"Did you see Professor Cyan?" I asked Opal after my attempts to spot her turned out to be futile.
"No," Opal replied. She lifted her head, even stepped on her toes. "No use," she said. "I'm not tall enough. But did you see that woman?"
My gaze followed hers. The woman in question was standing next to Lissa. Watching her, I realized what Nia meant when she advised Opal not to trust everything she hears. Although the woman was obviously an adult forest nymph, she was able to leave the forest and her thick, coily hair hid no bird's nests. But, since she removed her jacket, I was able to notice that her arms had areas with darker, and probably rougher skin, its texture seemed like tree bark.
My mother interrupted me when she pointed at one person. He wasn't facing us, but I recognized his carefully combed light blond hair. Oh yes, I knew who he was. He was the main culprit for all the pain I've been through.
We walked up to him together. Truth be told, we owed him a lot. After all, he was the head of my medical team.
"Doctor Kasian? What are you doing here?" I asked with no introduction. How Opal of me.
"Hello Azora, I was hoping I'd get a chance to see you," he said with a smile. I guess I haven't offended him after all. "And to answer your question, I came here to visit my daughter."
"Your daughter is a student here? I didn't know that," I said in a voice laced with surprise. "Perhaps I've had the chance to meet her."
"I'm sure you have," he said, extending his arm to indicate her approaching.
I looked at the familiar face of my roommate. "You? You are Doctor Kasian's daughter? Isn't that a coincidence?"
"Not as big as you might think," Doctor Kasian emphasized.
"Oh, you're so sly!" Someone's anger filled voice joined our conversation. "I thought you were our friend! But all this time you were your father's spy? Is this just a game for you? And to think, we trusted you!"
"And you must be Opal," Doctor Kasian stated. "Your reputation precedes you."
"My reputation... Hey, don't change the subject!" she said while she stared at him with her eyes narrowed under the lowered eyebrows.
"Opal!" her mother said firmly. "You're being rude again!"
"Let me reassure you, there was no spying. I simply thought that having another pair of eyes on my most challenging patient would be wise. After all, I've never had a patient of her race before." The smile never left Doctor Kasian's face as he said that.
"Excuse me if I'm being too forward with my question," Mr. Tophill joined us, "but what race would that be?"
"Didn't Opal tell you?" my mother asked.
"Sure I did!" Opal looked up at my mother's face.
"Well, what exactly did you tell him?" I asked, knowing that Opal had very little interest in my origin.
"I said you were some kind of a..." She paused for a moment, took a nibble at the nail on her right thumb, and when she continued, it sounded as if she were talking to herself. Still, I picked up the word mermaid.
"I'm not a mermaid!" I had to laugh. I turned to her father and said, "Aquantien. I'm an Aquantien."
"Same thing," Opal mumbled and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
Doctor Kasian chuckled. "Not quite."
Not even close, I thought to myself. I would have to explain some things to Opal to get rid of her misconceptions.
While I was mulling over all the differences between my race and the mermaids, Opal turned to Doctor Kasian. She looked at him, blinked three times and said, "I still think that you shouldn't have forced your daughter to pretend to be our friend."
"Us becoming roommates on my father's suggestion does not make us enemies," Ardea said with a smile that resembled the one on her father's face. "Besides, I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of you. You, Opal, are a force of nature," she added.
"Yeah, damn right I am! Oops, sorry mom," Opal replied, to what her hand covered her mouth.
I don't know who broke into laughter first, but suddenly we were all laughing. Perhaps we've drawn attention to ourselves because soon enough one of the students shouldered his way through the crowd to get to us. His nostrils were flared, his eyes were red as if he had a sleepless night behind him, and his teeth were barred in a grimace. Dressed in black, he seemed like a personified messenger of death.
"You shouldn't be here," he said looking directly at my parents. There was no denying the threatening tone of his voice. "Who even invited you? This is not a school for human beings!"
My eyes shifted between the boy who shot arrows through his eyes and my parents. My mother moved closer to my father. She gripped his arm with both of her hands. He squeezed her palm with his other hand, but didn't look at her. His widened eyes remained on the boy dressed in black.
Although everything inside me screamed, I stepped in front of them and said, "They are here because they are my parents."
The moment I came closer, his nose wrinkled, and for me, just looking at him was enough to tie my intestines into a knot. I had been looking for a werewolf, and with him standing in front of me, there was no doubt - I found him.
"Your parents?" he asked with contempt. "You consider these humans your parents? What is wrong with you?"
"Mathias, get over here!" a tall man commanded as he emerged from the crowd to my left. With his eyebrows low above his eyes and clenched teeth, he seemed like the type of person you wouldn't want to get in confrontation with.
Mathias only cast him a quick glance before returning his stare to my parents.
"They are humans! They should not be here!" he said through his teeth. "And she should not call them her parents!" He hissed as he pronounced the last word.
"Mathias," the man responded with equally threatening voice. "I said get over here."
Mathias seemed as if a battle was being fought in his mind. His eyes kept shifting from my parents to the man who spoke to him, and back. "This is not right! First they bring this creature to school," his hand with clenched fingers pointed in my direction, but he avoided looking at me. "And now it turns out her parents are humans?! It wasn't supposed to be like this! Hidden races should remain hidden!"
"Mathias, you need to come with me. Now!"
Finally, he moved. He slowly paced backwards, away from my parents, getting closer to the man talking to him.
"Please, forgive my son," the man said to all of us gathered there. "He had a tough night."
Mathias was practically dragged out by the man who turned out to be his father. We could still hear him mentioning the word humans, and as they were leaving, it didn't escape my attention that Professor Fortius, our very large PE teacher, followed them out of the room.
After the werewolf had left the room, the conversations continued, but they were all muffled. And they all had the same topic, I was sure.
"So, that's Mathias," Opal said. "He's a nasty one. I don't like him at all." Her fidgeting hands confirmed that statement.
"Why would he say that?" I asked deeply worried. Could it's all be true? Judging by his words, it was obvious that he did not cope well with me being a student in this school. In addition to dislike he had for water races, he also seemed too despise humans, which made me think, what if he does something to harm my parents? I didn't want to lose the only family I've had in years.
"I'm afraid Mathias currently cannot be entirely accountable for his actions," our headmaster spoke behind me. I started, surprised by the sound of his voice.
It only took me a moment to pull myself together. "Yes, I know," I replied. "He's a werewolf and full Moon was just two nights ago, but why would he say that about me? About my parents? And why did he have such bloodthirsty look in his eyes?"
"It is difficult for a werewolf to be in proximity to humans. Aquatic races are another challenge for him. It takes a lot of willpower and extreme self-control to deal with the feelings. That is something Mathias still lacks. Although he is no longer a child, he also cannot be considered an adult. So, all I ask of you," he said facing my parents, "is that you don't judge the boy too harshly."
"Has he ever been hostile towards you, Azora?" my mother asked. She stepped closer, gently held me by the shoulders.
I shook my head. "He never even came close to me," I said, but when I looked at her, worry still hadn't left my face.
"You should kick him out! That's what I would do," Opal couldn't keep quiet. "I'd kick him out and let the door hit him on the rear end."
"Opal, language!" Her mother had to intervene again.
"What? I said it politely! Besides, if he can't control himself, we could all be in danger."
Hearing those words spoken out loud sent shivers down my spine. I realized Opal was wrong about one thing; if he wouldn't be able to control himself, I would be the one in danger.
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