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I glance over my shoulder to see the darkest-haired member of The Four standing behind me. Unlike how I usually see him, there is no trademark scowl on his face. He actually smiles when he meets my eyes.

"Um, the teacher is going to show me in a min-" I start to reply but Malvolio walks up to me and slides the knife from my fingers.

I trail off, forgetting to finish my sentence when our skin touches. Like with Lucio, the second our fingers touch, a static shock, minus the pain, zips through me. It's the weirdest thing.

Malvolio takes the knife from my hand and stands closer to me. He gently places his free hand on my lower back. My skin tingles underneath his touch.

"Firstly, you'll need to be almost double the distance back from the target," he says huskily.

We walk back about five feet together.

"You might have to change the distance, so alter it each time you throw to find the right distance for you," he explains. "Take the knife."

I slowly take the knife back from his proffered hand. Malvolio touches me again, adjusting my grip so that the tip of the knife is pointing to the sky.

"You want to use a medium amount of force. Take a deep breath, find your aim and then throw."

I focus on the target and inhale deeply. I exhale as I step forwards, throwing the knife. It cuts through the air in a single spin and lodges into the target. It's nowhere near the centre, but it stuck the landing.

"Oh, my God!" I cry out excitedly and jump up and down.

Malvolio watches me with an amused smile on his face.

"Thank you," I tell him gratefully.

"No problem, Emery."

Hearing my name from his lips makes weird things happen in my body. I get a fuzzy feeling in my stomach.

I collect my knife from the target, using quite a bit of strength to pull it out. When I turn around, Malvolio has disappeared. I try not to think about why I am disappointed about that.

The skills lesson turns out to be a lot of fun. The four of us talk excitedly about our newfound skills as we head back to our dorm. I take a shower when I get in. Once cleaned and refreshed, I wrap a towel around myself and wipe the condensation off of the mirror.

My deeply tanned complexion looks back at me. I still have my freckles from summer dotting my nose. My eyes, which usually look maroon in the sunlight, are looking more like reddish-brown as summer turns to autumn.

My shoulder-length hair will need cutting in a month or two. It has always been white, ever since I was born. I blend in well with my surroundings when it snows.

"Em!"

I hear my name being called so I poke my head out of my bathroom. "Yeah?"

"Lawrence is on FaceTime! Come say hi!' Irene shouts.

I quickly finish drying myself off. I put my underwear back on and change into a pair of sweatpants, a top and a hoodie. When I'm done, I leave my hair wet and go into the living room. The three girls are crowded around Honey's phone.

"Oh, here she is! Lawrence, you remember Emery from high school, right?"

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Friday, the last school day of the week. It goes by quickly. We have a mini test in maths, which is easy. My teacher told me that it was okay if I didn't do well, because I had missed the first week where we had covered it. What he didn't realise was that I'd revised it over summer. I aced the test.

Alchemy was uninteresting, we didn't get to do a practical. Philosophy was better as we got to study ancient texts on werewolves. The teacher also showed us clips of human movies that involved shifters.

Everyone laughed at the depiction of us vampires in Twilight. Teen Wolf was pretty good, though. I can see why those humans end up binge watching TV shows.

Business studies is boring. In all of my lessons, I have some sort of eye contact with the members of The Four. I don't know when this will end.

Will they lose interest in the new girl soon and stare at someone else? Who knows.

The final period of the day is independent study. Luckily, I share that period with Salvador. Mr Andrews told us last lesson that we have a test on the topic next week, so Sal and I decide to use our hour to revise.

"Seriously, how the fuck do you know all of this?" Sal asks when he tests me for the third time. "It's like you read the textbook for fun at night."

I shrug at him, trying to act nonchalant. "I studied over summer."

He gives me a deadpan look. "What the fuck? Really?"

"Yeah, really."

"Why? Who does that?"

I roll my eyes at his judgement. "I don't know, people who want to succeed in life?"

He narrows his eyes at me, and I know that he isn't buying it. Sal can say all he wants about his predicted grade in Business, but he's actually pretty smart. Particularly when it comes to reading people.

I lean in closer to him, looking around to make sure no one else in the study room is within earshot. "You know I wasn't here last year?"

"Yeah, why is that? No one knows. There's lot of rumours about it. Some think you couldn't be bothered to come. Or that you've been taught abroad. Or that your parents were hippies who insisted on home-schooling."

"Last year, I..." I look down at my hands and try to get the words out. "Something bad happened. I was hurt...badly. I needed time to heal, so I had to miss school. My parents paid for a tutor."

Sal is quiet, so I look up to see his expression and gauge his reaction.

"That's why I know some of the topics already," I fill in the silence. "Because I've already learned them at home."

"Why don't you tell people that you were injured?"

I shrug. "Because then they ask questions, and I don't like talking about it. For a while there, it was the worst time in my life. I don't like reliving it."

Sal's eyes soften and for the first time, he looks truly compassionate for another person. "I'm sorry, Emmie. You don't have to relive it for me, I won't ask any more about it."

"Thank you," I reply with a grateful smile. "Now, let's get on with this revision."

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After I finish up with Salvador, I go back to the dorm. Irene and Esme hand me a mug of hot chocolate when I get through the door.

"What's this for?" I ask as I accept the mug and drop my bag on the floor.

"Honey made these amazing chocolate balls that melt in hot drinks!' Esme says excitedly. "Look!'

She hands me a chocolate ball, about the size of a large golf ball.

"Drop it in your drink! It melts and releases the animal blood inside. Totally fresh. She caught the muntjac this afternoon."

"This is really cool."

I sit down and watch the ball melt in my hot chocolate. Red and brown liquid diffuses through the liquid, mixing with it and spreading out. I take a sip and lick the residue off of my top lip.

"Damn. That's amazing."

"I know, right?"

"How are you feeling after your first week at school?" Irene asks as she sits next to me. "You survived!'

"I feel good, actually. I'm enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. I was terrified to come at first."

"New schools are always scary, but don't worry, we're a nice bunch," Esme replies, winking over her mug.

"Yeah, you really are."

"Come on, let's pick a movie. We're getting pizza tonight."

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We watch bad human movies and eat pizza until we're stuffed. Later on in the evening, I call my parents. My father picks up first and says a few words before passing me onto my mum.

"Hey, darling. How was your first week at school?"

"It was really good, Mum. I...like it a lot here," I confess.

"Oh, darling, I can't tell you how happy that makes me to hear that. We were so worried about leaving you there. We worried that you would hate it, this is such a relief."

"I don't hate it, Mum! It's a lot of fun. I have to say, though, the tutor that you've arranged for the last year has really paid off. I'm acing my classes."

"That's amazing news, well done! I knew you'd shine there. You're our star, Emery. Never forget how proud we are of you."

My eyes water as I think of home. I'm an only child, my parents have always been my world. Without any siblings, they're all I have.

"Thanks, Mum. I love you."

"I love you too, sweetie. Have you got any plans for your first weekend at the academy? Are you going to hunt?"

"I'm not sure. I went in the week with my friend, and it was fun. We might go again."

"Well, you need to get planning for something special for Tuesday. I can't believe I'm not going to be with my baby on her eighteenth birthday."

Oh, yeah. With everything that's been going on, I completely forgot about my birthday. I'm going to be eighteen on Tuesday.

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