Free Reckless Magic by Rachel Higginson

he stepped in front of me, as if to give no other option.
At that moment, however, all I wanted to do was get to class and
sit down. I entertained the thought of walking right past him,
pretending I didn’t hear. “Please, it will only take a second,” he
asked again. He must have seen me hesitate.
    “ Have I done something
wrong?” I asked out of habit.
    “ Not that I am aware…. have
you?” he flashed me a smile, he was making a joke, but I was too
exhausted to respond. He continued, “I am only concerned that
Kingsley might be a bit overwhelming for you at first. Are you
feeling alright? Has anything strange happened that would give you
cause for concern?” His voice was slightly strained and I could see
real apprehension in his eyes. All of a sudden I felt like he was
something to be concerned about. This was getting kind of
creepy.
    “ I’m fine thank you,” I kept
it short and to the point. The last thing I want to do was confide
in the principal of the school from hell.
    “ Of course you are,” he took
a quick look around us before finishing with, “If you ever need
anything, or if you ever have questions about anything, please feel
free to find me immediately.” Before I had a chance to respond he
walked away back towards his office.
    That was strange. I wondered for a
second if he somehow knew about the weird things going on with me;
but then I shook it off. How could he? I had never told anyone, not
even Aunt Syl. The only thing that could really have alerted him
was the mysterious exploding plant, but I was not even sure if he
saw what happened; although it was extremely out of the ordinary….
I had to admit that.
    I continued on towards class,
realizing now that I was the only student left standing outside. I
tried to pick up my pace, but after my brief encounter with
Principal Saint, I was more unstable than ever. Not to mention, the
pulsing electricity steadily growing stronger; my blood felt like
there was a current of energy rushing through it.
    By the time I entered the English and
Arts building I could barely stand up. I needed to empty myself
completely before I continued to class. I looked around quickly.
There were no students in the lobby, but I was afraid to cause a
scene just in case. My fingers crackled with the sound of
electricity and my skin felt hot from the climbing temperature
underneath.
    As quickly as I could I ducked into
the theater doors, across the hall from the marble staircase. I
took a moment to let my eyes adjust to the darkness and started
frantically looking around for a place to dispose of my building
energy. A sudden burst of electricity surging through my heart made
me double over in surprise. I tried to stand up, but only half
succeeded. As fast as I could I hurried down the aisle, looking for
anything that could be quietly destroyed.
    On stage I made out the form of an
almost hidden tin trash can, and as I heard the last bell ring,
informing me I was late for class I took the stairs on the side of
the stage two at a time and headed straight for it. Looking around
once more to make sure there were no onlookers, I pointed my hands
towards the bottom of the can, hoped for a quick second there was
nothing disgusting in it and released the energy.
    The trash can exploded. Whatever was
in it scattered across the stage, along with shredded pieces of
tin. I felt much better and although I was sure the explosion was
loud, I was almost positive it couldn’t have been heard upstairs. I
brushed what pieces of debris remain on me and ran for the exit,
out the double doors of the theater, and towards the marble
staircase.
    I didn’t make it far however, before I
noticed Kiran and Talbott entering the building. They were talking
quietly, but heatedly until they looked up and noticed me leaving
the dark theater. They instantly stopped talking and gave each
other a quick glance.
    “ What were you doing in
there?” Kiran asked suspiciously, returning his gaze to
mine.
    “