Page 7 of Baseball and Shifters

“You could have at least let her walk into the room fully on her own.” She rolls pretty hazel eyes. “Don’t worry about her, she’s harmless…mostly.”

I huff a laugh. “I’m so relieved. I’m Rachel, by the way.”

“Oh! What a pretty name! I’m Dallas! But I guess you know that. That’s Aubree. She’s basically my sister, I can’t believe they let us room together! Sorry, I’m a little excited,” she grimaces.

“Oh, you’re Aubree and Dallas? I just met your parents downstairs!” I say, excited to have any connection with my new roommates.

“Ugh, you mean they're still here?” Aubree groans, sinking back into the couch.

The girl with the light brown hair and librarian chic style sitting next to her snorts out a laugh.

“Thank God I came early. I would hate having to move in during this madness,” her snark makes me smile.

“Oh, and that’s Maya. She got here a week ago, she’s a liberal arts major and wants to be a journalist so she came in early to secure a spot on the school newspaper,” Dallas continues as she begins the tour. “The living room and kitchen are communal spaces and there’s a guest bathroom. We all have our own rooms but we share en-suites. Aubree and I share one bathroom and you and Maya share the other,”

That’s such a relief. I had no clue what to expect, but from some of the books I read, most colleges have communal bathrooms where an entire floor of girls will share a large bathroom with multiple stalls for showers. The fact that I don’t have to leave my room to go to the bathroom is truly amazing to me and just another reason Iknowthis academy is going to change my life for the better.

I follow her through the living room to the door on the other side of the TV. I’m actually surprised by how nice it is.

Straight ahead, there’s a large bed, it must be a full size if not a queen. To my right is a desk and bookshelf and to the left, there are two doors, presumably one leads to the bathroom I was told about. The whole room is warm and inviting, and much larger than I had hoped for.

Dallas leaves me to get unpacked, but only thanks to Aubree’s insistence. Even if she hadn’t told me, I could tell those two have a connection. Aubree seems pretty laid back compared to Dallas’s eagerness and I have a feeling she’s been the calm to Dallas’s crazy for years.

Once I’m unpacked, I sit on my new bed and take a breather. This day has been a whirlwind and it’s only just begun. By the time I bravely venture out of my room again, I find the others surrounding a table that’s absolutely covered with food.

“We didn’t know what you’d want, so we got a little of everything,” Dallas explains.

“Tomorrow we’ll show you how to get your own food from the cafe,” Aubree adds.

“It’s so cool!” Maya gushes. “Of course, being raised human, most everything around here is fascinating and amazing to me.”

“You were raised human? You poor girl,” Dallas says.

“Dallas,” Aubree hisses.

“No, it’s fine. Yeah. I just found out about shifters like a month ago when I turned into a freakinghorseon my twenty-first birthday. It was quite a shock. My mom never knew my dad was a shifter. She didn’t believe me when I told her. They even tried to have me committed until I shifted in front of them and Dad couldn’t lie about it anymore.”

“Holy shit. I’m so sorry,” Dallas says.

“Thanks. At the very least I’m happy we aren’t like the shifters in the books I’ve read. Most of them seem to shred their clothes every time they shift.” She shudders at the thought. “Could you imagine if I had been nude when I shifted back?”

We all dissolve into giggles at that. She is absolutely correct of course. If I ended up naked every time I shifted, I don’t know that I’d ever be able to shift again.

“Yeah we’re lucky like that, it’s the only real magic we have outside of shifting. Thank goodness for the Witches, even if they terrify me,” Dallas cringes slightly at her admission but continues on. “We wouldn’t have access to most of the magic used here at the academy without them. They’re the ones who charmed the elective rooms in Harold Hall to be whatever the teacher needs them to be.”

“Witches? That is so cool! Since I’m not talking to my father anymore, I had no clue where I’d be able to learn anything about shifters until I received a letter from the school. I don’t know who signed me up for it but it was like getting my letter toHogwarts.”

“Well, welcome,muggle,” Dallas laughs.

“Happy to be here,” Maya giggles.

“How crazy that he told you absolutely nothing about us,” I add. “Not that I don’t know a thing or two about terrible fathers but I can’t imagine not being raised knowing about shifters or anyone else in the supernatural community.”

Dallas seems to take a deep breath when no one asks why she’s afraid of the witches. I’ll let it be for now but I hope at some point she feels more comfortable, and talks to us about it.

“Wait, did you say ’others’ in the supernatural community? There are more than just shifters and witches?” Maya’s awe is sort of adorable.

“Oh yeah,” Aubree tosses in, “the main four types are shifters, witches, vampires and gargoyles. But you probably won’t interact with many of them here. The only time we really see any of them is at sporting events when we play their colleges.”

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