fragile time

~chapter 3~

"Micheal," She began, relaxing slightly, "You understand I trust you. However, I also desire what is best for you. You are a vampire, so wait about an hour. You should be fine by then, but I know when you are okay, and when you are not. Now, you are not. "

"Then you should know that I am capable of.." I trailed off, trying to remember which class was next.

"Creating potions?"

"Yes," I nodded, thankful for her reminder, "That. I'm sorry.. I'm kind of.."

"I understand. The injury has its symptoms." Symptoms? I'll be fine. I felt a bit dizzy, that was all. I knew what was going on, but at the same time, I felt as if I didn't. I could stumble any minute. It was strange, feeling so weak. I had never been so powerless.

Sooner than later, we arrived at the Potions classroom. Our teacher, Mrs. Bloodhorn, was surprisingly nice- despite her name. She had long, wavy red hair and emerald green eyes. Out of all our teachers, she was likely the most organized. A place for everything and everything in its place.

Her classroom reflected her fun but orderly personality. The walls were a light blue, crowded with shelves full of ingredients. A separate bookcase stood next to the door, filled with spell books, recipes, and other books. All the tables around the room had a small cauldron in the center, along with a mortar and pestle and a few other ingredients. A few other teens were already in the room, with varieties of fangs, tails, wings, claws, and powers. Each one of us was different, with different powers, backstories, histories..

"Lillith Wixx, Micheal Summers." Our teacher sat behind her desk, "I'm glad you're here." Her desk was on the opposite wall as the door, giving her a perfect view if any of us tried to sneak out. Sneaking out of class was something I did a lot. I know you're thinking I'm a bad student, but that's not what that necessarily means. I may have a tendency to do bad things, but you should never believe the front someone puts up. I only show you what I want you to see, not what I actually am. For example, when butterflies spread their wings to look like danger to predators, when they're really not. A facade.

Mrs. Bloodhorn was a demon– a kind one, but still. Her skin was a darker olive and her hair was usually up. She had two red horns on either side of her head and a tail the same color. Sometimes, that tail seemed to have a mind of its own. Every once in a while, when our teacher was walking by, it would snap and knock over someone's potion.

We made our way to our seats. This time, at least, Lillith and I were at the same table, though I was across from her.

A younger girl named Bubbles sat next to my friend. She still looked a year or two older than us, but had small, childlike features. Her straight blonde to blue ombre hair trickled down her back and her ocean blue eyes looked me over. Bubbles smiled, "Hello. I heard we were making Dáda sto skotádi today!"

Sure enough, the words 'δάδα στο σκοτάδι' were written on the open textbook near us. I thought that translated to something like 'Light in the darkness' or.. 'Flame in the darkness'.. Maybe 'Torch in the darkness'? Who knew? I couldn't remember. So, fire potion? Perhaps glow in the dark? All potions and spells' names were taken from Greek, and this school had forced us to learn most of it.

"Fire potion." the boy next to me said, his voice shaking, "Of course." I didn't remember the boy's name, but from his face I remembered he was a shapeshifter. He had dark green hair and brown, afraid eyes. Apparently, fire wasn't his specialty.

Our teacher explained the directions to us, which I zoned out for most of. I only perked up again when Mrs. Bloodhorn said, "Now, you'll choose your partners.." My eyes went straight to Lillith, who was looking back at me with a smile. I began to actually listen to the words that escaped my professor's lips. We had to choose our own partners– they had to be boy-girl, but that wasn't a problem for Lillith and me. Then, all the girls would randomly pick an ingredient. The two partners had to team up to find the ingredient and bring it back to the classroom before the lunch bell rang.