your service.”
By my service, he was clearly referring to getting rid of Valentine Morningstar for them. I shrugged. If this was the case, I wasn’t going to insist on paying for the nightmarish months I’d spent locked up in that small, sterile room where I wasn’t even allowed to mark off the days.
“Alright,” I said.
He nodded, but it didn’t look like the conversation was over. He had something else to tell me, something more important than paying for a treatment that had dulled my senses to the point where I couldn’t teleport anymore, nor dream jump. A treatment that had stripped me of my only powers as a human who’d been cheating death for two centuries and thus had joined the ranks of the supernaturals.
“You missed the field trip to Heaven, I’m afraid.”
“Oh.”
That was the last thing on my mind, really. In year two, students were supposed to visit Heaven and Hell with Professor Maat. In case we were ever going to be called to reap there, we had to be familiar with the geography. Yes, angels and demons died, too. They weren’t immortal, and they could be killed. Not only that, but it was entirely possible for them to take their own lives.
“That is, you missed the field trip with your cabal. The VDC, the NDC, and the MDC have already visited Heaven. The RDC is the only one left, and the field trip is tomorrow. I was thinking that you might want to join them, so you wouldn’t miss this opportunity.”
I swallowed heavily. On the inside, my anxiety was acting up. On the outside, I remained calm.
“It’s important, Yolanda,” he insisted. He could see that I didn’t want to go. “If you graduate and become a Grim Reaper…”
“I know,” I said quickly. “If I graduate. That’s a big if, isn’t it? I haven’t checked my worth score yet because I’m scared to. I missed practice, and I didn’t take my finals.” I smiled sheepishly. “To be honest with you, I’m not even sure what I’m doing here.”
“I talked to the professors, and they’ve agreed to allow you to take your finals at the end of this semester. I have no doubt that you will pass them with high grades.”
He stepped closer to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. He squeezed reassuringly. When he was like this, Headmaster Colin looked like an old grandpa who always had some words of encouragement prepared. When things got tough, he was there to tell you nothing was impossible if you believed in yourself.
“Yolanda, you can do this. What happened last semester was not your fault.”
Oh, it was entirely my fault. I was stupid.
“Grim Reaper Academy will not lose you because of an unfortunate incident.”
The incident was my attempt to commit suicide. Yeah. That was the right word for it. Incident. I just smiled tensely and waited for him to finish.
“Stick to the class schedule, do your best, work on your worth score, and study for your finals. That’s all. Don’t allow yourself to be distracted by anything else. Nothing is more important than this.”
I sighed deeply. Everything was more important than this.
“You’re right,” I said. “Sure, I will go on the field trip to Heaven with the Righteous Death Cabal.”
He beamed at me. “Welcome back, Yolanda.”
“Thank you, sir.”
In my dorm-room, I told Corri about the disaster that was probably going to be the field trip to Heaven the next day. Going with Domina, Scarlett, and Huriel was the worst idea of the century. Domina hated me because of Davien, Scarlett hated me because she was Domina’s best friend, and that was what best friends did, hated together, and Huriel was probably still upset about the little prank I’d pulled on him and his buddies at the Yule Ball. Well, they deserved it, and if Davien and Seth had been able to get over it, maybe it was time for him to do the same. On the bright side, at least Ivor would be there. We weren’t friends, but he was an okay guy when he wasn’t being a jerk, so maybe I could stick with him.
“Don’t you worry, Mistress. I got your back!”
I shook my head. “No, Corri. I have to start taking care of myself. Besides, I have another mission for you.”
She perked up, curious. Life at the Academy tended to bore the pixie out of her mind. Her very nature made her want to be of service. Constantly. And waiting around in class as the professors droned on