I stared at him with a twisted mouth, usually up for some sort of academic debate but my mood these days felt forced to say the least.
“I think…” looking down at my fingers twisting together in front of me. “I think magic is something humans use as an excuse the way we use religion as a means to control and gain power. Gods, if I’m to believe they’re real…regardless of your idea of what a God may be…they should be above that, no?” Professor Yancy looked down for a moment with his hand on his chin as he thought to himself, but I continued. “What it looks like to me is a man who indeed disassociated, or the video could have been doctored and edited specifically for this class. There really is no way of telling what’s real and what’s not in this realm. The issue with reality versus actuality.”
“Do you believe in God, Ms. Grey?” He asked.
“I believe there is something up there in the clouds that we can’t explain. I guess I just don’t like magic being the excuse for everything, including fucked up shit…” I concluded with myvoice barely above a whisper. No one said a word, but Professor Yancy simply nodded.
“Class is dismissed everyone. Please do not be late again or you will be marked absent. Ms. Grey, come see me before you leave.”
The lights came on as everyone got up to gather their things. I took my time while glancing at the professor who simply stared at me with his arms crossed. I’m sure this is the part where I get reprimanded like a child or questioned for my takes. So I told Ayira to go ahead without me while I waited to get him alone. When the classroom finally cleared, I walked over with pursed lips twisted to one side while he dug around in his desk.
“Your grandfather was my best friend at one point,” he said without looking at me. Definitely not something I wanted to hear. “This is my first-year teaching at Drew Collins but I’m familiar with this school and was here for the inception of it. The Holmes were…”
Professor Yancy paused as he thought to himself.
“Interesting to say the least.”
“Yeaaaah. I barely know them.”
“Mmmm,” he hummed while taking a seat. He pinched his nose with a sniff and finally looked up at me. “I knew your grandmother too. Everyone knew about that one…come running and chasing behind the dead, and he eventually married the living. I was much younger, so most is what I heard from my uncles and aunts.”
“Whatever you know about my Granny, that’s her story. Not mine,” I said with a firm tone. “Since you know Marvin, I’m sure you know the blood contract he has on my parents.”
He didn’t say anything, just stared and at this point, it was all I could do to keep from going off. So I nodded and turned to take my leave without another word.
“Marvin wanted me to give you a message.”
“Is it about my parents?” I asked, pausing. I knew it wasn’t. I already knew.
“No. It’s not. He wanted me to pass along the message of stay strong and always maintain your composure and always be prepared for whatever might come.”
The small ticking noise from the projector shutting down completely echoed in the empty classroom as I nodded before flashing a brief fake smile.
“Okay.”
The moment I stepped out, Ayira was buried deep into her phone when she pushed herself off the wall and instantly read my face.
“What is wrong?” She asked. “Did he say anything bad to you?”
Her face became serious like she was planning on going in there herself, but I shook my head.
“Nope. Just talked about being late,” I said, cutting her a playful look. She rolled her eyes with a loud groan. When she started talking about her scheduling, I pulled out my phone and began the process of removing this class. I didn’t have time for the cryptic bullshit this year.
Coach Namir
“Coach!”
“Yea!?”
I picked at my growing nails as I leaned back in the black office chair hearing the squeaks and twisted sound of leather and metal. My office was cluttered with equipment and things preparing for the games at the end of the summer. From posters to paperwork about deadlines and permits. The building plans for the arena and a bunch of other minor details that played a major role in pulling this off, and I was in charge of it all.
“Yea?!” I called out again before looking up. I could see Coach Moore hanging on the doorway with his hand as he spoke to someone else in the hallway. When he waved his hand, motioning that he would speak to me later, I went back to picking at my nail before glancing up at the TV I recently installed in the corner of my office. I picked up my nose in the air for a quick check, catching a familiar scent before a black cat came trotting into my office.
“Close my door,” I said, watching Quan’s body shift upward into a grown black man with nothing but black shorts that barely covered his thighs. I don’t know why they didn’t make it mandatory for shifters to wear the appropriate skin wear made for their bodies. Wouldn’t have all these ass naked men on the field and in classrooms who still didn’t know how to control theurge.
“Have you seen what they’ve been saying on the news?” Quan asked as he plopped down on the couch after slipping on some DCU basketball shorts. His bright yellowish eyes blinked twice at me before he drew a white t-shirt over his head and chest.
“Is it just more he said she said bullshit?” I asked dryly.
