“You’re too big to be a teacher. You should be a football player,” Henry insisted.
“I do not play football.” I moved on. Pointing and calling out names. Seemed the children were now paralyzed, waiting for their name to be called before they would sit. “Andrew. Liam. Brody.” The blond boy who had led me to class took his seat. Brody. Another possible Everian prince. His size was comparable to Connor’s and he’d faced me directly in the corridor outside, showing no fear.
Of course, that could also just be a sign the boy was lacking intelligence.
I continued, “Jesse. Sara. Katie.”
I paid little attention to the girls. Each boy I watched, assessed every movement, the tilt of their head, eye contact, confidence, reactions, speed.
What were Elite Hunters like when they were children? Surely there were signs. Faster reflexes. Innate intelligence or courage. Perhaps both. I could not believe the universally feared Elite Hunters, males who could move faster than the eye could track, who hunted the most dangerous, deadly criminals and enemies in the known universe, would be so defenseless and weak when they were young.
When all the children were seated, I walked to the large desk at the front of the room and stood behind it, arms crossed over my chest, tight yellow fabric straining at the edges. I heard a few stiches pop in the seams that crossed my shoulders as I stared at twenty-eight pairs of helpless, innocent little eyes. My appearance with Brody evened out the class. Fourteen boys. Fourteen girls.
Had I ever been so young? So fragile and small? How was I supposed to protect something that could break so easily? What the fuck was I doing here?
I glared. The clock ticked, the sound annoying and loud in the sudden quiet as I faced off with a bunch of six year olds.
A young female with red hair raised her hand and waved at me from a desk in the front as if expecting me to respond. So I did. “Yes, Elizabeth?” I had already memorized their names. Their faces. I felt responsible for all of them, not just the Everian prince I suspected hid among them.
“Aren’t you going to teach us something?”
Hmmm. I shook my head. “I want you to teach me something.”
They all looked confused, until I smiled. Then they looked terrified.
“Everyone take out a sheet of paper and write two paragraphs about yourself, where you are from, and who your parents are.” Perfect, brilliant plan. I would discover the young prince within the hour, take him out of here and end this foolishness.
Sweet little Elizabeth raised her hand again and I sighed.
“Yes?”
“I don’t know how to spell all that.”
A chorus of agreement traveled through the room as Elizabeth continued her explanation. “I can only spell my name, and Sam, because that’s my dog. And my ABCs, but Qs and Rs are really hard.” Her happy smile was filled with pride. “My mommy taught me.”
Her name. Her dog? By the gods, these young ones knew nothing. A change in strategy was in order.
I walked to the first desk on the edge of the classroom and stared down at a little boy named Josh. “Josh, you will be first. Stand and tell the class where you are from and who your parents are.”
The young one stood. Mumbled. “I’m Josh. I have three older sisters, Manda, Lily and Sassy. But her real name is Samantha. She’s twelve and she plays Minecraft with me.”
Every cell in my body withered and died, just a little. This was impossible. Could these children not focus and supply the information requested? Josh hadn’t answered either of my questions. “Where are you from, Josh?”
He shrugged. “I dunno.”
“Were you born here? In Gray’s Harbor?”
He twisted his hands, one around the other. “My mom says I came straight from heaven and that I used to have a different body in heaven. But then I decided to be born and now I have this body.”
“You came outta her vagina.” A young lady from the back…Chloe…shouted over his explanation. The class erupted into giggles as she made sure Josh heard her. “Josh, you growed in your mommy’s tummy and then you came out of her vagina. And she screamed and the doctor told her to push you out like poop.” Her squeals of laughter made poor Josh’s face turn bright red.
I turned to the class in an attempt to quiet them—and end Chloe’s mischief. “You all passed through your mothers’ vaginas when you were born.” Basic biology. Did humans teach their children nothing?
The classroom erupted into howls, several children pretending to laugh hard enough to fall out of their seats onto the floor.
Henry was one of them, his arms wrapped around his waist as he rocked back and forth with forced laughter. “You’re not supposed to say vagina. That’s a bad word.”
“It is not.” My voice was louder than I intended. The beast paced within, suddenly restless. We’d caught the hint of a scent. Intriguing. Unexpected. Where was that coming from? I came out from behind my desk and walked to the center of the room. “Everyone quiet. Get back in your seats. Vagina is not a bad word. It is the scientific word used to describe basic female anatomy.”
