flower was so beautiful she couldn’t imagine it being deadly.

“Every part of the flower would electrocute you. Your body would be put into shock. You'll be numb for a good ten minutes. You won’t be able to move every inch of your body. Still conscious, yes, but you would lose control of your muscles.”

She cringed at the description and inched farther away from the flower. “So you guys just let it hang around here knowing it can harm you?” she asked, highly doubting the security of the school.

Kassel’s expression told her he regretted ever telling her abotu the flower. Nonetheless, he explained in a tone that made Irene felt like an i***t, “Enthrallum is in the first lesson on Floras. First chapter. The teachers make sure everyone knows it by heart to not mess with Enthrallums.”

“Well, I'm sorry that the beginner Floras teacher is gone so I don't know a thing.” She didn't know why she snapped at him. She just felt so angry with him looking at her like she was some i***t. She wanted to move on to another plant and find the Veracium one, but she could feel Kassel's eyes on her, sohe turned to him again. “What?” she asked.

He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked, probably showing off his muscles—Irene rolled her eyes. “What?” she asked again.

“So, Elswood, huh?”

“What, you’re part of the fan club too?”

He ignored her sarcasm. “I haven’t seen you before.”

Irene furrowed her brows. “Okay? I haven’t seen you before either. That’s kind of the thing when you meet new people, you know?” She gave him a sour smile, wanting him to stop distracting her so she could find the damn leaf.

“You have his eyes. Pretty.”

Dangerous my ass, thought Irene. The guy was being ultra weird. “Thanks?” Then she realized she hadn’t thanked him for basically saving her life. What would happen to her if Logan weren’t there? Wait, why did he even save her? If she got electrocuted, it would be none of his business, right? And he looked like an indifferent guy. Maybe he was an undercover softie or something.

“I am indifferent.”

Irene looked up at Logan. Did he just say what she thought he said? “W-what?”

“You’re confused as to why I prevented you from being paralyzed,” he stated.

Okay, there must be some alien mojo here, thought Irene. “Y-yes.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment, like he was searching for the right words. “Let’s just say I have some … debts to pay your father. One including saving a life,” he stopped and inhaled sharply. “Veracium is on the back shelf. You might want to take it before Sir White comes back.” And just like that, he left to observe other plants.

It took her some time to process the information, but when she finally got it, she went to the back shelf. She took a leaf that looked similar to the one Logan was holding, her thoughts running through her head.

Debts? Was that why Logan looked curious when she introduced herself as Irene Elswood? And saving a life, seriously?

Who on earth was her father? Was he some undercover hero? Well, she supposed it would be cool to have a father that was like Batman or Superman.

Breaking her thoughts, she could hear Sir White’s voice asking if everyone was done from the door. And so she sprinted back to the front with thoughts still dancing around her small head.

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