Mrs. Putyam brought Matsias a new schedule the next week. He now had history second period and physics fourth, with his recess period fifth. The upside was that he now had history with Key, and not with Reed.
On Nortday, Matsias reported to the infirmary, where Charlie waited for him outside the door. Tisheet had told him Charlie would be a good person to work with, but seeing him now, Matsias was actually beginning to believe it. The older boy had his thumbs hooks in his pockets and leaned back slightly, as if he believed the very air would hold him up. When Mat drew close, he offered his hand.
"Mat, right? We met last week?"
"Yeah. I take it Mr. Collins told you why I'm here?"
"Not really." Charlie paused, then added, "Ms. Collins likes to harp on confidentitality."
As if summoned by her name, Ms. Collins came out of the infirmary door and explained that she had another student taking Charlie's shift for the day, so the boys could get acquainted. She added that she expected to see Matsias in her office the next day and then strolled away.
"So, where should be go?"
Mat gave a slow shrug, still not entirely sure about his new mentor.
"I know." Charlie led Mat toward the cafeteria, but veered to the left and brought him instead to the school garden. Mat vaguely remembered Valerie mentioning it during orientation. It had a brick wall around it, which seemed to block out the sound and the stress of the rest of campus. The garden was bisected by a wide path made of stone tiles, with narrower paths branching off in both directions. No one else was there.
"If you're going to work in the infirmary, you ought to see this place anyway. But usually the only people here are the kids who tend it." Charlie pointed to the right. "That side's for the kitchen. We grow a lot of our own herbs and vegetables." Then he steered Mat to the left. "This side's for the infirmary--the plants we use to make medicines."
"You make your own medicines," Mat said thoughtfully, "so you're studying to be healers, not doctors."
Charlie laughed slightly. "They're not all that different, anymore. A class three healer is basically the same as a regular doctor. But healers have traditionally made their own medicines, so... yeah, I guess we do healing. Besides, class four healers--that's the ones that make medicines, but don't diagnose--they can start training in high school. That's probably how Faraday gets away with kids working the infirmary. They teach us how to to handle all the basic stuff, but Collins and Putyam are around to handle the big things."
"Wait, Putyam?"
"Not the Victoria House head. Her husband. He's a doctor. He runs the infirmary with Ms. Collins." Charlie stopped and sat on a bench. "So, Mat, what should I know about you?"
Mat used his crutch to lower himself onto the bench as well. "What did she already tell you?"
Charlie shook a red curl out of his eye. "Only that you would be helping me in the infirmary for the rest of the year as part of a service project. Granted, service project around here is usually code for probation, and considering what I overheard the night of the fire...."
"Yeah, that was me." Mat didn't look Charlie in the eye.
"Why?" He asked the question the way Miriam might--with genuine curiosity.
"I was having nightmared. I was trying to fix them." Every time he said it, it got easier.
"Wait, you mean you tried dream magic and all you did was start a fire?"
Mat grinned. "I'm lucky."
"I'll say. Why didn't you tell Ms. Collins about it?"
"I... didn't think anyone dealt in dreams around here."
Mat looked up at last and saw Charlie slouched against the back of the bench, legs stretched across the path in front of him. "People around here deal in just about everything, especially the rare stuff. Dreams are Ms. Collins' specialty."
"That's what she told me." After an awkward silence, he said, "so what am I going to do in the infirmary?"
"Well, most of the time, it's pretty slow. But when kids come in, you'll grab stuff for me--bandages, antiseptic, ice. And on some of the weekend shifts, Collins'll come in and show us how to use this stuff." He nodded to the plants in front of him.
"You don't need plant magic to make medicines?"
"I hear it helps, but I don't do it myself. I do light and heat." Charloe stood up and offered Mat a hand. "So... I guess it's your lucky day."
Mat let Charlie help him to his feet, and they headed back toward the infirmary. "I did say I was lucky."
"Yeah, you did."
