Blazing Academy: Semester One (Academy For All Things Scorching #1) - Avery Song Page 0,3
to love myself for who I was, and I'd thrived with that.
Would have been nice to have contact lenses strong enough to last a day of school, but beggars can't be choosers.
The most distinct attribute regarding my appearance was my red eyes. People thought they were contacts and that I wore them to grab attention. No one ever believed me when I said they were real and that I wasn't the Devil's daughter.
I'd gotten used to it by now, and even with knowing they were real, I lied and said they were contacts to avoid being called a troublemaker AND a liar.
A girl could carry only so many labels.
"Alice! Don't make me come up there!" Grandma called from the second floor.
Snuggling my pillow tightly, I wondered if I ignored her long enough, if she'd let me skip school today.
Today was my birthday after all. Did I really need to go to school?
My sweet sixteen was here, but I didn't feel any different. No one was going to treat me a little nicer because it was the day I was born, and I surely wasn't expecting a happy birthday either.
Blazing Alice didn't have friends, because she was too dangerous to be around. That's what people liked to spread around the school, no matter how long I lasted before being kicked out.
If only I could be one of those girls who had a group of friends who cared about these milestones. To have someone sing happy birthday and present me with a cupcake with a candle on top.
With my fire problem, we weren't allowed to have candles in the classroom, but just for once, it would have been nice to experience my birthday with good company.
"Woof?"
Something nudged my nose, and I poked an eye open to see the tiny black wolf. I hoped it was a wolf, but it very well could have been a husky breed puppy.
This little gal had been wandering through our thick trees when I came home from my first day of school. She had been stuck in a path of vines, and though I wasn't one to feel sympathy for wildlife, this mini wolf was far too adorable to ignore.
The plan was to get her out and let her be free to find her pack, but she ended up following me into my haunted house, and I basically couldn't get rid of her.
My grandparents tried and failed miserably. Thus, the reason why this cute puppy-wolf thing was now chilling in my bed in a last attempt to wake me up.
"Woof!"
"I should call you Wolfie," I mumbled, and closed my eyes.
"Woof!" The light nudge to my nose, followed by the little licks, made me grin.
"Be happy you're cute," I muttered but lifted my hand to ruffle her fur. She kept licking my face and it wasn't until her tail smacked my cheek that I sat up.
"'Nope. Not being wolf farted on today. Your farts can kill," I groaned.
Hearing the creaky ladder steps, I groaned and lifted my blanket to cover my breasts. Soon enough, my grandma was at the entrance of the attic.
"Aren't you too old to be climbing ladders?" I whined.
She rolled her eyes. "I'm fifty-four, Alice. That's not old."
"Old to you guys is when you need a knee replacement, which, according to the new statistics, is seventy-five. However, I think it's when you have grey hair, which you do," I acknowledged.
She gave me a scowl and I merely shrugged. "You said you always want me to say the truth. I'm stating facts."
"Go get ready for school."
"Do I have to?" I whined. "Can't I skip today? Pretty please?"
"Even if it's your birthday, you need an education. I promised the principal that unless you were super sick, you wouldn't skip school. What I will do is drive you to school," she offered.
"That makes me sad. No thanks." I frowned and looked at wolf pup who crawled onto my lap.
"Woof!"
"Did you give her a name?"
"No," I sighed. "Call her Cyrus. Reminds me of a girl version of Cerberus," I suggested.
"Woof Woof!"
"Really?" My grandma gave me one of her common 'I can't believe your logic' looks. I gave her a nod. "She likes it! Plus, she could be a demon from hell here to make sure I'm not lonely."
Grandma shook her head. "I'm making breakfast. Get in the shower," she stated, and before I could protest, headed back down the later.
With a pout of my lips, I mumbled, "Not fair. She didn't even say Happy Birthday."