A message in my inbox startled me awake. I opened it and blinked. It was a message from the professor of my next class. She was moving me to the online course and wanted me to turn in the first homework assignment by the end of the day.
I groaned. Homework. What would happen if I didn’t turn it in? I still hadn’t received a physical copy of the student handbook and I hadn’t bothered to download it to my tablet. Better to ask forgiveness than permission and all that. I kind of liked that I had a valid excuse for ignoring their policies.
It was almost time for my last class: 322 Hexes and Curses level 2. A junior class.
I made a face. I hadn’t even taken level one.
Closing my tablet, I made my way to the class. Unlike the freshman and sophomore classes, the teacher in the junior class was not going to let me leave. I tried to force myself to stay awake as she droned on and on about witchy stuff. It should have been interesting, given my mom was a witch, but I couldn’t concentrate on anything she said. By the time it was over, I needed another coffee.
My last class before lunch was a senior class with Javi and Shiloh. Class 405: Advanced Ambush Strategies.
When I arrived to class, I was surprised to find Grayson there as well. My body thrummed with anticipation, ready to go into fight mode. What would the jerk say today?
“Class is cancelled.” One of the boys shouted, holding up a hand to silence everyone.
“What? Why?” voices echoed.
He read off his tablet. “Check your school inbox. Professor Newman had an emergency come up. We’re free.”
Shiloh frowned. “An emergency? Did it say anything more? I hope he’s okay.”
The boy snorted, “Probably got too drunk last night. He wouldn’t be the only professor I’ve seen at Slasher’s.”
“And what were you doing at Slasher’s, Brady?” Grayson interrupted.
The boy stared back at him. “Recon.” He smirked. He tossed his longish brown-blonde hair out of his face.
Grayson grunted. “Right.”
“I don’t know about you all, but I’m going to call it an early day and get back to my… studies.”
With that he left the room with all the importance of a prince.
“That’s the headmaster’s son, Brady Rutherford,” Shiloh explained.
Grayson whipped toward us, his eyes narrowing on me.
I waved and smiled, making him blink in surprise.
Javi caught the interaction and frowned at me.
“Guess this means I can go back to the dorm?” I asked Shiloh.
She smiled. “Sure. There’s time before lunch.”
“Yeah! I forgot to tell you, I got your lunch changed to match mine. And Shiloh, you can eat with us, too,” Javi interrupted.
Shiloh’s face reddened as a few heads turned in her direction, voices murmuring. I shook my head at my cousin’s lack of subtlety.
Ignoring the stares, I smiled and motioned for him to lead us out. I glanced back to find Grayson still watching me.
Once back at the dorm, Shiloh excused herself, claiming she wanted to get a head start on the homework. Javi, unable to flirt with her, showed me around the rest of the house, chatting excitedly.
“Hey, Rose! Javi,” a voice called from one of the rooms.
We stopped as Molly flagged us down.
She smiled and turned to me. “Shiloh give you your room key?”
I nodded. “Oh, and I forgot to turn back my replacement ID card. I have a new one now, so I don’t need it.”
Molly shrugged. “Okay. You can just turn it in whenever. Here, I got your shirts ready.”
I glance at Javi in confusion, “What?”
She waved me into the room, and I followed her to a stack of white blouses. Grinning, she thrust the pile at me.
“But I already have a shirt.”
“Right. But you need these with the house emblem.”
Javi stood behind me and pointed at the small red dragon embroidered on the shirts. “House Dragon.”
“Oh. Okay. Thanks.”
Molly smiled. “Sure. Let me know if you need anything else.” She motioned us back out.
I took the shirts back to my dorm and changed into one at Javi’s insistence that I follow the dress code, but I kept my jacket. After that, we wandered the hall and ended up in the game room. Not feeling in the mood to start a game, I paced, checking out the place.
“There’s a secret room downstairs, you know. Behind the books. You have to say the magic word and it will open.” Javi pointed to the second floor.
My eyebrow arched. “Magic word?”
He grinned. “Yeah. Why don’t you try it?”
“Sure.” I shrugged, not having anything better to do.
“Javi!” a girl gushed, calling his attention.
He gave me a guilty smile. “I’ll be down in a minute.”
I rolled my eyes as he abandoned me for the tall brunette. Not wanting to stand there awkwardly, I went down the stairs to check out the so-called secret room.
Passing the lounge area and board game shelf, I stopped at a dead end. A huge bookshelf with giant, old books stood against the wall. Was this the secret hideout? Part of me was curious to see what was hidden behind the books, but another part of me was wary of walking in on a heavy make out sesh… or worse.
I waved my hand over the shelf, trying to figure out how it opened. “Abracadabra.”
Nothing. There was no handle or knob. I pressed my ear against it to listen.
The door swung in, making me stumble forward.
“Oh.” I bumped into a solid body.
My eyes widened as I came face to face with Grayson.
“What are you doing in here?”
I bristled at his rudeness. “Trying to walk here, you mind?”
He folded his arms across his chest, the motion catching my eye as his muscles tensed. The guy worked out.
“This area is restricted. Only house members allowed.”
I pointed to the embroidered dragon on my shirt and flashed him a smile. “You were saying?”
The surprise on his face was satisfying, but not as satisfying
