“Shifter Falls, year two.”
“I think it’s going to be a good year,” I told him.
And I did.
Chapter 2
When Jade and her dad came back from parking the car, the four of us headed into the main auditorium. It was located just inside the big castle. There were a lot of different buildings on campus, but the main castle was the biggest and most beautiful of everything I’d seen so far.
Shifter Falls Academy was a beautiful school. It had turrets and towers and walls and huge rooms. There were secret passageways and hidden places and there were dungeons.
Of course, there was also magic.
Lots and lots of magic.
There was more magic than I ever could have imagined actually existed, and sometimes it still felt like I was living here in a dream instead of in reality. Every so often I’d have to stop and pinch myself because none of it felt real.
It all just seemed too…
Incredible.
When we got into the auditorium where the opening ceremony was to be held, I had to gasp a little bit. It was gorgeous. Banners and ribbons and tapestries hung from the walls. There were decorations and there were balloons floating everywhere. Each balloon that I saw was clear and filled with glitter inside that seemed to be dancing around.
It was the most wonderful, most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
We settled down on a magical bench in the front row. It was magical in that it was warmed and soft and cozy. As soon as we sat down, the bench seemed to adjust perfectly to our bodies. Hank’s part of the bench was hard. My part was soft. Jade and Kenneth had durability that was somewhere in-between.
“There are a lot of people here,” I pointed out. I wasn’t really sure what I was expecting.
People?
Yes.
This many?
No.
I wasn’t the type of person who felt uncomfortable in crowds or anything, but this was different. This wasn’t a normal crowd. This was a crowd of magical people, of magical beings, and it kind of seemed like everyone knew exactly what they were doing except for me.
“Everyone’s excited,” Jade shrugged.
“This is one of the most important times of the year,” Jade’s father said. “Don’t you remember last year?” He looked at me and grinned, obviously forgetting that I had signed up late for school. For reasons outside of my control, I hadn’t joined the school at the very start of the year. I’d come late, entering by force, joining the other students because I needed a safe place to hide: to survive.
“No, she started late, Dad. Remember?” Jade looked at her father pointedly, and he finally nodded and shrugged. Hank was such a chill guy. He didn’t mind being corrected and he was never offended when someone pointed out that he might be wrong about something. It really was an incredible skill to have. Most people seemed to be completely irritated or frustrated when someone mentioned they were wrong.
Not Hank.
“That’s right. My apologies, Charlie.”
“It’s okay,” I shrugged. I didn’t expect him to remember my entire life story. That wasn’t really his job, after all, and Jade was right. I’d enrolled late because I hadn’t known I was a shifter at the start of the school year. It wasn’t until the eve of my 18th birthday that I’d actually turned into my cat self for the first time.
That hadn’t worked out too well for me, nor had it ended well for the wolf-shifters who had tried to hunt me down. It was safe to say that wolves weren’t exactly welcome at Shifter Falls Academy. Most of the time, wolves liked to stay to themselves. I had a feeling they were viewed much the same way as vampires were. They weren’t exactly talked about, but there was probably a good reason for that.
Kenneth reached for my hand and squeezed it. I looked over at him. This was it. This was my first year at Shifter Falls with a boyfriend in tow, and I had no idea what to expect. Even though I’d been on campus for an entire school year, it still seemed like I had so much to learn and so many things to figure out.
“Are you ready?” I asked.
“Of course. Who knows what kind of trouble we’re going to get into this year?” He asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
I just shook my head.
Trouble wasn’t something I was interested in. Not this year. Nope. This year, I was going to be more than happy to focus entirely on my class assignments and homework. I wanted to learn everything I could about becoming a better shifter and a stronger magic user. I’d missed out on so much by discovering my true self late in life. I guess that was just what happened when you were orphaned as a kid.
Suddenly, the entire crowd went nuts, and happy screams pulled me from my thoughts. Everyone stood up and started laughing, cheering, and yelling at something – or someone – I couldn’t see. The glitter balloons seemed to vanish and the glitter inside spread all over everything and everyone. I put my hands out to touch some of it. It was soft and shiny, but not actual glitter. Fairy dust, maybe?
“What’s happening?” I asked, but nobody heard me. Kenneth was laughing and clapping his hands, and so was Jade. I followed suit and stood up, too. I jumped up and down a few times, but I wasn’t exactly a giant among the other wizards, and I didn’t really know what was going on. It was just more like the fact that I didn’t want to stay sitting down while everyone else was jumping around. I didn’t really think I had FOMO, but…
“It’s the headmaster,” Kenneth whispered in my ear. Well, maybe he was yelling, but it was so loud that it felt like he was whispering. “Can you see him?”
“No!”
“Just hang on,” Kenneth said. “It’ll clear soon and you’ll be able to see.”
It was during times like this that I wished I was taller or that I knew levitation spells. Being able to get up and see everything would make my entire life much simpler and easier. At least, that’s what I told myself.
As promised, everyone stopped cheering and sat back down in their seats. As the crowd began to calm, I was finally able to see him. Sebastian Wild was a normal-looking man. In fact, he almost looked downright goofy. He had slightly messy hair and his clothes were never entirely neat. He looked more like a writer than a headmaster.
Who knew?
Maybe he penned wizarding manuals in his free time, or perhaps he was secretly the writer behind one of the most popular series of teen wizarding books. I wouldn’t be surprised. Sebastian Wild was the kind of man who had secrets, and I was very curious about him and what he meant to the school. Fiona, my previous landlady, seemed to know him very well, and that just made me even more interested.
“Welcome, welcome!”
Sebastian spoke loudly and clearly, and the crowd once again started to cheer. Everyone loved the headmaster, and it was easy to see why. Unlike the principal at my human high school, Sebastian seemed totally relatable. He didn’t seem like he always had his act together. Sometimes he was a little off, or a little tired, or a little casual. It was all just…it was almost endearing.
“It’s going to be another great year at Shifter Falls Academy,” he said. He was standing at some sort of podium, and as he spoke, it lifted into the air. He lifted right along with it. I peered, trying to see what he was standing on. Was it some sort of flying disc? Or had he simply enchanted himself to be able to float? Was that a thing? I made a mental note to ask Jade about that later. If anyone knew, it was my owl shifter friend.
“It’s going to be the best year,” Kenneth leaned over and whispered to me. I looked over at him and grinned. I thought so, too. It was going to be my first real year having someone by my side: having someone I could depend on. I had Jade, which was wonderful, but having a boyfriend was going to be…
Well, I hoped it was going to be fantastic.
“This year, we’re going to have new classes. We’ve got some new teachers and we’ve brought back many of our old favorites,” he smiled and jerked his head toward the first row of seats. It was filled with people I’d seen before: peo
ple I’d come to love and trust and respect. There were teachers who taught me about magic. There were teachers who taught me to believe in myself.
And there was Fiona.
She wasn’t looking at me, and I don’t know if she had spotted me yet, but I hoped she could feel me there. Fiona was the entire reason I’d come to Shifter Falls Academy. Apparently, she’d been a teacher long ago when Sebastian was a student. She’d retired to live in a little town with her husband. After he passed away, she’d taken in tenants over the years to help pay her bills and to keep her company. I was one of them.
I didn’t know she was magical.
I didn’t know she could change the world with just the right spell.
She’d saved my entire world, though.
She’d brought me to Shifter Falls Academy when I didn’t have anywhere else to go, and that wasn’t something I was ever going to forget.
Sebastian kept talking about his plans for the year. There would be dances and parties and activities. There would be some sort of magical science fair and there would probably be a talent show or something like that. There would be everything.
And this year, I’d get to be a part of it.
All of it.
Starting now, I wasn’t going to be afraid anymore. I was going to take risks and have fun, and this year, I had a lot more experience than I did last year. I was going to learn more magic, I was going to discover new people, and I was going to try new things.
This year was going to be a good year.
I just had to wait and see.
Sebastian continued talking and he took turns introducing each of the different teachers. Some of the third-year students came out and did magical performances while the audience gasped and laughed in wonder and surprise. There were a few magical shifter performances, too, and by the time the ceremony was finished, I was exhausted, but happy.
When the ceremony ended, we all went to the dining hall together to eat our first meal of the year on campus. Parents were welcome to stay, so Hank joined the three of us as we dined on chicken and roast beef and vegetables and cakes and pies and anything else we could possibly imagine, hope for, or want. By the time we finished eating, we were all completely stuffed, but by then, it was time to say goodbye to Hank.
We walked Jade’s dad back to his car and hugged him goodbye. I was a little sad to say goodbye to him. After all, he’d been instrumental in keeping me sane over the summer. He kept Jade and I safe, and he encouraged us, and he helped us practice the spells and things that we knew. I’d never had a dad, but if I did, I’d want him to be a little bit like Jade’s: strong, brave, interesting.
Sweet.
“Do your best, kid,” he said to me, giving me a hug.
“I will,” I promised.
My own parents had died long ago. I didn’t really ever know them. I didn’t know what happened to them. Most kids get some sort of origin story, but not me. The best I had was that I had a few memories of laughing with my mom, but that was it. That was the most anyone could offer me.
It would have to do.
I knew now that they had some sort of magical powers. At least one of my parents had been a shifter. That was how these things worked. I wasn’t thrown into a vat of acid as a kid and I wasn’t struck by lightning or dropped off from a distant planet. Nope.
One of my parents – either my mom or my dad – had been a shifter.
Part of me hoped that I’d find answers about that. Maybe someone at Shifter Falls Academy knew of a couple who had died long ago and their kid had been lost. Wouldn’t that be cool? It was definitely too much to hope, which was why I hadn’t mentioned it to anyone, really. Not even Jade. Not even Kenneth.
Especially Kenneth.
My friend and my boyfriend didn’t need to know that I secretly hoped I’d be able to find answers as to where I came from. That wasn’t cool or particularly normal, now was it?
“Come on,” Kenneth said. “Let’s give Jade a second to say goodbye to her dad.”
He led me over to the edge of the parking lot. The entire parking lot was surrounded by these huge shrubs. I honestly hadn’t even known there was a parking lot. When I came to Shifter Falls Academy the first time, it was via the secret waterfall entrance, courtesy of Fiona. She’d led me here, and well, it had all just sort of fallen into place.
Now I was finally learning more about the grounds, and I was impressed with just how tucked away and hidden the parking lot was. It definitely didn’t make Shifter Falls Academy seem modern, and nobody could see the cars from the castle.
We stepped out of the parking lot and stood by one of the hedges.
“So,” Kenneth said.
“So.”
“What did you think of the opening ceremony?”
“It was…nice.”
“Nice?” Kenneth grinned. “What were you expecting?”
“Something a little more magical, I think.”
Although I’m not really sure what. There were plenty of performances and there were people shifting into their animal forms. There were speeches and of course, the banquet afterwards was incredible.
“Like dancing fairies?”
“Or a magical tiger fairy, maybe,” I laughed. “Something like that. Fireworks? I don’t know. It just seemed very normal.”
“Compared to your high school, I suppose.”
“Yeah. For sure. It was normal compared to other days at Shifter Falls. Last year, we saw plenty of weird and magical things happen. I suppose I just thought this would be really different from our normal days.”
I looked over at Kenneth, and I realized I’d never asked about his high school days. Had he, too, come from a land without magic?
Or did he grow up attending magical schools and to him, these things were all normal and wonderful and acceptable, too?
One of the things I was quickly learning was that each person at Shifter Falls was wholly unique. Everyone had their own story and sometimes, people didn’t really feel like sharing their stories with others. It couldn’t hurt to ask, though.
“Kenneth?”
He looked over at me and grinned, smiling widely.
“Yes, Charlie?” He asked politely. He spoke with this very serious tone of voice that made me want to laugh, but I didn’t. I didn’t want him to think I was being rude or unpleasant.
I definitely didn’t want him to think I was being disrespectful or anything like that.
“What about you?”
“Me?”
“Did you go to a magical high school?”
“Nope.”
“Not at all?”
“I wasn’t a late bloomer shifter like you. If that’s what you’re asking, I’ve got nothing for you.”
“But?”
“But, I did keep my shifting abilities hidden.”
“Why?” I was curious. I was probably more curious than I should have been, but…
Why would he want to hide this?
It was so incredible.
I loved that he was a shifter.
I loved that he could change into a kangaroo. I mean, who does that? Me? I was just a normal, run-of-the-mill cat.
Him?
He was something unique and wonderful.
“Not everyone likes shifters. You should know that better than most.”
He was referring to the fact that basically an entire pack of wolves wanted to kill me last year and steal my blood.
Yeah.
I knew that.
“I guess I just figured it was different in other places.”
“I wish.”
“Me too.”
I looked at Kenneth for a long time. I was not really sure what to say at first because what do you say to that?
“I’m sorry” doesn’t really mean much. Not when someone has been through a hard time. I didn’t really want to bring up any bad memories for him, so I decided to hold back on asking for details about his high school days.
“Well, I’m glad you’re
here now.”
“Me too. I’m glad I met you.”
“Good,” I said, laughing. “Because you’re stuck with me.”
Chapter 3
The first week of classes seemed to fly by in a haze of spells and books and homework. Everyone was in a rush to get us caught up after having the summer off from school. My homework involving potions seemed to stretch on forever, and I needed to use a ton of new supplies I knew nothing about. I was lamenting this fact to Jade one afternoon in our tiny little dorm room.
“Don’t worry,” Jade said, peeking at my supply list. “We can order everything tonight.”
“How?”
I mean, it wasn’t like we could take a trip out from school. For the most part, unless there were very special circumstances, everyone stayed right at Shifter Falls Academy year-round. Some people did leave for holidays and occasionally someone had to leave for a wedding or a funeral, but it was rare that anyone left for other reasons.
“Professor Wild orders from this herb and potions shop on occasion,” Jade said. “He’ll let students order anything they didn’t bring. Besides, there’s also a supply shop.”
A supply shop?
“What? Where?”
I had no idea there was a shop on campus. Okay, so apparently, I really was stuck in my own world last year. There were so many things I still didn’t know: things that in retrospect, seemed very basic.
“It’s in the basement,” she laughed, shaking her head like I was a huge dork. Maybe I was. Maybe that was part of my problem.
“What else can you buy there?”
Now I was curious. I had missed out on buying plenty of stuff that would have been helpful last year, and knowing that there was a sort of supply space on campus made me feel about a million times better. Now I knew that I wouldn’t have to go without certain items that I needed for classes. Last year, I’d gone crazy trying to get certain things. Having easy access to supplies would mean that my grades would shoot up.
At least, that was the idea.
“Anything,” she shrugged.
“Why didn’t we go last year?” I whined.
“First off,” she shook her head. “Don’t complain. I didn’t know about it, either.”
Shifter Falls Academy: Year Two Page 2