Chapter 8

There he was, in the flesh, and I was powerless to do anything. A room full of eyes prevented it, and I wanted to scream at the injustice.

"Today, I thought we'd have a little exercise to get to know one another better. We've got an hour. How about we go around and introduce ourselves?" He spoke to the room, but his eyes kept cutting in my direction. No one else seemed to notice, but each time it happened, I made sure to glare at him. "I'll point you out, and you can tell everyone your name," he paused, tapping his chin, "and since this is a mythology class, how about your favorite and least favorite mythical being."

He pointed to a girl in the front tow, and she stood. "My name is Beth. My favorite would have to be a unicorn. My least favorite–"

I stopped listening. I didn't have a favorite. I hated them all. I had a least favorite. I just didn't know what it was yet.

"There's a party tonight. You want to come?" Justin asked, pulling my attention back to him. Brady's sudden appearance had made me completely forget the gorgeous boy beside me.

"A party?"

"Yeah. It's at my fraternity. You could be my date." He leaned forward, giving me a billboard worthy smile.

A date. His date. My eyes shot to the front of the class. Brady's gaze was honed in on the two of us, his mouth set into an annoyed line.

I thought about how that could end. If I said yes, if I took the chance, it could spell disaster for this poor innocent. No. I couldn't. I needed to get rid of my problem first. "I don't think I can make it. I've got a lot going on tonight."

"Is it because it's a frat party? I promise, we're not so bad."

"It's not that–"

"How about," he cut me off. "You go get some coffee with me? After classes today? Then, you can answer about the party."

I thought about it. Coffee could be okay? It wasn't that big of a deal, and we'd be in a public place. Justin was looking at me expectantly.

"Alright. I guess that would work."

"Sweet." He smiled. "I'll meet you out front around one? Will you be done by then?"

I nodded, and he smiled.

We both turned back to the front, and Brady was now glaring at the man beside me. "You there!" he called, pointing to Justin. "How about you?"

Justin stood. "My name is Justin." He waved at the room. "I've always been fascinated by Greek mythology. It's the whole reason I took this class." He sat back down, and Brady looked to me.

He pointed and nodded his head. "And you beside him?"

I didn't want to do this. Why did I have to do this? Everyone was staring at me. I moved to stand and almost fell. Justin reached a hand out and grabbed my wrist to steady me.

"Thank you." I stood, feeling each and every pair of eyes like sun rays warming my skin. "I'm Amelia." I cleared my throat, then tried to sit back down.

Brady held a hand up. "Wait. You didn't answer the question."

"Question?" I looked around. People were starting to laugh. I looked like an idiot.

"Do you have a favorite myth? Legend? Why did you take this class?" He wasn't letting up, and I hated him even more.

"I guess." I racked my brain, fighting to come up with anything. "I've always thought genies are kind of dumb." That was good. Okay. That would work.

"Why?" he sounded annoyed.

I jerked my head up. He looked annoyed. My chest jumped into my throat, and my brain went into a frenzy. Genies. Genie? Really? I didn't know shit about genies, apart from Aladdin. I'd only said it because of that reason.

Brady was still waiting for an answer. I needed to test this theory. "Genies are dumb," I blurted out. Nice. Real smooth. "I mean, it's kind of dumb when you think about it. They live in lamps? How do you even do that? Trapped in a lamp? That's not very impressive for something that's supposed to be magical." I watched his face, watched the continued annoyance.

"Well, you know, that brings up a good point. Most of western culture perceives Jinn from one story written a long time ago. If you research, you'll find–"

"Please don't assign that. I really don't care."

The room fell silent apart from a few gasps at my rudeness, and quiet laughter.

"Is that so?" He studied me.

That was it. I knew it. It had to be. "Yes. That's so."

If I thought people were staring before, it was nothing compared to now. Only, I no longer cared. I'd figured it out. I could get rid of him.

Brady looked challenged as he continued to stare me down, but eventually, he broke eye contact and addressed the class. "We're all done today. You didn't leave early. You'll spend the next twenty minutes wandering the halls. If anyone asks, you'll tell them what a great teacher I am."

I watched as each and every student stood up in unison, eyes glazed, looking like a scene from a zombie flick as they all began to shuffle out of the room.

Brady had a look fixed on me that made all the little hairs along my neck stand up. Predatory. Intimidating. A million and one oh fucks raced through my mind.

When the last student exited the door, he took one pointed step forward and crooked a finger. "I'd like to speak with you, Miss Snow."

"I'm good." I gathered my things and slowly made my way down the isle. "I've actually got to go. Maybe later?"

I hurried to the bottom and made a sharp right, hoping his absence of movement meant he wouldn't stop me.

I wasn't so lucky.

Brady appeared out of nowhere, materializing into my path so abruptly, my face ended up pressed into his chest.

"You made a friend today?" he asked.

Justin. Is that what he was upset about? Of course. So, did that mean I was wrong about the genie thing? I let my eyes roam from the top of his head to his black leather shoes. He didn't look like a genie.

"I did." I reached a hand into each of my pockets, letting my fingers wrap around the hidden items.

Brady took an intimidating step forward.

I took a step back.

He matched the motion.

Like a cornered rabbit, I pulled out the garlic and the spoon simultaneously, like a gunman drawing his pistols, then I slammed them into his chest.

Brady's eyebrows furrowed as he looked down to see what I'd just hit him with. He looked at the slightly crushed garlic, then over to the spoon. "Are you making spaghetti sauce?" His eyes met mine, dancing. His lips turned upwards as his dark look vanished. "I love Italian."

Okay. Not a vampire. Not a werewolf. "You're a genie."

His smile dulled. "It's pronounced Jinn, sweetheart."

My mouth fell open, then curved into a smile. "It's true! I figured it out!" I dropped my hands, letting the garlic and the spoon fall to the floor.

"Congratulations," he said, sounding bored. "Now let's talk about this boy."

"Let's not," I replied, already walking away. "See you later, genie! Try not to burst into song and dance too much! Might lose your job."

He didn't reply, and I didn't wait around for one. The moment I exited the door, I broke into a full blown sprint down the hallway. The smile remained stretched across my face, my spirits lifted with hope.