As soon as it did, she jumped right into it. “Welcome to Essentials of Defense I. I am Professor Sarah Orlando. Apparently, I’m not allowed to let students call me by my first name so Professor Sarah will be fine. Over the next four years you will learn how to defend yourselves against every kind of attack, both magical and physical. We must be ready for anything. Most of you haven’t come into your powers yet, so we start with physical defense.” There was an audible groan from the back of the class. Professor Sarah plowed on like she didn’t notice.
“First up is basic hand to hand combat. Across the hall, you will find the locker room. Each student has a locker with their name on it and clothes inside. I expect you to be changed before you come to class each day.” When we returned to the classroom, I picked a spot close to the back. I was on my own in this class. No Willa, Gracie, or Hudson to keep me company. I didn’t recognize any of the other students, either. Maybe it was just as well. I was bound to make a fool of myself in hand-to-hand combat. There were two older students lined up in the front with the professor. One of them was Penelope. The other was the most beautiful boy I had ever laid eyes on. Even for a faerie, he was gorgeous. I gulped, suddenly feeling tall and awkward in my white tank and red gym shorts.
“These students have tested out of defense class,” Professor Sarah announced. “So now they are here to keep their skills intact and help teach you. Pair up. I will demonstrate a hit and block, then you and your partner will take turns practicing. Body shots only, no faces and heads. At least not today. Don’t hold back. If you hit your partner, it means they weren’t blocking correctly, and they will learn to do it the next time.”
There was a shuffle as everyone turned to find a partner. I realized there was an uneven number of students in the class a beat too late when I found myself alone. Drew appeared in front of me.
“I’ll partner with you. Sophie, right?”
“Um—yeah,” I managed to squeak out. This was my first chance to impress this guy and I couldn’t even say complete words. I could already tell this was going to be fun. And not at all humiliating.
“I’m Drew.” Before I could attempt to say something smooth and charming, Professor Sarah was demonstrating a punch and block with Penelope. Penelope demonstrated how to block without so much as a hair falling out of place. A snort almost escaped me. I was totally capable of that, sure. I didn’t resemble a newborn giraffe, all knees and elbows.
Drew and I squared off as my insecurity threatened to drown me. His attempt at a reassuring smile didn’t help. It did, however, make me tingly all over. Forget defense class, all I wanted to do right then was run my hand through Drew’s shaggy blonde hair. I really needed to snap out of it and focus on what was going on.
“Hmm? I’m sorry?” I asked when I realized Drew had said something while I was busy getting lost in his eyes.
“I said, how about you start punching and I’ll try to block you.”
“Oh okay, sure.” With arms like jelly, I let a punch fly, aiming for Drew’s shoulder. He swatted my hand away like it was nothing.
“Again,” he said. I tried again. Same thing. I kept punching, aiming for Drew’s shoulder or chest. None of my punches landed. I was working up a sweat. I wanted to imagine that I looked like Penelope who was now walking around correcting people’s technique. She wasn’t sweating, she was glistening. However, the numerous mirrors informed me that my imagination was incorrect. My face was getting red and my thick hair was breaking loose of its braid. Strands were getting stuck on my forehead and the back of my neck. Finally, I landed a punch on Drew’s shoulder.
“You let me do that,” I accused him. He smiled.
“Nice one,” he said. “Now, let’s switch.”
Blocking was so much harder than punching. Drew hit me almost every time. His punches were so soft, I barely felt them. He was holding back on me. Typically, I would have been upset he was treating me with kid gloves, but when he smiled at me again my annoyance vanished.
“So,” he said as we got into the rhythm of punching and blocking. “Is your father really the chancellor and the dragon?”
“Yep.”
“Does that mean you’re going to be the next dragon?”
“The dragon’s always been the oldest male in my family. I’m not a guy, so no,” I said with a shrug as Drew hit me in my other shoulder.
“Okay switch,” he said again. I went back to punching. “Don’t look where you’re going to hit. It makes it too easy for me to block you.”
“That makes sense. What year are you in?” I asked him.
“Second,” he said.
“What do you shift into?”
“I’m a gryphon. If you’re not a dragon, what do you think you’ll be?”
“I have no idea.”
“When’s your birthday?”
“September first.”
“Well you don’t have long to wait, then.”
Just when I thought my arms were going to actually fall off my shoulders and run for their lives, Professor Sarah walked to the front of the class and called for us to stop. I let out a relieved sigh and shook my
