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LUCKILY FOR SOPHIE, her students were totally cool with watching The Emperor's New Groove instead of taking a quiz

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LUCKILY FOR SOPHIE, her students were totally cool with watching The Emperor's New Groove instead of taking a quiz.

She spent the day hovering anxiously around her laptop, Emperor Kuzco doing his thing on the whiteboard behind her. It was hard to focus on her students with everything that was going on behind the scenes. It was hard not to think about those creatures, those chilling shrieks, those evil eyes. It was hard not to think about the attack.

The moment the bell rang, her computer chirped, announcing a new notification. Fingers tapping against her desk, Sophie watched her students gather their things and leave the classroom. Once everything was clear, she opened her email.

It was from Aelia.

All,

Professor Graves has not been found yet. I regret to inform you that his disappearance is extremely similar to Robby's. I have been working with the police all morning. As with Robby, there is no longer any evidence that Graves existed. There will be another mandatory meeting for all staff tonight after dinner. A curfew is now in effect for all students. Be safe and cautious.

-Aelia

As she read it, her stomach shriveled up into a tiny ball. She sucked in a sharp breath. Her back hit the back of her chair with a small thump. She lifted her hands, fingers rubbing at her eyes. "Good god," she whispered.

"You read the email?"

Sophie blinked and glanced upward. Eli stepped inside the classroom, careful to shut the door behind him. His expression was grim. "That missing professor still hasn't been found," Sophie told him. "It's like with Robby. No scent. No nothing."

"It had to be those creatures that attacked us," Eli said. His hands curled into tight fists at his sides. "It has to be."

"What are we going to do?"

Eli pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. "I'm sure that Aelia has a plan. The meeting won't be until later on tonight, once the students are safe in their rooms. In the meantime, we need to find my sister. She might have some information on those creatures. Or of creatures like them."

Sophie nodded. She closed her laptop and stood. "She won't like it. We could risk stressing Wolfe out again.

"This is an emergency," Eli said. "Two people are already missing. We can't afford to put it off any longer."

"Let's go now then. Do you know where she is?"

A small sigh escaped his lips. "Where she always is, probably."

Sophie winced.

Eli took her hand and squeezed it.

Fashioning a happy, clueless expression onto their faces, Eli and Sophie stepped into the hallway together. All around them, swarms of students moved this way and that. Some gathered things from their lockers. Others lingered with friends. Eli's hand moved to Sophie's lower back. Together, they worked their way through the current of students, toward the end of the hall. A few students greeted them cheerfully. A few noticed Eli's hand and whispered, unsuccessfully, to their friends. It was almost amusing to hear the surprise in their tones as seeds of new gossip escaped them.

For the most part, Sophie ignored them all.

There was no use in becoming invested in the gossip. It was always a bothering subject, but it was something that would never be stopped. She'd learned that much from her days as a student.

"We aren't supposed to let the students know," Eli reminded her as they walked toward the hospital wing. "We don't need a frenzy."

Sophie nodded. Each step that they took toward the hospital wing, her stomach seemed to wither away. It was getting hard to maintain her cheerful expression. She couldn't help but be nervous about the possibility of seeing Wolfe again. It wasn't guaranteed. There was a chance that Aubrey would intersect them before they made it to his room. Or a nurse would go grab Aubrey, instead of leading them to his room. But there was always that slim chance that the nurse wouldn't be there, or that Aubrey wouldn't notice their approach.

And the idea of seeing Wolfe again...

Her lips pressed together into a wrinkled line. The last time she'd seen him, it had been so stressful, so weird. He'd been in pain, and somewhat delirious. It wasn't a good experience for either party. Sophie couldn't help but wonder whether or not the experience caused Wolfe's progress to backtrack. Aubrey had made it clear that Wolfe wasn't to have visitors, specifically to avoid that. She didn't want her boyfriend to revert back into a furry, uncontrollable mini-Hulk.

As they approached the wing, Sophie hesitated. Eli noticed. He turned toward her, his eyebrows furrowed. "What's wrong?"

"I'm nervous about Wolfe," she told him. She met his gaze. "What if our last visit hurt him? What if he remembers us?"

Eli blinked. He grasped her hands tightly within his. "Sophie, just breathe. It's alright. If there was any negative change, I'm sure that either Aubrey or Aelia would have told us. Even with all that's going on right now."

She remained unconvinced.

The hospital wing was just as she'd remembered it. Bland. It also smelled like burnt green beans. Sophie's nose curled. Eli stepped up to the front desk, where a small woman covered in freckles worked diligently on some paperwork. He cleared his throat and said, "Hello."

The woman glanced up and blinked at him. A small flash of recognition flickered within her eyes. "You must be here for your sister. Aelia came to retrieve her earlier, but was unsuccessful. She mentioned that you might come by later. Let me go get her."

As the nurse stood, Eli and Sophie shared an alarmed look. There was a good chance that Aelia wanted to talk to Aubrey for the same reasons that they did. And if Aubrey had refused to speak to her...

"She's your sister," Sophie whispered to Eli. "She wouldn't refuse to speak to you. Right?"

Eli stared at her. "She's my sister. It wouldn't surprise me if she did."

fam,

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fam,

Thank you for your continued patience and support 

For those of you who can't be nice about the fact that I have a life outside of Wattpad...

This is what my cat thinks of you.

This is what my cat thinks of you

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