Chapter Five: New, Hot Teacher

Nyx’s POV

I stepped into class right in time for the first class of the day as the shrill sound of the bell chimed in my ears. I hurried to my seat, knowing that the teacher would be stepping into class soon.

Pulling out my tablet from my bag, I went on to preview my schedule for the day and my eyes lit up.

History and Ethics.

History was my first love, fueled by my curiosity to learn about other supers other than myself. My…condition was another reason I immersed myself in history books and as I swiped through the lesson for the day, I realized they were all familiar to me. 

I could proudly say that I had already studied the entire lesson for the day.

“This is going to be interesting…” I smiled to myself as I reviewed the notes on my tablet. The academy tablet is a customized tablet given to every student, which usually consists of their unique class schedule, daily lessons, study guides, and a review at the end of each lesson.

I received mine earlier in the week and was pretty thrilled about exploring its amazing features. Unfortunately, it is controlled from the school’s mainframe, which meant we couldn’t do anything outside academic work with it, although I heard some geeks are working on ways to hack into it. 

Good luck to them.

I was still buried in my tab when the class suddenly grew silent, indicating the presence of our history professor, Mrs. McMilan. Her clicking heels echoed in the classroom and her aura reeked of unrivaled authority. She slammed her books and wand on her desk and I jumped...

She hadn’t said a word but she already seemed so terrifying, glaring at us with her hawkish eyes hidden behind round spectacles.

“Good morning students, and welcome to today’s class on History and Ethics for Supernatural beings.” She began, her shrill voice permeating the gravely silent room. I looked around, taking in the horror-stricken faces of the other students, and I held back a snicker. 

Who knew they could be scared of anybody? Even the big bad bullies seemed shaken up, and trust me they had a good reason to be. Mrs. McMilan looked like she could turn any troublesome student into a rat with one swing of her wand without batting an eyelid. 

Or maybe it was just the general reverence for witches, who knows?

I had no idea I was so lost in my thoughts until I heard my name.

“Nyx Uren!” 

I froze, slowly turning my head in the direction of the voice. I swallowed as Mrs. McMilan’s eyes zeroed in on me.

“What is lycanthropy?” She asked, a smirk growing on her lips. 

My brain went blank for a split second because that question clearly wasn’t in today’s lesson and I knew that because I went through the notes for the day.

I could feel several eyes boring into my skin and I knew that whatever I said could give them another reason to humiliate me or…accept me. 

Tension hung in the air as I dragged in a deep breath, slowly rising to my feet. I could feel their eyes follow my every move, but I kept mine on the ticking clock hanging above Mrs. McMilan’s head.

“Lycanthropy simply means the ability for a human to transform into a wolf after being bitten by a werewolf.” 

I am amazed at how fluently I was able to answer the question. I’d imagined I’d be a stuttering mess, and I was glad I didn’t make a fool of myself. It was almost impossible to read Mrs. McMilan’s expression, but the little nod of affirmation was all it took for a smile to creep on my lips.

“Well, you are correct…” She began, staring at me with her ghostly gray eyes, with no trace of amusement on her wrinkled face. 

“…however, that doesn’t afford you the luxury of daydreaming in my class. Bring your attention back to the class, do you understand?”

“Yes, Professor,” I replied before taking my seat. I was glad when the Professor's attention was turned away from me towards another unsuspecting victim, and the rest of the class went on smoothly with me answering a few more questions. I didn’t care if no one clapped when I got them correctly. I made up my mind to enjoy the class and ignore the snarky comments from a few of my classmates.

“What a showoff.” A bratty female voice sneered as I took my seat after answering the third question correctly when no one else knew the answer.

“She thinks she’s so perfect…no wonder she has no friends.”

“Pft, who wants to be friends with such a ‘pick me’ girl?”

A low voice chipped in and I could tell that was a boy. Chuckles rose into the air until Professor McMilan’s voice cut through the brewing noise.

“One more word from you and you’ll end up in my cauldron!” She bellows and the entire class was plunged into silence.

With my head lowered, I bit down on my quivering lips, swallowing the sobs that tried to force their way out of my mouth. I couldn’t let them see my tears and I struggled to mute their hurtful words.

Soon, the first class was over and we had barely five minutes to prepare for the next class. I went on to distract myself by preparing my review on the class, also highlighting some important points on my note for future reference.

The next class was Mystic Morphology, which had to do with paranormal physiology and other esoteric life sciences. 

“Hell, the only reason I registered for this course is that I heard the teacher is hot as f*ck!” I overheard a girl chattering in excitement and her bimbo friends screamed in excitement. 

I couldn’t withhold my scoff. Even if he was hot, he’d probably be ten to fifteen years older, and those airheads wouldn’t even appeal to him. 

A loud gasp made me snap my head upwards from my tablet, just in time to watch the teacher walk into the class.

“Holy mother of the moon…” A girl cried out and if I wasn’t tongue-tied, I would have screamed too.

He was tall, with a lean but somewhat muscular frame. His slightly tanned face was a sight to behold, with full plum lips wearing a small smile, and a strong jawline that spoke of masculinity and confidence. 

His blond hair glowed under the morning sun, and his piercing blue eyes seemed to sparkle with intelligence and wit. There was something magnetic about him, something that drew my gaze and held it there, captivated.

I felt my breath catch in my throat as our gazes met, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still. 

There was something about him that tugged at me, pulling me in. Something mysterious and alluring. I couldn't explain it, but I felt something, like a buzzing under my skin as his eyes held mine for a brief moment before turning his attention to other students in the class.

“Narek Carne” I muttered as I read his name tag. So he was going to be our Mystic Morphology teacher? He looked so…young. How in the world are we supposed to focus on his lessons when we’d rather want to be taught another kind of lesson?

Shit, I can’t believe that came from me.

“Hello, Students.” His voice is smooth and velvety, sending a wave of calmness into the air. 

“I’d appreciate it if we pipe down so we can get down to the business of the day.”

“Definitely ready to get down…with you!” One of the airheads from earlier replied rather loudly, and I grimaced. 

“Thank you, Korine but I’ll have to pass.” Came Narek’s reply. “And can we kindly keep it professional? Except you’d like to have a special meeting with the Counselor.” Narek added, and the look of horror on Korine’s face was enough to keep her and her fellow swoon-ers silent for the rest of the class.

No one wants to be summoned to the counselor’s office. It’s like a one-way ticket to hell, or so I heard. I hope I never end up there.

The noise soon died down, and all eyes were fixed on him.

“I’m Narek Carne, and I’ll be your Mystic Morphology professor in level 101.” 

He turned around to write on the Electric board with his pen and my eyes rested on his arm muscle as they flexed with every stroke of his pen. After scribbling some points, he turns around and our eyes locked again.

The jolt of electricity that surges through me snuffed air out of my nostrils. Who was this man and why did he have such an effect on me?

“Mystic Morphology is a fascinating subject that combines linguistics, magic, and spirituality.” Narek began to teach. “You’ll be learning about the various forms of mystical language, including incantations, spells, and charms, while also delving into paranormal psychology and whatnot. So let’s get down to business.”

I paid close attention as he taught, and he made the class so exciting and engaging. By the end of the class, we had all learned an ancient protection spell.

“While the general public believes that only witches can perform spells and magic, we have a rather large group of species that sure do withhold several magical abilities. As for spells, we can all harness the powers around to create some basic spells.” 

What he was saying wasn’t new as mother had taught me that several times, in fact, mother had made me practice spells to a frightening level of efficiency. 

“Are you ready?” He asked us and the entire class chorused.

“Yes!” 

“Then let’s go on 3, 2…1!” 

“Met de kracht van het goddelijke,

Roep ik bescherming op die van mij is!”

“Great job!” Narek said, and the class erupted with excitement as white beams of light enveloped the room.

“Sir only the witches were able to cast the spell!” someone pointed out and I looked around, checking the people that had been able to cast the spells and realizing that the person was right. 

“I’ll like to believe that Miss Nyx is a shifter right?” Narek said as his gaze settled on me. I nodded. Despite the fact that his gaze had my stomach coiled with heat. 

“Yes, I am’” I replied and stretched out my hand to touch the swirling lights in front of me. It felt so warm and delicate, and I couldn’t help but break into a smile.

Maybe Salvador Academy wasn’t so bad after all.