Page 40 of His Blazing Witch

"Maybe I even came to Silver City specifically for this class. Why witches, though? Like why was I researching this before... the incident? It just sounds too..."

A worrying thought is growing in my head, and scaring me more and more. This may not have been as much of an accident as I thought, whatever it was... whatever Clarissa did.

"I know," sighs Kelsi. "You know, we should ask the welcome desk again, for a Clarissa or Mara Jones this time and make a stop at the library. I had asked for Clarissa Garnett, but you may have borrowed books as Miss Jones?"

I nod, and we decide to get Ben, waking him up to get out of here. During the time we spent with the professor, everyone else had cleared the classroom, which I am not going to complain about. I haven't forgotten all those glares from earlier, and I'm not sure I want to find out what the hell is going on.

Kelsi and I explain what he missed to Ben, leaving the werewolf frowning more and more.

"That's..." he says, massaging his neck, at a loss for words.

"Yep, we know," sighs Kelsi, "so now, we were thinking of going to the library to ask about books Mara–I mean, Clarissa may have borrowed under a fake name. But seriously, do all werewolves sleep as much as you?"

"Hey, we burn a lot of energy! I'm not a sit-and-study kind of guy, okay?"

"So far I've seen you store energy, not the other way around," she chuckles.

We finally leave the classroom, the two of them still bickering. They are kind of cute together, but my thoughts are still a bit too dark to join the conversation. I can't help but feel even more nervous than before and repeat the teacher's words over and over in my head...

As we leave the building, I realize the area is somehow more crowded than before... strangely crowded. Little groups of students have gathered around the buildings, and a lot of them are glancing our way. No one seems to be going to class or just hanging out. I feel stared at like a beast in a zoo. I don't like this. Kelsi keeps glancing around too and walks closer to me, unsure. Ben is frowning, his stance like he is on guard, and I'm pretty sure he is somehow scanning the area fully from the quick movements of his eyes. He's positioned himself to stand closer to us too. We are moving next to the building's wall, and Ben is walking between us and all the students gathered around.

I don't like this, but Kelsi and I keep walking in silence, toward the library as we agreed. No one follows us, but I can feel their glances. My senses are tingling, and more importantly, I can feel my fire inside, stirred up too. My fingertips are tingling a bit. I take long breaths, keeping it under control. No voices yet, but I'm just intrigued about what is going on at the moment. We soon arrive at the library building, and we carefully walk along the wall to get to the entrance, but I feel... cornered. It's a horrible feeling, to have a whole crowd with negative feelings aimed at you. I hear Ben growling slightly, warning them.

"We don't want a damn witch on campus!" a man's voice suddenly yells.

We freeze, shocked. How the hell do they know who I am? Kelsi stares at me, her eyes open wide in horror. She is scared about what that mob wants; I do not like that there are so many of them assembled around us already, I really don’t. I grab her wrist and pull my friend slightly behind me. If they have an issue with me, they don't have to get Kelsi involved. However, Ben is standing between the crowd and us, and he's not refraining his growling anymore.

They are a bit wary of the menacing werewolf, but just one isn't enough to scare them away. I didn't catch who said that, but there's obviously a general agreement on the matter.

"If you have a problem with me, say it now!" I yell, annoyed at their attitude.

"Mara, don't provoke them!" growls Ben.

"Well, they already know, don't they? They might as well say whatever they have to say and leave me the fuck alone..."

"Just fuck off!" yells a girl.

"Get out of here!" says another voice.

"Mara..." whispers Kelsi, pulling my arm with a worried look.

I am not afraid of them. Moreover, none of them are approaching. They are staying at a distance, even if they are getting more and more people and slowly cornering us. Those damn cowards... They are just trying to surround us? Ben is still growling, and from the way he bends forward with his back slightly arched, I can tell he is ready to shape-shift anytime too.

Somehow, we still make it to the library, and despite the crowd gathered, Kelsi pulls me inside and no one follows. Are they just going to wait outside?

Kelsi lets out a sigh of relief, but she won't let go of my hand. She goes to one of the secretaries, and quickly explains the situation, making up some lost library card excuse and asking if anyone took any books out under the names Mara or Clarissa Jones. The young lady, probably a former student or something, doesn't really seem to care about her explanation. She nods and starts typing on her computer.

"Yes... Clarissa Jones. Oh, wow. Lady, you owe this library nine books! You're at least four months past the return date! Is this a joke?"

Kelsi grimaces.

"S-sorry about that... We will make sure to return them all. Can you give us a list so we can make sure we retrieve them all?"

"You got an email?"

"Sure..."

Kelsi pulls out her phone to give the lady her email address, but as soon as she looks at her screen, she frowns and bites her lip.

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