As if he woke up from a trance, Mathias bent in the waist and put his hands on his knees like he just finished running a marathon.

On the top of the staircase, someone coughed. We all looked up to see Doctor Kasian with Professor Cyan by his side.

We must have been some sight. Ardea and Mathias, face to face; Opal and Harper, bewildered and frightened; me, not knowing who to turn to first. The clash between the two boys alarmed some of the students because curious heads were peeking in our direction.

One of them did not keep her distance. "What happened?" Nia asked when she approached us.

"It's fine," I answered, choosing to address her first. "Everyone is fine. No need to worry."

Judging by the look in her eyes, she was not convinced, and the whispers of others let me know they too had trouble believing my statement.

On the top of the stairs, Mr. August walked up to Doctor Kasian. Using his firm voice, he said, "The five of you," he was looking directly at us as he spoke those words, "come to my office at once. As for the rest of you," his brown eyes encircled the other students, "go about your business."

Mathias headed up the staircase in obedience, followed by the rest of us. I decided to stay close to Harper since he still hadn't entirely shook the feeling of fear.

"Miss Nia, I don't believe I asked you to come with," Mr. August said.

I looked over my shoulder and noticed she was right behind me.

"They are my friends," she said while her sparkling eyes met the headmaster's stern face.

"Niatesikleamaniena, go about your business." Her full name just rolled over his tongue, as if he had been using it on a daily basis. I for one, have never pronounced it in full.

"May I join them?" Ardea's father asked. Of course he wanted to be there, his daughter was right in the middle of that mess downstairs.

Mr. August nodded. "You may join us as well, Professor Cyan. That is, if you wish to do so."

I was surprised to see her follow us into the room behind the door with the silver plate on. Once inside, we unknowingly lined up. We must have looked like the suspects brought in for questioning. Mathias was the first in line, Ardea beside to him, Opal next to her, me next to Opal and Harper by my side, as far away as possible from the werewolf. Doctor Kasian and Ms. Cyan stood on the side, next to the wall, so they could keep an eye on all of us.

The headmaster looked at each of us, but at the end, his eyes landed on me. "Would you care to explain the events that lead up to the unpleasant situation we witnessed just moments ago?" he asked.

I struggled to maintain eye contact. It wasn't easy to look at him when his face was this serious. My voice was shaky when I started telling him about my conversation with Harper, but I got a bit bolder when I reached the part concerning Mathias.

When I finished, he walked up to his nephew and asked, "Do you have anything to add?"

"Yes," Mathias replied. "I know what I did was wrong. I shouldn't have reacted like that. I already said I was sorry, but I'll say it again." He turned to the side to look at the faun. "Harper, I'm sorry I attacked you. You did nothing wrong. I want you to know that. I was just having a really bad day." His skin was visibly pale and I was sure his hands would be shaky if they weren't inside the pockets.

"Mathias, go open the window," Professor Cyan suggested.

"Do as she said," Mr. August added.

Some of the color returned to Mathias' cheeks once he breathed in the fresh air. He remained standing by the window, his chest undulating with every breath.

"I'm worried about you, Mathias," Professor Cyan said as she gazed at him.

"You're worried about me?" he countered her with a question. "It's you we should be worried about. Are you actually gonna go through with it?"

"Through with what?" Professor Cyan asked, although I believed she already knew what he was referring to.

"Azora's crazy plan," Mathias answered and added another question directed at Doctor Kasian. "And you're gonna help her?" His eyes rested on Ardea's father, demanding an answer.

"It doesn't work that way," Doctor Kasian said but not before he cast a glance in Ms. Cyan's direction.

It both excited and worried me. The excitement came from the fact that asking her approval to answer Mathias' question meant he did speak to her about the subject. The anxiety was brought up by the knowledge that that was not a path free of risks. If Doctor Kasian were to attempt giving Ms. Cyan her old life back, he would be attempting to do something no one ever even tried before. There would be no guarantees.

Mathias looked at his Professor once again and said, "You shouldn't do it."

"Nobody asked your permission. If she decides to do it, there's nothing you can do to change that. Deal with it!" Opal stated.

Ardea stepped in front of Opal. "Knock it off, will you! His day is rough enough even without your interference." She crossed the room to join Mathias by the window.

"You know what this is all about?" Opal wouldn't budge. "He's against it because he thinks that if it works and Professor Cyan leaves for good, he would lose the one person that actually cares about him. Besides his uncle, that is."

When she turned to him, with her arms crossed in front of her chest, her prying eyes and pursed lips, I was worried that Ardea was gonna have to remove her contacts again.

Instead, he simply muttered, "You're rambling." He turned his head to look out the window. There, just over the window sill, the sun was finally winning the battle against the gray clouds.

"Am I?" Opal raised her eyebrows at him. "As far as I've noticed, you're very successful at keeping every single student at a distance. I never saw you socializing with any of them." She too walked up to the window. Tilting her head to look at him, she continued, "But let me tell you something. In spite your difficult personality and serious trust issues, you do have friends here."

That was the statement that earned her his attention. Being right next to him, with the memory of what he had done to Harper earlier, must have sent shivers down her spine, but she held her ground.

Her finger pointed at me when she said, "That one over there, biting her lip, is your friend. And this weird-eyed blonde is your friend," she said as her finger moved in Ardea's direction. "And this might come as a shock, but I'm your friend too. Otherwise I wouldn't be this honest with you. I case you haven't noticed, I save my somewhat mean remarks only for the ones I care about."

A wide smile lit up Ardea's face. "That was actually a nice thing to say. If I pretend I didn't hear the 'weird-eyed blonde' part."

I chuckled. Even Mathias found what Ardea said amusing.

"And that one over there," Opal cast a glance over her shoulder towards Harper, "I'm sure he'd be your friend too if you hadn't tried to kill him."

Every trace of smile was wiped off of Mathias' face. "I haven't tried to kill him," he said as his head bowed. "If I wanted to kill him, he'd be dead. I didn't want him dead. I was just... angry."

"That's not how it looked from where I was standing." He didn't manage to convince Opal.

"Mathias is right," Doctor Kasian decided to clarify. "Werewolves possess extraordinary strength. It would be no problem for him to snap a young boy's neck if he decided to do so. I'm convinced that there were no lethal intentions in this case. "

I looked at Harper just in time to see him swallow heavily. He suddenly turned very pale. Doctor Kasian's words were no comfort to him. "Perhaps he should be excused," I suggested in attempt to distance him from the situation he no doubt considered unpleasant.

"Yes, perhaps that would be for the best," the headmaster agreed and looked at him. "But we will certainly continue this conversation.''

Harper nodded timidly and headed towards the door. The moment he stepped outside, Mathias turned to Ms. Cyan and Doctor Kasian and said, "Could we cut to the chase now? Can you do what Azora wants you to do? How risky is it? Is it life-threatening?"

"With every procedure comes risk," Doctor Kasian stated.

"Is it a risk you're willing to take?" Mathias asked further.

"It is not up to me." Doctor Kasian remained calm. "Professor Cyan is the only one who can decide if she is willing to take that risk."

A scowl appeared on Mathias' face. "Are you willing to take that risk, Professor Cyan?"

All eyes fell upon her, awaiting her answer.

Thank you for reading my story. Your support means the world to me and I'm very grateful for every one of your comments and every one of your votes.

Stay as amazing as you are.
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