Nightworld Academy - L.J. Swallow Page 0,15
wait for him to speak, but he walks away.
Stupidly, this annoys me more.
Another voice I recognise speaks in the quiet hall. Jamie’s arrived and he talks to Matt.
Matt opens his bag to show something to Jamie, and I’m intrigued when Jamie grabs his arm and attempts to take the bag away.
A quiet but agitated conversation follows, Jamie gesturing and Matt gripping his bag close.
Curiosity piqued, I head over to the pair. “Hey, Jamie. You’re too late to audition, I’m afraid,” I joke.
He blinks away from Matt to me. “What?”
“The musical. Auditions. We’ve chosen the performers.” I sigh. “Never mind.”
Jamie’s focus remains on Matt, and my skin prickles that they’re excluding me again.
“Everything okay?” I ask. Neither reply. “Matt?”
Finally, he speaks. “A little misunderstanding between me and Jamie, that’s all. And don’t worry, this isn’t because of my mistake in Tobias’s class.”
“I never said—"
Matt cuts me off by walking away and a muscle ticks in Jamie’s jaw.
“What’s happening?” I ask him.
“Stuff.”
“Wow, could you be any more vague?” I retort.
His shoulders sink as he looks back at me. “Sorry. We had a fight the other day. I worry about Matt.”
“That’s contradictory. Has he been using illegal magic?”
Jamie’s glances around and shushes me. “Not yet, but something’s not right with Matt. He’s not around as much at night.”
I chuckle. “Because he’s forced to help here, and with the witches who have extra lessons.”
“Later at night. I share a room with him, Amelia.” His pointed words are spoken in Matt’s direction, as he heads backstage.
“Matt can’t sneak away anywhere. He’s monitored.”
“You think that’ll stop him? The guy could probably conjure his double to sleep in his bed while he disappears somewhere else.” Jamie gives a harsh laugh. “Amelia, can you keep an eye on him for me?”
“What? No. Matt’s here some of the time, working backstage with me, but after what happened in class the other day, I’m not keen on becoming too friendly with him.”
“Just watch him.” He shrugs his bag onto his shoulder. “And he feels awful about what he did, by the way.”
“Are you defending him?”
“Amelia, you’re not the type of person to hold a grudge. Give Matt a second chance.”
Why would Matt deliberately invade my mind and then claim he felt bad? His actions weren’t a mistake.
“I’ll keep an eye on what magic he uses. But that’s all.”
Relief crosses Jamie’s face. “Thanks.”
Sofia calls my name and I look between her and Jamie. “We can talk later. You need to tell me what’s really happening here.”
As I turn to walk away, Jamie catches my arm. “He has a book. Can you take that from him and bring it to me?”
Weird. Is this what they argued about? “If Matt borrowed your book, ask him to return it.”
“It’s more complicated than that. I’ll explain later but I don’t want him to keep this particular book.”
“Amelia!” Sofia calls again. “I don’t want to be here all evening.”
“Talk to me about this later,” I say to Jamie and head back to the group.
“Could you find Matt please, Amelia?” asks Sofia.
Katherine cocks her head. “They had a lover’s tiff. Seems Amelia lied when she told me Jamie is her boyfriend, not Matt.”
“I’ll fetch Matt.” I hand the remaining scripts to Suzie. “He doesn’t get to hide backstage and do nothing.”
What’s he doing back there? I’ve not given him in any backstage duties, apart from the mopping and that ended in disaster.
I flick on the strip lights that run along the backstage hallway towards the dressing rooms.
No Matt.
The mop and bucket from last night lean against the wall, and I pass by to investigate the dressing rooms. Is he hiding?
The door to one is ajar, and I push it open. Matt sits cross-legged on the floor, towards the back of the room, half-hidden by a rack of costumes, with a book open on his lap. He looks up, eyes wide as he hears me, then slams the book closed.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Keeping out of everybody’s way. I’ve had enough drama. Can’t stand it.”
“Unfortunately, you’re working on a musical. Drama comes with the territory. Come on, Sofia wants to see you.”
I don’t want to stay in the room with Matt and I turn away.
“Lia. Wait.” I hear him stand and when I turn, he’s deep in my personal space, our bodies almost touching.
“What?” I shift backwards.
His eyes widen in surprise at my vehemence. “Will you accept my apology now you’ve calmed down?”
I splutter. “Calmed down?”
He places the book on a dressing table beneath a mirror surrounded