Page 36 of Misfit Monsters
I hesitate as she rushes over to help him to his feet. "I didn't mean to hurt him. It was just a little trick."
"A trick that did hurt him." She lets out a huff, glancing back over her shoulder at me. "I’m reporting this incident to the administration. They won't be happy about it."
Her threatening tone raises my hackles. I shed the discomfort with a chiding click of my tongue. "Our great leaders shouldn't hate."
She points toward the doorway. “Go to your dorm bedroom.Now.”
When I waver, she takes a step toward me, an eerie sheen lighting in her eyes. “I said go. You can take yourself there or I’ll have Jonah compel you.”
A shiver ripples down my spine at the memory of the sorcerer’s magic. I duck into the hall.
At least I can get a little more of a run in.
I jog toward my dorm, seeing if I can outpace the sinking sensation in my gut.
13
Periwinkle
As we leave our Mortal Culture class, Fen gives a little shudder. “I don’t know how humans can enjoy listening to music likethat. It gives me a headache.”
I laugh, a little of the rhythm still resonating through my bones. “It had a good beat. I guess you’re not much of a dancer?”
She giggles in return. “That’s fair to say.”
“Maybe you just haven’t found the right music yet. There’s lots that’s more floaty and less thumpy.”
Fen makes a skeptical sound. “We’ll see. I’ll be happy if I can masterwalkingwithout ending up dripping.”
At the junction of the halls, I swerve toward the cafeteria, but my friend touches my arm to halt me. “I’m sorry—I almost forgot. I’ve got a meeting with my study buddy.”
I blinkat her. “Study buddy?”
Her smile turns sheepish. “That’s what the teachers like to call it. After you’ve been at the school a little while and they know your strengths and weaknesses, they’ll pair you with another being who’s farther along in their studies as a mentorship thing. You’ll probably get assigned one in a few weeks.”
The thought perks me up. I haven’t really hit it off with anyone except Fen since I arrived at the academy. An assigned friend is better than none at all.
I lean in to give her a quick hug. “That’s all right. Have fun!”
Fen brightens so much that I walk the rest of the way to the cafeteria feeling as if I’ve earned top marks. There’s someone at the school I’ve brought a little happiness to.
I have to keep working on spreading that happiness farther. It’s hard when most of the students interpret every gesture in the most negative way, but I’ll figure it out.
I enter the cafeteria buoyed by my resolve and stall in my tracks just inside the door.
The large room is decked out in much fancier trappings than usual. Stark white tablecloths cover the round tables, laid with crystal wine glasses and silky napkins. Subdued instrumental music flows through the space. As I watch, a being dressed in a formal suit brings a plate to one of the seated students.
This must be a type of human meal the teachers want us to practice. I have no idea what the rules are for anything this elaborate.
It feels like there must be alotof rules.
At a huff and a waft of sour exasperation from behind me, I turn my head. One of my dormmates, a female shadowkind who’s among Gloss’s friends, glides over and catches my elbow. “You don’t have a clue, do you? Come on,you’d better stick with me or we’ll all be humiliated by association.”
My skin prickles at the insult, but it sounds like she’s actually going to give me a little guidance. I follow her to a table where a few other women are already sitting.
Seeing Gloss, my legs balk. But her friend is dipping her head in answer to the elegant shadowkind’s piercing glance. “We could make sure she isn’t too much of anembarrassment.”
Is she really so concerned that the teachers will think badly of my dormmates if I mess up? Only faint emotions emanate off her, but what I catch is brittle and prickly like cheddar crisps.
