Omnis Bestia

Chapter Three: Et Nebula

I had won the race, seeing as how I had given myself a head start, but Nik and Malik had tied so they spent the time on the way to second period arguing about who was buying ice cream afterschool. Apparently, most people had missed the first period on account of a traffic jam stopping the buses uptown, which was lucky for us. I waved to my friends as I headed into my Biology class, although the two barely noticed as their argument had turned into a heated discussion, which from what I could tell had something to do with my incident by the woods. I had wished that they would just let me know what they were hiding, but I didn't want to seem nosy either so I had told myself to forget about it.

My classes were a breeze overall, as most teachers were just talking about classroom rules and whatnot. There wasn't much actual work done that day besides writing down supplies we'd need for the class in the future. My day was turning out to be quite boring, at least until the seventh period. As soon as I walked into the room I knew that this teacher was different from the others. Instead of regular LEDs, quartz light fixtures adorned the ceiling, and the walls were lined with bookshelves, titles varying from Celtic Myths to Conspiracies on Ancient Ruins. I was completely in awe with the setup, as even the sitting area, which was usually lined with boring desks in straight roles, had instead been replaced with beautiful wooden tables that emitted a mystical feel. In my admiration of the room, I almost missed Nik waving at me from a table, with him and Malik already seated.

"This place is incredible, how was the teacher able to put all this together?" I say, the impressment I was feeling evident on my face.

"Ms. Hornwell has always been into that kind of mystical feel, says it helps add mystery to her persona. 'Course that's just an excuse, as is the reason she's here. She may love teaching and anyone who'd heard of her signed their kids up for this class, but we all know she's here to watch out for-" Nik was cut off by a jab to the stomach, courtesy of Malik. "Hey man, what was that for?!" Malik just sends him a look and changes the subject.

"I wonder where Ms. Hornwell is, she doesn't have a history of tardiness. In fact, my parents favorite quality about her is her punctuality. She is poised and polite, unlike a few others I know. For example, scaly hot-headed lizards who never know when to shut up." He said although the lizard part had kind of come out of nowhere. Then again, Malik and Nik had always seemed to set each other off with references or insults to things that don't really appear relevant.

"Shut up, you mangy house cat" Nik, pretending not to notice Malik about to come back at him, turns to me and asks "If you had the chance to become friends with a dragon or a lion, which would you pick/ personally I would definitely choose dragons as they're just more awesome, but I want to know what you think. No pressure of course."

"She would obviously go with a lion, as lions are definitely the superior life form. At least make the question a challenging one." Malik said, confident that I would agree with him.

Now the question itself had kind of come out of nowhere, but being the type of person who liked hypothetical questions, I tried to think up a response. Before I could even go over the pros and cons of each, my train of thought was interrupted by a gentle but firm voice. 

"Now boys, both of the creatures you're discussing are absolutely marvelous, so you can understand how hard it would be to choose just one to share companionship with. Especially when I'm sure your parents would be disappointed to know that instead of paying attention during class the two of you tried to drag Ms. Nnadi into an eons-old feud. Wouldn't you agree, Malik Abbas and Nikolai Kalseru?"The woman said, looking at Malik and Nik pointedly.

"Yes Ms. Hornwell, we agree."The two say in unison, both looking at their feet and slightly embarrassed for being scolded.

"Hello Ms. Nnadi, my name is Ezi Hornwell, but please call me Ms. Hornwell. Do you prefer your first or last name?" She asked, proving that she had been as polite as Malik had said.