Day Break Academy Series book 1

Chapter 9: Middle Ground

The alarm ringing on the bedside table felt like little ice picks stabbing me in the brain. I groaned and slapped the top snooze button to shut the thing up. It was 6:45 and I barely got any sleep last night. Instead I tossed and turned, battling with the war of images in my head.

In one scenario I magically got food poisoning, and couldn't make it to the third period today. In another, Jet pinned me with his icy stare, and confessed his hostility had all been a ruse to hide how in love he truly was with me…that was my favourite scenario, and I'd revisited it a few times. The final (and most likely) scenario to happen, was that we begrudgingly showed up, he acted an ass, I wanted to murder him, and we went our separate ways.

I sighed despairingly and slipped the covers off, stretching to my full height. Which wasn't much. I was just about five foot two, three if I had good shoes on.

I got ready in record time, and made my way to the cafeteria for a blood box and coffee. Previous to life at DayBreak the concept of drinking blood would have curdled my stomach, but ever since the day I tasted it I couldn't imagine it not being a regular part of my diet, necessary like water to me before. I wonder if the other races find it disturbing or if they're so used to life as a paranormal that it doesn't stand out as anything to speculate.

I had just finished draining cream into my coffee when the first bell rang. f**k. Oh f**k, f**k, f**k. I turned around and shuffled quickly as possible to the wide double doors, juggling my side bag in one arm, and coffee in the other. Mr. Felch didn't strike me as the kind of professor to let tardiness slide unpunished.

I squeezed quietly into the classroom without being noticed (or so I thought). Felch had his back turned to the class, and he was thumbing through a binder on his desk.

"In the hall Miss Venus." He quipped without turning around.

I froze with my bag slid down by my wrist, and gave a quick scan around the room to everyone who turned my way. Twyla stuck her snakey tongue out at me, and her friends silently giggled. Dejectedly, I hiked my bag back up onto my shoulder, and exited the door.

Great, day two of classes and I'm already on Felch's s**t list. If I wasn't so worried about the cussing he'd be sure to bring me, I might even be a tad embarrassed being kicked out in front of everyone.

The hallway was empty. I slid my back down the wall and took a seat on crossed legs letting out a disgruntled huff.

A few minutes passed before the door creaked open, and Felch stepped out. I stood abruptly, and opened my mouth to explain why I was late, but he spoke first.

"Normally you'd be dismissed from returning to my classroom this period, but we're covering a new topic I feel is necessary for you to learn. If ever you're late again, keep walking and do not enter my room. I do not give space for students who can't respect punctuality." He glared and held the door open.

I took my seat, and kept my eyes trained on the whiteboard refusing to meet the quizzical stares of my classmates. I felt the strongest tug to look towards Lex, but fought it down.

"The Fae were the strongest of the supernatural races. Prior to the great Civil g******e that is. It's said that a Faes magic of power lies in their soul, also referred to as their 'essence'. Many Fae were targets of attempted murder because of this. When a Fae was conquered, that who did the deed was then able to absorb and wield the Faes power, regardless of their race…" Felch paused, eyeing the class meaningfully while murmurs swam amongst the room.

"...it was near impossible for anyone not born of Fae descent to kill one, however, there are those who were successful. The Fae were able to contain their essence to an item referred to as a crux, or another Fae in order to protect it from those wishing to use it for harm. The great council has since tracked down all remaining cruxes since the Fae g******e, and destroyed them. However, suspicions remain whether any may still be in existence today." He ended. His cold stare scanned across the room once more, and like the last class, landed on me.

.

.

.

The days you look forward to something, the hours always drag by slowly. Meanwhile, the days that you dread an event, the hours fly by until the horror smacks you in the face. That was today. Lunch and Power class flew by while I anxiously watched the clock speed onward to two o'clock.

To make a mockery of Jet I intentionally arrived five minutes early to the gym. It was an average looking gym, but triple the size of a standard one. Normal gyms don't usually have a military grade obstacle course lining the length of a football field either, but the Academy was well equipped.

I lay back against a gym mat and crossed my legs, swinging one with nonchalance whilst I pretended to examine my non-existent manicure. I didn't glance up when I heard the gym door shut.

"Lesson one, you're on your feet when we train, not on your back. Get up." He huffed.

Irritance flooded me. Well at least it got a rise from him, I considered.

I watched curiously as he dug around in the black duffel he came in with. He pulled out a pair of black gloves with rubber palmings, and handed them to me.

I took them, sharing a look between him and the gloves. "Um..why the gloves?" I asked.

"I don't know how much you've learned yet so I'm just going to give you the whole run down anyhow. The trials in June aren't your typical school tests. You'll be expected to perform all elements of magic taught in the first year, and then battle it out with another student to demonstrate competency in each area. Who you're paired against will be a surprise. Whether it's a shifter, a mage, or even another vamp, you won't know until shortly before the trial. Even though magic is the purpose, hand to hand combat can still give you the edge to win. All students here have a background knowledge of basic combat before even being accepted to DayBreak. With the exception of you I'm guessing." He tacked on, his eyes examining my petite frame critically.

I crossed my arms subconsciously concealing myself, and glared up at him.

"I've spent years wrestling my brothers, I'm not as weak as you seem to think, thank you very much." I retorted.

He covered a laugh with his hand and nodded. "Sure, sure. I'm guessing you're the real Bruce Lee."

I rolled my eyes, and turned to leave. Swallowing my pride to let him tutor me was one thing, sticking around for him to belittle, and poke fun at me was another.

"Where are you going?" He asked surprised.

"To tell Valhmer this arrangement isn't going to work." I snapped.

"Oh jeez, settle down alright? I was just playing. All I'm saying is supernaturals, and humans don't exactly match up physically in a fight. If you want to pass your trials you're going to need to train." He sounded almost concerned for a moment, like he actually wanted me to be successful. My step faltered, but I didn't turn back.

His large hand gently grasped my shoulder, and stopped my retreat.

"Truce, ok?" He said.

"You're so confusing, you realise that right? Whatever happened to not wanting me in your life? And while we're on that train why did you say that anyway?" I questioned. I don't know why I asked him, but ever since he said it I wanted to know what his problem with me was. Last I checked we didn't even know one another, and he has no obvious reason I'm aware of to hate me.

He let out a tired sigh.

"Look it's nothing personal, I was just dealing with some family drama, and didn't have time to be looking out for a new freshman. I was taking out my personal anger on you. I realised that I was being a d**k. I'm sorry for that. Really Ava." He said my name gently.

Heat licked down my spine when my name fell from his mouth, and I met his stare gently.

It seemed a bit over the top the way he had acted towards me before, more than someone having 'some family drama', but his expression seemed genuine.

"It's no sweat, is everything OK now with your family?" I risked asking.

"It's nothing you need to worry about. What you do need to worry about is how you plan on training in those jeans." He smirked, eyeing the denim that hugged my lower curves. His icy eyes met mine in a heat loaded challenge.

"Take em off." He ordered.