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My class was filled with twenty twelfth graders who thought they knew all about life and its challenges. My job was to remind them that they knew shit. I didn’t mind. I always enjoyed paying it forward.
I thought I was going to have to do something to quiet them down, but the moment I walked through the door, silence fell all around. They gaped at me. A few had enough of their heads screwed on to pull out their schedules and check.
“Yes,” I said, walking to the front. Rophan went to the back to get a clear view of the room. “You are in Natural Existence class. And yes, I am your teacher.”
“Um, but you’re not Ms. Libra,” a brave soul said. A teacher’s pet by the way she sat in the front row, a shiny new notebook opened to a blank page, and a pen poised, ready to write.
I snorted. “Not at all.” I smiled big, feeling like I pulled off a funny prank. “I didn’t want people knowing I was the teacher for this. At least, not until classes started. So consider yourselves special.”
I waved my hand at the chalkboard, letting the magic do its job and write my name on it for me. The sound of the chalk scratching against the hard surface filled the air as I faced the class and grinned.
“My name is Adeelah Neutral. I think it’s obvious that I’m from the Neutral family line.” I increased the wattage of my smile to blinding. “This class is what the name says, Natural Existence. We’ll be covering the different types of Naturals. What makes them one type of Natural over another, and how to classify them if they don’t fit into a particular classification. Look around you at all the other students.” I counted to five, giving them a chance to do just that. “I can tell you there are seven different types of Naturals in this room, and I didn’t need a dossier to tell me that. Without giving it away, I want you to write what you think those seven are. No talking. All you get to do is look around at the other students.”
A boy with glowing red hair lifted his hand up.
“And the man at the back? Is he part of this exercise?”
“Is he a student?” I asked.
The boy looked so confused and unsure of how to answer. I decided to put him out of his misery.
“Ignore him,” I said. The students did the opposite of what I just said and twisted in their seats to get a good look at Rophan.
“But who is he?” the boy asked, unwilling to back down without an answer.
I pretended to think about that. “Hmm, maybe a teacher’s aide?”
Rophan cleared his throat. “I’m a guard.”
I rolled my eyes. “Like I said, an aide to keep me, the teacher, alive. Ignore him. Think of him as wall dressing.”
“Touch Adeelah and I will remove your hand from your body and make sure it can’t grow back or be reattached.”
The students all froze and gaped at him, their mouths hanging open. A few of them went pale at the threat. I knew Rophan would never touch a student unless they really did try to hurt me intentionally, so I didn’t bother with taking his threat seriously. The students didn’t know that though and a few of the more submissive Naturals looked ready to pee themselves or kneel down.
I sighed. Intense man. “A deadly wall dressing then. He’s not a student, so no, he isn’t part of this exercise. Now. Do what I said. No talking.”
Leaning against the desk, I watched as they scratched away on paper, not making a peep. My eyes met Rowan’s. The room felt like it melted away as I got lost in his magic zinging through his eyes. There was an edge to him, something that made it impossible to look away.
So instead of falling to my knees and calling him master like my dirty thoughts pushed me to do, I settled on making a funny face. I blew out my cheeks, crossed my eyes, and tilted my head. When I could see him clearly, I saw the smile that he tried to hide. Smirking, I let him know he was caught.
Once all the scratching of pens died down, I said, “Pass them forward.”
I collected all the papers, looked through them, and snorted. “This, here, is proof that you don’t know anything.” I shook my head. “Banshee? Really? Where?”
No one said anything, unwilling to admit they’d put that silly answer down. I looked at the name.
“Jorsen?” I looked over at a small boy with a tattoo on his forehead to show his lineage. He came from a line of true monks who specialized in spiritual magic, dealing with ghosts and bad juju. They were the best when it came down to clearing tainted magic. “Who do you think the banshee is?” I asked.
His face went bright red as he tried to slump into his seat.
I leaned back against my desk. “I have all day,” I said. “And I can keep you here until you answer.”
He pointed at a girl with long black hair, big round black eyes, and white alabaster skin. She was almost ghostly.
I rolled my eyes. “Really?” I asked.
He tried to hide from all the eyes currently trained on him.
“Tell me one thing, energy or magic? What do they use?” I asked.
“Energy.”
“Now look at her,” I said. “Does she use energy or magic?”
Others snickered in the room, already knowing the answer to it. He stared at her for a minute before swallowing, thinking I’d asked a trick question. I really hadn’t.
“Energy?”
“Are you asking or telling me?”
“Energy,” he said again.
“I believe you’re in Manipulation Level Three class. I’m going to have you moved back to Level One until further notice.”
“You can’t do that!”
“I can,” I snapped back. “Someone your age, and in your position, should know automatically if someone is energy-based or magic-based. It’s clear enough that you don’t know the difference, so until you prove to me otherwise, you’re going back to the basics.”
He opened his mouth.
I raised my eyebrow in warning, challenging him to push me. “I believe there’s a class over in the junior high division that you could take.”
That had him snapping his mouth shut.
“I thought so. Now. Let’s see what other answers you guys so kindly shared with me.” I spent the next ten minutes calling students out, pushing them to think outside the box. They didn’t like it so much. I loved every second of it.
“Stand up,” I said once I finished.
They did as I said.
I pulled magic to me and snapped my fingers. Colors of paper fell in front of them and most of them grabbed it out of the air. Others were too confused to do anything but watch as they fell to the floor before picking it up.
While strong magic was impossible for me, at least I still had these little party tricks to keep up pretenses. If they found out I couldn’t do much else, I’d be screwed.
“We’re going to do a speed dating exercise. You’re already breaking into cliques and that isn’t acceptable to me. So I’m going to force you to mix it up. Just because someone isn’t your flavor of Natural doesn’t mean they aren’t worth your time. If you have an elitist viewpoint, you’re going to be forced to get rid of it here at Neutral Academy.
“Now, those with green pieces, sit your butts back down, those with red pieces, sit in front of someone with green. You have two minutes to talk to each other. Introduce yourselves, tell them your deep dark secrets. Don’t be shy. Your homework is to write about each student that you meet today. We’ll continue to randomly do this throughout the semester and by the end, you better know what kind of underwear, if any, all your classmates like to wear. If you don’t, then you didn’t do this right.” I smacked my hand against my desk, taking pleasure in the way they jumped against the loud bang. “Begin.”
Class went by quickly as the room filled with their murmurs. I walked down the aisles, listening to their conversations to make sure they stayed on point. For the most part, they did, taking the exercise seriously. That was good. I was determined to make them realize that being different types of Naturals didn’t mean squat in terms of who they fundamentally were as beings.
The bell rang just as we finished the exercise.
“Excellent. You have until next class to write up your report. Right at the beginning of the next class, you’ll hand them in. I want to know everything you learned. Don’t hold back.”
They murmured their acceptance as they walked out the door. I grinned at all of them, my first day of classes going pretty darn well.
My phone beeped as I gathered all my stuff.
I read it and laughed.
“What?” Rophan asked.
“A student is already in trouble.” I rubbed my hands together. “This is going to be good. Come, Watson, we must lower the hammer.”
“None of that made sense.”
I shrugged. “It makes perfect sense.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“Are we really going to argue over my awesomely made up famous references, or are we going to go yell at a student?”
“You’re too happy about doing that.”
“One class,” I said. “The student lasted one class. Of course, I’m happy. I live off of drama. Now, let’s go see what this kid did.”
I shoved everything into a tote bag and slung it over my shoulder before slipping out of the room. Ignoring the stares and enjoying the way they parted to let me through, I headed back to my office.
Dany lifted her head up from her desk when I walked into our suite.
“Where is my victim?” I asked.
“How was class?”
I shrugged. “Students are silly. They think they know the world.”
“And you no doubt put them in their place.”
“Darn right I did.” I passed her my little note to move some of the classes around for a couple of our students. “Until they prove otherwise, they’re going to be stuck in those classes.
She read the list. “I’ll make the changes and update everyone.”
“Now, where is my student?”
She nodded toward the waiting room, tucked into a small alcove off to the right. “Andres Tynrad,” she said. “Got into a fight.”
“Where is the other student?” I asked.
“Jaylun Met. Infirmary.”
I whistled as I grabbed the file she handed to me. Once she said their names, I knew exactly who the students were, but she understood that I liked to look all professional and prepared. The folder was more of a prop than anything else.
“You,” I said to him, barely giving my little troublemaker a glance as I walked through the waiting room. I had my stern face on. “Follow me.”
I stalked to my office with sure steps, hearing the heavy clomp of Andres’ footsteps behind me. Without having to look back, I knew Rophan was following.
Opening the door, I motioned for the kid to go in first.
“You stay here,” I said to Rophan.
“No. I’ll be inside that room.”
I shook my head. “My students have the right to confidentiality. I’m giving it to him.”
“He put a student in the infirmary.”
“Then when I scream, you can break down the door. I hear breaking doors in is pretty satisfying.”
His glower drew a laugh from me as I went inside, closing the door. Still not looking at the boy, I went around to my desk and settled in. I put the folder in front of me and then stared at the cover for a moment.
Silence ticked by, and Andres shifted uncomfortably in his seat. My head snapped up, eyes meeting his.
He froze. His dark messy curls fell into his face, almost covering his bright blue eyes. He stared back unblinkingly.
Oh, my favorite game.
I grinned.
He frowned.
I flashed teeth.
He looked down.
“I win,” I said.
His expression told me he was completely lost and didn’t know what to expect from me. Good, because I didn’t know what to expect either.
Clearing my throat, I straightened my spine and locked my hands together in front of me. With a clear, clipped voice, I said, “Do you understand why you’re here?”
His body locked up as he sat straight, preparing himself for whatever spiel he expected me to give.
My lip twitched as he looked like he was preparing himself for the March of Death—an antiquated way of punishing Naturals that hadn’t been used in decades. My body shook as a light sheen covered his skin. The air thickened as his nerves and fear skyrocketed. Giving up, I laughed. My laugh was hard enough to draw a snort out. Waving my hand, I said, “Sorry, this is too funny.” I snickered and nearly coughed when I tried to hold in my laughter. “You’re my first delinquent. How cool is that?”
“Y-you... what is wrong with you?” he stuttered out.
“Me?” I asked. “What about you. You’re the one already in trouble and it’s the first day of school. Are you stupid?”
His face flushed red. “You can’t speak to me like that!”
“Well, I just did. The way I see it, you are stupid. First day of school, during the first period, and already you sit here before me.” I tilted my head to the side, taking in his uniform and the way he wore it. Buttons were undone so the light gray blazer hung over a black t-shirt. He wore the navy-blue pants but there were wrinkles. No sign of his tie at all. “Do you even care?”
He didn’t respond.
“I can expel you if you want.” I grinned. “You’ll be the first Natural to be kicked out of the academy, and within two hours of classes starting.”
Andres’ expression darkened. “I don’t want that.”
I shrugged. “Not my problem.” I leaned forward. “What did I say at the opening ceremony?”
He refused to answer.
“Come on? Is your memory so bad that you can’t remember what happened only a couple of hours ago?”
He licked his lips, his gaze going out the window briefly. All my instincts told me there was more to this than I understood. But we weren’t in a position where he’d open up to me. Trust took time to build.
“I said you are your best advocate. I can’t help you if you don’t let me. Anything you do here is on you, and only you. You beat that kid up enough to send him to the healers. You’re not showing any remorse. You look like you’d rather be kicked out. I can do that if you want.”
“I don’t want that.” His voice was low and thick, sincerity and desperation coming out to play.
“Then help me understand what happened.” I softened my voice. “I know you, Andres Tynrad. You don’t lash out unless you have a reason to. That isn’t who you are.”
His eyes snapped to mine and widened. “Why do you think that?”
“I did my research for every student I accepted into this academy.” I tapped the folder. “Who do you think created these? Someone had to. I know everything in here because I put it there. At seven, you were separated from your parents because your father thought it’d be a good idea to turn a street kid into a human sacrifice and you spoke up, calling the authorities. In desperation to protect her husband, your mother took his side and refused to fight on your behalf. At eight, you got a scar along your stomach because a bully went too far as he picked on a girl and you got in the way. He has a matching scar along his thigh when you turned his knife against him. At eleven, you sent another boy to the hospital for daring to use magic to hurt humans. At thirteen, you ended up in the hospital because you stepped in the way of a bad man who wanted to do bad things to a woman. Shall I go on?” I leaned forward, making sure to give him my dead serious look, not something I whipped out all that often. “You don’t hurt people without a reason. You aren’t a troublemaker. You just have a way of being the unlucky idiot who likes to jump into the middle of things. You don’t back down, you fight back. It’s a good trait. One that will get you killed, has almost done it in the past. So. What really happened to make you attack that boy? I can’t make good judgment calls without the truth. Right now, you are on a big fat line. Will you stay here at the academy, or will you be expelled on the first day of classes?”
Andres’ gaze went to the window and the huge field that turned into rolling mountains outside. I waited him out, knowing he needed to collect his thoughts and work through whatever made him react the way he did with that boy.
“You personally vetted each student here?” he asked.
I nodded. “I did.”
“And you know all about us?” He sent a pointed look at the folder before me.
“Yes.”
“Then how did Jaylun Met make it here?”
“Ah,” I said, glad we were getting somewhere. “Jaylun.”
“Yes.” His jaw tightened as he worked through his anger.
“Jaylun comes from a long line of Avian shifters,” I said slowly, hoping he’d understand that choice. It was a risky one but needed. “Known warriors capable of so much.”
“Pedigree?” He sneered. “He made it in because of pedigree?”
“He made it in because of his capabilities.”
“He’s a power-hungry douchebag without respect for women and anyone he sees as cockroaches.”
“No.” I shook my head. “His father is. His grandfather too.”
He snorted. “He’s birthed from a line of chauvinistic assholes.”
I chuckled. “Yes. That he is. But it doesn’t mean he’s like that.”
Tynrad didn’t seem impressed with my words.
Sighing, I leaned back, hoping my instincts were correct about this kid. “Jaylun’s mum is a sorceress. First to marry into that family. It has put Jaylun into an interesting situation. His father’s side, that entire family line is in a vicious cycle of chauvinistic psychopathy. But his mother’s side.” I grinned. “I met his mother. She’s this cute little thing who thinks the world shits rainbows and butterflies.”
“Your point.”
“Jaylun is going to be the first. He’s going to be the one to break the cycle of becoming his father’s son. And he’s going to do that here.”
Andre did not look impressed at all. “He’s already his father’s son.”
“So you think.” I tapped my head. “But I know exactly what he’s capable of. I’m going to make him a mommy’s boy. He’s already halfway there.” I stood up. “I assure you, whatever bullshit Jaylun said is him blowing smoke to try to make himself top dog in this jungle of an academy. He won’t hurt anyone.”
“He plans to.”
I laughed. “Trust me. Jaylun is incapable of hurting anyone here. Let him say what he wants, the truth will come out eventually. I’ll make sure of it.”
I ushered him to the door and opened it. Rophan was leaning across the wall from us, arms over his wide chest, scowling. He blinked, and the scowl disappeared when he realized we stood before him.
“Done?” he asked.
“For now.” I pushed Andres out the door. “Go to class.”
“I’m not expelled?”
“Oh, thanks for reminding me. You won’t be expelled for standing up against a bully. But you will have two weeks of after school detention and there will be some rearrangement to your schedule. Maybe taking a diplomacy class will do you some good.” He winced and ran away before I could finish giving him instructions. Good kid. Too bad I didn’t need his permission to change his schedule.
I made a quick note of the punishments, including Jaylun’s for bullying and being in a fight, and did some rearranging of their schedules to keep them out of each other’s path for the rest of the semester.
Stretching, I grinned at Rophan. “Ready for a walkabout?”
“You’re still going to do those?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
Before the school opened, I made it a point to walk around the grounds every day, as often as I could. It drove everyone up a wall, especially Dany.
“Yes. Don’t worry, I won’t let you be lazy.” I eyed his body, the way his dark jeans hugged the thickness of his thighs and his dark blue t-shirt stretched over the bulk of his pectoral muscles. Yes, it’d be a shame if he got lazy.
I slipped by him and hummed, excited to see life breathed into the academy now that the students were there. And to get my thoughts off Rophan and his body.
