He unbuckles Sun’s seatbelt, and the three of us head inside. Great. Marching into school with Dad and my baby brother, a ‘perfect’ start.
We’re about twenty minutes early, but there are already plenty of students around. Luckily, the main office is right by the entrance, so I don’t have to parade through the halls with my embarrassing entourage.
The school secretary greets us from behind a wide counter. Dad explains the situation, gives my name, and apologizes for my recent absence due to a cold. The secretary hands me a school ID, a printed schedule, and a sheet with a school map and lunch information.
As we step out of the office, Dad says, "Your class is on the second floor. Looks like you’ve got English first. Good luck, Bay. Keep your head up, okay? It’s gonna be fine."
"Thanks," I mutter.
"Bye-bye-Bay!" Sun waves his chubby hand at me.
"Bye, Sun."
I force a smile at him, because it’s not his fault my world fell apart.
Then I turn away and climb the stairs, map in hand.
I find the classroom where English is scheduled to be. The door’s open, and inside there are already students talking to each other like they’ve known one another forever.
There are eighteen of them. It’s hard to tell their secondary genders at first glance, since at fourteen, not all traits are obvious yet, but most show hints. From what I can tell, there are at least five alphas, maybe seven omegas, and six betas. I could be wrong, I’m guessing mostly by height. Alphas usually go through an intense growth spurt around the age of twelve. Betas experience it to a moderate degree, while omegas grow much more slowly, which is why at fourteen or fifteen they’re often still quite short.
A few students notice me and turn their heads with curious looks. I’m definitely the tallest in the room. And probably the most gloomy-looking.
I scan for an empty seat. There are a few, but better to make sure first.
"Hey, this is Mr. Rivera’s class, right?" I ask a stocky beta kid with acne, or at least I think he’s a beta. Hard to tell.
"Yeah, class starts soon," he says, watching me closely. "I’m Dereck. You?"
"Bay. Which seats are still free?"
He turns and points toward the back of the room.
"Only that one, next to Sneezy. Nobody wants to sit by him because he’s always coughing and sneezing," he says with a quiet chuckle.
I follow his gaze.
And sure enough, by the side wall in the last row, there’s a lone student sitting by himself, small, almost fragile, even below the average height for an omega. His blond hair, streaked with a soft pink tint, falls messily across his cheeks, nearly hiding his face. Oversized glasses with thick pink frames cover half of it.
On the desk in front of him sits an inhaler and a big box of tissues printed with colorful gems.
"Thanks," I mutter to the beta and make my way over to the empty seat next to the ‘Sneezy’ guy.
"Hey, you don’t mind if I sit here?" I ask, forcing my face into something that vaguely resembles a polite expression.
"Sure, as long as you don’t mind sitting next to me."
I just give him a neutral look and don’t say anything. Dropping into the chair, I toss my backpack to the floor and pull out my tablet. That’s when I realize something strange, there’s no pain when I sit, which is weird. And it should be, the chair is hard as hell.
The ‘Sneezy’ kid keeps watching me.
Since I’m not the type to get awkward about it, I slowly turn my head and meet his eyes. He’s seriously tiny, so he appears younger than the rest of the class, though I doubt he actually is.
His wavy hair hides most of his forehead and cheeks. I can only see a small nose and full pink lips, slightly parted by the glint of braces. But there’s something about him that catches me off guard: his eyes.
The color is a rare, deep amethyst hue, glowing with a kind of mesmerizing intensity. I’ve never seen that shade before. My brother Snow’s eyes are light violet, cooler in tone, and this boy’s are richer, almost jewel-like, a crystallized purple light.
I know I can stare too hard sometimes, so eventually, I force myself to look away, but the boy doesn’t seem bothered. He keeps sneaking glances at me too.
