The Chosen Ones

Chapter two

Mythology was a poor way to start the day, and it only went downhill after second period. The only good thing about English was the teacher, early-twenties, Russian native Mr. Selin.

From the gossip mill around school, Twilight figured he was probably a human, but with his tall frame, wide chest and muscular arms, that didn't seem to matter to anyone. It probably explained why his class had such a high female ratio.

Mr. Selin spoke loudly, his words heavy with his accent, as the bell rang. "Remember your essay on the symbolism in The Scarlet Letter. Due tomorrow everyone. Don't forget."

Twilight gathered her books and followed Evie out of the room. Her head was already reeling, and it was only second period. Four more periods today, but at least next period promised to be better. No thinking for whole period, at least.

As Twilight and Evie walked down to the ground floor, Evie told Twilight about a new healing ritual her dad was considering getting a witch doctor to perform. The more Twilight heard about it, the worse she felt.

But she knew it was a sensitive topic and she needed to tread carefully. Instead, she threw caution out the window. "Your dad needs to get over it," Twilight said with a head shake.

"He's just trying to help," Evie argued.

Twilight gave her a narrowed glare. "He married a human. He had to have expected this." Witch doctors weren't that reliable. Or trustworthy. They definitely had unconventional methods.

Evie's face fell. "I know, but Jacob was a late bloomer too. He's just hopeful I am too."

Twilight rolled her eyes and stepped into the locker rooms. Down the hall, she could already hear what sounded like basketballs being tossed around in the gym. Basketball didn't sound that bad. While Twilight was never overly athletic, she did go for the occasional run. Just enough to burn off the chocolate she ate. "Jacob was fourteen. You're past the expiry date, Evie."

Evie dropped her backpack onto a wooden bench and slipped out of her shoes. At one stage, they didn't think Evie's brother Jacob would shift either, but one day, he did. She'd never forget how ecstatic their dad had been. Another shapeshifter in the family. Evie just wanted to be part of that. Find her own magic.

"And besides," Twilight continued, shrugging off her jacket and reaching into her gym bag for some spare clothes. "Being a human is easy. I swear, Mr. Kendrin is trying to kill one of us."

Evie's eyes crinkled but she couldn't bring herself to smile. "Having magic would be fun."

"Magic is always fun," Twilight agreed, yanking off her shirt and pulling on another one that settled against her body like a second skin. "But hard work. Mr. Kendrin never gives us any breaks." Twilight loved her magic, she loved being a shapeshifter, but Manifesting, a class dedicated to learning to control her powers, has caused more than one panic attack in the past.

Twilight and Evie finished dressing in silence. After she was dressed, Twilight made sure to grab some wipes from her backpack and clean her face, erasing the makeup on her face. The last thing she wanted was to go through gym with panda eyes because she sweated.

Fastening her thick, dark locks into a band, Twilight followed Evie out of the locker rooms, gathering in the gym with the rest of the class. Twilight was slightly disheartened to learn that Coach Halona didn't have basketball on the agenda for the day.

Instead, a violent game of dodgeball filled the lesson.

Dodging and weaving as best as she could, Twilight only lasted a few minutes until one rubbery ball caught her in the gut and knocked the wind out of her. She cast a nasty glare at the one responsible, not even surprised to find a nasty smirk on Teddy Wilborn's face. She was certain he threw that ball unnecessarily hard.