I pander to her; it’ll just make her think I’m another nervous sycophant she can lord over like Kendal. Which I am most definitely not.
The blonde girl scowls at me. “Fine. But who are your—”
I hold up a hand. “It shouldn’t matter who my family is. I don’t know anything about the fancy families you come from, and I don’t care, okay? I’m just here to learn how to control my magic. Got it?”
The queen bee of our dorm room looks affronted. Her head draws back and her jaw drops open slightly. I’m sure the people she bullies don’t talk back to her very often. Kendal looks shocked, and Megan is taking her cue from Alyssa and shooting daggers at me with her eyes.
Jesus. I have to get out of this damn room, or I’m gonna say something I really will regret.
I turn and walk out the door without another word. As soon as it closes behind me, an explosion of muffled, angry voices floats through the thick wood. My jaw clenches unconsciously. Great. I’ve got a snob and her two lackeys for roommates, with prissy, rich parents who’ll probably make my life hell if I so much as breathe the wrong way near their precious angels. Never mind that those precious angels are “freaks” of magic just like the rest of us who are stuck here.
As I head back down the hallway with no real destination in mind other than not here, I do my best to shake off the creeping worry crawling up my spine.
It doesn’t matter; I’ll manage. I’ve been in tougher situations than this, and I can handle a spoiled brat or two.
How bad can it possibly be?
Chapter 10
The next morning, I eat breakfast alone. I don’t see Cam or Asher, or Dmitri for that matter—not that I’d want to sit with that walking, talking bad mood—and I’m sure as hell not sitting down with a bunch of strangers.
The common room in the dining hall is actually kind of pretty, with big, cozy tables and a massive fireplace. I find myself a corner to sit in where I can keep my back to the wall and observe everyone. It’s pretty easy to identify who the other first years are; they’re the ones who still look a bit nervous or can’t stop fiddling with their wrist bands. Everyone else looks settled in and comfortable, which I guess makes sense. It’s a three year program, so that’s plenty of time for the academy to start feeling like home for the older students.
I’ve just finished eating when a bell starts ringing from… somewhere. From inside the dining hall, it’s hard to tell where the sound is coming from, but I saw a chapel of some kind on the grounds during my tour. Most people in the magical community practice some form of Wicca, but it’s nice to have a meeting place with designated sacred ground. There are some spells that can only be cast in a sacred space too, so I’m not surprised the school has one.
As the bell drones on, everyone gets up and starts moving, and I try to remember what I was told about the schedule. Some kind of school-wide assembly’s happening today, I think?
I follow everyone out to the auditorium, which is just one building over. There are rows of seats arranged in the sweeping space, and at the front of the large room is a raised stage with a podium in the middle. Dean Hardwick stands behind it, waiting for the gathering students to settle. He’s a tall man, with salt and pepper hair and a neatly trimmed beard. I haven’t met the head of the school personally, but I read his bio on the academy’s website, so I recognize him from his picture there. I didn’t really look up any of the other teachers; I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to be put in the hands of a nutcase.
The dean clears his throat, smiling down at all of us as we find our seats. I’m still trying to figure out where to sit when I hear, “Pssst!”
I turn and see Cam, Asher, and Dmitri all sitting together. Cam waves me over, indicating an empty seat next to him.
Unable to hide my relief, I walk toward them—but as I do, Cam moves one seat over, changing the empty seat to one in between himself and Asher.
Smooth motherfucker. Also a good wingman, if that’s what he’s doing for Asher. I honestly can’t