Page 14 of Elmwood Inclusive Magic Academy
“Harsh,” she whispers.
“Super harsh,” I whisper back.
There’s a small giggle from the row in front of us. We turn to see June in the front row, a smirk on her face.
I roll my eyes.
“Who’s that?” Hallie asks.
“I’ll fill you in later.” I can’t risk being noticed by the professor, who I am seriously regretting taking a class with. I wonder if it’s too late to transfer?
Luckily, she doesn’t single me out, or notice that I don’t have a Book of Shadows to take notes in. Most of the other students are witches, so they came prepared. Hallie and the other vampires were smart enough to bring notebooks as well.
Hallie writes on the first page of her notebook, then she shows it to me.I’ll take notes for both of us.
I smile and mouth “Thank you” back at her.
The professor launches into a lengthy, extremely boring diatribe about magical fungi and mushrooms. She doesn’t pick on any of the other students, although she dotes on June, of course. The glowing lantern light and the late hour makes me want to fall asleep, and Pan has to keep scratching my hand so I don’t doze off.
Finally, class is over and we’re free.
“I’m starving,” I say to Hallie, “want to come with me to the dining hall?”
“I can’t join you, but I’ll come!” she smiles.
“Oh, shit, sorry.” I’m really not getting the hang of this magical-beings situation. “Is that rude?”
“Not at all! I ate earlier.”
“Um, ok.” I’m not sure if I want to know what that entails.
I show her where the dining hall is and she marvels at the buffet.
“It replenishes itself!” she squeals. “It almost makes me wish I could eat human food again.”
I’m still not sure about magical world etiquette, but Hallie seems pretty chill so far, so I figure I can ask.
“Is it strange, not being about to eat like this?” I gesture towards my plate.
She shakes her head. “Honestly, food was nice, but it’s nothing compared to how incredible drinking blood is.” She wrinkles her nose. “It’s such a funny thing to say, but it’s true! It’s like chocolate cake, plus drugs, plus…I dunno, other really great things. And that’s only animal blood, I bet people blood is like, reallyreallygood.”
“Uh huh,” I nod, not sure how to respond to that.
But I’m saved by the mermaids showing up with plates of what looks like kelp. Their hair is still dripping wet and I assume they came directly out of the lake. Gwen wears a sealskin pouch that rattles as they put it down on the table.
“Oh! Hello,” I say, and introduce Hallie to the siblings. I’m not sure if I should say that they’re mermaids, but it seems sort of rude to add that, so I hope that Hallie is more observant than I am.
“Wow, I’ve never met mermaids before!” she says.
Ok, clearly sheismore observant than I am. Brimming with excitement, she starts asking them questions about how the transformation charm works, what sort of classes they’re taking, and what they eat. I’m not sure if it comes off as inappropriate, because the mermaids seem a bit more wary of her than they were of me. They don’t volunteer any information or ask her questions back.
I zone out, looking around the dining hall at the other students. It’s more packed at night, and there’s a warm, bustling charm. For a moment, I imagine I’m in the dining hall at John Johnson College, enjoying dinner with Timothy and talking about Intro to Psych and English Literature 101.
I’m jolted out of my fantasy by a loud crashing sound and several screams. Hallie, the mermaids, and I all turn to see what the commotion is.
At the other end of the hall, closer to the entrance, an enormous tawny wolf crouches. The wolf’s teeth are bared and it growls deeply. It’s clearly not a normal wolf - it’s about three times the size, and radiates with energy. A powerful tingle goes down my spine. It’s a wolf shifter, like the one who rescued me last night. But not the same one, her coat has a different pattern.
The wolf is growling at a student, who wastes no time in shifting himself. His clothes tear as he transforms into a massive, yellow panther. The students around them scramble out of their way, and a witch magics a bench in between her and several others. The panther and wolf snap at each other and start to circle.
