The Otherworlders Academy - An Original Teen Fantasy

S2-Ep. 5.2 (R) - Surprise!

Previously on "The Otherworlders": The girls are back from their mission and everyone has settled back into their routine. The kids have a few classes to attend before Sebastian, Jake, and Cameron will be sent to attend the engagement party of the Vampyr Prince Julian, a distant relative of Sebastian's.

Meanwhile, Patrick and Jake have gotten a mysterious text from Aidan and Inez, saying they have something cool to show them, particular to Shifters. Now, Jake and Patrick are intrigued.

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Underneath the towering canopy of an ancient oak tree, Aidan is standing next to Inez. Jake and Patrick stand across from them, Patrick with his arms folded impatiently over his chest. "Okay now that you've dragged us out here. What's this all about?"

Aidan sucks in a breath, then begins. "So, Inez and I were talking about the dilemma you guys have with your clothes..."

Jake and Patrick exchange confused looks.

Aidan adds quickly, "You know, when you shift!"

"Ah... okay..." Patrick nods.

"Yeah, we kept thinking," Inez chimes in with a smile, "what happens to the Shifter kids' clothes during a mission?' I mean during our mission, Ava had to scrounge around in the bushes, looking for her dress after she shifted! I felt so bad for her!"

Aidan nods in agreement. "Exactly! And then there's the hassle of finding all your clothes when you shift back. I mean, what happens if you can't find your socks?!"

"Oh, heavens forbid!" Patrick rolls his eyes, then shoots Jake a bemused look.

"So," Inez begins, her voice filled with a hopeful tone, "we did some brainstorming, and we think we've come up with a solution that would help you guys out! There are some minor spells we can try to string together into a much larger spell that will take care of this for you!"

Jake's eyebrows pinch together. "What would it do?"

"Well," Inez responds, "the spell will shrink your clothes whenever you shift and then expand them again when you shift back into your corporeal form. This way, you wouldn't have to worry about finding your clothes while you're... uh... er..." She looks up at the sky, searching for the most polite phrase, "um... au naturel." She laughs awkwardly.

Patrick and Jake frown skeptically before Patrick breaks the silence. "Look, it's really thoughtful of you guys to do this for us, but I don't think we have the same hang-ups you all do about being..." He glances at Inez. "...what was the phrase? 'Au naturel'?" He laughs lightly. "I mean, truth be told, we run around the Shifter compound naked all the time."

Inez's eyes go wide before catching Jake's gaze, her cheeks turning a deep shade of red. "Oh, wow! Is... is that true?!"

Mortified, Jake's eyes widen in horror. "Absolutely not! We don't!" His voice cracks, then he clears his throat. "I mean, we don't run around naked ALL the time!" He laughs uncomfortably while casting Patrick a fiery glare for putting him in this awkward position. His gaze swings back to Inez. "Honestly, we hardly ever do that," he mumbles as he rolls his eyes. "Like, seriously, it's so incredibly rare." Dying inside, he looks away and focuses on something, anything, far off in the distance.

"Okaaaaay, then..." Inez says slowly. She clears her throat. "Anywhooo..." she continues in a sing-songy voice. "We just thought you might find it more convenient whenever you have to, you know..." She gestures vaguely. "...whenever you need to go back undercover and blend in."

Patrick sighs and looks over at Jake. "It is kind of a drag to have to scrounge around for your clothes while people are waiting for you. It was definitely a pain in the ass on my last mission."