Netherbeast Academy {REBOOT}

Twilight: Netherbeast Academy

Chapter 2

Waking up to the blaring sound of an alarm, I opened my eyes to see my so-called father opening the window. The early dawn breeze filled the room, carrying the cool scent of morning. Sunlight spilled across the floor.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Father said, pulling a school uniform out of the cupboard.
"This is what you'll be wearing for school. You can visit us after the school term. Luckily for you, our house isn't far from the Academy — I'm sure we'll see each other around," he added, sitting down beside me.

"Dad, can I ask you something?" I said as I got up from bed.

"You can ask me anything," he replied.

"Okay... didn't you ever miss us when we were away?" I asked, hoping for a genuine answer.

Father sighed. "Of course I missed you. I missed you all. It was hard staying away from my family. Your mother, Jake, and you — you were the only people I thought about for the past fifteen years. I wanted to come see you, but if I had... I would have put you all in grave danger. Please forgive me," he said, holding my hands in his warm, rough grip.

"No... I mean yes. It's fine," I said, smiling.

"Great, then. You should probably get ready now — you don't want to be late on your first day," Father said, laughing as he made his way out of the room.

I quickly put on my uniform, grabbed my blue suitcase, and headed downstairs. At the dining table, Jake was already eating breakfast with Mother. I joined them in silence; the whole atmosphere felt heavy and awkward.

Jake, being Jake, broke the tension by suddenly putting down his fork.
"I'm full now. Don't wanna lose this good physique of mine so soon," he joked.

Finally, the air lightened a little with laughter.

"We need to get going — we're gonna be late," Father said, grabbing his bag.

We sprinted like maniacs through the forest.
"How come you people live in such modern houses but don't even have cars? How do you get around?" I asked between breaths.

"If you haven't noticed, we don't use anything that would disturb the forest — like electricity or cars. We're very protective of it," Father explained as we ran.

Finally, we reached our destination. I stood at the gates, watching different Netherbeast teenagers stream into the Academy grounds. A whole school of supernatural beings...
This is going a bit too fast, I thought.

"Go on," Father said, nudging us forward.

Jake and I stepped inside — and immediately had to duck as an eagle swooped at us! We hit the ground, then watched as the eagle shifted midair into a tall, supermodel-like teenage girl. I could swear Jake was practically drooling.

She sauntered toward us.
"You two don't seem like you're from around here, are you?" she asked.

"Well, no. We just joined the Academy," I said, lifting my chin.

"Freshmen, huh? You better stick with me. The students here don't exactly love freshmen," she said with a mischievous smile, extending her hand.
"Hi. I'm Rachel McKenzie. What's your name?"

I didn't want to make any fake friends, but having someone who knew the ropes could be useful. Smiling, I shook her hand.

"My name's Twilight Anderson."

"And my name's also Jake Anderson, but it doesn't matter," Jake said awkwardly.

Rachel smiled politely at Jake, then turned her full attention back to me.
"Nice names. Both of you. Follow me — I'll take you to the girls' dormitories. Right this way."

I glanced at Jake with pleading puppy eyes, not wanting to leave him alone. Rachel noticed.
"Don't worry, your friend will be fine," she said.

"Actually, Jake's my twin brother," I corrected her. "And didn't you just say students here don't go easy on freshmen?"

"Well, yeah. But it's fine — I'll have my friend Michael come get him. Speak of the devil, there he is."

She pointed toward a tall, raven-haired boy talking with friends across the courtyard. Rachel whistled to catch his attention.

"Hey, Michael!" she called.

He looked over and jogged toward us. As he got closer, I caught sight of his perfect brown eyes and sharp jawline.
He was breathtaking.
I could feel butterflies stirring in my stomach when he spoke.

"Rachel, you called for me?" Michael said, his voice sweet and angelic.

"Yeah. I need you to look after Jake here — he's a freshman. I'm taking his sister, Twilight, to the girls' dorms. Would you mind helping him settle into the boys' side?"

Michael smiled at Jake.
"Of course, why not? Follow me — Jake, right? Hanging around girls all day will definitely earn you a bad rep around here."

"Shut up, Michael!" Rachel yelled, laughing as Michael dragged Jake away.

"Guys never change, do they?" I said, watching them run off.

"You have no idea. Come on — let's get you settled. Classes start tomorrow, and you'll need time to find your way around," Rachel said.

"Why?"

"Because you don't want to accidentally walk into the wrong room after term starts," Rachel said, smirking.
"Trust me — learned that the hard way."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" I said excitedly.

We weaved through the corridors and past a spacious hall, where I caught a glimpse of my father talking to a pale, average-looking man. I brushed it off and kept following Rachel until we reached a door with a ridiculous pink sign reading Girls Dormitory.

Rachel pushed open the door, and what I saw made my jaw drop.

Inside was a beautiful lounge painted in blue and white. A marble statue of two teenagers — a boy and a girl — stood proudly in the center. Three couches were spaced around the room: one near a bookshelf, another near a large trunk, and the last by a door. It was empty now, but not for long.
It looked like a girls' common room.

"This way," Rachel said, tugging me toward the back door.
"You don't want to get caught by the matron. She's really strict. Not even a fly gets past her unnoticed."

"How strict are we talking?" I asked.

"Strict enough to send a freshman home on their first day," she said.

I fell silent. The idea of going back to the place I'd come from — back to fake friends and fake smiles — made my stomach twist.

We headed down a staircase into a white-painted corridor lined with pictures of teenage girls — the same ones from the statue. Rachel led me to a door labeled Room 047.

"Here we are. Here's your room key," Rachel said, handing it over.

"How did you—"

"Just take it," she interrupted.

Quietly, we opened the door and brought my luggage inside.
The room was small but cozy: white walls, a shelf above the bed, and a closet waiting to be filled.

As we unpacked, Rachel spotted something on the floor — a necklace with a golden dragon pendant.

"What's this for?" she asked, holding it up.

"It was a gift from my mother on my fourteenth birthday. She told me to never take it off. I don't know why," I said, taking the necklace from her and slipping it around my neck.

"Your mom's weird," Rachel teased, sitting on the bed.

"You have no idea," I said with a laugh. "But I love her anyway. So... when are we going sightseeing?"

Rachel checked her phone. "It's only two o'clock. Why not now? It'll be fun. Let's go!"

We stood up, grinning, and left my room — Rachel dragging me behind her toward whatever adventure lay ahead.