Eighteen

I turnedin my world lit final with twenty minutes left, so I went back to my desk and pulled out my study guide for the next test. I was on the second to last page when the class ended and kept reading it as I walked to the science hall. I glanced up occasionally to make sure I didn’t run into anyone, but most people were doing the same thing, cramming up until the last second.

I was feeling good about this test, but I wanted to make sure I remembered the taxonomic rank correctly. I repeated it over in my mind when I ran into someone.

“So sorry!” I blurted before recognizing the man I’d bulldozed into. “Oh, Mr. Peters.”

He gave me his normal charming smile. “Distracted, Ms. Bradley?”

I nodded. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”

He looked down at the paper in my hand. “Good luck with your biology test.”

“Thanks.” I hurried around him and didn’t slow down until I saw Luca.

“What’s the rush?” he asked before opening our class’s door and waving me in.

“I just ran into Mr. Peters.”

He cringed. “Did he say anything?”

“No.” I sat at our normal table. “It’s just weird.”

“One more day.” He put his hand on my thigh under the table. “Then, we’re done.”

With this year and this school. After the several disasters since I moved here, I was more than ready for a fresh start.

I couldn’t wait to be at a school where no one knew who Carter was or blamed me for getting him expelled, or the rest of the football team. I wouldn’t ever have to see Emily or my previous friend group again. There’d be no awkward eye contact or being blatantly ignored. The kids at our new school wouldn’t know about my cousin trying to kill me. They wouldn’t remember Bianca, my friend who was forced to leave the country.

But would they be as willing to turn a blind eye to my relationship with the guys? Would we stand out there as new students? Would rumors spread about me all over again?

I glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention to us, then leaned closer to Luca. “Do other supernaturals have relationships like ours?”

His lip twitched, and he turned toward me. “Yes.”

Huh. That surprised me, but it probably shouldn’t have. “So there will be more groups like us?”

“I would assume so,” he replied quietly. “None of us will know for sure until we get there, but it’s even more common with some of the . . . kinds of people there.”

I settled back in my seat. Interesting. It was comforting that we wouldn’t stick out. Too bad CeeCee and Gwen would have to wait even longer to find people to date. Unless they met someone at the new school. Did wizards or shifters want to date people like us? I couldn’t really consider the option of vampires. That was too weird to me, but for some reason, people that shapeshifted into animals were easier to swallow than someone who drank blood.

Class started, and Mr. Umpstein handed out the tests. It was four pages long, but as I read over the first page, I relaxed. I actually knew this.

Luca and I finished at about the same time and waited for the school day to end. Only two more finals tomorrow, and we’d be done. Free. Never to return to Arlington Park again.

The next day, a student I didn’t recognize stepped into our algebra class in the middle of us taking our test and handed a small paper to our teacher. I ignored the interruption and struggled through the rest of my test. If math wasn’t a part of the curriculum at our new school, I would cry tears of joy. That was something I needed to ask Mandy and Tessa. Was it normal, with similar classes to what we would be taking our junior year here, or were they magic classes? What did teen witches learn?

I handed in my test and Ms. Reynolds offered me the paper. “Your guidance counselor sent for you. You can either wait until the end of class or go now.”

“Thanks,” I took it from her and resisted the urge to crumble it into a ball and throw it away.

I went back to my desk, and Noah leaned forward. He and Sky finished before me, most of the class had, and read the paper.

“It’s the last day, why would he want to see you?” he whispered.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t have to go.” He squeezed my shoulders. “What’s he going to do?”