Fortnight Field Academy

Chapter 19

A cool breeze tickled my skin in the lonely, open wilderness. It was only noon, but with the trees blocking the sun and autumn quickly approaching, I caught myself shivering again. "God dammit! I hate that stupid bitch! I wish she would just drop dead," Aimee ranted as she stuffed more of the same crunchy, copper leaves we've been raking for hours into a huge plastic trash bag.

For everything that happened at the party, I'd say Goodman let us off pretty easily. After an hour long yelling session and an intense conversation with each of our parents, she agreed not to kick us out if we followed a set of strict punishments. First of all, we had to give up all of our freedoms. While other students were allowed to roam campus as they pleased, we had to stay in our rooms at all times, and we couldn't attend any social activities like dances or parties. We were also obligated to serve two months of detention and sixty hours of community service per semester. That meant giving up three hours every weekend for useless manual labor. (Seriously, why else would we have to rake leaves in the middle of the forest?) If we failed to comply with any of these rules, it would result in our immediate expulsion. Needless to say, Aimee, a pretty little rich girl who was used to getting what she wanted, was not happy.

"That ugly whore is not going to get away with this. I'm getting all dirty and sweaty! I can't take this for a whole year." She flipped her newly curled hair over her shoulder and gave an annoying pout.

In a lame attempt to assuage her anger and shut her up, I said, "Don't you do stuff life this in your werewolf classes? Just think of this as an extra assignment."

"That's completely different!" she exclaimed. "My classes are during school time with all of my friends, not on a perfectly good Sunday with... you."

"You know what? This isn't exactly my ideal place to be, either," I snapped. "You're the one that forced me to eat a pot brownie that you baked with magic! It may come as a shock to a spoiled little brat like you, but the rest of the world actually has to deal with the consequences of our actions. Now hurry up and help me with these leaves so I can get the hell out of here."

Wordlessly, Aimee dropped her rake and tied the fifth and final bag of leaves. Then, she looked me dead in the eye and spoke in a low, threatening voice. "Listen here you stupid bitch. You need to remember who you're talking to. I am rich and powerful with important friends that would love to help me deal with a pathetic joke like you. I can destroy your little legacy before it even begins. You may be a dragon half- breed, but you're still a changeling." As if that wasn't even, she summoned a strong gust of wind with her wielder power that shoved me against a tree. "You better quickly learn your place." I slid down the tree to my butt as she stomped up the path towards the dorms.

My eyes started to burn as I struggled to pick myself up and carry all those bags to the trash bins by the school. I think it was a mix of anger, shame, and helplessness from not being able to stand up for myself that made me begin to cry. If I was stronger, I could've resisted the power she's only had for a week. If I wasn't so afraid of what she would do you me, I could've said something back, so I didn't look so pitiful. Man I hated how weak I was. I shouldn't be getting this upset over a whiny baby's little tantrum. What was wrong with me?

"Hey are you okay? Do you need a hand?" a vaguely familiar deep voice asked.

Glancing up from my efforts, I saw a tall, freckle faced, afro headed, light skinned boy. I sucked in a breath and blinked rapidly to dry my eyes. When I saw his face in its entirety, something clicked in the back of my mind. "Oh hey! You're the new half- breed kid. Mason... something, right?"