LUNAR ACADEMY

CHAPTER 2

I didn't spend long in the building. I collected my schedule from the mean-looking secretary who sneered at me the entire time. I let out a breath when I am out of the building.

I hear the door open and close behind me and turn back to see a young guy about my age. He is tall, taller than me. He is a bit on the slim side, giving him a lanky look. He is dressed in a button down shirt with slacks, complete with loafers, which speak of how deep his pocket is. He looks like the model student and with the glasses on his face, he looks like a nerd.

"Hey." He said, waving his hand awkwardly and pushing his glasses up on his face. "My name is James. Miss Blooms said I should show you to your building."

Blooms. I try not to cackle at that. So that's her name.

I start moving forward, ignoring him and he falls into step with me. He clearly doesn't need any encouragement to keep talking though.

"I know who you are. Your dad is a bit of a legend around here." He sounded sheepish at that.

Great. There goes my plan of keeping a low profile.

"I –uhm I'm a freshman too. Most people on this side are. The sophomore and seniors are at the other side of campus."

I tune him off and just take a look around.

The campus looks clean and well kept. The layout is like every other university campus with students bustling around everywhere. Thankfully, nobody look over at me.

"So, what's your zodiac sign?"

For the first time since we started walking, I turn to look at him – slowly. I gave him my death stare. The one I know make grown men want to pee their pants.

"Your zodiac sign. Sorry it's just that I'm into astrology and zodiac signs say a lot about your personality. I'm a cancer and I like to differentiate friends from foes at first meet." The poor dude stuttered out and immediately murmured "sorry" under his breath.

He opened his mouth, probably to continue talking but this time I cut him off. "I just came all the way from across the country. I'm jetlagged, cramped and all I need now is a hot shower and some good sleep. So please, keep quiet." I told him, unable to listen anymore.

"And besides, zodiac signs are a myth." He looks offended by that but only for a little while. As we turned around a corner, I noticed a little smile on his face, probably pleased that he got me to talk. I rolled my eyes at that.

Boys.

Maybe wolves aren't that bad after all.

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I find my building fairly easy with James help. He knows the campus from frequent visits. Apparently he has three brothers here. I felt a little sad as I remember my own brother.

Andre!

He was 5 when I left home. I barely said two words to him since coming back. He probably thought I abandoned him. I have hardly even spoken two words to him since I came back. God! I miss him.

I distract myself by looking around the inside of the building. It is done in a Victorian style. I can see two floor-to-ceiling pillars supporting the structure. There are two fireplaces at opposite ends, surrounded by couches. The lobby look cozy. I can hear voices coming from behind close doors. They seem to be a football match going on. The lobby is empty though which is a miracle as this building has over 500 rooms.

I check my schedule to see which room I have been assigned to. Room 108, third floor. I sight two elevators on either side of the building and I walk over to the one on my right.

I press 3 on the elevator once I'm inside and mentally thank the moon goddess once I see that there is no one else sharing the space. I withdraw my thanks once I see pink painted fingernails waving through the little space until the doors open back.

I hear the click of heels as the newcomer enters into the elevator. She is wearing pink high heels. Bright pink!

Heels so high that I'm sure will have me calling a healer if I ever dare to put on. I look up to see that she is wearing a mini skirt that barely cover her ass. The skirt shows off her nice long, tanned legs. She is also wearing a cropped sweater with sparkling jewelries. Her long perfectly-straightened blonde hair falls to her waist. She looks like Barbie incarnate.

I don't know how she isn't cold, wearing so little. I mean it's Alaska and it isn't exactly summer. I know wolves usually have a lot of body heat but still. I look down at my feet where I'm wearing black boots that stop at my ankle. Long, comfy jeans and a thin sweater with enough insulation. I also have a scarf around my neck.

This is how you dress in Alaska!

The elevator stops with a ding and Barbie 2.0 steps out immediately the doors open, not looking up from her phone the entire ride here. I step out behind her, happy to finally be out of the enclosed space.

Barbie 2.0 and I stopped moving at the same time, coming to a halt in front of opposite placed doors. From the corner of my eye, I see that she still doesn't look up from her phone as she walks into the room and slam the door after her.

I sigh immediately I get into my room, grateful that my roommate is not around yet. My bags are already here. The room is mostly bare except for the two postal beds by the wall, and a large wardrobe that I guess we will be sharing. There is a door on the far side of the room, which I assume is a bathroom.

I make a quick sweep of the room, checking the wardrobe, under the beds and inside the bathroom. I check them one more time until I'm confident enough that I'm the only one in the room.

I have developed the habit of checking and rechecking my environments. When you've lived the horrors I've lived, you learn to be careful. A quick sweep like this one I just did have saved my life, more than once.

I drop my purse on my bed. I choose the bigger bed, not my fault my new roommate didn't arrive first. I strip off my clothes and get into the bathroom to clean myself up and not long after, I'm dozing off.

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I wake up to screaming.

"I told you to leave me alone, motherfucker. I'm about ready to hunt you down and rip you to shreds. If you ever call me again, you cocksucking cunt, you are as good as dead." I cover my ears with a pillow at the shrill voice, what a way to wake up!

"Block me. Vete a la mierda." The voice huffs out a breath and I hear a thud as her phone lands on her bed.

I peek at the window a little, noticing that it's already morning. I have classes by 9am and I panic as I reach for my phone to check the time. I'm not a nerd or anything, I just don't enjoy being tardy. I relax when I see it's still 6:45.

I sit up with a groan as I let my eyes adjust to the bright room only to see a lady, about my age standing right in front of me and glaring at me like I killed her favorite cat. The first thing I notice about her is her height. She is short! Like very short! I doubt she'd be up to 5 feet but that's just me probably exaggerating. She takes up a lot of space in the room, for someone her size. After trying and failing to set me on fire with her eyes alone, she turn and move to her side of the room, sitting on her bed, and just looking around.

I got into the bathroom to get ready for today. According to my schedule, I have Mechanics of Elemental Magic and Introduction to Lycanthropy. In the safety of my bathroom, I loosen the restraint I usually keep on my wolf. Casting a shield and making sure no one can sense anything from the bathroom.

"Hey." She doesn't immediately answer.

"We don't need to do this. We are stronger than most wolves. We will just finish them off if they come after us."

I sigh, we have had this conversation about a thousand times now.

"And how many people will die if we do that? We may survive but how many innocent people will suffer if we decide to wage war against them?." I try to reason with my wolf. "I don't think I will be able to live with myself if that happens."

My wolf doesn't answer back. She hates that I hide her from everyone but she also understands. There are people who can sense my wolf from miles away if I ever shift. These little conversations I have with my wolf counts as a huge risk but I need them to keep sane. I won't let anyone take me again. Never again.

I wrap my towel around myself as I step out of the bathroom. My roommate is just looking at me curiously, like she is trying to figure out something.

"You don't have a wolf but you are not human. What are you?" I tensed. She is looking at me suspiciously now.

Great!

The first conversation with my roommate! We are definitely not off to a great start.

I don't answer. Just move to the wardrobe, noticing that she have already unpack her stuff. After falling asleep in the evening, I'd woken up by 2am to put away my clothes.

"Are you dumb? Or deaf? Can you comprehend speech or is your brain too slow to process it? Is that why I can't feel your wolf?"

Okay!

She is insulting me now. I turn to give her my mean stare while squeezing into another pair of jeans. The stare doesn't seem to be effective because she just continue looking at me, with her eyebrows raised.

"I'm Camille Alexandrè." I decide that I can give her that. Just like I predict, her eyes widened as realization dawn on her. I'm sure a lot of people have heard of me. The girl who six years ago, shifted for the first time only to find her wolf so powerful, she was hard to tame. The same girl who ran away, only to come back with no wolf. I'm sure she've heard of that girl.

I don't give her a chance to ask anymore questions. I just pick up my bag and head towards the door, already dressed. It's still early but I don't want to be in this room anymore.

As I slam the door shut, I realize that I didn't feel her wolf either.