The Haven High Book Series (Wattys2017)

Chapter 13

Zach arrived at school with plenty of time to spare for a change. He sat down on the cement steps leading to the front doors to patiently wait for his friend, thinking she shouldn't be long. She rarely spent any time at home, if any, and now he knew exactly why.

Kids started to filter past him in droves. He was actually starting to get worried she wasn't going to show, and he'd have to face his first real day at Hogwarts alone when she rounded the corner and promptly fell on him.

His breath left his body with a whoosh, and he was going to make a joke about her not being able to keep her hands off him when her appearance stopped him in his tracks.

For once she looked like she was the one that had slept in. Her usual well kept self was crumpled and her outfit looked like a blind man had picked it out. Was she even wearing two different shoes?

"Interesting fashion choice," Zach cocked an eyebrow and joked, "Say are faeries colorblind?"

She looked up at him with a sour look on her face, and he quickly became concerned at the dark purple circles under her eyes.

"Hey you okay?"

She nodded and picked herself up, trying to straighten out her wrinkled skirt.

"I slept in okay. Sheesh you do it a million times, and no problem. I do it once and then there's something to be concerned about," she snapped.

Zach lifted his hands in supplication, "Wow someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed!"

"I'm sorry Zach I hardly got any sleep last night. I just can't stop thinking about what the Scottish guy on the council said about my kin"

"The thing is," she continued, "I don't have any. It's just me and my Mom. I don't know who he could be referring to."

"Maybe they were talking about your brother."

"I can't see how; he died of cancer remember?"

"I even went to my Mom's door last night and begged her to talk to me. I know there are old pictures that I could look at-- maybe they would give me a clue -- but they're locked up in my Mother's little 'Fortress of Solitude.' She growled in frustration.

Just then their conversation was interrupted by the principal, "Zachary Reis," he spoke from the top of the stairs, "do you fully intend to be late even when you arrive early" Tuma looked over the brim of his glasses to accentuate his point?

The both of them jumped to attention with Zach quickly replying sheepish, "No sir, sorry sir,' as they scurried to their first class.

When they arrived at their homeroom they learned that things would be done a little differently from now on. Since there was a full manifestation in the class they could feel free to let their freak flags fly as it were, but only after the class ward was applied. Knight asked Lauren to do the honors.

She muttered something at the door and gave a weird hand wiggle again and he felt the essence of her magic. He was starting to get used to the way it felt -- all warm and inviting. It kinda smelled like lilies too. At least he guessed it was lilies. The dads like the lily and linen dryer sheets and it kinda smelled like them.

Zach had attended every human class through the morning where nothing much changed accept for the occasional book floating from one end of the room to the other and super fast kids going about their business with such speed that the back draft they created parted his hair.

There was one major exception though; instead, of the usual hour long period it was shortened to 40 minutes. Knight had informed him before he'd left his class that all his human classes would be shorter from now on to allow for his extra subjects.