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Well, I'm back again! I've been late because of family trips, but I'm back, again! (and I say this, again!) I sort of sped things up for the self-made deadline, so excuse me if the ending is kinda awkward! But for now, please enjoy!

Chapter 11: Back to school

Will

I woke up to the sound of everyone else moving around, not necessarily being quiet. Todd was brushing his teeth, Jonas was stuffing his books into his backpack, and Jake..... was sleeping. That was unexpected. I expected him to be already gone, or sneering at me for being late.

"What time is it?" I asked Todd, but he couldn't answer because he was busy brushing his teeth.

"7:30ish, I think." Jonas piped up. "You have just enough time for a breakfast and a wash. By the way, don't bother waking Jake. He doesn't have any classes today."

I was just glad that I didn't have to wake him up. If he was like everyone else, he would be cranky at waking up. I didn't want to meet him cranky, although from what I've seen, he was always like that. So I just left him to sleep, and after a quick shower and a breakfast, I got to my classes.

The classes were.... either really young, or slightly younger than me. The teacher told me that cases like me, where a werebeast came into power late, was more common than most people thought. On the side note, the classes were..... decidedly interesting. It wasn't all about learning basic circles, but rather how to use them effectively, what spells could be used against it, and how to cast spells efficiently. They even had a session where they simulated real battle by shooting rubber balls at kids while they tried to cast magic. At that point, I was surprised at how many of them couldn't cast spells and dodge at the same time.

" Focus, Laura!" the teacher- a dragon with a name of Samuel- shouted as a fox girl younger than me tried to cast spells. She didn't get far because the balls kept on smacking into her, breaking her focus. After a couple more minutes, she started to cry and run away.

"All right. Now, William, it's your turn." Mr. Samuel- he insisted on us calling him like that- called out. From his bored voice, I guess he didn't think that I could do it. I stepped into the ring, and the turrets activated at once, firing rapidly. I shifted out of their way, casting a shield spell. As the balls bounced against the shield, I casted a spell that dealt a small electric jolt to the machine, which was what the machine needed to register that its service was no longer needed.

"Good. You seem to be capable of dodging and casting simultaneously, a trait useful for magicians. But next time, try not to use the shield. Or instead, keep a weak shield that can be strengthened rapidly, and dodge. That will save you energy. And class is dismissed." Mr. Samuel lazily waved his paws around.

When lunchtime came around, I sat down at the dorm cafeteria. I was alone, with my roommates away. It was sort of lonely. I never was really popular, but I still had a few friends, and I never ran low on friends. Eating alone wasn't something that I did often. I just ate it as quick as possible, and headed up to my room. When I got there, Jake was sitting in his chair, reading. When he saw me, he just gave me a empty stare and started reading again. I supposed that was to be expected, but I still tried to make small talk.

"So..... why don't you have class today?" I asked. He slammed his book shut, and stared back at me.

"Because I finished that course. It was pathetic." he sneered. "And how was the novice course? Was it hard?"

At that point, I blurted out something that was in my mind. It was probably rather rude, but it just slipped out.

"Why are you like that?"

After a silence, he cocked his head. He actually looked rather confused.

"Like what? The fact that I'm a wolf? The fact that I'm better than you in every way? Or, the fact that I'm a total asshole to everyone else?" he must've read my surprised look, because he started laughing at that point. "Look, you think people didn't notice my attitude? You think they kept quiet? Those two didn't, but lots more always asked me what I had against the world."

"Then why..." he raised his paws and cut me off.

"Because I don't have the time and the patience for everyone else. Those idiots are wasting my time, time which I could use better. Besides, when we grow up, we'll be in a different league. I don't have time for friendships that don't give me anything or won't last longer than college graduation ceremonies. Besides...." he shrugged. "As cliché as it sounds from a rich genius like me that will be someone, everyone wants something from me. I've learned the hard way that everyone wants something from me when they hit up to me."

"Just what kind of childhood did you have?" I questioned. He seemed very bitter, as if he went through everything he said.

"A childhood filled with power struggles, never ending studies, and friends that disappear in a year, or as soon as I give them what they want." he shrugged.

"But not everyone is like that! Todd and Jonas are pretty nice, and..." he waved me off as if that didn't mean anything.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. But when you're born in a family with an attitude, you can't help but to pick up something. Besides, I don't have time for friends." Jake spoke.

"You have time now, and you have time during night. You can also have meals with everyone else, you know." I spoke back, but I wasn't really mad at him anymore. If anything else, I actually felt a little sorry for him.

"You offering?" he spoke casually.

"Offer what?" I asked. Suddenly, he grinned and leaned forward, until our noses were nearly touching.

"To be my friend." he leaned back and shrugged. "I mean, you barge in here and start giving me lectures on how to run my life. I think you're as good a starting point as anyone else, especially when you consider the fact that everyone else considers me as this asshole who's only good points are magic and family."

"Won't you consider me as one of those 'idiots who waste my time'?" I asked, grinning. He laughed back. This time, it wasn't a mocking or a condescending laugh; he was laughing because of something I said, which was apparently amusing to him.

"I think I can live with that" he grinned. "Besides, the one reason why I don't like making friends is because they keep on asking me questions about their schoolwork and make requests from their family."

"So I can't ask any questions? Because I was planning on asking questions."

"Eh, depends. I guess I'll let it slide every once in a while."

At that point, I realized that I only had five minutes before the next class started.

"We'll work things out later. But since you asked, I guess I can give this friendship a shot."

Jake sat back down. He seemed to be in a better mood.

"Come to the top floor after 9. Let's have a talk."

The rest of the day passed by pretty peacefully, save for the one incident where someone accidentally encased one of the professors in a suit of armor that froze and refused to move, or be taken off.

Todd

When I came in today, I nearly ran into Will, or to be more correct, he ran into me.

"Sorry!" Will squeaked as he ran up..... the stairs? As far as I knew, Will didn't know anyone yet. This made me curious, and I grabbed the back of his shirt as he ran past.

"Where are you off to?" Will struggled for a second before giving up, muttering something about a friend upstairs. At that point, I felt slightly curious.

"Can I come along?" I asked, and Will hesitated for a while, before saying "no". As he ran away, I considered following him, but then turned away. I had an exam to study for.

Will

I pushed the door open and slammed it shut, breathing hard. I don't know why, but I didn't tell Todd about Jake. I was wondering about the reasons when a big paw came into my view.

"Why were you running about?" Jake rumbled. He tried to sound like how he did- disdainful and insulting- but he was failing miserably.

"I ran into Todd" I replied and stood up, taking his paw. He leaned on the railing.

"And did you tell him about me?" he asked. When I shook my head, he asked me, "Why not?"

"I thought that you might not like talking to others?" I spoke up. At that point, he laughed. "Yeah, pretty much. I don't like to be around lots of people. They tend to get too noisy."

"What do you like then?" I asked. He closed his eyes, and spoke simply; "books".

"I like reading too, though I didn't have much time for the last few days." I spoke up. His ears twitched.

"So you've been busy? With the novice course, easiest there is?" he teased. "No, I've just realized that I'm not a human, but a mixture of human and beast." I retorted back. His ears leaned back in surprise. "You've just shifted? But you're, about 16 or so, right? Pretty late, then."

"My brother said that it happens if a werebeast didn't have any contact with other werebeasts, or experience magic in some way."

"But isn't your brother a werebeast? I mean, some do shift late, but still..."

At that point, I started to tell him about my life, from the point where I changed, and up to now. It was only slightly longer than a week, but it felt like months. After I finished, he looked rather surprised.

"No wonder you're in the novice course. Usually kids your age start apprenticeship."

"What's that?" I asked. It was then that I realized how ignorant I was about the whole werebeast world.

"Well, it's exactly what it sounds like. You'd get a master, and he or she would teach you magic. You learn only from them, and you're assigned to a master based on your talents."

"What are you, then? Apprentice?" I asked. He smirked.

"Didn't they tell you that I'm a genius? I'm already an assistant to my master. He's usually very busy, so I teach the little ones, who've just become apprentices."

"What are you good at, then?"

"Magic engineering. Basically fusing technology and magic together. It's rather complex, but that's how the magicnet was made. We infused magic into its programming, and made a near-invincible firewall."

We spent the next few dozen minutes, talking to each other. I learned that he liked the same kinds of books I liked, and he also liked working out. Around 10 or so, we went down, and fell asleep. Right before I fell asleep, I realized that tomorrow was Saturday

.Saturday morning

When I woke up, everyone was still asleep. Jonas and Todd were playing board games when I came in, and I vaguely remembered throwing a book at them at some point. At that point, I heard rustling below me. As I peeked down, Jake sat up and opened his eyes, his face less than an inch from mine. We both yelped, and I nearly fell headfirst onto the floor. Luckily I managed to land on my feet. I had several seconds to wonder if this was due to me being feline, when Jake grabbed me and turned me around.

" Never , ever do that again! You've scared me!" He spoke up. At that point, I was saved by my phone buzzing. Wriggling out of his grasp, I grabbed my phone, and saw a text from Arthur, who said that he'll be coming over at 2.

"Hey, you want to come with me at 2? My brother is coming over to see me."

"And why should I...." Jake spoke up, and then fell silent as I stared at him. "Fine"

After that, I cleaned up, and discovered that Jake passed the time by making fun of Jonas, who just woke up. I simply grabbed his ears, and dragged him to our side of the room.

"Was that necessary?" Jake asked as he started to change clothes.

"Yes." I gave a simple reply while also changing out of my clothes.

After we left the room, Jake decided to show me around, since there still were parts that I didn't get to see the last time.

"So, what kind of a were is your brother?" Jake asked as we went down to the gates, and the lawns surrounding the gates.

"I'll let you see and decide." I spoke while looking at a car that just came in. It was my brother's, but it was strangely full. While I was stuck working it out, the doors opened, and I saw Mark, Hailey, Mr. Anderson, and Arthur, of course.

"I was under the impression that your brother's the only one coming." Jake muttered to me.

"I was under the same impression. I especially didn't expect my human friends." I muttered back.

"Do they know?" Jake muttered again.

"They're running over to us, in a academy with magic. Duh." I shot back.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as Mark and Hailey ran over to us.

"Your brother asked us if we'd like to come over." Hailey replied. But then I remembered that the academy had spells to prevent normal people from seeing the true face of this academy.

"So how can you see everything? I thought that there were spells to prevent you from seeing the place as it is."

"I've managed to get a charm that allows them to see the place. By the way, you should be grateful. I've had a heck of a time convincing all sorts of people that your friends were alright, and that they won't blab about us. It was long and unpleasant." Arthur spoke up, coming up.

"Uncle Anderson? What are you doing here?" Jake spoke to Mr. Anderson, surprise evident in his voice. I remembered that Mr. Anderson and Jake were both Andelvels, which would obviously mean that they probably met each other before.

"That's what I should be asking you. What are you doing here with Will?"

"Well, I just came along with him. But really, how come you know Will?"

"Well, Arthur here is Will's brother, and he works for me. I also met him, and I thought that I might tag along when Arthur was coming here. So, same as you. At any rate, how's the family?"

At that point, Jake and Mr. Anderson started to avidly talk with each other, Jake telling Mr. Anderson about all the marriages, alliances, and arguments the family supposedly had.

"So this is the magic school? It's a bit different from the way I imagined it." Hailey spoke as we walked over the lawns. Jake and Mr. Anderson lagged behind, still talking about family events.

"Well, what did you expect?" I asked as we came up to the restaurants.

"I don't know..... A really private place, surrounded by nature to discourage people? And sort of like Hogwarts on the exterior and the interior? This place feels more like a college than anything else."

"Well, I didn't expect it to be in the middle of a village, either. And a village inhabited mostly by werebeasts, too." I spoke back, recalling how surprised I was when I found that the academy was surrounded by a werebeast town.

The following hours passed rather quietly. Jake and I showed the others around the place(It turned out that Mr. Anderson actually graduated from here, so Arthur, Hailey, and Mark were the only ones that needed a tour), and we just hung around.

"Will, are you doing well here?" Arthur asked me as we started to head over to the parking lot. It was getting late, and our time together was coming to an end.

"Yeah. I'm kinda bored here though. The classes are rather easy, and I haven't had any opportunities to practice with my swords."

Jake looked back, and laughed.

"If you found that class anything but boring, then I would be worried about your brain. Anyhow, don't worry. We all go through basic hand-to-hand combat lessons, and there are classes for swordsbeasts and so on."

"Are they any good?"

Jake nonchalantly shrugged. "I don't really know. I mean, I'm not really interested in martial arts. I'm a magician at heart."

Arthur suddenly came to a stop and grabbed my shoulders. "Will, don't worry. I know that you'd be able to do great things. I'll always trust you."

As he and the other drove away, I went back in with Jake. I felt a lot happier, and felt a bit more confident.

"I like your friends and your brother. They seem like really nice people." Jake spoke as we went in. But before we could open the door, the door was opened by Jonas and Todd, who were both grinning.

"My, my. I never expected the icy prince to show emotions, and to make friends with those 'below you'!" Todd laughed. Jake looked slightly nervous, and then sneered.

"Well, Will here's way more interesting and smarter than you two. I suppose you could say that I'm interested in him."

As the three started to tease each other, I silently went in. As I looked at Jake, I couldn't help but to smile. Despite the sneering look in his face, he looked happy, happier than I've seen him first.