Page 4 of Monster's Mistake

“I won’t do it again,” Meic promises, turning his charm on our professor without even blinking.

I roll my eyes. He’s always like this. Nothing is serious and he’s able to charm his way through everything. It’s infuriating, even if there is a part of me that’s attracted to him.

“Hmm.” Professor Bishop gives him a look that doesn’t convey much trust in the situation. “Today we’re going to be learning about reading tea leaves. Pass the cups along. Youshould be on page fifty-four of your textbooks. Follow the instructions there and try your hand at reading them for the first time.”

“Is that it?” one of the students in the back asks. “Is there no more to learn?”

The professor smiles. “There is much more to it, but I find it’s usually easier to teach once you’ve had a go at it yourself.”

Meic passes down a cup to me. I take it from him, being careful not to let our fingers touch. There’s a part of me that wants to see what would happen if we did, but I’m a little too concerned about what I’ll discover to ever actually do it.

I lift my cup to my lips and blow across the top of it to try and cool my tea enough to drink. It may not be coffee, but it may do the trick. I take a small sip, almost burning my tongue in the process. If they knew we were going to be doing this today, why didn’t they think to brew the tea in advance?

A quick look around the room reveals that several of the other students are having the same issue as I am, though others are just drinking it down without a moment’s hesitation, including a girl I’m reasonably sure is some kind of dragon. I suppose she doesn’t have to worry about the heat.

“Mr Finnigan,” Professor Bishop says so sternly that it draws everyone’s attention to the minotaur who looks surprisingly bashful at being caught out in front of the whole class. “If I see you trying to pour out your tea again, you’ll be in detention. If you don’t drink the tea, you won’t be able to see your future.”

“Sorry, sir,” Finnigan mumbles.

“Well, I’m glad he tried it before I did,” Meic whispers to me in a conspiratorial way. He seems to have decided that this is his persona today. Right now, I wish I had the more nervous Meic beside me.

“Do you ever take anything seriously?” I ask him.

He shrugs. “Life’s very boring if you do that.”

“Or maybe you’d find that you got much further in it because people weren’t annoyed at you all the time.”

“Maybe. But I’m going to go with fun. You should try it sometime, Nati. Loosen up and live a little.”

Frank slides out of my hair and hisses loudly at Meic even before I can respond, saving me from going to the trouble of doing the same.

I flash him a tight smile and drink down my tea. It’s still slightly too hot, but that’s the least of my problems, because the tea is also awful.

“Not the best, right?” Meic asks, seeming to not care that I don’t want to talk to him. Probably because no matter how many times I tell myself that’s what I’m going to do, I never actually do it. There’s a part of me thatwantsto be close to him. I just wish I got to see more of the real Meic.

Oh. No. That is not a good direction for my thoughts to take.

“I’ve had better,” I admit, mostly because it’s easier to deal with my own emotions and desires while staying on a safe topic of conversation. And tea is that.

“I can show you better,” he quips.

I groan. “Seriously, Meic?”

He grins, his pearly white teeth should make it menacing, but it’s kind of charming at the same time. “If you keep glaring at me like that, I might turn rock hard.”

“That’s not how gorgon magic works,” I mutter. And I know he’s aware of it because I look at him like this often and he’s never once turned into stone.

Unfortunately.It would definitely make him easier to deal with.

“Who said anything about gorgon magic?” His lips quirk up into a knowing smile.

“Just drink your tea,” I murmur.

“If that’s what you want.”

“It’s what we’re supposed to be doing, Meic,” I remind him.

He shrugs and drinks his tea, not seeming to have any problems with the taste. Maybe it’s a ghoul thing, but I don’t really want to ask in case he mistakes it for interest in him.

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