her. Look. So adorable."
"She looks exactly like me right now. Down to the damn cells," I argued.
Bianca thought about it. "Nah. She looks less likely to kill me than you do."
"Now you're making me want to change your mind about that."
"If you did, I'd be dead. It wouldn't prove your point to me."
"It would when your soul goes down to hell," I huffed.
"Now, Jade. How can you say such a thing?” she said dramatically, flipping her pink curls. "I wouldn't go straight to hell. I'd have a pit stop in purgatory to see if I can get some Christian Louboutins for the trip. You know I must be all fashionable before meeting the devil himself. If I have no choice but to burn from my sins, I'll do it in a fashionable manner." She checked her fingernails. "And make sure I get rid of these hideous nails. Who encouraged me to get white nails?"
"Dad did," I reminded.
"Horrible decision. I'm nothing close to the holy color," Bianca admitted.
Alaric cleared his throat, catching our attention once more.
"Right." Bianca bobbed her head. "Going back to Jade attending the academy."
"Dad. I'm eighteen. Why do I need to attend an academy when I'm already a Tracker?" I questioned Alaric, who sat at his desk.
This was the lecture he’d been talking about. When we'd walked in and I saw Bianca, I knew something was up. I just never would have expected him to bring up this need for me to attend school for four years.
FOUR YEARS!
Just the start of his explanation put Shadow Jade straight to sleep. It worked better than all the lullabies he'd sing to us when we were younger and woke up from nightmares.
"Jade. I understand your shock with all of this, but the Tracker Hive Academy would assist you in many ways. Think of it as a learning opportunity."
"A learning opportunity is being trained how to do that cool portal thing you do all the time," I offered. "That's a learning opportunity. Sending me off to some school for four years is slavery."
"It's not that bad," Bianca said, walking over to sit on the left side of Alaric's desk. "I'm one of the professors!"
"I guess that's not so bad," I huffed with an eye roll.
"But so is Tanner," she revealed with a sheepish smile.
"UGH!" I groaned at the name.
Bianca and Tanner were Alaric's "friends."
He liked to refer to them as the individuals who were forced to accompany him on missions if he wasn't approved to go solo. He'd tackle the assignment by himself while Bianca got Starbucks or Tanner read a book.
It was basically babysitting, except for adults.
Personally, I was fine with Bianca.
She'd taught me how to use each element, from the basics to the more difficult combination spells that required two or more elements at once.
I wasn't perfect at it, but the reason I loved Bianca was her unique way of teaching. She was supportive, almost like a mother would be to her daughter, and didn't mind my Shadow self joining in the training when she felt like it.
Tanner, on the other hand, was a complete jerk.
He was a cocky martial arts genius who trained me when he felt like it. He always followed rules down to the very detail and especially despised when people didn't follow the rules. He also hated my guts.
Don't blame him. I hate following rules, after all.
"See? I can't possibly attend now. Tanner would fail me for breathing."
Alaric arched an eyebrow at me. "I told him he can't fail you for being your usual self."
"Then I'm totally safe," I declared. "Since he can't fail me for being a little cynical. Does that give Shadow Jade a pass, too? Because he hates her as well."
Alaric took his glasses off, putting them on the desk. "Tanner has to abide by the regular grading rules of Tracker Hive Academy. He can't fail you because of a personal bias."
"Still doesn't explain why I have to attend." I sat down and crossed my right leg over my left. "Alaric. I'm already one of your top Trackers. Why do I need to attend an academy?"
"Jade. Everyone can learn and grow by taking a few extra lessons. You may be one of our top Trackers, but you're lacking in a few areas," he disclosed.
"No one is perfect. I think I do pretty well," I argued.
"Aside from your miscalculation from earlier," he offered.
"Aside from that. " I brushed away the ten-guy mishap. "I've been an amazing daughter."
Bianca laughed. "Oh, really? So can you explain