"Mewr?"
I gave her a small smile and stood up, walking over to kneel down and rub her stomach. "I'm a little nervous," I confessed.
Her paws began nipping at the hair tie on my wrist and she nudged her head against my hand while purring.
Scooping her up, I held her in one hand as I grabbed my cell phone off my nightstand and slipped it into my skirt pocket.
Yes. The school uniform skirts had pockets.
Today was Monday, the first day of classes. The last few days — after we'd partied and I'd gotten wasted — were spent sleeping, training, and preparing for today.
Our Year One uniforms, accessories, and packages had been delivered yesterday evening, and we'd start our classes today. I’d originally thought there would be some type of assembly, but there was nothing on the schedule.
We'd been too tired last night to go through our schedules and figure out what classes we shared, so we agreed to wake up a little earlier to discuss and eat a good breakfast.
Star was reaching out for something on the dresser, and I followed her intrigued look to the metallic black electronic watch that had come with our packages.
It reminded me of an Apple watch but with a sleek circular design and was crafted specifically for S.S.S. students.
From the exterior, I wondered if it was also waterproof, but I'd have to check the manual to see if that feature was included.
This watch was one of the many benefits students got, but I was sure it was a privilege you had to be careful not to lose.
Placing Star down, I picked it up before she could attack it, strapping it onto my left wrist next to the charm bracelet Scarlet had given me.
She'd texted me last night to ask if I was okay, and we'd chatted for a little bit.
As for Nikko, she'd yet to reply to my messages, which was understandable. My drunk message was a horrendous mess, and I'd texted her the next morning and apologized for my drunk message.
I'd always been pretty honest when I got drunk. I was sure Nikko knew that and was maybe offended by my text.
Sure, I was sorry for being so blunt, but I didn't necessarily regret it, which was hard to grasp.
Hopefully, once I saw her, I'd be able to give her a proper apology and see what her schedule was like. I wasn't sure if I'd be good at making friends here, but I wanted to try.
Grabbing the stylish backpack that my sister had bought me a few weeks back, I put all the basic necessities and my schedule inside and placed it on my shoulder.
I also had my schedule on my phone, which was all I really needed until we got more information on what books we had to buy when we received our syllabi for each class.
Turning the lights off with a snap of my fingers, I picked Star up and headed downstairs. When I reached the bottom floor, I noticed Yuriel was sitting on the island, picking at his scrambled eggs and staring at them like they were devil-sent.
He was wearing all black, and his silver hair was up in a ponytail. Sitting opposite Yuriel was Wolfgang, who had his face resting on his crossed arms on the island.
His plate was empty, but he wore a white dress shirt which looked to have a black silk tie around his collar.
My eyes drifted to Dimitri, who was placing a steamy hot set of scrambled eggs and bacon onto a plate that had toast with butter on it.
He also wore a white dress shirt and black pants, while his hair was only half lifted; the front strands were tied up in the back to get out of his face while the rest was left loose to his shoulders.
Ryuu stood near the counter, his white shirt still unbuttoned, and the black silk of his tie hung around his collar. His hair was down.
I stared around the four of them before Dimitri sniffed the air and looked over his shoulder.
"Morning, Blossom!" he greeted me with a wide smile, turning the stove off and putting the frying pan on the left stove top to cool down.
Picking up the plate full of food, he placed it next to Wolfgang's empty plate. "Make sure you wash your plate before falling asleep," Dimitri complained, lightly karate chopping Wolfgang's head.
He lifted his head slightly, looking like a sleeping zombie. "It's too early."
"That's because you stay up until god knows when. I told you to go to sleep early last night," Ryuu pointed out.
Wolfgang pouted his lips but looked my way. "Morning, Silver." He rested his head back down and within five seconds, he was quietly snoring.
Dimitri shook his head but took the empty plate to put it in the sink.
"Morning," I greeted, walking over to the marble island, and staring at the plate of food. "Is that for me?"
"Yup," Ryuu answered for Dimitri, who was washing the dishes. "We all ate already."
"Aside from Yuriel, who's taking eons to finish his food," Dimitri called the angel out. I lowered my bag to the side of the island and pulled my stool out.
Lowering Star onto the marble surface, I sat down and looked to Yuriel as Star ran up to his plate and began nibbling on his egg.
"Yuriel. You don't like eggs?" I asked.
"They're okay," he mumbled, looking pretty tired.
"Did you sleep?" I inquired.
"Little," he muttered.
"Jeez. Wolfgang and you are not morning people," Dimitri concluded, walking over to the fridge.
He opened it and pulled out a portion-sized bottle of orange juice and walked over to place it next to my plate. "You should eat, Blossom."
"Right," I replied and gave him a wide smile. "Thanks, Dimitri, for breakfast."
"I honestly was surprised to see Dimitri was up and cooking us a plate each," Ryuu admitted.
"It's always good to eat breakfast before a loaded day. We don't know what to expect today with our classes," Dimitri reasoned.
I began digging in while Yuriel put his fork down, looking like he'd lost complete interest in the remainder of his food.
Not like there was much left with Star chowing it down. He pushed the plate farther away from him and gave Star a quick pat on the head.
"It shouldn't be hard. We won't be granted weapons unless for a test or practice purposes," Yuriel announced.
"You have a point," Ryuu replied, beginning to button his shirt.
"How are our schedules looking?" Dimitri asked, moving to sit on the stool on my right.
Pulling out my phone from my pocket, I pulled up my schedule, scanning it for a long moment.
FIRST PERIOD:
MAGICAL HISTORY AND FINE ARTS – 7 AM to 9 AM
SECOND PERIOD:
SPY 101- SHIFTER CRITICAL FOCUS – 9:05 AM -11: 55 AM
LUNCH TIME SLOT A:
12 PM - 1 PM
THIRD PERIOD:
SUPERNATURAL WEAPON ENHANCEMENT ARTS – 1:05 PM - 3:05 PM
FOURTH PERIOD:
SHIFTER SKILLS OF SURVIVAL LEVEL 1 – 3:10 PM -5:00 PM
* * *
FIFTH PERIOD:
YEAR ONE - SPY COMBAT TESTING (GYM) – 5:15 PM - 6:30 PM
* * *
"Magical History, Spy 101, lunch, Supernatural Arts, Shifter Skills, and gym," I summarized, feeling too lazy to pronounce the entire title of each class set.
I nibbled on a piece of bacon, while Dimitri yawned. "I'm with Blossom in first period."
"Spy 101 is second period for me," Ryuu declared. He looked at Wolfgang, who was still sleeping away. "Wolfgang has Supernatural arts after lunch."
"Fourth," Yuriel mumbled, resting his head on his arms.
"Do we all have gym in fifth period?" I questioned.
"Looks like it," Dimitri suggested. Ryuu nodded. "Does everyone have the same Slot A lunch?"
"I do," I replied.
"Same," Dimitri answered.
"Wolfgang and I do," Ryuu acknowledged.
"Mhm," Yuriel agreed.
"Almost twelve hours at school, five days a week." I sighed, taking a few gulps of my orange juice. "This is going to be interesting."
"Intense," Ryuu added, beginning to fix his tie. "I think it
will help if we really try to stay together. At least each of us is with Silver per class. We can partner with her for dual assignments."
"Agreed." Dimitri pulled the hair tie out of his hair, letting his front strands fall and running his hand through them. "Get ready for the cliques."
"Cliques?" I asked.
"Shifters love to stick together, remember? They'll work together with their same kind. That includes sitting with them, any major assignments. The whole selected groups," Ryuu explained.
"I can guarantee we'll be the only lunch table with diversity," Dimitri hypothesized.
"Great. Not like I fit in much in school anyway." I shrugged and finished my last bit of eggs. "At least I have you guys."
"We won't abandon you, Blossom. I can smell you miles away. If anyone bothers you, I'll kick their ass," Dimitri vowed.
"Or just turn them into ash," Ryuu bluntly replied.
"Just rid them of their soul," Yuriel mumbled.
The three of us looked at him, but his head was still down.
"Or that." I smiled and shrugged. "Are we missing anything?"
"We gotta go get our blazers," Ryuu reminded. "We should get going now. The line is going to be hectic and we don't want to be late for class."
I peered at my watch that lit up when my eyes landed on it.
"Five in the morning. Should give us enough time, but you're right. We should head over soon."
Finishing my orange juice, I was going to get up, but Dimitri took my plate and empty container. "I'll do it."
"Thanks, Dimitri."
He nodded at my response and moved to the sink while Ryuu walked over to me. "Need help?" He looked at my collar and I gave him a sheepish smile. "I'd appreciate it."
With a slight nod, he stepped forward and began to fix my tie. I smelled the light cologne that clung to his uniform, but could still catch a hint of cinder.
I stared at his white shirt, realizing Yuriel was the only one wearing a black shirt. "Yuriel?"
"Hmm?"
"Why are you wearing a black shirt?" I inquired.
"That's a good question," Ryuu complimented, making my tie perfect.
Dimitri was back, but was on Wolfgang's side, gently patting his back to help wake him up. He lifted his head and yawned. "I'm awake.”
We looked back at Yuriel, who lifted his head but rested his chin on his arms. His lazy navy-blue eyes with hints of silver stars looked far away for a few seconds.
"I don't like white."
We stared at him for a long moment, Dimitri slowly tilting his head to one side in confusion. "Uh. Isn't that totally odd for an angel?"
"And from what I remember, you were wearing white when we met you," Ryuu reminded.
"I like wearing it when I feel like it. It's too early to wear white," Yuriel defended.
"Does that go against the dress code?" I asked.
"Not sure," Ryuu replied.
"You don't want to get kicked out, Yuriel. You already smell like Death. Now you look like the reaper," Dimitri commented.
"Do you have a scythe?" Wolfgang asked. We all looked at him as he rubbed his sleepy eyes. “Angels are cool with scythes."
"Can we go now?" Yuriel asked. Star was finished with Yuriel's plate, walking back to nudge her head against his nose. He blinked a few times but didn't look like he minded the uni-kitty's loving affection.
"Sure," I replied with a shrug, deciding we'd find out about the dress code when we got our blazers.
"You look pretty, Blossom," Dimitri complimented with a smile. The others, including Yuriel, nodded in approval, making me blush.
"Thanks," I whispered. "Let's get going."
"Once we get our blazers, we should take a good look around if we have time," Ryuu suggested.
"Or at least what directions we have to go to get to the next class. We only have five minutes in between for most classes. Gym has a fifteen-minute break because we need to change into Phys-Ed attire," Dimitri explained.
"Do we get that today?" I asked.
"I don't think so, but you can't wear stockings or high socks," Yuriel pointed out. I glanced at my stockings and looked back at him. "Why?"
He shrugged. "No clue. It's either shorts, skirts, or pants. No stockings, high-knee socks, or those skin tights and pants that reach under your knee. Goes for males and females. I think it's to avoid people hiding weapons or talisman spells."
"Couldn't they still hide those things no matter what they wear?" I countered.
"Yes, but your shorts would have to be skin tight, which is prohibited. You have to wear loose shorts or at least be able to fit two fingers easily between the material and your body. Same with shirts," Yuriel explained.
"I heard about that," Wolfgang admitted. "There was some major incident or something. They tightened their gym protocol because of it. There's also a scanner you have to go through when you enter the gym."
"They don't play around with security," Dimitri mumbled, reaching for Yuriel's plate. Wolfgang took it before Dimitri could do it, sliding off his stool. "I'll wash it," he volunteered.
"Thanks." Dimitri smiled, looking pleased.
"Shouldn't I wash it?" Yuriel suggested.
"Nah. It'll wake me up," Wolfgang defended. "Get ready to go. We're going to have to be alert. Even if it's the first day of school."
"Good call." Ryuu nodded. "Let's go."
I nodded, getting off my stool and lifting my bag up. I noticed Star was now curled up against Yuriel's arms, and within five seconds, she poofed out of sight.
Yuriel slowly got off his stool, still looking exhausted. I walked up to him and brushed his cheek. "Are you sure you're okay?" I inquired.
He nodded. "I'll be fine by lunch time."
"He'll be awake by then," Ryuu encouraged, moving to the couch to grab his backpack.
The others grabbed their belongings, and with one final look at each other, we readied ourselves to head to school.
First stop, the office for our blazers.
"I'll see each of you throughout the day then." I waved goodbye at Yuriel, Ryuu, and Wolfgang.
They had the same first period together, which made me feel less anxious. We'd only met days prior, but the connection we'd formed was strong and thriving enough for them to have a smooth class.
"Whoever gets to the cafeteria first, reserve a table," Wolfgang reminded as the other two waved and began heading toward their class.
"All right," Dimitri replied. Wolfgang nodded and quickly caught up to the others, the three of them disappearing in the sea of students in the hallway.
We'd received our blazers and had enough time to get a general idea of the campus. Dimitri was able to lead us, saying he'd sniffed and remembered every path that led to our class locations for this semester.
I don't know if it was his heightened sense of smell or if he had a photographic memory, but it was amazing how he'd been able to catch on so quickly.
Witches usually left some type of magic marker to aid us when it came to directions, at least until we memorized the way.
I glanced down to my white blazer. The buttons were black to match the cuffs and silk interior. It had the S.S.S. logo on the back in black, with the trimming outline in black. It was the reverse with the guys’ blazers.
They were black with white trimming, logo, and buttons.
I didn't like the distinct differentiation made to tell who was male or female, but our uniforms would switch every year, until our final where we'd get to wear what we wanted unless it was a test day.
Lifting my left wrist to check the time, I leaned against the wall to get out of the way of the stampede of students trying to get by.
The guys had been right about the whole clique movement. Shifters with similar races hung out with one another in the halls. You could tell from those who were alone that they had yet to find a shifter similar to them.
It wasn't as though all the students’ shifter races were apparent. Some flaunted shifter type with pride, while ot
hers hid it perfectly.
So far, I'd seen dragon wings, angel wings, a pack of werewolves, squirrels, and fairies pass by.
Vampires had red eyes, extremely pale skin, and all looked like they were runway models.
Not to forget they all looked related.
A group of lion shifters passed us, their tales hanging from a little hole in each of their pants. They gave the people around them judgmental looks as if no one reached their standards.
Dimitri sighed, slipping his hand into my free one. "In my country, people don't appear this stuck up."
"Really?" I inquired, shifting my attention to him.
He nodded and squeezed my hand lightly. "No matter how weak or powerful you are, always stay humble. It's what's going to get you to higher places versus being a stuck-up brat who thinks because they're higher up in the shifter chain that they're better."
"You're really knowledgeable, Dimitri."
"I was raised well," he replied and lightly tugged my hand, cueing me to follow him. We made our way through the tight crowd and entered the courtyard that would lead us to class.
My eyes caught onto Nikko, who was sitting alone and fiddling with something on her phone. I tugged on Dimitri's hand. "Dimitri hold on."
He stopped and looked in the same direction I was pointing to. A weird look flickered on his face, but he nodded and let go. "Don't take too long, kay?"
"Alri—" He sealed my lips before I could finish, silencing me completely. He moved to lean against one of the pillars, which was really odd in my opinion.
Is he upset or something? He could be trying to act cool.
Looking back at Nikko, I noticed her eyes were on me. I shook off my concern and walked over to confront her.
"Hey, Nikko! I texted you a few days ago, didn't you see it?" I greeted, wondering if she actually had received my drunken and apologetic text messages.
"Hey. Uh...nope," she replied with a casual shrug.
"Huh? I swear I texted it to you." I gave her an odd look, pulling out my phone and showing her the two long messages I'd sent. She nodded, looking around as if she was waiting for someone. "I guess I should have told you I got a new number."
SSS: Year One (Supernatural Spy School Book 1) Page 20
