Lily was sitting in the principal's office again. This time, she had a blanket over her shoulders but she wasn't shaking from the cold. Her mind kept replaying what happened in class only an hour ago.
The school bell had rung and her fellow students were heading home - though some were still light-headed from Meditation.
Lily still didn't know what happened nor what she actually did. All she remembered was the sounds of the waves from Miss Winters' laptop, and how her instinct flooded her body. She remembered that there was someone, or something that set off her creature.
Lily was snapped out of her thoughts when Principal Lauren set a cup of tea in front of her. He smiled gently as he took a seat in his chair, and Mrs Khan sat on Lily's left.
"Your aunt is on call so she can't pick you up just yet." Mr Lauren said, watching Lily carefully. "Mrs Khan will stay with you until she arrives, okay?"
Lily absentmindedly nodded, clutching the warm mug in her cold hands. She couldn't look either of them in the eye. Mrs Khan shifted in her seat, locking eyes with Mr Lauren.
"Look, Lily, I know this is difficult," she began to say, hesitating when Lily flinched. "But we need to know what happened."
"I don't even know what happened." Lily croaked out, staring at the floor. "I don't... I don't know what she did, she just...reacted. I didn't know what she was doing, I didn't know what everyone was going through, please you have to believe me, I-"
"It's alright Lily, we believe you." Mrs Khan assured, gently resting a hand on her shoulder. Lily was trembling, her eyes welling up. Her emotions were clawing at her throat again. She desperately wanted to go home, but she didn't have the strength to walk. And Lily swore she'd never drive after what happened to her family.
Mr Lauren leaned forward onto his desk, leveling with her. "Lily, can you describe what happened before you went into the trance?"
Lily's hands fidgeted around the mug. "I... I think there was someone else in the room." She admitted. "I think she sensed someone else, and then I don't remember much, but when I came out of it, she was fine. I think they'd left."
"Someone else?" Mr Lauren asked.
"I was trying to relax, meditate, so I counted the people in the room, and there were fourteen of us, one more than normal." Lily took a sip of the hot tea to stop the shiver down her spine. "I... I don't know what happened."
Mrs Khan pursed her lips. "There were thirteen of you when we got to the classroom."
A headache formed behind Lily's eyes. "Is everyone okay?"
Mr Lauren sat up, sharing another look with the witch teacher. "Belissa is resting after over-exerting her healing abilities. The vampires; Karen, Thalia, and Hope are recovering in sick bay while their parents pick them up. Irene, Sammy, Annie, and Mason are resting back at their pack house, and Poppy's a little bruised after hanging out the window but nurses looked after her. Jack was the only one who didn't pass out, so she recovered after some fresh air."
Mrs Khan raised a brow. "She was complaining at the hassle, so I say she was perfectly fine."
Lily shrugged a little. "Sounds like Jack."
"Lily, we can't tolerate using your abilities like this." Mr Lauren's voice dropped.
"Sir, I don't know what my abilities are!"
"We're aware you're in a peculiar situation, but what you did was dangerous." He lips were narrowed to a thin unforgiving line despite his soft pitiful eyes, and Lily's heart sunk.
"What did I even do?" Lily stammered.
Mrs Khan brought out a seed from her pocket. "You sucked the moisture from the air. The students said that the temperature kept rising and dropping - you were fluctuating the humidity in the room."
"Humidity?"
"The water vapour in the air." Mrs Khan explained. "When the temperature drops, humidity increases - it's why everything is covered in dew in the morning after a night of rain. But when the temperature rises, humidity drops, hence why some of the students said they struggled to breathe. When we walked into the classroom, it felt like an oven."
This time, a tear rolled down Lily's freckled cheek. "I... What?"
Mrs Khan and Mr Lauren locked eyes again. "We haven't come across something like this before - and we heard you gave Ms Marlowe permission to ask around in regards to your abnormal healing?"
Lily gripped the blanket tighter. "I...yes."
"No one has heard about your kind of healing, nor of your abilities." Mr Lauren readjusted his grip on the envelope now in his hands. "We don't know how to help you."
Lily froze. Mrs Khan quickly sat forward. "For the past few years, we've guided you emotionally. You're a lot better than you were when you first started high school, even though you had to repeat Year 7."
Lily curled herself inward remembering how dark Year 7 was for her. She'd just turned twelve, only a few terms into her year when she'd lost her family. She didn't have the energy, or room mentally, to deal with nosy school kids on top of planning funerals. When Aunt Ollie came into the picture it helped ease the load off her shoulders. When she recommended redoing Year 7 next year, it helped even more. Gradually, the weight eased enough that she could begin school again, but she had to keep the counseling up throughout her education.
"While grief counseling is something we're trained in," Mrs Khan continued. "This wasn't in our books. We have never had a student who didn't know what she was, and we've only had one other student with your level of power - but she's in complete control of her abilities thanks to steps her family has taken, and she knows what kind of creature she is. You have neither."
"I'm well aware." Lily whispered, putting her now cold tea on the principal's desk. Her heart fractured at the news she was receiving as she braced herself for what they were about to say.
Mr Lauren handed her the envelope. "This is a letter for your aunt explaining your suspension, active immediately after tomorrow afternoon."
Lily shut her eyes but her stomach was hollow. "There's nothing you can do?"
Mrs Khan laid a hand on her shoulder but Lily shrugged it off. "We've done all we can. We think that you need time for your abilities to manifest properly, for you to control them on your own. School is doing nothing but aggravating your creature. You need space from the crowds."
Lily's mind wondered to her grandmother and her constant gallivanting. Was she like her? Is that why she could never be bottled up in a home for more than a few months? Did her wish from her youth come true; that she would be like her, wild and free? It seemed more curse than dream now.
"The other student's methods won't work on you. They've used magic, and healing doesn't work on you, so there's no chance that any other kind would." Mr Lauren checked his watch. "Your suspension can be lifted when you have control over your creature."
"How can I have control over a part of me I don't even know?!" Lily whispered harshly, finally looking the principal in the eye. Her eyes were her normal deep brown, but the teachers were both haunted by the bright grey of her creature's soul. It was an eerie light, like a far away star on the brink of supernova.
"We're always here to help you Lily, but we can't do that when your creature doesn't naturally obey our rules - and when, now she's emerging, you don't have control over her." Mrs Khan assured but Lily still felt hollow.
"So that's it then." Lily said, defeated.
Mr Lauren smiled at her. "You still have one more day at school!"
She didn't have the energy to smile to that. "And you don't have to worry about your grades - you were already ahead in the subjects you did have before the beginning of this week, so we can sign you off on them now. You'll graduate with the rest of the year, but the extra classes you did this year don't count." Mr Lauren tried to lock eyes with her, gauge what she was thinking, but Lily kept her head down.
That was a waste of time. Lily thought bitterly as she stood on shaky knees. Both teachers stood up too quickly, like they were bracing themselves for her creature to suck the life out of the room.
Lily finally locked eyes with them both. "I'm sorry for everything."
Mrs Khan swallowed, trying to appear kind instead of fearful. "You don't have to apologise for anything Lily. Your creature is coming into its own, and it can't be a public affair. If you need anything, anything at all, you know where we are."
Can you help me? Lily desperately wanted to ask, but she knew the answer. They had to think of the other students, of those she'd accidentally trapped in the classroom. She was a risk, a danger, and it was their job to make sure the school was a safe place, even if it meant kicking her out.
She sighed, grabbing her bag at her feet, and Mrs Khan kindly opened the door for her.
To see Jack and Ryan in a stand off.
Both were glaring at the other, arms crossed. He was standing tall and firm, blue eyes narrowed onto Jack, assessing her every move.
Jack, however, looked at Ryan like he was gum beneath her shoe; a hassle she was going to have to deal with ruthlessly if it was going to leave her alone.
Both turned as the door opened. Ryan looked at the teachers first, scanning their reactions. No doubt he'd overheard most of it thanks to his sensitive hearing. Jack, however, stared right at Lily, assessing her friend. Lily couldn't quite look her in the eyes, not after almost hospitalising her in class. Guilt anchored in her stomach.
"Do you get a free blanket if you mediate like a champion?" Jack broke the tension. "'Cause in that case I deserve at least, like, five."
The corners of Lily's mouth tugged up, ever grateful for her humour. She looked at Ryan, who was staring her like she was a fragile vase ready to break.
"Do you need a lift home?" He asked gently.
"Hey!" Jack snapped. "That's why I'm here, idiot!"
"Excuse me?" Ryan's eyes flashed feral gold.
"Oh and I thought werewolves had brilliant hearing, what a myth." Jack examined her nails. "What's next, do you guys not howl at the moon too?"
Ryan clenched his jaw, staring down the witch. "That's enough, witch."
"Ooh I'm so scared. What are you gonna do, fluffy? Sparkle?!"
"Miss Slater." Mr Lauren looked down on her.
"Miss Garcia-Slater." Jack corrected, adjusting the rings on her fingers. They were glimmering in the light, somehow, and Ryan's eyes shifted back to their sky blue. Lily blushed as she realised she needed to choose between the two for a lift, or wait for her aunt to drive them both home, now that she was allowed to go back.
"It's fiction that vampires sparkle, not werewolves." His eyes were bright with amusement. "May I suggest you read the series? Or better yet, any of your class texts?"
Jack paused, speechless for a moment. "Well, I have bad eye sight..."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, I can't read."
"Can't or won't?" Ryan smirked.
"None of your business, Doug! Go find a squirrel!"
Mrs Khan cleared her throat before the two could escalate the fight further. "Which one of you is taking Lily home?"
"I will." They said in unison, then glared at each other.
"I'll go with Ryan." Lily said quietly, not looking at either of them. She was still feeling horrible about what had happened, and hadn't quite forgiven herself for what her creature had done to her classmates.
Jack blinked in surprise, but stepped back and picked up her tattered bag. "No worries, I'll leave you to it. I'll see you tomorrow Lily, and don't forget your history homework - I'll need to copy it!"
"Miss Garcia-Slater!"
"I'm kidding Mr Lauren! Ha!" She grinned wildly. "Totally kidding! In no way serious at all. See you Lily! Stay, good boy Windixie!"
Jack walked out of sight before Ryan, with his fists clenched, could shout a response. Lily frowned at how tense he was, and cocked her head to catch his gaze.
"Is it still okay?" Lily asked. "If you drop me home?"
Ryan immediately melted at her sad doe eyes. "Of course." He picked up her bag for her. "Let's go."
Lily fidgeted with her now empty hands and looked to her teachers. "Thanks." She said after a pregnant pause. What else could she say?
Mr Lauren nodded to her. "Take care of yourself Miss Morgan."
She forced a small smile on her face and followed Ryan out the school to his car, wondering how she was going to break this to her friends.
Ryan kept looking over at Lily as they walked. He wasn't in the room when her creature took charge, but when he saw her sitting there, unharmed, he was a little relieved.
Even if she was surrounded by unconscious students and fellow pack members, he was grateful she was okay.
They shut the car doors and Lily immediately clicked her seat belt into place with a deep sigh. Ryan hesitated as he turned the car on.
"Did you want to grab some food before...before I drop you home?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
Lily blinked before she looked at her hands. How normal they appeared, not a typical monster's hands, but she felt sick seeing them all the same. She was beginning to understand what she was capable of and it turned her stomach. "Thank you Ryan, but I just want to go home."
Ryan opened his mouth to push, to say anything else, but Lily was downcast and not paying him any attention. "Okay," was all he said before he started to drive out the school.
"Don't forget your seat belt." She quickly rushed out as the car tipped onto the main road.
"Oh yeah..." He carelessly said, clicking the belt in place while merging with the rest of the traffic.
Lily swallowed the lump in her throat. As they were driving through the streets to her house, she worked up the courage to say what was finally on her mind.
"Thank you," Lily tucked her red hair behind her ears. "For, um, helping me earlier."
Ryan smiled. "You're welcome. Sorry for using your sister's names like that."
"It's fine." She stared out the window and watched the houses go by. "I'm just glad everyone else is okay."
"I'm glad you are okay Lily," Ryan said. "Who knows what could have happened in there."
Lily sighed, ignoring the guilt anchor lodged in her stomach. "Well it won't happen again."
He frowned and looked her way when they pulled up to a red traffic light. "What did the principal say?"
"Suspension. From tomorrow afternoon."
"Seriously? There's nothing they can do?"
"No more than they already have." Lily sighed. "They think that my creature's emerging is also a tie to the school environment."
Ryan frowned. "This is the only time that it's been the school environment, right? You saved Alice in the forest, the other two times have been because someone provoked you - sorry again, by the way - and this time's actually disrupted a class."
"Yeah, but that's a 25% chance." Lily argued. "That's too much of a risk for the other students at the school."
"Do they realise they're teaching at a school with supernatural creatures? We protect ourselves." Ryan declared, sticking his chest out proudly.
"But no one knows what I am."
"Doesn't mean it's right to suspend you."
"True," Lily sat up a little when her house came into view. "But I understand why."
Ryan scoffed when he pulled up by her driveway. "Doesn't mean we won't miss you at school, either."
Lily grabbed her bag but hesitated when she reached for the door. She looked at Ryan inquisitively, cocking her head to the side. He watched her with those bright blue eyes, waiting for her to say whatever was on her mind.
"Can I take you up on food another time?" Lily blurted out before she changed her mind. "And if it's okay with Andrew, look through the pack office library? I'd like to see if his grandfather wrote more about the red-haired woman."
Ryan smirked. "Oh I see, you're just using me to get to the books?"
"No, I- Well..." Lily flushed as Ryan chuckled.
"It's okay, Andrew will be fine with us using his office. Did you want to come over tomorrow evening? After school?" He rubbed his reddening neck at his offer.
"That sounds good." Lily smiled softly. "If Andrew's gonna be there, I can invite Jack along too? They seem to get along well."
Ryan paused for a second, mouth half open, before he grinned. "Sure, the more the merrier."
"Great." Lily beamed, opening the car door. "Thanks Ryan...Did you need petrol money for the drive?"
"Nah," Ryan waved her off. "It's all good. I'll see you tomorrow Lily."
"See you tomorrow."
"Take care, okay?" He said as she shut the door. He watched her nod and smile at him before heading inside.
When she was in the house, Ryan dropped his head onto the steering wheel. "Smooth Ryan." He muttered to himself. "Real smooth. Idiot."
He drove away without a second glance at the house. When the car was out of sight, the person hiding on the other side of the street moved out of sight as well, running back to his leader.
He knew he wouldn't be caught. He'd escaped capture twice from the wolves already - Yuric wanted the next confrontation with the pack wolves to be their last.
He just needed the little river out of the way first.
~
Thank you so much for reading so far, I can't believe Typhoon's almost at 10k reads!
With love,
Libby x