It had only been one week, and already I felt completely overwhelmed.
The relentless combination of new magical concepts to learn and complicated boys to completely avoid left me feeling like I was drowning, barely treading water.
Farrah, the twins, and I were almost always holed up in one of our rooms, diligently practicing spells and bingeing on junk food.
Melody and Lyric had both worked their way into our hearts with their easygoing charm, and I had to admit, I wasn’t mad at it.
Even though they looked so much alike, with their rich chocolate skin, captivating hazel eyes, and pouty lips, they were very much different in personality.
While Lyric was more vocal, outgoing, and prone to dramatic declarations, Melody was more laid-back and quiet, observing rather than participating.
Both girls, however, were intensely focused on their magic, making us the perfect foursome, a united front in our academic pursuits.
We were currently studying psionics, first going over what Melody had learned in her different class, then meticulously reviewing our own work.
The way we saw it, if we incorporated everything from both classes, we learned a lot more and at a better rate than the other kids.
The other kids who, by the way, preferred to hang out and throw lavish parties, their social lives seemingly more important than their studies.
We’d even found ourselves on the wrong end of ridicule a time or two because we didn’t attend any of the parties, earning us the label of “bookworms,” but we didn’t let it bother us for the most part.
I could tell Farrah wanted to get out there and mingle sometimes, her extroverted nature yearning for connection, but she always chose to stay in with me because she knew I was trying to keep a low profile, to remain as inconspicuous as possible.
It bothered me some, knowing I was holding her back, but when I even thought about running into either Asher or Echo, I immediately pushed that feeling down, the apprehension outweighing my guilt.
Since that first day in manipulation class, I’d done a decent enough job of avoiding direct contact, both physical and eye, with both guys, a carefully choreographed dance of evasion.
But I knew, realistically, that eventually I would have to face them.
And why was I the one avoiding them?
Echo was the one with the girlfriend, yet doing things like kissing me on the cheek and briefly holding my hand.
It was only a kiss on the cheek and barely a hand-hold, a fleeting brush of skin, but still, it was enough to complicate things.
Not to mention Asher, with all his mysterious secrets and intense stares.
I had enough to worry about with my own burgeoning powers and the mystery of Headmaster Cree without adding them to the mix.
Right?
We still hadn’t been able to get too much information on Cree, at least nothing about my mom, and that frustrated me the most.
It was this consuming investigation, the burning desire for answers about my past, that had caused me to make the dumb mistake I did next.
“Guys, it’s Saturday night, let’s go see what’s happening on campus.” The trio of girls turned to me in unison, their expressions a mixture of disbelief and surprise, like I had a second head growing out of my neck.
“Are you sure you wanna do that?” Farrah eyed me closely, trying to send me an unspoken message, a warning she couldn’t voice.
I understood clearly: ‘You’re supposed to be avoiding Echo.’ But I was done avoiding.
I was tired of only studying, tired of the constant internal struggle.
“Yeah, why not?
I heard there was gonna be something in the freshmen rec room, let’s go.” I averted my eyes, not wanting her to dissuade me, knowing she would try.
“I heard about it too,” Lyric chimed in, waggling her eyebrows suggestively, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
“There’s going to be vareet, and lots of it.”
“What’s that?” Farrah and I asked at the same time, our voices echoing each other.
“You’ve never had vareet?” The meek Melody inquired, her voice soft with genuine surprise.
“Institute kids, remember?” I reminded her, moving my finger between Farrah and myself, a subtle nod to our unusual upbringing.
“That’s right, we keep forgetting.
Well, you’re in for a treat.” Lyric responded, her excitement infectious.
“It’s basically a witches’ brew, a beverage.
You know alcohol does nothing for our kind unless we drink like a truckload of it, and even then, it wears off pretty quickly.” We both nodded our heads, not sure we were liking where this was headed, a sense of unease starting to prickle.
“Right, well, vareet is able to get us a little tipsy, not much.
Just a pleasant buzz.”
We both looked at each other and then back at the twins, apprehension still lingering. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
“I don’t know about that, guys.
I mean, we can go to the party, but I’m not trying to get drunk here,” I told them, drawing a line.
“No, silly,” Melody giggled, and the sound fit her name perfectly, a sweet, musical sound.
“You still have to drink a whole bunch to get drunk, but one cup won’t do it.
It just makes things…
interesting.”
“Yeah, we can get one drink and mingle a little.
Play a few games, dance.
We can even practice what we’ve been learning if we get totally bored,” Lyric added, sweetening the deal.
Well, that sounded like fun, and they did say that it took a lot to get drunk.
What the hell.
The thought of letting loose, even just a little, was surprisingly appealing.
Farrah and I seemed to come to the same conclusion because we both said, in unison, “Let’s do it.” This brought the girls into full-on celebration mode, Lyric getting off the bed to dance around the room, her movements light and uninhibited, and Melody mirroring her movements from her position on the bed, a quieter but equally joyful display.
This ought to be fun.
When we got to the freshmen rec room, the vibrant energy hitting us immediately, I suddenly felt awkward and out of place.
The low bass of the music reverberated through the room, a rhythmic thump that vibrated in my chest, the volume low enough to not draw too much attention to the dorm.
The twins had explained that while having a party wasn’t strictly forbidden, the vareet that was being served most definitely was.
Students mingled with each other, some sitting on the plush sofas and talking in hushed tones, while some were off in a dimly lit corner making out, oblivious to the world around them.
There were even a few who were playing games and laughing, their faces alight with unadulterated joy.
All of them, and I mean all of them, were dressed to the nines, their clothes elaborate and stylish, leaving me feeling like I should have done what the girls did and gotten dressed up.
All three of them had changed into something nice and done their hair and makeup, Farrah even showing off her manipulation skills with subtle, flattering changes, but I, on the other hand, had brushed it off, thinking it was only a dorm party, everyone was probably dressed normally.
Boy, was I wrong.
Looking around, I also noticed that not only were they all dressed nicely, but there were also a few of them who had additional flourishes, strange and intriguing alterations to their appearance.
One girl had glittery fairy wings sprouting out the sides of her head, shimmering in the dim light, whereas the guy she was laughing with had humongous, unsettlingly large eyes.
I knew for a fact those weren’t his real eyes because I was sure I’d remember seeing a guy with eyes that size walking around this past week.
Farrah and I stood dumbstruck, exchanging bewildered glances, just looking at the twins for answers, but for some reason, they kept avoiding eye contact, their gazes darting nervously.
The twins, sensing our confusion, grabbed hold of our hands and pulled us toward the table where drinks were being served, a makeshift bar set up in the corner.
A tall, slender boy with pale skin and a ridiculously straight and long nose stood behind the table, presiding over the various concoctions, and when Lyric approached him, a wide smile found its place on his face, revealing a hint of fang, sharp and predatory.
While a pureblood vampire like Asher had no choice but to have his fangs on display every time he smiled or spoke, hybrids could retract theirs at will, hiding their true nature.
Some, like this guy, chose not to, flaunting their heritage.
We all watched as Lyric leaned over the table and motioned for him to come closer, her lips brushing his ear as she whispered something.
He reached below the table and produced four small vials filled with a shimmering lavender liquid, holding them out with a flourish.
Excitement bright in her eyes, Lyric led us to a relatively quiet corner of the room and passed out the vials.
I popped the cork on mine and brought it to my nose, inhaling the surprisingly sweet strawberry aroma.
Weird.
It smelled like strawberry, but it was purple?
We all made eye contact, a silent pact, and downed the contents in one gulp, and I was further confused when the bittersweet taste of grapefruit assaulted my tastebuds, a strange, unexpected flavor.
Almost instantly, I could feel the bizarre effects of the liquid coursing through my veins.
My fingers felt tingly, as if a thousand tiny pinpricks were dancing across my skin, and my head had a slight swirly-ness about it, a gentle disorientation.
I turned to Farrah to get her take on the strange drink and burst out laughing when I saw her bottom lip swell and stretch until it was ridiculously large, almost touching her chin.
Her hand came up to meet it, her eyes popping open wide as she tried to stuff it back into place, a comical, futile effort.
“Wha da hewl?” she screamed, her voice distorted by her swollen lip, making her words almost unintelligible. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
“We may have forgotten to mention that the vareet also gives you weird glamours,” Melody cackled, clutching her stomach, as Farrah frantically slurped up some drool that attempted to escape her mouth.
We were all laughing, a cascade of giggles and snorts, when I noticed Melody’s skin had developed a golden, iridescent shine coming through, and her ears were now pointy, like a little pixie, her appearance ethereal.
We didn’t even get time to fully admire how cute she looked because we were all laughing again when Lyric’s boobs grew five times larger than they were, pushing against the fabric of her shirt, an exaggerated, cartoonish size.
And she had some pretty hefty ones before she drank the vareet, a fact that made the transformation even more absurd.
We were all cracking up, tears streaming down our faces, when Farrah’s eyes landed on me and went wide, her laughter abruptly cutting off.
“What?” I asked, suddenly self-conscious, trying to figure out what my glamour entailed, what ridiculous alteration had happened to me.
I brought my hands up and turned them over, examining them, but they looked the same.
I turned to ask the twins what the problem was, but both of them were staring at something behind me with wide, lust-filled eyes, their attention completely diverted.
“So, you were too chicken to try the vareet as well, huh?” Goosebumps littered my skin when the velvety smooth sound of Asher’s voice hit my ear, deep and resonant.
I whirled around, my heart leaping into my throat, and there he was, so close I could smell the faint, chocolatey aroma of his skin, a scent that always drew me in.
I craned my head upward since he was a good six inches taller than I was, and our eyes connected, his gaze intense and unwavering.
I instinctively took a step back, my body reacting before my mind, and brushed my hair behind my ear, a nervous habit.
“I did have some, for your information,” I said, trying to regain my composure.
“There’s probably just something wrong with my batch.” I looked away from him, my gaze sweeping past him, and I finally noticed Drew and Dave standing behind him, their expressions amused.
There was also a girl I’d never seen before standing next to Drew, her arms crossed, staring daggers at me, her eyes narrowed in unconcealed hostility.
Ignoring her, I greeted the two guys.
“Hey Dave, hey Drew.” I purposely called them out by name, a subtle snub, so that she knew I didn’t care who she was or why she was looking at me the way she was, and I smirked when her eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance.
“Hey, Gen,” they replied in unison, their smiles friendly.
“Hey, girls, looking good tonight,” Drew said to the twins and Farrah standing behind me, his gaze lingering appreciatively, while Dave acknowledged his sentiments with a dazzling, flirty smile.
I rolled my eyes when I heard the twins giggle, their attention now fully on the two attractive boys.
“Yeah, thure I wook weaw good,” I heard Farrah mutter, her voice still muffled by her swollen lip, and I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped my lips, a genuine, unforced sound.
The guys took that as an opening and burst out laughing as well, their mirth filling the space.
Dave was the first to sober up and, with a slight cough, said, “Vareet side effect aside, you look…
hot.” His eyes raked over her form slowly, from head to toe, and I heard her sharp inhale, a soft gasp, and I knew her cheeks were bright red, a telltale sign of her embarrassment.
Asher hadn’t taken his eyes off me since I turned around, and I could feel his intense stare, a physical weight.
Deciding to deal with this head-on, I looked him directly in the eyes, daring him to say something, to continue his persistent pursuit.
Our silent standoff was abruptly interrupted when the blonde bitch, still glaring, shoved her way between us and snapped her fingers directly in front of Asher’s eyes, a rude, attention-seeking gesture.
Anger briefly flashed across his face, a dark, fleeting shadow, before he lowered his eyes to her, his expression now flat.
“I’m bored, let’s go,” she demanded, her voice petulant.
She crossed her arms across her chest, a scowl marring her forehead, her impatience obvious.
“You can go.
I’m busy,” he said, his voice clipped, and then sidestepped her with an almost imperceptible movement to place himself in front of me once more, reclaiming his space.
“I’ve barely seen you outside of class, Genesis.
If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were avoiding me.” The blonde bitch huffed in frustration, a loud, indignant sound, and stormed off, her heels clicking angrily on the floor.
“I haven’t been,” I said, meeting his gaze evenly, “we’ve just been busy, that’s all.” It wasn’t entirely a lie; we had been busy studying and practicing, our days packed.
Asher looked over his shoulder at the guys, and they both, with a shared understanding, walked over to the girls, effectively leaving me alone with Asher.
The guy I’d been avoiding successfully all week long.
Panic filled me, a cold knot in my stomach, as they all turned and headed in the direction of the drink station, abandoning me.
I’m gonna kill Farrah, the traitor.