I headed back down to the cafeteria to attend the Apprentice event. It was some kind of meet and greet for the new students. I was determined that I needed to find a friend before the end of the night. I was doomed if I couldn't find at least someone friendly in my grade. I hoped that there was at least someone here who would give me a chance, even if they were scared of shifters.

I entered the room, trying to stand proudly and confidently. They wouldn't like me if I was obviously scared of them. I was still hesitant when I entered the room. I just had to pretend that I was ok. People looked up from their groups when I came in. They then turned and went back to their groups, ignoring me. How was I supposed to make friends with everyone so obviously against me? I'd never had this issue before. I'd grown up surrounded by my brothers. They'd been my playmates. I was close enough with the other shifter girls to be sisters. I'd grown up surrounded by the shifters, who treated any shifter like family. When I had started elementary school, I met Lissa. I'd been more outgoing back then. I'd never known people not to like me. All of the shifters had, so why wouldn't the humans? I'd had to learn to hide what I was. Now I had to learn how to befriend vampires in training. I found a table to stand by, knowing that no one was going to come over, but hoping I could glean enough from nearby conversations to find someone to talk to.

I wasn't hearing anything promising. The boys at the next table over were talking about football. The girls on the other side were discussing some celebrity boy and complaining about the uniforms. I finally caught the conversation I was looking for: a few students were discussing the latest hit movie and how much it had differed from the book. I smiled at that and headed over to that table. The shy girl who was roommates with the mean girl was there with another girl and a couple of boys. They looked up when I approached and the shy girl flinched. I tried not to let it get to me. "Hi! I heard you guys talking about Labyrinth. Did you notice they left out the entire scene with the troll?" I asked, trying not to appear as scared as I felt. These kids were my best shot at making friends here. They smiled at me, even the shy girl and started going into a debate about whether that scene should've been cut or not. I slid into a seat while they were talking, proud of myself for striking up a conversation with them. I talked with them until dawn. The shy girl's name was Mary, the other girl was Sarah, the boys were Damon and Luc.

"Aren't you the wolf-girl?" Mary asked me as the full vampires were calling time for bed. I sighed, but knew that lying to them wouldn't help anything.

"Yes, I'm a Shifter," I told them, waiting to see their reaction. Sarah looked shocked.

"But you're so nice," she complained. She was a heavier girl with uncontrolled curly brunette hair and glasses. She looked like she spent all of her time with her nose buried in a book. I smiled at her.

"Yes, I am. Shifters aren't crazy homicidal beasts like the horror movies would have you believe," I explained to her, and therefore to the others who were listening. She looked at me curiously, like she was evaluating me, then grinned.

"I think I'd like to learn more about the Shifters," she finally said. I grinned in return.

"I think I can manage that," I told her. Mary giggled, her sleek black hair finally falling away from her eyes. "Anyone else is welcome to learn too," I added for her benefit.

"C'mon, everyone, it's time for bed," Professor Rhodes told us. Our group finally had to split. The boys waved as they walked off to their dorm. Mary, Sarah, and I headed back to our dorm, talking about books on the way.

"What is your roommate like?" I asked Sarah. I knew Mary's roommate, obviously. Sarah sighed.

"She's a cheerleader," Sarah groaned.

"It's too bad you two can't switch roommates," they'd get along much better with each other than with their current roommates. Sarah smiled.

"She's not so bad, we just don't talk much," she shrugged "I think she's one of the Vampire's kids," Sarah lived only a couple of doors down from me, which made me happy that my new friends were so close. I told them goodnight as I opened my own door. It was nice to have my own sanctuary.

Before I went to bed, I wrote a long email to my mom telling her all about my new friends. She would be happy with that. She would tell dad that I was doing ok and he wouldn't have to take desperate measures to make sure I was actually ok.

I found my pajamas and checked my phone, realizing that it had been almost all day since I had checked it last. Lissa's scholarship had come through, so she was going to a good school. There was also a message from Caleb: <Your father has assured the Community that you will still do your duty to the tribe. I'll see you when you come home this week>

I stared at the message, confused. I hadn't heard about any of this. Obviously, I would do my duty for the tribe and get married to a shifter. The tribe wouldn't continue unless I did. I guessed it made sense that daddy would reassure the Shifters once word had gotten out that I had been Chosen, but why would Caleb be texting me about it? Why would he be saying he was going to see me? We hadn't made any plans. He also seemed so different the last time I had seen him. He was usually confident and athletic, hanging out and playing sports with the boys. This time he'd been shy. I hadn't made any sense. I wished I knew more about what was going on.

There wasn't anything I could do about it now, though and decided my best option was to go to bed.