Cam woke the next morning to do it all over again. Meg picked him up again but this time the top was up and the rain was back. They arrived just in time for the first class. They all got their mark from Knight. His was an A+ as expected. Meg had an acceptable A she was no slouch in the brains department. She hated chem though, but that didn't mean she wasn't determined to do her best.

A lot of the halfblood Enlightened took a pass on the human classes. What's the point really when instead of working on studying for the SATs to have the highest score so you could get accepted to some of the best colleges, they would be conscribed into a magical guard where they would serve a five year term or sentence depending on who you asked.

Most of the kids just paid attention so they could squeak by with a pass in English, Math, or Science -- all the human courses really. Others who were determined to go to university as a mature student when they were released from service felt differently, but they were far and few between.

Even their magical teachers paid little attention to the human subjects. How import is the Pythagorean theorem in the magical world when all wielders need to do is wave their hand to bring something into being. They all knew the Boston Tea party was never about tea, taxation, or proper representation. Samuel Adams wasn't even human and the stuff in the chests wasn't even tea.

So aside from chemistry, Cam zoned out for his remaining morning classes. He got an English paper back on Great Expectation and it was an acceptable C+ as long as he stayed above that his parents never gave him a hard time.

He finished off his morning with Trig and joined the gang in the cafeteria. It was a two coffee day for sure. He grabbed a mug for now and one for later he'd put it in his locker in the magical wing to have after last class. He was not missing out on his fix again before training. So what if it's cold he thought: it's still caffeinated.

The special of the day was hamburger surprise, emphasis on the surprise. He took a pass and grabbed the chicken nuggets and fries instead.

Joining the guys at the table he found it was more sedate than usual and had to wonder who put their foot in it this time. Turns out Kelly and Xan were fighting, or Kelly was fighting, Xan looked like he couldn't give a shit. Yup this had been coming for a long time.

They could all tell Kelly was a lot more invested in their hook-ups becoming something more serious, Xander had other plans. Everyone else was just hoping they'd work it out soon because it was as awkward AF -- Just as awkward as Lauren and Zach's drama last year.

He wondered if Zach had gotten around to asking Lauren to the Imbolc Ball coming up next weekend or if she was officially still in the friend zone. Any idiot could see they were perfect for each other. Zach better get it together before she moved on, because Quinn was waiting in the wings like an overeager understudy.

Cam ate his nuggets and joked with Meg quietly while she polished off the surprise. And surprise, when she'd fed him a spoonful, he hadn't hated it, maybe he'd have it next time.

The bell rang and Cam stood up and waited for Meg to pick up her tray and try to balance it while trying to maneuver on her crutches, but God forbid he help her. He'd tried once and nearly got his head bitten off. Meg hates it when people jump in to do things for her, because they think she can't do them for herself. Even when she's obviously struggling, you have to stand back and wait.

Even if she fell flat on her face if someone tried to help her up she would be more likely to jab them with her crutch than accept a helping hand. He loved that about her, but sometimes he wished she would let him help. Just when she's really struggling, but she sees it as a form of weakness.

And she's nobody's bitch!

So he stood back and let her do her thing, then they walked to the magic wing. Once there they started the weird ritual of stepping on the proper tiles and saying the incantation until they were on the other side.

Meg left for Magical history which was down another hallway as he made his way to Alchemy. He'd see her again during Transmogrification. Even though technically neither one of them was a shifter they did indeed change shape so there you go.

After Alchemy he had Ritualistic Magic and Healing with George, Brenna's Grandfather the Inuit shaman. That was an important part of his Alchemy training he needed an extensive knowledge of herbs and plants and how to harvest and prepare them for his draughts and potions. They spent a lot of time in George's class portalling to other locations in the world to harvest and investigate the plants in their natural habitat.

Next class after that was Magical History with Miss Long a Chinese dragon. Not a dragon shifter like Ray but the real deal. That class was always interesting. Long used her magic to show them the actual events. It was like having a substitute showing you movies every day. You'd be surprised how much you can remember about the Battle of Hastings for example when you see it firsthand. The long bows and the archers and the damage they did. It was so F'N cool. Never mind that the battle in 1066 AD was fought with real dragons in attendance. Turns out Edward the Confessor, the childless King of England, was killed by a poison draught and it was magic that caused his lack of a progeny.

He had Study of Ancient Magical Texts after that. He just loved Clio, one of the nine muses, three of which taught at the school. She taught them like she was a peer rather than an authority figure, suggesting avenues of research and translation rather than dictating the subject of the day. She walked among them discussing topics of interest to her. It was like there was no syllabus for her class yet he learned the most from her.

He also thought it was so effing cool that the bleach blonde beauty was covered in freckles -- all her sisters were. She explained to them once that she wears her freckles with pride because each one represents a thought or idea that she helped a person make reality. She was always interested in listening to his ideas and concerns about rejection and everyday she's pointed him in new directions and to little known nooks and crannies of the school library, which in point of fact, is the actual ancient library of Alexandria.

If not for her, his research would still be in its infancy.

He caught up with Meg as she was just entering Transmogrification, and snuck a kiss before Adrik noticed. But who was he kidding; he notices everything? He winked at him before taking his usual seat atop his desk. Now this guy was the epitome of laid back. How to explain Adrik Alexeev? Well he's a Slavic Leshy that just means he's a Russian nature Fae that can take any form, which kinda makes him the perfect instructor for shifters. 

He could be a plant, animal, inanimate object of any size and shape no matter how big or small. He's a hairy woodsy guy in human form -- big beard and curly long hair all that. He also has a chest with a thick coat of hair and rarely bothers to button his shirt much to the distraction of the females and some of the male members of his class. He never wears shoes no matter the time of year just Birkenstocks. He looks like an overgrown hipster, if a hipster could be timeless and emanate the power of a nuclear atom. Sitting in his class is like sitting next to a giant electrical transformer. The hairs all over your body stand up the entire time.

It 's no wonder you find most of the tweekers of the school taking his class and then all rushing off afterwards to find a secluded corner to misuse their magic or someone else's.

Tweekers doesn't mean the same thing at Haven High. They're not Meth users. They're halfbloods that misuse their powers or someone else's for the rush. You often find them off in a corner experimenting. These are the most dangerous halfbloods, because they get so addicted to the rush that they get sloppy, or just stop caring to hide their abilities.

There is no way in hell you'd see him do that. He's already dangling on a knife's edge. If he started doing shit like that he'd probably reject his skin for sure. Sometimes late at night when he gets the fever that is the first sign of rejection he wakes himself up to go for a swim to reaffirm to himself that he's okay and to tell his body 'hey you stupid piece of shit' this is what you're really supposed to be.

Would it be easier to be human, sure, did he want to be, not on your life?

The last class of his day was always the most boring Erika Steinman was a dwarf and the school smithy but also the Geography and Iconography and Symbolic Magic teacher. He was sure some of the student's at Haven High must like her class but he wasn't one of them. If you wanted to learn all about ancient symbols on even more ancient structures around the globe go to her, if you want mathematical equations and formulas that would make Hawkins weep go to her, if you wanted brain numbing boredom go to her, but if you're just trying to stay awake long enough to get to your locker you're out of luck. Megan poked him with her crutch from her seat behind him to jolt him awake. He may have been snoring.

Training came next. Olivia was back and being paired up with her today didn't end much better for him. What could he say -- he's a lover not a fighter. When he's conscripted they'd better have a nice safe desk job for him. There's another reason to study hard in the lab. Perhaps he can luck out and become part of the RD team. Researching and developing new types of magical weapons would be effing cool.

This time for weapons training he gave the ever lovely le Fay a wide birth and joined Long's group as she taught Latigo d Daga a Pilipino art form that teaches whip work and dagger throwing. Disappointedly, he'd still needed the gruesome draught at the end of the class as he'd hit himself with the wipe more often than anything else. That shit stung.

Nope -- no Latigo d Daga anymore.

He joined Meg for her swim class after school. There's a salt water pool in the school for Undine (Undine are underwater Fae). It's one of the only places Meg can go to spread her wings or tail more accurately. She goes there three times a week. He just loves to watch her swim -- She happiest in the water. She's fast and strong and when she mere there's no disability.

She had told his entire class in junior year what had happened to her. That she had hurt her back in an accident when she was very young, but he didn't think that was the whole story. Unfortunately, she wouldn't talk about the details and any time he tried to push her on it, she'd shut him right TF down. He often wondered if it was the same accident that took her mom's life.

Today she had swum over to him and asked if he'd pass her water and was rewarded by being pulled into the pool for his good deed. She had pulled him under the water for privacy before kissing him very thoroughly. They went back to his place after that. His parents were gone for the afternoon so he had to look after his sisters. All six of them. Thank god for Meg or he would have been completely out numbered. Sometimes the amount of estrogen in his house is a little too much to stand.

Meg had stuck around until his late night swim with his dad. She'd sat on the shore looking out over the ocean longingly and afterward had helped towel him off before taking him aside for some much needed alone time. Sure it meant less sleep and more coffee tomorrow, but it had been worth every minute of it.

He lay in bed that night thinking about his day. He was so lucky to have Meg in his life, so lucky to have a loving family, so lucky to be a part of an amazing world, sure there were shitty parts to it, but sometimes you have to take the bad with the good, he was also lucky to have a talent for alchemy -- wherever that came from. He let out a big satisfied sigh as he fell asleep. He'd find the cure or a reasonable facsimile and he'd save his sisters and himself, and most importantly, he'd have the time he needed to help Meg take her rightful place in the sea. And for once Cam drifted off to sleep content.

Later that night when the sweats and shivers started, he crawled out of bed and grabbed his trusty red backpack. He shambled in the dark and cold of the night to the shoreline and, wrapping his seal skin around his waist, before diving into the cold January surf.

When his seal head broke the surface he thought.

Oh yeah right . . .he was effing great . . . 

****************** THANKS FOR READING********************

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