The Shifters: Katrina

Thankfully, I woke up on my own in the morning.

Sort of.

An alarm clock I didn't even know I had began ringing beside my bed, slowly pulling me out of a deep sleep. Normally I'd have music playing from my phone to wake me up, but that was still back at home along with most of my things. Well, my things as in the possessions I'd grown up with or bought myself. The dorm was fully stocked with all sorts of things a teenage shifter would want, and I was grateful for it. I may be separated from my family, but I wasn't at a loss for things I needed.

Rather grumpy despite the amazing dinner I'd had -- courtesy of Molly, who's found me wandering around -- I rolled over to stop the alarm clock's noise. Beside it was a small sticky note with a time on it, and a short but sweet message from Kami.

You have forty-five minutes. Meet me outside.

I flopped into bed with a pained groan, blinking away my sleep. Before I could smother myself in doubtful or sad thoughts, I rolled out of bed and hit the floor with a thump. It woke me up enough to stumble into the bathroom, begrudgingly getting myself ready.

Ready for what, I didn't know.

I remained unbothered as I finished getting ready, running a brush through my hair as I stared at myself in the bathroom mirror. I sported a regular white t-shirt and jeans, since I didn't know where I was headed and figured casual was the best way to go. As I went for the door, I grabbed two of my dorm keys. One I hid in a notch in the wall directly beside my doorframe, and the other I slipped into my pocket. I still had about five minutes to meet Kami, and took the banister way down, sliding past many surprised students. A few of them scolded me, but I was too busy grinning like an idiot to notice.

However, I did notice that most of them had bags with them, and were dressed like kids going to a public school.

Have a nice time in school, guys, I thought smugly, I'm still a noob and I'll have fun on my adventures.

I landed gracefully at the bottom, ignoring angered stares from the girls of the dorm. Fortunately, none of the adults on the bottom floor noticed me sliding off the banister, and I strolled out of the dormitory resisting the urge to whistle. Kami was sitting on the fountain, hair pulled back from her face. She wore plain clothes, a white band around her upper arm. Upon spotting me, the python shifter got to her feet, hiding a small smile.

"You're right on time," she remarked, looking over what I'd picked to wear. It seemed like enough as she glanced at my wrists, raising both eyebrows. "Water, huh? And an apprentice?"

I frowned. "Nathan didn't tell you anything?"

She shrugged, mulling over her next words. "I wanted to hear it from you, after all my brother can exaggerate a lot."

I snorted, picturing Nathan tailing his sister all over the town while rambling on and on about random stories.

"I ended up making the water gemstone glow," I admitted, keeping the fire part to myself, "and grew a willow tree."

She sighed. "I was hoping he was lying," she muttered, turning away from me as she walked toward the school in between the two dorms. I paused, tilting my head in confusion.

"Katrina," Kami said, stopping but not bothering with looking back, "sometimes being abnormal is a blessing. Sometimes it isn't.

"But either way," she continued, "you should get your ass into this school."

I regret everything.

Currently, I wished I had been able to graduate high school before coming to the compound, because this entire thing was terrible. Kami was in the middle of a conversation with the secretary, a middle aged woman who kept handing me more and more papers. Some were handed back, some went into the binder Kami had handed me. Several classes were listed; six in total with a lunch break after the third. I alternated between studying the map to scrutinizing my class list, trying to figure out what they would be like. Supposedly, all my teachers weren't too bad, but they were also prepared to deal with my bullshit. Kami and the secretary finished their business as I finally handed back the last paper, sealing my fate as a shifter student.

"Welcome to the school, Katrina," Kami muttered on our way out, handing me a small pencil case. Inside were the basic things I'd need to survive the day.

"Thanks," I panted, my brain frazzled as I tried to keep up. We were headed for the third floor at a brisk place, where my first period class was; the elements with M. Crim.

Kami came to a halt outside the door, turning to face me as I slipped the pencil case into an inner pocket of the binder, hugging it to my chest. Instead of having butterflies in my stomach, I was rather excited to be finally doing something. Patience was not my best virtue, and I needed to feel like I was being productive.

"Whatever you do," Kami said, breaking my trance, "do not get into a fight. You don't know these people, Katrina. They could hurt you."

I tried to hold back from seeing her words as a challenge, nodding. She gave me a once over before stepping back with a sigh, motioning to the door behind her with a tired, "good luck."

I watched her go, part of me wishing I could run out with her and forget about school and responsibilities. The rational part of me knew Coraline wasn't wrong -- I was, supposedly, going to have actual power at some point. While I wanted to use it for my own entertainment, I knew carelessly using it without knowing how to control it could hurt someone.

Considering my whole goal was to get strong so that I could go back home without posing a threat to anyone, I knew Coraline's words had meaning for me, when normally things like that would be brushed under the rug.

My hands shook with excitement as I gently laid them against the door. I'd heard the bells going off while Kami was setting things up with the secretary, meaning I was already late.

Perfect, I grinned, because that should be the standard for me.