Mary and I made it to class with plenty of time to spare. I was glad I had a friend in most of my classes. We even had time to stop by our lockers to drop off our extra books before English. I made sure I had my homework, the book we were assigned, and my notebook for this class. I also patted my skirt pocket to make sure my phone was still there. On impulse, I pulled it out to check for messages. The last one was from Eric this morning. I relaxed and took my seat with Mary sitting next to me. At the back of the room, I noticed a pimply-faced grungy-looking boy I hadn't noticed before. His uniform looked like he had crumpled it up and slept in it before he bothered putting it on.

He glared at me before he put his head on his desk to go back to sleep. I tried to ignore his obvious antagonism. I knew most of the vampires didn't like me. I would have to win their support somehow. Though part of me didn't care if this boy came to like me or not.

Professor Rhodes entered the room and greeted us all. We chorused our reply and she began her actual class. The first thing she did was ask for our homework. She strode up and down the aisles collecting homework from everyone. I handed mine in, thankful when she gave me a smile in reply.

The pimply boy in the back of the room didn't have anything to hand in. He didn't even have the honor to apologize for it. "Where is your homework Apprentice Jones?" Professor Rhodes demanded. I could tell in those words that she was a new teacher, still trying to get her feet under her. She was trying too hard to be tough.

"Didn't bother," he mumbled. Professor Rhodes glared.

"Stand and answer me properly, Apprentice," she ordered, her voice more firm this time. He groaned and rolled his eyes, but he did eventually stand.

"I didn't do my homework," he sighed. The rest of the class was gawking at him in horror, everyone seemed to be hoping that they wouldn't be next to be called out like this.

"Why not?" Professor Rhodes demanded, still standing firm. I had a feeling something more important was happening here than just a lazy student not doing his homework. There had to be something more to it.

It was then that the Headmistress burst into the classroom. "Professor Rhodes, I will take care of this. Thank you for alerting me to the situation here." Professor Rhodes nodded and stepped away from the pimply-faced boy. He had turned white as a sheet and was looking absolutely terrified as the Headmistress came up to him.

"You are not living up to the standards of our Honors program, Apprentice Jones. Come with me, you will be transferred to the non-Honors track." He hung his head and followed the Headmistress from the room. The whispers started immediately in the rest of the class. Professor Rhodes somehow got our attention again and began her lesson. I didn't much pay attention to it. No one did. We were all too busy thinking about the boy who had gotten removed from the Honors program just for not completing one homework assignment.

I took notes and dutifully copied down all of my homework in all of my classes that day, but between the boy getting kicked out of the Honors program and my brother coming that evening, my mind wasn't really in to school that day and I found myself really distracted.

It wasn't until the Apprentice class that I really began to pay attention again. Today's topic was on what happened to vampires if their bodies rejected the Change. It wasn't a topic any of us wanted to hear more about, but it was necessary to know. Professor McCullen was leading today's lecture.

"As you are all aware, not all students successfully complete the Change into full vampires. It is not a pleasant subject, but it is something you must all be aware of. If you stay too long from the influence of adult vampires, your bodies will reject the Change. However, that is not the only time a student's body rejects the Change. No one knows the reason why, but some students, even surrounded by adult vampires, will reject the Change." I was dutifully writing down everything he said, but I wished he had new information for us. This was something that terrified all of the student vampires. Didn't he realize that? "The physical symptoms of the rejection are flu-like symptoms, a persistent cough, weakness, and fatigue. In later stages, the students begin coughing blood," he read the list with no interest, as if he didn't care that we were all terrified of it happening to us. He seemed so clueless about the students. He only looked 17, with messy bronze colored hair, and the same too-pale skin as the rest of the vampires. There was just something off about him, like he didn't quite understand any of us. He should, he looked like he hadn't gone through the transformation that long ago himself. "Vampire students also do not get normal illnesses, so you do not need to fear every time you get a cold," he continued.

Great, so we only have to fear the one and only time we get a cold. That thought wasn't very comforting. I hadn't really ever been sick. Shifters were also immune to most common illnesses. Getting sick was now a terrifying idea.

Professor McCullen gave us a chapter to read out of our Apprentice Handbook before the next class.

It was in karate class that afternoon that I received my next surprise. Eric was waiting for me, in his gi, in my karate class. As soon as I saw him, I ran towards him. I wasn't concerned about sneaking up on him. That was impossible when I was running full-out. He caught me up in a hug and swung me around. "Eric, you're early!" I exclaimed when he gently set me back on my feet. We were getting quite a bit of attention from the other students.

"Go change and I'll explain," he told me, grinning as he ruffled my hair. I growled at him, but headed down to the locker room anyway. I wouldn't get any more information until I did as I was told. I made it back up to class with a few minutes to spare. "My classes get out at 2 on Wednesdays," Eric greeted me when I entered the karate classroom again. "Your professors have kindly agreed to allow me to train in your karate class and take you out for a run during your club time, so you don't have to cut into your studies," he explained. I nodded, that made perfect sense to me. Our studies were apparently extremely important, especially in the Honors classes.

Since Eric had been studying karate longer than I had, he was higher ranked than me, and we spent all class helping my classmates. We spent most of our time with Mary, since Eric really wanted to meet my friends to prove to mom that I actually had some. When class ended, Eric walked with me back to my dorm and signed in with the dorm attendant. I dropped my things off in my room, growing more and more restless as we walked. I needed to shift out of this human form. Finally, everything was ready and Eric led me out to the woods behind the school. We would finally be able to shift forms!