Blight Academy

Not Very Subtle

I'm captivated by the words in front of me, the knowledge of werewolves I had previously had were all lies. They way they transformed, having packs, an alpha, a 'mate'. It was all different than I had once thought. I decided to get into the books Mr. Ivan had given me while I waited for Thoman and my friends to arrive for dinner. I eat absentmindedly at my fries while reading; werewolves throughout history.
I look up to look across the room but jump in fright. Looking at Jayden sitting across from me. He looked back at me with red eyes, his skin still pale as moonlight and hair like golden locks slicked over to the side. One strand stood loose over his right eye.
"What game do you think you are you playing?" Jayden asks.
"What?" I say confused.
Jayden sighs. "You're just a first year, you shouldn't have been able to beat me in a level four class."
"Look, Jayden, I didn't mean to bruise your ego," I say. "I was just doing my best."
"Bullshit!" Jayden spits out, banging his fist on the table in anger. "Tell me how?"
"Fine," I say, noticing his clear display of anger. "I studied it for two years at Harvard, that's how! I was- I was top of my class."
"So you know your stuff but it still doesn't explain how you were able to figure out that code so quickly," Jayden says lightly sniffing the air. "You don't smell right."
"Are you saying I cheated?" I say and he shakes his head.
"No, you literally don't smell right," he says. I smell my shirt but I don't smell any different. He shakes his head, standing to lean over me. "Look, I've been here for four years. I've worked hard to be in that class."
"I never meant too-"
"Shut up!" He yells. "I'm not gonna let some newbie come in and show me up like that! Got it!"
The people around us start to stare, I try not to notice but I can't help wonder what they must be thinking.
"You better watch your back, you gypsy scum," he says and I looked down at my food in shame.
"What going on here?" A voice says and I look up to see Thoman, Sapphire and Alice standing tall beside me, arms crossed with an angry look on their faces. It was Thoman who had spoke.
Jayden looks over, face stern and cold. "Just talking to my new classmate, is that a problem?"
"Yeah, it is a problem," Thoman says, stepping closer to Jayden, towering over him. "Your conversation ends now, I suggest you leave."
Jayden scowls. "I wouldn't talk to me like that fishboy, you wouldn't want me doing something I might regret."
Thoman clenches his fists, trying his hardest not to punch Jayden in the jaw. I watch on as Jayden tempts Thoman on with with his eyes, just daring him to punch him. I swear he would have if it weren't for Alice's hand on his arm.
Sapphire speaks before Jayden can say a word.
"Is it getting hot in here," she says, clicking her fingers and setting her hand on fire. "Or is it just me."
Jayden's eyes widen as he looks into the orange flames. He takes a deep breaths trying to keep his cool. He takes a step back with his hands in the air before turning to me.
"I'll see you in class," he says coldly before walking out of the dinner hall.
I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding. Everyone sits down and I can't help but feel small in my seat.
"What was that about?" Thoman asks, unable to contain himself.
I just look down at my plate, unwilling to look him in the eyes. "It was nothing."
Thoman's hand grips onto my shoulder, hard. "That wasn't nothing."
"It doesn't matter," I say.
"If he's try's to hurt you, I'll beat him to a pulp-" Thoman says and I snap, shaking off his tight grip.
"No you won't," I say, finally facing Thoman in a fir of anger. "Violence isn't the answer for everything. I can handle jerks like Jayden on my own! Okay!"
I realised that I had started to yell and I was left staring into the blue of Thoman's eyes. We held an intense stare for a long time, just reading the emotions that betrayed us on our faces. After a while I couldn't take it and I look away, standing from my seat, ready to leave.
"I'm not hungry," I say. "I'm going to bed."
~~~
It's been a few hours after the threat from Jayden and the fight with Thoman. I don't know what got me so angry at Thoman but the way Jayden had talked to me had made me feel on edge. Never had I felt so insulted. I haven't even had much experience being a gypsy and the insult hurt me more than any insult thrown at me before. You gypsy scum. The words still echo in my mind.
I try to distract myself by reading my werewolf history book again. I was almost finished too but my mind kept drifting off and I had to keep reading back where my eyes had continued to follow. I feel a sharp pain up my spine and I arch my back in protest. It goes away but I feel it again soon after, sharper this time and I scream out without meaning to. The pain lingers, jabbing at my back like a knife digging into my muscles.
Skren pops his head out of his tent, noticing my distress. He suddenly runs to my side without question. Placing a hand on my sweating forehead, he feels for a temperature but quickly pulls his hand back as if he had been burnt. I watch as he looks into my eyes, cursing as if he was seeing something.
"Your getting the symptoms, badly!" he says, pulling back my covers. "I need to get you to the infirmary."
He pulls me out of bed, placing my arm around his shoulder and wrapping his around my waist. He carries my weight as he guides me down the hall. The pain in my back increasing, reminding me of the time at the hospital. The pain airily similar to that of the pain I'm feeling now. Skren guides me through some doors and I think about the first time we meet.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" I ask, feeling wheezy.
Skren sighs. "I wasn't in to best of moods that day."
"Yeah, I figured," I say.
"I'm sorry," he says, pausing as we go up the stairs. "Friends?"
"Sure," I say nodding but a sudden wash of nausea hit me and I bent over to hurl, vomiting all over the nice wooden steps.
Skren grimaces and hurries to get me too the infirmary faster.