“None of us,” an obnoxious voice interjected.
Without even turning, I knew who’d arrived. The minxy chaotic energy was palpable. Plus, the mere presence of this irritating student brought on a migraine. Not just from me. Even Kenzo’s thoughts turned to frustration as he and Caleb made their way over.
“I can’t believe you hated us sooooooo much you literally quit teaching,” Gael said with boisterous laughter accompanied by the cluck of his rooster. The pair wore matching vests. Vibrant orange vests, which accentuated King Clucks’ feathers and complemented Gael’s deep amber complexion. Gael’s surface thoughts indicated he’d spent a lot of time planning to roll in here with the perfect outfit for himself and his familiar.
Name: Gael Rios-Vega
Branch: Bestial (Familiar)
“Ba-ba-bawk,” King Clucks added—something rude, as it made Gael snicker.
“Yeah, how terrible was Kenzo?” Gael asked, implying he was the source of my fleeing the world of education.
I sighed. If only it were that simple. “You realize I wouldn’t be your homeroom teacher. Third-year students work directly with—”
“Blah, blah, blah.” Gael waved a dismissive hand. “Yeah, yeah, but you still bailed on us. I was gonna take your history elective, but since you hated us so much that you quit—”
“He didn’t hate us,” Gael said, standing closer to Gael and King Clucks.
“You didn’t, Mr. Frosty?” Gael asked with a twinkle of mischief in his brown eyes. “I mean, Enchanter Frosty.”
“No, I could never hate anyone.”
“Bullshit,”Kenzo’s thoughts nearly rattled me as he went down a list of students and staff he assumed I must’ve hated as he found them quite vexing. Naturally, despite how irritating Kenzo himself was, he had keen observations. I wouldn’t say I hated the folks he listed off, but I could live peacefully without seeing a great deal of them ever again.
“So, why did you leave?” Gael asked.
Before I could form a response—a vague non-truth—Gael, being the kindest person in the world, spared me the headache.
“I bet he couldn’t imagine life in the classroom without us,” he said, flexing his spiked biceps. “We were absolutely wonderful. Delightful. And inspiring. Watching us chase our dreams is definitely what motivated Enchanter Frost to dive back into the industry. Right? Am I right? I’m totally right. Right? Right?”
He wasn’t that far off. My homeroom coven did push my desire to go back into the industry. Granted, it had more to do with averting a possible future of them all dying along with the rest of Chicago, but they didn’t need to hear that part.
“As per usual, you’re absolutely correct, Gael.”
“See.” Gael’s sharklike teeth beamed. “We’re awesome sauce.”
Gael and his rooster squinted, surface thoughts bubbling with suspicion before he finally let his mind settle on one warning. “Do what you want, Mr. Frosty, but don’t stand in the way of my internship with my boy Enchanter Evergreen.”
I scoffed. As if Milo would ever take on an intern. He’d already shrugged off his duties with his former acolytes, leaving them to fend for themselves.
“Hey, it’s Mr. Frost!” a familiar voice called out.
“And Gael,” the same voice responded.
“And Gael with Kenzo,” another voice said. “And Caleb.”
“You owe me twenty,” said the same voice. “I said he wouldn’t kill him before the internships.”
“No, I said that.”
“No, I did.”
“No, you didn’t. I did!”
“Neither of you liars said it. Carter did.”
I turned to see a cluster of identical copies of Jamius huddled together with books in their hand. One by one, their attention waned, and they drifted away from their original ringleader.
