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7

ADAPTATION

Blaire woke up the next morning alone. She didn’t know if Lukas had come back last night. Maybe he wasn’t going to return until she moved out, which bothered her, and she couldn’t understand why. Like last night, she didn’t understand why rejection by someone she didn’t know bothered her so much.

Sunlight streamed through the window into her face. She yawned, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She needed to get ready for class, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to bother.

She heard laughter through the doorway, causing a shudder of uneasiness to pass through her at the prospect of Vasirian on the other side. Real life, blood-sucking predators, and they expected her to walk out there and join them. Someone ring the dinner bell.

She put a hand over her face and laughed at her foolish thoughts. “Come on… get your shit together.”

Throwing the covers back, she placed her feet onto the plush rug and dug in her toes. The simple, mundane sensation helped calm her. Monsters wouldn’t dress their rooms in creature comforts, would they? Padding over to the closet, she pulled out the uniform pieces and retreated to the bathroom to get dressed and groom herself. Once ready, she grabbed the backpack at the foot of her bed and the temporary class schedule the professor provided with a map directing her where to go on campus. Stomach growling, she looked at the map, making a mental note of the canteen location—near the cafeteria on the second floor of the main building—to grab something quick to eat for breakfast before heading into the hall, locking the door behind her.

The first half of the school day went smoothly, other than getting lost once or twice, but other students pointed her the right way. Otherwise, no one spoke to her but her teachers. The students watched her, whether in fascinated curiosity or hunger, she didn’t know. Somehow, they avoided turning her into a meal. Maybe she imagined their hunger, but it didn’t stop her from being hypervigilant about every lingering glance. She didn’t want to tempt fate to discover friend or foe. All in all, she enjoyed her time there so far, if she could get past the students and staff being bloodsucking Vasirian, a fact that hung over her head like a guillotine.

She discovered that after finishing her introductory classes for the university program, she would choose her program focus—her major—and begin those classes tomorrow, along with general education, like all freshmen. It was the start of April, so she’d already missed most of the school year; she would need to play catch up. She honestly didn’t see the point with only a few months left. The syllabus of her last class showed courses extending until the first of July. From the looks of it, Blackthorn students only received one month of a summer break before classes began again at the start of August. The school system she was used to had the luxury of taking a longer break.

She walked to the cafeteria for her lunch break, which was at the end of a long corridor. The aroma of rotisserie chicken made her stomach growl loudly. A passing student giggled, and Blaire blushed. The cafeteria was incredibly spacious and large. Floor-to-ceiling windows made up the back walls overlooking the thick forest behind the academy, bathing the entire cafeteria in natural light.

A few students sat at a table eating normal human food, and she raised a brow. What did she expect? She’d been able to get breakfast from the small canteen down the hall, so surely, they ate something besides blood… or humans. A shudder passed through her, and she glanced around her warily. Did she honestly expect to walk into the cafeteria and find tables laid out with human sacrifices on silver platters? An anxious laugh bubbled out of her, drawing the gaze of the student closest to her. She hurried further into the cafeteria.

A full wrap-around buffet sat to the left of the entrance, filled with the selections for the current meal service. Lunch was chicken and roast beef with a variety of prepared vegetables—all familiar—and salads. Another smaller bar sat in the back corner with various desserts and drink choices like juice, coffee, and fountain drinks.

Blaire took stock from the large, empty area between the buffet and seating. Students sat at long, rectangular, wooden tables with well-spaced high-back chairs of the same wood. A few round tables lined the windowed walls of the cafeteria, creating an intimate seating space for students lucky enough to grab one.

The guys’ uniforms of pressed black slacks, white button-down Oxford shirts and long ties in the same plaid as her skirt, looked as polished as hers did. Some guys wore the official high-class leather shoes the school provided, while others wore their own unique footwear. She saw everything from Converse sneakers to combat boots, which suited the uniform more than sneakers, in her opinion.

Blaire found the beginning to the main bar and grabbed a tray before moving down the line. She picked up a small garden salad with fresh cucumbers and cherry tomatoes, and a small bowl of cantaloupe. She reached for the delicious-smelling chicken.

“Blaire, right?”

She nearly dropped the plate of the chicken, startled. Setting the plate on her tray, she turned around to face a tall girl with braided, brown hair hanging over her shoulder. Large, hazel eyes looked at Blaire in eager fascination. A shorter guy with slicked-back, blond hair had his arm around her waist. He nodded at Blaire politely.

“Y-yeah. That’s right.”

“Awesome. I wasn’t sure.”

Noting Blaire’s confused expression, she laughed. “I helped you find the canteen this morning. It’s okay if you don’t remember me. I’m sure you’ve had a lot going on. My name is Rueanna, but you can call me Rue.”

Blaire blinked. The friendliness took her off guard. “Ah. Yeah, I’m sorry. It’s been a lot to take in.”

“I’m sure. It has to be weird being a human here, yeah?”

Blaire scuffed the toe of her loafer on the floor, looking down at her tray. “It’s different.”

Rue reached out and put a hand on Blaire’s forearm, causing her to flinch. What was with Vasirian and personal space issues? The professor, Riley, now this girl…

“Oh, crap. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just… wanted to let you know it’s gonna be fine. Especially if you’ll be joining us.”

Blaire tilted her head and her brow furrowed. “Joining you where?”

“Joining us… as in, becoming one of us. A Vasirian.”

Blaire’s eyes widened.

The guy standing next to her frowned. “I don’t think that’ll happen.”

“Why not?” Rue asked, putting a hand on her hip. “Have you ever seen a human turned?”