“I just thought, since we were spending so much time together, it wouldn’t hurt if I smelled good to you.”
He smelled more than good, but after this little stunt, I couldn’t let that on. “Well, the jokes on you because I listed my results in reverse. You’re wearing my least favorite aromas.”
“Is that right?” he asked, voice and expression telling me he knew what a liar I was. “I’ll have to keep experimenting then.”
“You do that.”
Chapter Forty-One
Afew weeks later, we were exiting our lab room after Plant Adaptations when Professor Tenella raised her voice in the central vein.
“Botanists! Please gather in the tearoom. There is an announcement.”
My friends and I exchanged looks but joined our classmates in the tearoom, which was dimly lit by the wall sconces and the roaring fireplace instead of the sun that streamed through the wall of glass in other seasons. It had been overcast all week, which matched the tone I was picking up on from the instructors.
Professor Sage and the Kitchen Botany rotation students were already there, doling out miniature pies that I suspected contained chamomile and citrus. What was going on?
Professor Tenella raised her voice. “We’ve had a declaration from the Board of Regents. Starting after the winter solstice, all campus clubs will require board approval to continue operating. All club hosts will be asked to submit evidence of scholarly contribution from their club, which will then be evaluated by the board.”
Murmurs of discouragement ripped through the studentsaround me. I glanced at Aurielle, whose lips were smashed together as she focused on Professor Tenella.
“We understand that this may come as a surprise, as Evergreen Academy has long had a tradition of social clubs organized by our trusted student body and allowed to self-manage. At this time, our options are to pause all clubs or allow them to continue while the hosts submit their reports. We prefer to let you all continue. If anyone needs support in generating their evidence for the board, please reach out to any of your instructors, and we will be happy to help.”
A first-year student walked by with a tray, and I took one of the steaming pies. The fragrance immediately took the edge off of the anxiety. Professor Sage was some kind of magician.
“Professor East is away, but you may direct concerns or inquires to him upon his return. The kitchen and hearth here will be open all night for those club members who would like to gather and discuss plans. Now, please get comfortable and enjoy your pies.”
With that, the announcement was over.
“Aurielle, do you think they’ll approve the cartography club?” Coral asked, obviously having the same question as me.
“I hope I can put together a strong case for it, but we’ve only been in place for a few months. I can submit the maps of the portions of campus we’ve evaluated so far, but that’s really it.”
Something stirred in me at her words. If Aurielle submitted her maps, it would contain the locations of the two known petal portals. Obviously, they wouldn’t be labeled as portals in her documentation, but would the distinctivefairy doormarkings mean something to the Board of Regents?
“How closely do you think they’ll even evaluate the ‘evidence’?” Coral asked, putting the last word in finger quotes. “They probably already know which clubs they want to stick around and which they don’t. This is getting ridiculous.”
“I’m sure you’ll put forward a great case,” Yasmin assuredAurielle. “Are your other club members here? Do you want to go talk to them?”
“Yeah, we’d better start preparing our game plan. I’ll catch up with you all later,” Aurielle said.
“I’m going to talk to Waylon,” Coral said. “He’s part of the Houseplant Curators Club.”
“I’d like to meet with the Apothecary Arts Club. I’ve made most of my makeup and skin care with them. Maybe they’ll need some help with their evidence,” Yasmin said.
My friends went their separate ways, and I finished my pie in a few quick bites then went straight toward the table where Callan was standing with some fellow tree affinities. He stepped away from them and nodded toward the glass door. I knew that signal. He wanted to meet in the treehouses.
I left first, and he joined me at our treehouse a few minutes after I arrived. “I invited the others,” he said.
“The rest of the Root and Vine Society?”
Callan nodded. “Some of them aren’t available as they are in other clubs and don’t want to raise suspicion. But Meadow, Ravenna, and Laurus should be out shortly. I asked them to stagger their arrival.”
Once the five of us were gathered in the treehouse, I heard the familiar whooshing sound of Callan putting up a wind sound barrier around us.
I didn’t waste any time with small talk. “What should we do about this? This is exactly the type of thing the Root and Vine Society would oppose, right?”
Meadow was the first to agree. “Total authoritarian overreach.”
