“Brawling,” replies the professor. “Prince or not, we do not accept this behavior at the academy.”
“That’s not fair,” Amelia says, getting to her feet. “My brother was trying to protect me from these guys! He shouldn’t be punished for…”
Professor Drysdale shoots her a withering look--enough to, miraculously, make her shut up. He crosses his arms, looking between me, Landon, Hunter, and Silas. I have no idea what’s coming, but I can already tell it won’t be good. “For brawling on campus and unsupervised transformation,” he says, “I want to see all four of you after class tonight. In detention.”
Chapter 14
Detention.
Unbelievable.
Just for the record, I've never been sent to detention in my life. In spite of the fact that my social life has been nearly nonexistent at every school I've attended, and the fact that I'm lousy at almost every subject, the one thing I've always had going for me is a spotless record. Until now, I guess.
The rest of the day feels like it slogs on ad infinitum. I do my best to pay attention during my next batch of classes, but between what happened during lunch hour and my inability to transform for the teachers' exercises, none of them goes decidedly well. To make things worse, I feel like the other students are looking at me more, leaning in to make whispered comments to one another and staring at me with cautious expressions. I can't tell if it's because they heard about the fight, or because by now they probably all know just how strange I look when I transform, but I know I'm not just being paranoid. First, I had to watch Amelia strut away without getting punished, and now it seems like the student body has been turned against me.
I don't know anybody in my witch shifting class, although I do learn that the shockwave I unleashed during lunch break is a witch power, a spell that can only be cast in full or partial witch form. I guess that's progress… if only I could actually make it happen consciously. After that is my dragon class, with Silas on the other side of the room, although aside from a shared glance when we arrive, we don't interact. Nobody in my wolf shifting class looks familiar either, and by the time the last period arrives, all I really want to do is go back to my room and sleep the day away.
Unfortunately, that's not meant to be. As I drag myself out of the lecture hall where I've spent the past hour listening to an old woman explain shifter etiquette to a group of bored-looking students, I can see the others heading out for free time. Dinner isn't for another three hours, all of which I'll be spending in the detention hall.
At least the others will be there, too, I think as I make my way to the ground floor and down a winding hallway that leads to the older offices. The detention hall is a stuffy room that doesn't get the same light as the other classrooms, a faculty member slouches at a desk in the front, dozing. Silas has taken a desk near the window, while Landon sits near the front, making a paper airplane. Hunter has, as per usual, claimed the desk in the far corner of the room, and next to him sits a blond guy who looks oddly familiar.
We seem to be the only five people here. I give a resigned sigh and move to one of the desks in the middle of the room, prepared to ride out my punishment in silence. That's when a voice from behind me pipes up, "You're Millie Brix, aren't you?"
I turn around to see the familiar-looking guy staring at me, a grin on his face. His voice is what makes it finally click. "Yeah," I reply. "You're the guy who came to Mrs. Fairbanks' office yesterday, aren't you?"
"One and the same," the guy replies, putting his feet up on the desk.
"What are you doing in detention?" I ask.
"Sitting," he replies. "Talking. Thinking."
"We just had to get stuck in here with you, didn't we, Shade?” mutters Silas, shooting the guy a look.
“I don’t know what you mean,” the new guy, Shade, retorts. “I thought I was stuck in here with you. What’d you do this time? Beat up an old lady? Set fire to the boys’ bathroom?”
Landon rolls his eyes. “Guys, come on. Can’t we just go back to sulking in silence?”
“No way,” Shade replies, leaning forward in his desk. “Silas and I are just joshing each other, aren’t we, Silas?”
Silas rolls his eyes.
“Besides,” Shade continues, “I want to hear more about the new girl.” He grins at me, his gray eyes sparkling. “I heard you kicked Amelia Ash’s ass at lunch today.”
“Hey,” snaps Hunter. It’s the first thing he’s said since I got here. “That’s my sister you’re talking about.”
“Yeah,” Shade says, “and you still ended up in here, didn’t you?” Hunter doesn’t reply, hunkering lower in his chair, and Shade turns back to me. “So is it true? Can you really shift into multiple forms?”
“That’s what they tell me,” I reply, “but right now I can’t even do that right. Whenever I do shift, I just end up looking like some… hideous blob of body parts.”
“Ha! Nice!”
I can’t help but chuckle. “Easy for you to say. You’re a… what are you again?”
“Wolf shifter,” Shade replies proudly. “Listen,” he continues, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face, “if you need help learning how to shift, maybe I can help you.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Yeah?”
He shrugs. “Sure. It’s always come pretty naturally to me.”
Hunter makes a scoffing noise but doesn’t say anything.
“Well, I…” I blink. I hadn’t considered the possibility of someone tutoring me before. Considering how well my classes have gone so far… “Yeah,” I say, smiling a little. “That sounds good.”
Shade smiles, his silver eyes meeting mine for a split second. My heart flutters
