I get a cold chill at the sound of my uncle’s name. Rory, Tala’s young sibling and the last member of our pack, looks up from their notebook sadly. I sit down beside them on the second bed.
Kaenan sighs heavily.
“I know this isn’t easy,” he says. “But Elmwood Academy is full of shifters and witches who won’t hesitate to lock us up, too, if we’re not careful. We have to look like we’re integrating, at least for now.”
He’s only a year older than Tala and I, but he looks much older than that right now. He’s taken over as unofficial Alpha since our previous Alpha, my uncle, was imprisoned. For thepast several years, our pack has been in a conflict with the Cherry Creek panther pack. After allying with the Hecate coven witches, they managed to defeat us and lock up most of our pack members. Since the four of us were underage, we were spared imprisonment, on the condition that we attend Elmwood Academy. It’s mostly so that the Triple Council could keep an eye on us and make sure we don’t get into any trouble. Like provoking the panther pack.
I rub my eyes, much more tired than I was a minute ago.
“Let’s just try to get some sleep,” I say.
Tala scoffs at me. “How can you both be so complacent? If we were any older, we’d have been locked up too! Do you think that any of those witches or shifters care about us at all? If you had any pride, you’d have my back against those panther shifters, not prowling through the woods with witches.”
I glare at her. I don’t have to take this from her, and it’s been a long night already. I head toward the door.
“I’m going to sleep outside,” I say.
Kaenan and Tala continue to argue as I close the door behind me.
It’s going to be a long year.
WE'RE ALL WEIRD
Maggie
I wake up the next morning with an ache in my stomach. Why on earth did I agree to do this? I could have fought Lydia more on the decision. I could have worked all year and saved for tuition to John Johnson College. I could have thrown a tantrum, anything to not have to spend an entire year here! I think of Timothy. He was probably driving around anxiously all night, desperately trying to find me in the woods.
And that wolf shifter from last night…I really owe her one. If she hadn’t been there, who knows what would have happened? I close my eyes, remembering what it was like to hold onto her soft fur when we sped through the woods. How her eyes glowed in the moonlight. The smell of cedar and campfire.
Then I shake it off.No, I’ve got to focus. I have to text Tim right away. He’s probably so worried about me!
I instinctively reach for my phone, then remember that I dropped it in the woods.
Great, now how am I going to get in touch with Timothy?
I roll over in bed and groan, imagining him flirting with the girls at the ice cream shop while I waste away in a damp stone room that reeks of cinnamon.
Trying to distract myself, I open up my Book of Shadows. Tucked in front of the first page is my school schedule. Lydia signed me up for classes. There’s Introduction to Fortune-Telling, Flying Fundamentals, and Beginner Herbs and Potions. My mom’s teaching Basic Charms and Enchanting and I smile when I see the name of Hallie’s Creator teaching Introduction to Vampiric Arts.
I feel slightly better when I think about Hallie. She’s not like June, who went to some fancy witch school. At least Hallie isn’t a pretentious know-it-all. She’s as clueless about magic as I am.
I pull on some decent clothes and head out. As I close the door, I make a mental note of which room is mine, since none of them are marked. I take some time exploring the hallways. I don’t see or hear anyone around. I guess magic folk really aren’t morning people.
I try to memorize the hallways, but they seem to shift and change as I go. I come to the main hall much faster than I expected. It’s quiet and empty now, but I can hear noises off another hallway. I follow them to an enormous dining hall. There are long, wooden tables and benches, and what looks like a large buffet at the end. It’s not very crowded at all. There are only a dozen or so students, eating and chatting animatedly in groups. I feel a bit shy, like a kid on the first day of school.
I guess Iama kid on the first day of school.
Suddenly, someone knocks into me from behind and I stumble, almost falling over.
“Oh - sorry!” a boy with tousled hair laughs. “Didn’t see ya there!”
He smiles and pushes forward, joined by a large group of other students. They talk and move easily with the self-assured confidence of people who have always fit in, always had a group of others to belong with.
I blush and resist the urge to run back to my room. But I’m hungry enough that I force myself to walk to the back of the hall where the tables of food are.
The buffet is packed with every type of food imaginable. There’s a massive plate of sandwiches, flaky spanakopita, mouth-watering bowls of chicken curry, full roast chickens, steamy har gow, piles of fruit…I have no idea where to begin. The boy who bumped into me is digging into a chicken leg withouteven grabbing a plate. When they notice me looking, two of the girls in the group start whispering. I immediately avert my eyes, grab a plate and a few kebabs, and walk to the other end of the hall.
I eat by myself. The food is delicious, but I’m painfully aware that everyone here seems to fit in with a group, and I’m all on my own. I scan the room for Hallie, but I can’t see her anywhere. Then it hits me - she’s a vampire. They can’t be out in the sunlight. She’s probably underground during the day.
