School came too early the next morning. The large bell tower chimed at six, forcing me out of the few, relaxing hours of sleep my body still craved.
Inside the coed bathroom's, I spent the morning being watched as I tried to tame my hair, the wild volumes never giving up easily. The hairpin I pulled out garnered more strange looks. The long black spike with a rose accent was a family heirloom, conveniently hiding a small needle dagger. I hadn't used it yet, but I awaited the day it would come in handy for more than style.
After a long breakfast with more awkward exchanges, it was finally time for class. The commuters piled in, filling their lockers while I was allowed a singular bag. Comparative History came first, and I geared up for a boring lecture.
The class was set up with four rows of six desks and I took a seat in the back, watching the faces of everyone who entered until Nick appeared.
He looked just like his photo, with glasses and wild hair that lay flat in the middle. Unlike the photo, he wasn't smiling. His eyes were trained on the ground as he took a seat in front of me to the left.
"Hey, boy with the glasses," Nick didn't notice me, so I nudged his seat. "Can you hear me?"
His head whipped around, eyes wide and mouth open. He looked like he had seen a ghost. "Me?"
"Yeah, is this class interesting? I'm new."
"Sucks to be you. I'm Nick." He offered me a sweaty hand which I took. "What brought you here."
"Exchange program. I'm the lucky student who was chosen to leave." I pulled down my skirt which was riding up on the plastic seats. "Figures I'd get transferred mid-semester to a place with a dress code."
"This teacher is pretty chill. She's only here for a few months until they can find a more permanent replacement. If you wear pants she won't care, just change back before the next hour."
"That's too much work."
"Yeah well, don't say I didn't tell you," Nick turned around, slouching back into the chair. He was too tall for it and his legs stretched under the seat in front of him. He looked almost as uncomfortable as I felt.
I needed to get close to him. Outwardly, he looked like he could be a wolf: tall, muscular with dark eyes. But it would take more than that to determine if he was a genetic werewolf or he just took after his father.
"Hello class." A red-headed woman entered the class from the back room and leaned on the desk with a friendly smile. "Today will be a group project day so our new student has a chance to meet some new people."
I felt the eyes of two dozen students turn to me and my jaw tightened. I hated people's attention, it never ended well.
"We're going to partner up and present on a historical event and how it affected the world today. Use background knowledge from your course so Alexandra can see what we've been working on." A PowerPoint flickered to life behind her. "Fill out space with your name and topic and I'll save it to the final review page."
The class broke into groups and a few kids approached me, but my hooded look had most of them passing by. Eventually, Nick was the only kid left.
"Looks like we're partners," I observed, a small smile growing on my face. "Any idea's what to do?"
"I don't care. You choose." It slightly disturbed me how little he seemed to care. If he was unwilling to work with me, I would have to manipulate him.
"Maybe something with the demon hunts in the fourteenth century and how we still follow an oppressive system?" I waved my hand around. "If you want to that is."
I watched as Nick's head cocked, eyes scanning me for any hint of a joke. I had played my hand, now I had to hope he would take the bait.
"You're serious?" Nick spoke slowly as though he expected me to laugh in his face at any moment.
"Hell yeah. What else would we do?" I pulled out my laptop. "I know this stuff like the back of my hand. How about the first treaty between humans and the supernatural in fourteen eighty-three? It should be easy."
"Sure." The sullen boy was replaced with the dork in the photo. "We could start with the witch trials and vampire burnings in the years before."
"And the werewolf persecution. The Nigh Districts of the city, too. Should we include pictures?"
For the first time in my life, I was enjoying a human school, though I had only attended two. The information was interesting, and I got a chance to rebel in the smallest way.
"I have a few. I'll add them at the bottom."
A black and white photo of an old flyer to show a divided photo of a man with long teeth and black eyes chained to the wall, a woman with horns burning on a pyre, and scrappy dogs huddled together, baring their fangs.
It was gruesome, to say the least. My stomach rolled as I stared at the horns on the witch, and I ran my hands through my hair where they would have been. It was hard to wrap my head around what life had been like back then. My family was just starting to become known as a resource to both groups. It was around the same time Uncle Finn was reborn, so I had heard first-hand accounts of the monstrosities that occurred. Women, children, the elders, anyone differed: they were all wounded in some way.
"What should we do about its relation to the present? There haven't been a lot of laws in recent days." Nick looked over the screen of his computer, eyes searching. "A few protests, but nothing major."
"We could draw a comparison to the old-fashioned way of thinking and the oppressive laws that haven't changed? I, for one, think that would be a great comparison."
"We are either going to get a good grade or fail."
I offered Nick a smile as he filled in the last line. Our page was small for sure, but I was certain we were saying more than most of the students.
"Either way, we're saying something that these pricks need to hear. Wouldn't you agree?"
"I think I'm going to like you," Nick laughed, and my smile twisted. I was winning. "How about we stick together while you're here?"
"I'd love that. I have to go to town later to run some errands, want to join me? I don't know where anything is."
"Can't. My mom has a trip and I have to say goodbye to her before she leaves." Nick rubbed the back of his neck before shrugging. "Maybe some other time?"
If my theory was correct, he was desperate for friends or someone to talk to. That would work well for me. A few days and I would have enough information to make a serious guess as to whether or not he was a wolf. Hell, I could already see enough to guess he was related to them, background knowledge or not.
"I look forward to it."
There was a comfortable silence as we continued to finish up the slide. I had to admit, I underestimated Nick. He seemed well versed in the laws and history of the supernatural. Almost as good as me. Almost.
For just a moment, I hoped he was a werewolf, then we might become acquaintances rather than investigator and target.