pte

mr

loud sound of Hea

a pillow over my head.

ct hair in front of the mirror. She was fully dressed in the academy uniform flawlessly, of course. A red pleat

still ha

id, applying a thick layer of lip gl

bag, tossed her sleek ponytail

igh

me... it didn't feel right. The skirt was too short, the vest clung too tightly and the shirt itched in all the

fort. Just enough to not l

oom and into the unfamiliar halls of Lupinem

rst day. A f

--

end in but it didn't take long to re

ee decades, which means I've seen it all, the runners, biters, screamers, and

snickered. Mr. Hald

logical shift. A genetic evolution. But it is dangerous. N

le too hard. I swall

transformations. Most of it I already knew from my parents, but hearing it in a

es without look

"That's what we train here. Control is the difference between sur

st tig

my head. The forest. The blood. The

nced

shifting in their seats, scribbling half-he

n eating me up, this class was making me relive

ly rang, I nearly j

e'll start the practical aspect of control. You'll want to take that

eepy a

and immediately

he hallways, suddenly

mry

up and

aa

m, friendly smile like it was part of him and s

said, smi

r first clas

top yapping about things that felt obviou

s kind of a rite of passage. Everyone new goes thr

inutes," I said, ma

etty funny

ile too muc

, still grinning. "I

" I said. "I

ere, just talking. And for the first time since I a

e garden, sitting on a stone be

turning slightly to face

fr

wh

hey're at Lupinemere," he said.

's your story?" I as

. "I aske

hen memories of that night tried to resurface. I had

s now," I lied, q

nked. "Wa

cut in before he could finish, f

't loo

-

go exactly as

nners," which felt more like "Here's Everything That Can Go Wrong with You." Th

at happened, the more the pas

es and pulled off the stiff school vest. The red pleated skirt soon followed. I

hing caug

At first, I thought it was a shadow, mayb

on the left side of m

but

. Shaped

for it on instinct, brushing lightly over the skin. It wasn't so

at.

ticed somethi

I didn't remem