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I also can’t trust myself to shift ever again.
I don’t know how to reconcile those two things, but I’m going to have to figure it out.
Chapter Seven
Cheryl
NosignofOscarat lunch. I try not to let it worry me. He’s probably off campus at one of the fast-food places with Noah. He doesn’t always show up to steal from our plates and trade insults with Ivy and Vi as if he’s their big brother. Just most of the time.
“You barely touched your food,” Vi tells me.
“I’m not really hungry,” I confess, with a shrug. I can’t admit it’s because my stomach’s in knots with worry over my Omega mate. I need to talk to Oscar to sort that out. Even if Vi can feel what I’m feeling, she won’t push me too hard for answers. But she does touch my arm to send me some of her calming energy, and I love her for it.
Ivy gives me a sympathetic smile as she dips one of her fries into my barely touched curry.
Vi’s mate is a little older than us, though she could pass for slightly younger. She’s curvy and has long, straight brown hair that I’m a little envious of. It shines with health and its poker straight without the use of styling tools. It’s naturally perfect. Mine is too wavy, and I can’t get it to grow past shoulder length whatever I try. It’s like it just gets wavier instead of longer. So annoying.
“It’s the project, right?” Ivy deduces. “In Havelock’s class, I mean. He always drops a project that relies on close attention to the instructions. Half the class usually don’t pass and have to re-do it in the new semester.”
“Yes,” Vi says. “It’s a weird one.”
She digs the slip of paper out of her bag and passes it to Ivy.
Our Beta looks it over and nods.
“Oh, he’s definitely assigned this one before. Not when I took his class, but I remember my older sister complaining about it when she failed.”
“What’s the trick?” Vi asks, her eyes bright.
“Well, it’s not really a trick,” Ivy tells us. “You need to make sure you only use facts to back up your argument. There’s a lot of anecdotal evidence out there for most of the side effects of being a shifter. Very little of it has been compiled as fact. You should just make sure you use arguments that are quoted in books approved for study.”
“So, we need to find books with facts we can quote,” I say, wondering how easy that’ll be.
Ivy nods. “It’s basically a test to make sure his class can write an essay. You’ll end up writing a lot of essays while you’re here anyway, so it helps you to get better marks all around.”
“That’s… actually kind of cool,” Vi says, sounding surprised.
“He’s not a bad teacher. He can just be kind of nit-picky.”
“I’m going to hit the Ladies room before class,” I tell them, sliding out from my seat.
“I’ll see you in Shifter History,” Vi says, waving as I leave.
“See you at home,” Ivy adds.
I watch them link hands across the table before I leave the busy campus restaurant. Kids are sitting around outside with trays as well as inside. It might be December, but it’s still only really cold enough to seem like Fall. I weave my way past everyone, slowing down when I see I have a little more time than I realized.
I’m probably going to regret mostly skipping lunch later, but right now it doesn’t matter.
I scan the academy’s campus as I head toward the main building. No sign of my mates so I guess they did leave to get food elsewhere. It’s not five minutes before class so the Ladies room is empty.
My make-up is still good, but I touch up my black-painted lips anyway. I glance at the door when I feel a draft. It’s closed. I look around and move my hand over the front of the air-con unit. Nothing. It’s not switched on. Weird.
I put my lipstick away and check the time on my phone.
A sigh escapes me when I realize I still have ten minutes to wait around.
When the gust of cold air hits again, I don’t bother looking for the source.
