"Has Jacob asked you yet?" Grace asked.

Camilla shook her head.

"Well, Blake hasn't asked me either."

"Leave it to the boys to do it last minute," Camilla grumbled.

Grace sighed. She watched Camilla's eyes scan the her phone as she scrolled through something. They were sitting by themselves in the lounge near their dorm room. Classes had finished for the day—thank God—but in just three days was Tisdale's Summer Gala celebrating the graduating students. Students of all other years were invited, if they were passing their classes, of course.

"Thank God I passed that Intro midterm," Grace said. "I don't know what I would have done otherwise."

"You would have had to beg Muesli for a higher mark."

"I may have done more than beg," Grace snickered.

Camilla giggled. "Stop that!"

Two girls from their class walked by.

"Hi!" They said.

"Hi!" Camilla and Grace waved in unison.

Camilla tossed her phone on the table and put her head in her hands. "Ughhhh, why do they have the gala while the tournament is still going on? That's a whole day of training wasted!"

"Camilla D'Angelo!" Grace chastised. "Do not imply that training is more important than the freaking gala."

"Well..." Camilla threw her hands up in the air and let out a frustrated sigh. "What am I supposed to do?"

Grace shot Camilla a sidelong glance. This was not something that should have upset her so much. It wasn't her place to criticize, however, even if Camilla had seemed extra stressed out recently.

"Victor will lose that time too," Grace said.

"How do you know?" Camilla said. She let her head droop down between her hands. "What if he just trains instead?"

"You think that little Maria is going to let him skip the gala?" Grace scoffed.

"I suppose not."

Grace laid her hand on Camilla's forearm. "Camilla, you'll be fine."

Camilla looked up and met her eyes and smiled. Then she looked behind Grace.

"Hi, Archie," Camilla said.

Grace twisted around in her chair.

Archie was walking down the hall towards them. He had a bright blue, three piece suit on, with a matching tie, brown moccasins, gold cufflinks, a glittering watch peeking out from under his cuffs. His hair was slicked back. Grace could smell his cologne, wafting ahead of him in a wave. He had that look in his eye.

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Grace whirled around and locked gazes with Camilla, her eyes wide. A silent conversation passed between them.

He's here to ask you something big!

What? The gala? Oh no, it's definitely the gala. Deflect him!

I'll try!

"Camilla, Grace," Archie said. He dipped his head in that way of his. "I hope you are both doing well."

"Yes, we're just studying hard for classes right now," Grace cleared her throat. "Don't want to lose my train of thought!"

Archie nodded as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Camilla," He continued in full stride. "I have something important to ask you."

Oh no.

"Archie..." Grace attempted, but her voice was a squeak. He seemed to have forgotten all about her, and it was just too much to grab him or jump in between him and Camilla. Blake would have, but she just couldn't! Argh! Where did Archie get all this bullish confidence? She'd like to know!

Archie moved over next to where Camilla sat and knelt down on one knee in front of her. Camilla looked very small next to him. He took her nearest hand and held it in both of his.

"Archie, I swear to God if you are proposing to me again I will never speak to you ever again," Camilla said, her voice lower and more dangerous than Grace had ever heard it.

If this wounded Archie, he didn't show it. Gulp.

"I promised I wouldn't," Archie shook his head. He shifted where he knelt and cleared his throat. Magic whispered out of him. Visible Production magic whispered out of him and curled. A yellow stem made of sparkling glass crystallized in the air between them. It grew up and blossomed into a golden rose.

Grace blinked. The precision required for that was immense. Archie must have been practicing. He knew they'd know that, too.

Archie removed one of his hands from holding Camilla's, plucked the golden rose out of the air, and offered it to her.

"Camilla D'Angelo, will you go to the gala with me?" Archie asked.

A hundred expressions crossed Camilla's face. She pursed her lips, and with an effort turned away.

"I'm already going with someone," Camilla said in a small voice.

Archie clearly hadn't expected this. "Who?"

Camilla blushed and looked away, but didn't answer.

Archie pushed himself to his feet, holding the golden rose limply at his side. "Is it Caibo? Please, Camilla, tell me."

For a while Camilla didn't do or say anything. Then she nodded.

Archie took a deep breath in through his nostrils. "I see. Well, as long as you're happy." He turned and strode back the way he'd come.

Grace watched him go, then turned back to Camilla. "You lied to him?" She hissed.

Camilla shrunk away from her. "So?"

"Are you crazy?" Grace said. "What if Jacob doesn't ask you? You'll have to ask him?"

Camilla flicked a glance at Grace, then looked away and shrugged.

"No," Grace said. "No no no no no no no."

Before she could launch her long overdue assault on her best friend, her phone buzzed. She checked it more out of automatic impulse than anything else. It was Blake:

You hungry?

Grace whipped out a reply:

Yes.

He texted back almost immediately:

Meet me at Fireball in a half hour. I'm buying.

Not his subtlest work. Not by a country mile. But maybe he was nervous. He should be nervous, wanting to ask a girl to the gala. It gave Grace an idea of how to resolve Camilla's little (major) issue, but first, the little mouse owed her an explanation.

Grace cleared her throat, feeling quite pleased she'd puzzled out a solution. "Explain yourself."

Camilla blinked at her. "What?"

"Explain yourself, young lady."

"What are you talking about?"

Grace gestured at the long vanished Archie. "Explain to me why you just turned down that. I mean, it was a little Hallmark-esque, but that spell? His clothing? How much effort he puts in for you? The fact that he's Archie? Explain to me why you turned that down in favour of Mr I Haven't Done Anything For You, because Camilla, you are usually one annoyingly smart cookie, but right now I think you're about the dumbest cookie to ever crumble," Grace folded her arms and sat back in her chair.

Camilla made eye contact with her, looked away, made eye contact again, and looked away for a final time. She'd folded her hands in her lap and appeared to suddenly find them very interesting.

"Oh, alright, Grace," Camilla said. "You see, here's the thing with Jacob..."