Logan's hand slipped into mine, giving it a tight squeeze. I quickly looked around to make sure no one was watching our interaction before I looked back at him.
"I'm not mad. I'm happy you're experiencing new things. Stop overthinking it,” he reassured me, squeezing my hand one more time before letting go.
He put his hands into the pockets of his blazer and began walking faster to catch up to Nixon, leaving me to stare at his back.
"He's gonna make me go crazy," I whispered under my breath before groaning.
Today is gonna be a long day.
"Why is Katherina here? I thought this was an all-BOY school," Logan grumbled as we walked into the classroom. I passed him my book and went to grab us the required sheets from Ms. Landsford's desk, while he and Nixon went to find seats. Seeing Katherina threw me off and made me want to cringe.
"Please heavens. Give me the divine patience to survive this interaction," I quietly prayed, being the last in line to grab the papers.
"She's looking at you," Alice's voice hummed in my mind and I sighed, keeping my eyes on the eight sheets, taking three at once.
I got impatient with how long it was taking and snapped my fingers. The remaining forms I needed flew into the air and stacked themselves neatly into three sets while the ones I'd already picked up flew out of my grasp to join the others in their proper order.
"In all my years of teaching, you’re the first to actually use magic to your advantage to speed up this agonizingly slow process," Ms. Landsford declared. I glanced over and saw her smiling widely as she approached me.
Her purple hair was a calming shade of lavender and was styled in loose curls that bounced with her movements. She had her witch hat on, a dark purple one and wore a black dress to add to her mage look.
I had to admit, she still looked amazing and beautiful for her age with not even a wrinkle on her face. My mom was still beautiful and youthful, but after years of wearing pajamas and loose clothing, I rarely got to see her at her best like she had been when she taught here.
"It is rather annoying. Easier to use magic to lessen the tedious task," I replied, bowing my head in greeting. The stapler floated off her desk and stapled each bundle before the three stacks slowly lowering into my hand and the stapler returned to its spot.
"I’m pleased to have you in my class Jinn Starfire,” she greeted.
"It's an honor to be here at Brighten Magic Academy, Ms. Landsford, especially with you as a professor," I praised. I knew we were merely acting, but I was excited to be taught by her. Mother had talked highly of Ms. Landsford over the years and Gabriel had praised her teaching methods over the other professors.
She would be our professor for Casting magic, Physical Studies, and Superior Studies which lifted a worry off my shoulders. With the amount of magic I already used due to the spell, other curious professors may question why my magic affinity was constantly flowing, instead of taking a break as would be the case if an individual’s magic was not being used.
I would have to thank the headmaster whenever I met her for changing Ms. Landsford usual teaching schedule for my sake.
"What is he doing here?"
I slowly turned to Katherina who had her arms crossed and was glaring daggers at me. She was wearing a different uniform, one that was pink with black trimming. Her blazer was pink with silver trimming, which made me curious what rank she was classified as, but I personally couldn’t care less. I'd actually forgot about her presence in my discussion with Ms. Landsford which made me wonder why was she here again?
Even though she wore her white dress shirt, blazer, kilted skirt and black dress shoes, her skirt just barely covered her ass and her shirt was unbuttoned deliberately low enough to give the world an impressive view of her breasts. No one asked her to be oh so generous, but hey, if she wants to try the hooker life, so be it.
"I attend this school. What was your name again? Kathy? Kat? Kat Hooker! That’s it was your name!" I exclaimed innocently. I heard a few of the guys snicker in the classroom and Ms. Landsford’s assistant professor walked over with a wide grin on her face.
"Mr. Starfire, that's Katherina Hoolan. A nice attempt, though,” she hummed, clearly amused.
"Ah! My apologies. At least I was close. " I sighed dramatically, shrugging my shoulders with a guilty look on my face. I turned back to Katherina who looked like she'd slap me, as her hands were clenched into fists for embarrassing her in less than a minute. Oops?
"Katherina, what brings you to our lovely classroom?” I inquired, ready to make my way back to my seat.
She pointed at me. "You shouldn't be in this school; you’re a female!" Katherina declared. I blinked and heard the quiet whispers of my classmates. I smirked, placing our course packages on the desk before walking over to where Katherina stood.
When I reached where she stood, she moved around me so her back was to Ms. Landsford who looked intrigued while her assistant just looked confused.
"Excuse me?" I asked.
"Hey, Katherina? Did you lose some brain cells this weekend?" A student called out; three other guys chuckled at the comment. She let out a grunt but remained where she stood, her hand still pointing at me like I was an accused villain.
"I'm serious!" she stressed.
I ruffled my hair before I stretched my arms up like I was waking up for the day. "Katherina. The last time I checked, which was before class when I went to piss, I'm a guy," I declared.
"Did anyone put a pranking spell on the doorway?" another classmate suggested.
"Nah, they put a spell on the classrooms so we can't do that anymore," someone else responded.
"Aww, that sucks. Sounds interesting," I replied sympathetically. I should look into why those spells were put in place later.
"Ms. Hoolan, with my 20/20 eyesight, I can confidently say that Jinn is a male. Now, my class is about to start and you've already made your announcement about the dance that's happening before the break in six weeks. I suggest you make your way back to Solarity Magic Academy. Don't want you to be late on our behalf,” she reminded.
Katherina looked over her shoulder to Ms. Landsford. "He's a SHE! I heard her in the washroom!" she declared. More guys snickered and I sighed. She's making herself look like an idiot.
"Crazy lunatic hooker. Check," Alice sang. I glanced at her sitting on the desk beside Nixon who had his head resting on his crossed arms. Alice rubbing her head against his cheek and he smiled, reaching out to pet her while his sleepy eyes met mine. I could tell he really wanted to nap but I bet he wanted to see how this played out more.
I turned my attention back to Katherina, internally hoping this would go smoothly if I acted like all cool and shit.
"I'm a male, Katherina. I get that you're struggling with my charm and all, but I wouldn't lie about my gender." I rolled my eyes as I removed my hands from my pant pockets.
She turned to glare at me. "PROVE IT!" she dared.
I raised an eyebrow at her, scanning the full classroom of guys, then Ms. Landsford and her assistant.
I grinned, glancing over at Logan who winked with a wide smile on his face. I knew exactly what he was thinking and this would be the perfect chance to prove my masculinity.
I unbuckled my belt, allowing my pants and boxers to fall to the floor. The room was silent as I crossed my arms, posing with confidence. I may not be a Braxton Park, but I think I have a pretty decent cock.
"Impressive," I heard Professor Landsford whisper to her colleague. Oh, the benefits of magic.
Katherina stared at my length and her face went beet red. I winked at her. "Good enough for you, Katherina? It's getting kinda chilly down there. Unless you want to volunteer to warm me up,” I teased and the class began to cheer and laugh.
"Mr. Starfire, if you want to do such warming activities, please go to the washroom down the hall," Ms. Landsford sighed. I chuckled in response while Katherina was practically shaking with anger at the embarrassment I'd added to her name.
I l
eaned over to grab my pants and underwear, pulling them back up. "Ms. Landsford, I'd never do such a thing with a stranger. Plus, this right here is a sacred place. Not just everyone can get a taste of it." I winked as I buttoned my pants and turned back to Katherina.
"Earth to Katherina. Please don't tell me my cock got your tongue," I joked and the class laughed harder. Even Ms. Landsford’s assistant was laughing while Ms. Landsford snickered.
"UGH!" Katherina stomped her foot and stormed out the door.
I frowned, crossing my arms in confusion. "I guess I'll never get my answer. Sorry for the disruption, Ms. Landsford." I bowed respectfully to her and her assistant before picking up the sheets from the desk and walking over to where Logan and Nixon sat.
"Hoot!" Alice hopped up and down at our table as I sat down and I reached out and pet her head.
"That was a good icebreaker," she applauded. You think?
"Jinn, way to go,” a guy praised, giving me a salute.
"Finally someone put her in her place. I swear, she's such a nuisance,” another guy on my left commented.
"Right. She's had sex with so many students here already and school just started,” a guy behind us sighed, his voice low so Ms. Landsford wouldn't hear.
"Right. But Jinn turned her down at the party. She was so upset. She talked about it all weekend,” a guy who I remembered from the party revealed.
"Well, maybe she'll keep her legs closed long enough to focus on more important things. I heard she only passed this year because of her parents bribing the professors,” a student in front of us whispered.
"Benefits of having money. Too bad she's a hoe,” the same guy on my left added.
"Alright, gentlemen. I'd like to begin class. You guys can praise Jinn's heroic efforts later," Ms. Landsford announced. We began to get settled and Nixon lifted his head.
"Smooth,” he complimented, followed by a yawn.
Logan nodded in agreement. "She got what was coming to her," he shrugged, looking damn proud of me. I smiled at both of them, giving them their course info before I leaned back into my seat. Alice flew up to land on my shoulder.
"This school year is going to be interesting," she declared happily.
I grinned. You're telling me.
"Interesting to have a few students with familiars this semester. That will help give those who don't a glimpse of what it's like to have one aid you in your magic."
I twirled my pencil between my finger and lifted my other hand to fix my glasses on my face. The four-hour lecture was starting to bug my eyes from all the reading and taking of notes. Braxton had brought my glasses that I now kept in his drawer, otherwise, I'd lose them in our bedroom.
A week had passed by like the wind and today was Tuesday, which I called Familiar Day. Alice referred to it as "Take Your Familiar to Work Day" and was loving the class so far. Not because of the lecture part, but because of the second half where she'd get to show off her skills and awesomeness. There were four other familiars in our class of thirty people, but Alice showed no interest in any of them.
She said they were cranky rude fellas that thought they were the shit. We ended up changing her name back to Alice on the documentation. Kage assured me having a female familiar wouldn't do any harm as far as keeping my secret.
That made it easier since I was used to calling Alice by her actual name, not Ali and our professor was knowledgeable enough in familiars to know right away Alice wasn't a “he.”
We were in rows of three, Braxton sitting on my left and Kage to my right. Braxton wore his glasses to help him see the white magic board, and Kage was drawing on his otherwise blank sheet of paper.
When I realized he hadn’t taken notes during our first class, Braxton explained Kage knew everything there was to know about familiars, so much so he was probably more knowledgeable than our Professor, Mr. Huffling.
Kage’s intense knowledge made me wonder why he didn't have a familiar of his own. In my case, I always had Alice. Other people gained a familiar during their lifetime and a few had enough magic to create own of their own. I just felt if Kage had such vast knowledge, he should have the capability to create his own familiar.
"Okay, time for break. See you all on the field on the left side of campus for the next set of classes," Mr. Huffling announced.
We closed our books and I stretched, placing my glasses on my head before resting it on my crossed arms.
Kage poked my cheek. "Jinn, you okay?"
"Ya, I'm fine. Just tired," I admitted. My nightmares had gotten more frequent since coming to Brighten, either due to how close I was to where my brother died or because I was just afraid to walk past the exact location where his body had fallen, his blood pooling around him as he took his last breath.
I felt a hand rub my back and lifted my head to see Braxton's worried gaze. "You haven't been sleeping, have you?" he questioned. I sighed, sitting back up and stretching my arms again.
"I'll take a nap when we get home. We're probably gonna shower here after this session so that will calm me down," I replied. Our last familiar class was exhausting from all the magic casting Mr. Huffling wanted us to perform. Familiars were already magic draining since they relied on your magic to function and perform. After our first class, we were all a sweaty mess and by the time we got home, we smelled horrible. I would rather shower on the school grounds and at least have a refreshing walk home than deal with the AXE mayhem mixed with male odor. Not a pleasant combo at all.
"Okay, but don't push it," Braxton cautioned, taking my glasses off my head.
"Yes, Brax," I said dramatically and he rolled his eyes.
"See, this is what Zane and I deal with on a daily basis," Kage stressed.
I chuckled, shaking my head. "At least you know he actually cares under that hard ego of his."
"I don't even know what a hard ego entails," Braxton mumbled. I mentally squealed at his accent and the effects his deep voice had on me. It made me want to speak to him in his native language that I learned when I was younger. I wasn't as fluent as I used to be but I tried to refresh my vocabulary by watching Korean dramas whenever I could.
"Let's go eat?" Braxton asked.
"Sure. You think the others are on break too?" I questioned, creating a magic void to hold my belongings.
"Maybe Zane? He's alone in his class on Tuesdays. Maximus, Logan, and Nixon are in a different class. I think I remember Maximus saying they're not on campus for today's lesson," Braxton explained, looking intrigued by the mini void. The other lingering students were watching with curious expressions and Kage reached out and pulled out one my pens from the void.
I lightly tossed my stuff in it, my book and other supplies floating around. Braxton raised an eyebrow at me and I shrugged. "Why would I carry a bag when I can just put my stuff in here for easy access?' I commented.
Kage gathered his stuff and put it in the void, turning to give me a wide smile. "Can I put my stuff there too?"
Braxton laughed. "I think you're supposed to ask BEFORE you put your stuff in there, little bro."
I grinned, lifting my hand to ruffle Kage’s blue hair. "Sure. Brax?" I offered, looking at his books and both our glasses cases. He shrugged and pulled his glasses off, putting his in the green case and mine in my pink case. I wasn't ashamed of having a pink glasses case. Last time I checked, pink could be worn by both genders so no one could tell me I couldn't rock pink even as a male.
Braxton tossed his stuff into the void, aiming perfectly and I snapped my fingers to close it. "See? Easy." I hummed.
"You know the most interesting spells," Braxton complimented.
"Creative too," Kage added.
"Thanks, guys. Let's go see if Zane is in the halls?" I suggested. They both nodded and Alice lifted her bunny head to look at me. I petted her softly. Then she walked over to Braxton to poke his hand with her nose.
"What's up, Alice? Go bother Kage," Braxton mumbled, but Alice stayed, continuing to nudge him. He sighed, picking her up b
efore he rose.
"Let's go before all the Solarity girls gather outside and take pictures of me holding a white bunny,” he grunted and I laughed as I got up.
I leaned in to whisper in his ear, speaking fluent Korean. "Totally hot and I'd buy every single copy."
His face turned bright red and I smirked before shuffling out of the row. Kage raised an eyebrow while staring at his brother.
"What did you say?" he wondered.
"That he'd be an internet sensation holding a bunny and giving the females a run for their money. Think of the girlfriend potentials. He'd have application after application," I teased, putting my hands into my pant pockets. Kage grinned.
"I can totally see it. Mom did say you should come back with a girlfriend," Kage winked.
I grinned. "Oh really?" I winked, making my way down the stairs, with Kage right behind me.
"You guys love teasing him. Those girls don’t even care about Braxton. It's thanks to my adorable cute nature that those girls would squeal in awe," Alice declared.
Uh huh. I think that's your confidence talking. Are you going to be ready for the second half?
Alice giggled in my head. "I'm always ready. Plus, I'm being carried like a queen. I'm gonna nap," she declared, making me mentally chuckle.
I glanced back to see Braxton walking not too far behind us down the stairs, holding Alice like she was a fragile item.
I smirked, thinking how cute it was that he was actually willing to carry Alice around. It was normal for Kage and even Nixon now. Braxton on the other hand, just looked like a hot model carrying a cute animal to pose for a sexy magazine.
My mind was already working its magic envisioning his naked body posing in front of me while holding adorable bunnies in a way that hid his cock from view. Still, seeing the tip of his length, even just in my imagination, made me immediately snap out of it. I didn’t want to have to hide in the washroom because of a large bulge in my pants.
REFLECTIONS OF YOU (Brighten Magic Academy Book 1) Page 19