Animage Academy: The Shifter School Down Under Year One

by Qatarina Wanders

  She let out an accidental squeak.

  More snickers from the other students.

  Tarun growled again, but louder this time.

  Ava meowed, her hackles rising. Sure, she was tiny. Yes, she was an ordinary house cat, but that gave him no right to growl at her as if she were his subordinate, dammit! She’d had it up to her neck with everyone mocking her, and now it was coming from him, too? She'd be damned if she was going to stand there and listen to it.

  Almost automatically, as if she had no control over herself, she reared back and took a swipe across the white tiger’s flawless face, leaving three streaks of blood across his pink nose.

  He staggered backward and sat down on his haunches in shock.

  With that, mind completely made up, Ava turned and sauntered from the room. Sir Waters’s call for her return fell on deaf ears. Typical cat.

  10

  Waters looked on, trying to act unimpressed. Not once had either of the shifters spoken a single human word. Normally, he would be grumpy about that, because that was the bloody assignment after all, but he was sure there was some sort of communication going on between the cats, even if he couldn't understand.

  The little cat and the tiger seemed to be an excellent match.

  Interesting. He made a mental note to pair them up in the next year’s competition. It made perfect sense that that little tabby-cat girl would have some tricks up her sleeve, especially considering who her father was. And their resemblance was uncanny. There was no mistaking her.

  Tarun angled his head and watched Ava run off, his breath hitching to his throat when she crashed into the doorframe. It hadn't stopped her though. She just picked herself right back up and kept running. In the wake of her leaving, the rest of the class wore similar looks of befuddlement. Although everyone else had only seen her strut away with what looked like confidence. But he was the only one in the location where he could see her take off at a run when she thought she was out of everyone's view.

  He wondered what possessed the other shifters to act the way they did. After all, none of them would appreciate being mocked for what they were born to be.

  It was difficult for him to relate because they had always respected him for what he was, but having grown up around other shifters, he had definitely seen it get ugly between the predators and the prey. In fact, he’d had to step in on more than one occasion to defend his best friend, James, for shifting into the tiniest creature in their friend group back in England.

  The alpha male in him yearned to go after her, to console her and wipe off the tears he was sure would be running down her face. But the tiger in him, proud as he was gentle, would have none of it. He knew she would be all right without him. At that thought, the bell rang, signaling the end of Sir Waters’s class.

  The students let out a collective breath. They had all survived their first class with the notorious English tortoise-knight.

  Tarun moved away from the light and morphed back to human and into his jeans and black T-shirt, grateful they could easily shift in and out of their clothes here at the academy. Whatever magic the academy had allowed that to happen. Back home, when he shifted, if he didn't take off his clothes first, it ripped them to shreds, and then he would end up shifting back naked. That made for some awkward situations.

  A couple of his "friends" approached him—Deacon and one of the bears whose name he couldn't remember. He'd noticed an alliance of predators forming. While the dragons, birds of prey, dolphins and sharks, wolves, and the original Aussies stuck together, a motley crew of assorted predators had formed as well: Deacon, who was a gorilla shifter he’d known back in England, a few bears, a puma, a rhino, and a pretty female polar bear. And they seemed adamant to get Tarun to hang out with them.

  But Tarun was having none of it. From what he could tell, they were all jerks.

  And he wasn't even surprised none of them made a move to go after the girl they'd all practically laughed out of the room. He was even disgusted with himself.

  But then James cut in to his rambling thoughts. "Let's get some food, Mate. That always makes you feel better," James said to him, patting Tarun on the shoulder.

  Tarun was so grateful to have James there at the school with him. He never would've imagined James would get in to Animage Academy with him—he was a hummingbird. But now, because of the new policy…

  "Come on, Mate, what do you say?" James spoke with his thick English accent.

  Just as Tarun was about to answer his friend, another voice cut him off.

  "We totally should."

  Elaine. Great.

  The eagle shifter was walking with her other bird-of-prey friends and angled the group in Tarun's direction.

  Tarun glared at her. He wasn't ready to talk to her—in fact, he wanted nothing to do with her, at least for the time being. Tarun clearly heard her distinctive jeering at Ava, even though—as he knew full well—she was her roommate.

  "Did I miss something?" Elaine batted her eyelashes.

  "We're just going to get food," James blurted out.

  Tarun rolled his eyes and groaned.

  Poor James was still clueless to the fact these stuck-up jerks were only talking to him because he was friends with the Great White Tiger.

  The entire group moved toward the classroom door, pushing out as a solid unit. It opened into a brightly lit hallway. In the hall, they met up with the other two bear shifters—Tarun couldn't place their names either—and a couple more birds of prey.

  Feeling ridiculous, he moved through the hallway and entered the cafeteria with this group of shifters. He quickly scanned the area, hoping Ava had at least come for food. He ignored the murmuring from several of the birds of prey, and even a few of the dragon girls, were making about him, and made a beeline for the food. James followed closely behind.

  Tarun looked back. Deacon had now caught up with the others and so had Elaine.

  Good.

  Tarun chatted with James as they collected food on their trays. There was quite an eclectic mix of meals to accommodate all the different types of shifters. For instance, Tarun's diet consisted of almost entirely meat, as rare as possible, but James was practically vegetarian.

  "Hey! Tarun! Over here!" It was Jen, the pretty polar-bear shifter from Norway he'd met at the orientation dinner.

  With a shrug, he made his way down to the end of the long table where she had reserved seats for him and—surprisingly—James. It wasn't long before Deacon and the other predators came to join them.

  As Tarun settled in between Jen and James, he surveyed the room again. Most of the shifters were tearing into assorted meats, except for the aquatic shifters, they passed on the meat, opting for different types of seafood instead. The birds, which included James, picked at grains of rice mixed with a few legumes here and there.

  The noise in the room was deafening. He had to shout every time he wanted to talk.

  But scan the room all he did, he didn't see her.

  He selected a chicken leg from his tray in one hand and a bratwurst in the other, dipped each of them in a cup of gravy, and mowed down.

  "She's here."

  Tarun dropped the bratwurst on his plate, splattering gravy in all directions. "Ava?" Although because his mouth was full of meat, it came out sounding like "Effer?" but it didn't matter, because James wasn't listening anyway. Instead, he grunted impatiently. "It's her." He jerked his head toward the direction of the door.

  Tarun's eyebrows disappeared into his hair. In all the years he'd known him, James consistently surprised him. He already had a crush on a girl here? His eyes followed James's gaze to make sure he was looking at the right girl.

  When he finally settled on the fact that yes, they were looking at the same girl, Tarun had to admit James had taste. She was tall, curvy, and extremely beautiful. Smooth skin that was extremely dark. The color stood out beautifully against her light plaid uniform dress. Tarun guessed she had come from Africa, considering her full and smooth features.


  She stood at the entranceway for several seconds before stepping into the room. Then she scanned the scene with her eyes before stalking over to a table. As she approached, the dolphins and the sharks pushed their seats closer together to prevent her from sitting with them. The birds of prey, Elaine and her flock, barely spared her a look, and definitely not a seat.

  The majestic girl kept her chin up and didn't react to the rudeness being directed at her from all sides. As she moved closer to where Tarun and James were sitting, Tarun could make out her shifter mark on her right arm.

  "Oh wow, James, an elephant?" He didn't bother to keep the astonishment from his voice. "You definitely set your sights high, literally." He chuckled at his own stupid joke. "I've not actually ever met one before, not an African elephant, anyway. I met a few Indian elephant shifters back home in India when I was a kid, but they liked to keep to themselves. And they are usually rich as sin. No offense, Bro, but she might be out of your league."

  But it didn't seem like James was listening. His eyes were glued to her. Tarun realized he couldn't stop James from what he was about to do even if he tried. His friend’s pale blue eyes lit right up the minute she entered the cafeteria, and he hadn't stopped bouncing in his seat since.

  Tarun figured he might as well try to help his friend out, at least. After all, the other shifters seemed to reject her, although Tarun couldn't imagine why. Didn't they know how powerful she was? How powerful her family must be? Was it possible no one at the school realized the status of elephant shifters? They should fall all over themselves around her.

  "Why don't you ask her to sit with us?" he finally said. He had to; James looked like he was close to sliding off his chair to the ground. And Tarun was certain that, in a few seconds, he’d probably start drooling. And that would just be downright embarrassing for both of them. Plus, that was not an image he wanted in his head.

  "Are you sure? You don't mind?"

  "What are you talking about? Invite her over." Tarun laughed when James jumped out of his seat, nearly toppling it over in his haste. His belt loop caught on a chair at one point, and Tarun laughed even harder, watching his friend scramble around as he made his way over to the girl.

  Tarun couldn't hear what James was saying to her, but he must've said something witty because she was bending over forward in laughter. After a few more seconds, James led her over to their table, his crooked teeth flashing in the light, walking with a swagger Tarun had never seen before.

  "Hey, Deacon, can you move down? Just one seat?" Tarun asked, lightly prodding Deacon in the side.

  Deacon looked up, disgust apparent on his face. "Why do I have to move for the elephant?"

  That was it, Tarun thought. Deacon was possibly the biggest jerk at the school. Any sliver of hope Tarun had been holding on to about maintaining a friendship with him was destroyed right then and there.

  He gritted his teeth. "Just move, Deacon, you don't want to get on my bad side today," he growled, sounding angrier than he meant to.

  Deacon glared daggers at him before shifting his backpack and scooting his food down the table, moving not one but two seats down.

  That's right, you ass, Tarun did not say.

  James, who was too busy doting over his love interest to notice the minor spat between Deacon and Tarun, nodded approvingly and pulled out Deacon's freshly vacated chair for her.

  Tarun, meet Winta. Winta, this is my best friend, Tarun," James introduced them.

  "Hi, Winta, it's really nice to meet you," Tarun greeted her, shaking the hand she extended. It was soft and plump, like the rest of her.

  "Thank you. You as well," she answered in her deep but feminine voice. Her accent so heavy it came out sounding more like "Tank yo."

  James put a hand under his chin as he smiled at her and said to Tarun—even though he was still looking at Winta—"Don't you just love the way she talks?"

  Oh my God, James. Tarun slapped his forehead with his palm. "We all have accents here, James, especially to the Aussies. Remember the first time you said that to me when we were kids and I told you it was rude?"

  "Oh—oh—oh—" James stuttered. "I'm so sorry, Winta! I didn't mean to—"

  "It's fine." Winta smiled at him with her bright white teeth. "I like the way your accent sounds, too."

  James turned beet red.

  Tarun chuckled at the situation. Winta seemed really cool, and perhaps she even liked James. He could only hope for his friend’s sake. He thought back to when he had first met James. They were both eleven. Tarun had just moved to England from India with his parents.

  James lived in the flat next door, and they met when James had spotted Tarun's shoes on the front porch and knocked on his door to let him know. Together, at that young age, they had a good laugh about the different customs in Eastern countries versus Western countries. That was how Tarun learned he wasn't supposed to leave his shoes outside in England.

  "So where are you from, Winta?" Tarun tried to change the direction of the awkward conversation.

  She tapped her long fingers nervously on the table, all traces of laughter suddenly gone.

  Unfortunately, James grinned continuously as he heaped food unceremoniously into his mouth, then, even more unfortunately—with a mouth full of food—he offered her some from his plate.

  She raised an offended-looking eyebrow at him, but he still didn't notice.

  In a small voice, she answered, "I am from Kenya." Her ‘r’ in ‘from’ particularly long and pronounced.

  "Where in Kenya?" Tarun had actually been there a couple times with his family, so he hoped maybe he could connect with her on that because she seemed suddenly nervous.

  Her eyes flashed briefly before she swept her curly lashes down again. "I doubt you'd know where." She grabbed the cutlery, apparently deciding James wouldn't poison her, and stabbed a cherry tomato off his plate.

  "That's okay, you can tell me later." James's grin was getting creepy. He hadn't even bothered to sweep his straw-colored hair away from his forehead—a habit Tarun had become accustomed to seeing.

  "Mmmhmmm,” Winta mumbled, then shut her eyes and hummed in appreciation. "That tastes sooo good. Do you think they grow these fresh in the garden?" she drawled, referring to the cherry tomato.

  James's elbow slipped off the table, nearly knocking down his glass of water. Tarun cringed, but he couldn't blame the guy. Winta was like an Egyptian goddess, especially right at that moment with her neck thrown back like that, eyes closed, and the expensive jewelry glinting off her ears and neck.

  Yeah, Tarun completely understood, but James was getting worse by the second. At some point, Winta may have turned to ask the simple question, but James panicked and knocked his plate to the ground. It landed with a resounding clatter. Everyone suddenly went quiet, staring at him.

  Tarun thought James was beet red before, but that was nothing compared to how furiously he blushed all the way up to the roots of his hair now. He ducked beneath the table to try to clear his mess, missing the comical expression Winta tossed at Tarun before ducking down after him.

  "And I thought I was the awkward one," Winta joked, scooping bits and pieces of rice back onto the tray.

  Tarun smiled brightly as he leaned under the table to help them. It seemed like perhaps James had found a perfect match.

  Although the tension defused with Winta's teasing, by the end of the lunch hour, James had made little recovery.

  Finally, the bell rang, Winta surged from her seat like it was on fire and hurried out the double doors.

  James stood, as if to go after her, but he caught Tarun's eyes. Tarun made a gun with his fingers and pretended to shoot himself in the mouth.

  Deacon and the others laughed heartily. And even Tarun couldn't hold back his smile.

  James looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. "I need a real gun to do just that," he said with a groan and stalked out of the cafeteria.

  11

  The day dawned bright and cle
ar. No hint of a cloud in the sky. Birds chirped cheerfully on the oak tree, which happened to be close to her dormitory window. A cool breeze wafted from the quiet ocean to the room. Ava dragged her comforter over her head and groaned.

  It was another perfect day.

  Stupid perfect days.

  Her godforsaken roommate was also up already. Ava could hear Elaine humming from the bathroom, even with the shower running. It was only a matter of time before the entire flock flooded into their room. A morning ritual that took place almost every day. They waited for the queen to dress, helping with her hair, picking out her clothes, selecting shoes—even manicures and pedicures were frequently part of the procedure—all the while twittering and chirping about the boys. Or mostly just the one boy.

  Tarun.

  Some days, he was all they talked about. He's so cute. He's so funny. His accent is so sexy.

  So far, Ava had learned all about him without even having to take a step from her bed. The color of his eyes—that topic was dissected for almost twenty minutes and cut short only because they had to leave for training. But one also can't forget about the way he walks, his voice, his hair, ugh!

  And the squeals. Oh, the squeals. Or squawks, definitely squawks would be a better term. Damn bird girls. Ava really hoped she didn't sound as much like a pathetic little kitten as Elaine and her friends did like squawking birds.

  One time, they had all screamed so excitedly, with their high-pitched bird calls, that Ava had bolted from the bed and hit the floor in her alarm, ready to run for her life for fear there was some disaster.