“Erm … Hi.” What the hell is going on right now?
I rush to my seat, feeling the eyes of the students already here watching me as I go. Fuck. Maybe I want my gray wings back after all. I’m going to have whiplash if more angels pull a total one-eighty like this.
Once Professor Sofiel starts class, I relax and focus. This midterm shouldn’t be too difficult. I find the material interesting, and as long as I don’t have to listen to anyone drone on about how God would have killed me during his crazed reign, I should pass with flying colors.
A shiver races up my spine, giving me chills. For a second, I worry something awful is about to happen. Maybe the demons are coming back. Maybe I won’t be able to get rid of them like I apparently did last time. How am I supposed to do it again when I don’t understand whatiteven is?
But it isn’t an apocalypse or anything as extreme as that. It’s only Seraphina’s friend, Temperance, glowering at me from her seat in the middle of class.
Well, at least her hatred of me hasn’t changed. Small victories?
“Temperance, is there something more interesting that you’d rather be doing?” the professor asks, causing her to turn around and put on her mask of innocence.
“Nothing interesting, Professor. But it is rather distracting having a mutant angel in class. I’m afraid it will affect my studies.” She pouts, and it takes everything I have not to laugh out loud.
If I somehow affect her studies, it’ll be her own damn fault. She and her friends are the ones who can’t seem to leave me alone. If it were up to me, I’d fit in until I was almost invisible.
Instead of the professor agreeing with her or making some comment at my expense like she’s done in the past, her vivid lips turn down in a frown.
“If you can’t ignore your surroundings enough to pass my class, then perhaps Silver City University isn’t the place for you. Miss Hayliel is an exemplary student. You should make a point to model her behavior. Now, where was I?”
My jaw nearly falls to the floor at her words, and only the very thin line of control I still have is holding it in place. Fucking shit. The professor couldn’t have told her anything worse than that.
Do I appreciate she didn’t throw me to the wolves? Absolutely. About damn time. But this? Telling her she should model my behavior is going to have serious consequences.At least it wasn’t Seraphina directly, or I might not get to walk out of here.
Professor Sofiel pauses in her speech to upload something onto our slates, and the angel sitting at the desk in front of me turns around.
She’s tall, with short, straight hair, and I’m almost positive I’ve caught her laughing with the other students at my expense. This time, she wears a smile and says, “Don’t worry about Temperance. She’s just upset that she can’t slay demons at the snap of her fingers like you. That one wouldn’t know the first thing about being a savior. I’m Marina. I think what you did is really—”
“Now,” Professor Sofiel says, cutting Marina off, “I’ve just sent a practice test to your slates. Take this time to complete it and see how you do. This is a great way to determine which areas you need to focus on. Please don’t waste it.”
Thank the Archangels for this small gift. How fickle are angels that Marina now wants to stick up for me? And for what? Contrary to whatever rumors are going around, I can’t actually kill demons with the snap of my fingers or a single touch on theirforehead. I don’t even know if I can bring forth whatever light appeared before. Whatever they think I am, whatever they think I can do, I’m none of those things.
I was wrong to think it would be different now that my wings are gold. I’d rather be the weird, gray-winged freak than whatever the hell this is. It’s pure torment.
Focusing on my practice test, I do my best to ignore Marina and the heavy weight of everyone else watching me. To my surprise, I actually do a pretty decent job on the test and jot down a few key areas to focus on. As soon as class ends, I’m out of there. The last thing I need is someone else trying to cozy up to me because of whatever gift they think I possess. And I sure as fuck don’t need to get caught in a pissing contest with Seraphina’s friends.
Piled up on the floor near the exit to the Tower is a familiar stack of papers. Another newsletter. I’m half tempted to ignore it, unsure I want to read what my classmates are saying about me, but curious too. Does the strange behavior I’ve witnessed today extend to theWeekly Observer?
I cave, grabbing a copy and making a beeline for the bathroom. My friends tell me to ignore these, but I must be a glutton for punishment because I can’t. Chances are high that by the time I make it to the cafeteria for lunch, they’ll have read it too.
The stalls are empty as I make my way inside the furthest one and lock the door. I lean against the wall, take a deep breath, and start reading.
Gilded in Gold: Is It a Gift or a Curse?
By Harold the Herald
I apologize, dear readers, for my lack of writing this past week. After the demons attacked our fine school, I spent time away with my family to heal. But you can rest assured that not even demons could stop this column, and I come with many opinions.
Rumor has it that we have our very own gray-winged angel, Hayliel Gracelin, to thank for subduing the awful creatures and saving us from further injury. But that comment isn’t entirely true, for she is no longer gray winged. Several students have come forward to relay their personal story of this change. Marina Mandel witnessed Hayliel’s transformation shortly after the attack. “She stood near the well, looking more confused than anything, but there was no denying the shift in wing color. The way the sun glinted off her feathers was almost blinding. We are all in her debt, and I look forward to getting the chance to pay her back.”
There is no mistaking the fact that we owe Hayliel Gracelin for ridding our beloved school of those wretched creatures, but is all that shines truly gold, or is something more troubling afoot? Had Professor Uriel been right to assume she had covered her wings in dust? Was Hayliel aware that her wings were gold? And has she known all along that she could rid us of demons? As you can see, I have too many questions and far too few answers.
Seraphina Beckett had much to say on the matter. “Isn’t this all just a little too perfect? Weirdo outsider wants to fit in … there arehundreds of stories about this. Couple that with the fact demons showed up on campus, which is something we’ve never seen before, and only she can dispel them. Does anyone wonder where those rumors even started? It only benefits her to spread them, so of course she’d want them to be impressive and over the top. I stand by my original statement. That lying freak should be expelled.”
Strong words from a strong angel. But is she wrong? Could this all be a clever hoax to fit in, or are we truly standing on the precipice of something new?
Whichever it is, I can’t wait to find out.
