woke early and was ready before Jade knocked on my door.
I had spent most of the night thinking over the events of the previous day. So much had happened in such a short amount of time, and I still had so many questions left to ponder.
”Is it true?” I heard, coming from behind me.
I turned to see Jade and Lisa running toward me. Huge smiles lit their faces and I was unsure of what they were so excited about. I moved to the small kitchen area and poured myself a cup of coffee and grabbed a banana from a bowl of fruit on the counter.
”Is what, true?” I asked.
“Rumor is that you and Finn are a new item,” Lisa giggled, raising her brows at me.
“What?” I shrieked. “Who is saying that?” I asked.
“Apparently, people saw you two out in the rose garden last night,” Jade explained.
Mortified didn’t even begin to describe how I felt right now. I never liked being the center of attention and now, I have people already talking about me and I’ve only been here two days. Sensing my unease, Jade tried to lighten the situation.
“Don’t worry about it. Around here, something is bound to happen that will get people’s attention on something else,” Jade said, throwing an arm around my shoulder.
We finished eating our breakfast and then rushed down to our first class.
***
I managed to get through half of the day without anyone asking me about Finn.
As Jade promised, there was a major break-up that happened during the second hour between a Vampire and Witch that had everyone forgetting about me and Finn. By the time I got to my last class of the day, Social Sciences, I was ready for a distraction.
Walking into the class, I stopped dead in my tracks as I spotted Ace sitting at the back of the room. What was he doing here? Yesterday, he hadn’t been in the class, so why was he here now?
Stalking to the back of the room, I sat down in the seat I was assigned yesterday. Directly in front of Ace. Turning, I glared his way.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
Ace never mentioned earlier today when he followed me through the halls, that he would be in my last class of the day.
Smirking, Ace shook his head. “I’m taking a class. Isn’t that obvious?” he asked.
Ok, I didn’t like the sarcastic side of him. I would much rather deal with his moody side than whatever this was.
“I see that,” I snapped. “Why are you in this class?”
“Electra felt it was necessary for me to be in at least one of your classes, and this one seemed to fit just right,” he said, meaning hidden behind his words.
Huffing, I spun back around. Knowing I couldn’t do anything about this, I vowed to just ignore him like he had done me until now.
As our professor walked into the room, I sat up straighter. Professor Hardy was a young man with blonde hair and dressed more like a young businessman than the other professors I had seen at the school.
“Let’s get started,” he announced, as he stood behind his wooden desk.
We all signed into our chromebooks and went to the class website where all of the lessons were stored. I was excited when I saw that today’s lesson was labeled, Trackers.
A girl sitting in the front row with a short haircut, raised her hand.
“Professor Hardy, will we be studying the recent Tracker attacks?” she asked.
My stomach dropped as I wondered how recent those attacks were.
“Yes, we will discuss that but not today. Our focus today is the dangers the Trackers place on Supernaturals. It is imperative that young students learn about this threat and how to fight against them.” He paused for a second, drawing in a breath. “While this is only your second day in this class, I want to be sure that I teach you everything there is to know about the Trackers.”
Everyone sat quietly in the room, patiently waiting to hear what he said next. A familiar sense of dread filled me. My body began to tingle and an overwhelming urge to get a fresh breath of air took over. Though I fought the feeling down, it still caused my stomach to drop and I felt sick.
“For centuries, groups of humans who are aware of Supernaturals have been trying to eradicate us from the world. They see us as a threat to their lives, but in reality, these Trackers are more of a danger to us. They are trained in powerful persuasion techniques so that they can manipulate our kind – drawing us in so that we don’t see them for the threat that they are.”
His words were like a knife to the gut. Had my mom and dad been murdered by someone they knew and trusted? Had I ever been around a Tracker not known? My head spun and I suddenly realized that this world I was now forced to be part of, wasn’t all fun and magic. It was dangerous, cruel, and hated by an entire group of people.
A boy sitting in front of me, raised his hand. He was extremely pale and I wondered if he were a Vampire.
“Professor Hardy, if we are Supernaturals, shouldn’t we be able to kill all of the Trackers?” he asked.
It was a logical enough question, but I knew that the answer was going to prove more difficult than any of us students could ever imagine.
Shaking his head, no, Professor Hardy dawned a sad look. “I’m afraid, not. You see, Trackers don’t look like the vile, evil monsters that they are. As humans, they look like anybody you would see walking down the street. Over the years, Supernaturals have come to trust humans and build relationships with them. We aren’t aware that we are in danger until it is too late,” he stated.
Something sparked in my brain like a lightbulb coming to life. Before I knew what I was doing, words came flooding out of my mouth. “If Trackers are our biggest threat, then why can’t the Shifters mate with other Supernaturals?”
I clamped my mouth shut and cringed internally. I had thought the words, but never intended to say them aloud. It was a thought that only I was supposed to consider. A few heads turned my way and I wanted to crawl under the table and hide.
“Brie, is it?” Professor Hardy asked.
“Yes,” I croaked out.
“You ask a valid question. Shifters have always been considered less than most of the other Supernaturals because of their lack of power. The segregation began decades ago and while most of us now don’t agree with the rule, we are not prohibited to change them. Only the Supernatural Council has that authority,” he said solemnly.
It still didn’t seem fair, but I wasn’t going to push the topic any further. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ace sitting rigid in his chair. His eyes were cast down and his jaw was set tight. This must be difficult for him to hear– to listen to someone say he is less than when, in reality, he should be an equal and same as me. For a brief moment, I felt Ace. Maybe that was why he was always in such a foul mood?
For the remainder of the class, I made sure to keep my mouth closed and listened to the lecture. It was very disheartening, but informative nonetheless. By the time the day was over, I was beyond ready for a mental break. I had been so excited to come here and now, a terrible sense of dread was filling me. For the first time in my life, I wished that I wasn’t a Supernatural.