He looked around for Toby or Tina but didn’t see them. He didn’t know anybody else, and he didn’t know where he was going or what he was doing. He felt very, very lost. Aiden dug his class list out of his bag. At least that was something. Wandering through the crowded halls, he checked classroom numbers until he found the right one for his homeroom.
There weren’t as many desks as he was used to. Class sizes must be smaller here. A few kids were already in their seats in a little cluster at the back, chatting. Part of him wanted to join in, but he felt awkward. They looked like friends and probably didn’t want a stranger interrupting. He sat in the opposite corner, a row of empty desks between them.
The warning bell rang. Other kids trickled in, the desks filling up. He hoped Toby was in the class so he would at least know somebody. Every time someone walked in, he glanced up. Aiden had to remind himself not to stare as he tried to guess what kind of monster each kid was. That pale girl, maybe a vampire. The boy with a pentacle around his neck, a witch. Another vampire—no, he had pointed ears. A werewolf?
Aiden had almost gathered the courage to say hello to the pretty girl with long blond hair next to him, but the final bell rang and the teacher got up to close the door.
“Good evening,” she said.
The kids muttered a greeting.
“We have a new student. Aiden, please stand up and say hello.”
Everyone turned to look at him, and he wanted to melt into his seat. He stood up long enough to wave and say hi.
“Aiden is a changeling, a fae. His family just moved here, and I hope you’ll all be welcoming to him.”
Low whispers went through the room as the looks turned surprised. Mr. Johnson had said fae were rare, and if a class full of monsters was surprised, it must be true. As if he didn’t feel like he stood out enough already. Everyone else seemed to know each other.
“Now, I’ll take attendance quickly and we’ll get started. We have a lot to cover today.”
The door opened and a handsome boy stepped in. Aiden’s stomach did a little flip. The boy wore a black shirt and jeans, and his short hair stuck up every which way, as if he hadn’t bothered to comb it.
“Dylan,” the teacher said, “so nice of you to join us.”
Dylan ignored her and kept walking. There were only two empty desks, one at the very front and the other just in front of Aiden. Dylan slid into the seat closest to Aiden, his disinterested gaze shifting to slight surprise for a moment when their eyes met. Then he turned and slumped into the chair, backpack dropping to the floor.
The class was a normal one, at least. It was U.S. History, and Aiden could almost pretend he was at a normal school. He’d missed the first three weeks of class, but he knew a little bit of history from middle school and he was confident he could catch up. The teacher gave him a textbook and Aiden took lots of notes on the reading he’d need to do.
With dismay, he headed off to his next class: Minor Magical Control. Mr. Johnson had explained that it was classroom-based practice to control simpler, less dangerous types of magic. Things like glamours, levitating small objects, and accelerating plant growth. The day Mr. Johnson had appeared to tell Aiden he was a fae changeling, Aiden had made the tomatoes in the backyard go from tiny nubs to almost ripe.
He wanted to learn how to control his power, but he knew the other kids had years of practice. He was going to look like an idiot.
The history teacher pointed out his locker so Aiden could drop off his book. As he was closing the locker door, he saw the blond girl he’d sat next to.
“Hi there.”
The girl gave him a look and rolled her eyes. With a little sigh, she turned and walked away. So much for making friends.
The teacher in Minor Magical Control greeted him right away. “Hello there. Aiden, right? I’m Mr. Kecskemeti, but you can call me Mr. K.” He pointed out a seat. “I’ll have Maggie sit with you. She’ll be able to help you out. Don’t worry about being behind the other students. I want you to concentrate on making progress, not comparing yourself to anyone else, okay?”
Aiden nodded, but he knew he’d compare himself anyway. Maybe he couldn’t catch up right away, but he’d have to eventually. He didn’t want to be held back. If he didn’t graduate with the rest of his class, he’d be stuck in Shadow Valley for an extra year, and so would his parents. Once he graduated and was certified, he’d be able to go anywhere he wanted.
Maggie arrived and introduced herself. She wore a pink headband and a Hello Kitty T-shirt, not at all what he expected. Most of the kids here wore black or gray. “Aiden, nice to meet you.” She shook his hand, a wide smile on her face. “This must all seem really strange to you.”
He nodded. “A month ago, I thought I was a normal human.”
“What are you, if you don’t mind me asking?” She smiled again. “I’m not trying to be rude, but it helps to know what you are so I understand what kind of magic you might be able to do.”
“I’m a changeling. Fae.”
Her eyes widened. “Wow. Full-blooded fae. No wonder you feel so strong. You have major mojo, mister.”
“Yeah, but I have no idea how to use it.”
She patted his arm. “That’s what I’m here for. I’m a witch, by the way. From a very long bloodline. Oh, sorry, that sounded like bragging. I didn’t mean it like that; I just mean that my family has been practicing magic for a long time, so I have experience.”
“Okay.” Aiden didn’t know what else to say.
The class was a failure, as he’d feared. The assignment was to lift a piece of paper from another desk and onto their own. Some could do it, some had partial success. Aiden couldn’t even get the paper to flutter. He was used to doing well in school, so this made him feel stupid.
“Don’t worry about it.” Maggie nudged him. “You can try again tomorrow.”
She’d demonstrated lifting the paper, and it had looked so easy. Aiden was so focused on his failure that he barely thought about how weird this was.
The next class was math, a welcome relief, although he was having trouble staying awake. In the normal world, it was almost bedtime. Here, it was almost time for lunch. It was going to take a while to get used to this new schedule. When the bell rang for lunch, all he could think about was how much he wanted to sleep.
He followed the mass of students to the lunchroom. Seeing the food woke him up but did nothing for his appetite. Do I even want to know what that stuff is? Piles of meat, some of it not cooked, tall bottles full of red liquid, roasted insects. Aiden put a hand to his mouth and started to turn away.
“Hey, new kid.” It was the handsome boy from homeroom, Dylan. “I think you want that side.” He pointed to the other end of the lunchroom where kids were filling their trays from a different buffet line.
“What’s over there?”
The corner of Dylan’s mouth turned up. “Human food.”
A pale boy with hunched shoulders pushed past Aiden and grabbed a tray, filling his plate with raw meat. Aiden’s stomach rolled again, and he tried hard not to breathe in the smells. He followed Dylan to the other side of the room, sure he wasn’t going to be able to eat anything no matter what was over there. Still, he let out a sigh of relief when he saw a pile of salad.
“There’s nothing weird about this, right?” he asked Dylan.
“Nope. Regular human food.”
“Why are there two different lines?”
Dylan shrugged. “Food safety or something. And for the squeamish ones like you.” He smirked again. God, he was handsome.
Aiden thought he should try to eat something, so he got salad and an apple. Dylan got a cheeseburger with a huge pile of fries, and the sight of the meat made Aiden queasy. At the end of the line, he expected to see a cashier, but there wasn’t one. That’s right. Mr. Johnson had said meals were free.
Dylan sat down at an empty table and Aiden set his tray down across from him.
“Who said you could sit there?” Dylan snapped.
Feeling cold, Aiden lifted his tray. So much for making friends.
As he turned, Dylan said, “Hey. I didn’t mean that. You can sit if you want.”
Aiden hesitated. Dylan probably only felt sorry for him. What kind of sad puppy face was he making? Glancing over the room, he looked for Maggie. She was too energetic, but at least she was nice. He didn’t see her, and the tables were filling up. Everybody already had friends, probably ones they knew from middle school, even elementary school.
Holding back a sigh, he sat down across from Dylan. He thought he should say something, but didn’t know what. Thank him? Tell him not to be a jerk? Dylan picked up his cheeseburger and started eating. Aiden poked at his salad.
Some other kids sat at the far end of the table, giving them odd glances. As more and more kids found seats, the side where Aiden and Dylan sat stayed empty. Kids walking by gave them odd looks.
Finally, Aiden had to say something. “Why isn’t anyone sitting with us?”
“It’s me, not you,” Dylan said between bites of fries. The cheeseburger was already gone.
“Why?” Aiden started to worry that he was sitting next to something so dangerous that other monsters didn’t want to get near it.
Dylan shrugged. “People don’t like me.”
Aiden rolled his apple around on his plate. “Why? What are you?”
Dylan gave him a look and there was something in his eyes, a glint or a glow. It made Aiden feel like something small and helpless, a mouse standing in front of a lion. Then it faded and a slight hint of a smile touched Dylan’s lips.
“You’ll find out.”