The Shifters: Katrina

My entire body was sore from running with Molly. Part way through she'd shifted back and we'd spent at least an hour running through the compound. I could still feel my chest heaving, and I was dead as I slumped over my desk in my first period class. Tyree occasionally laughed mercilessly as I groaned, waiting for the lecture to start.

"You alive over there, Katrina?"

"Is she alright..?"

I looked up suddenly at the unfamiliar voice. It was the girl who sat in front of me, the one I'd never spoken to. She was staring back at us with shyness written all over her face, but also looked genuinely concerned. Her blonde hair was still in the exact same braids from yesterday, and I could still see her tattoo peeking out from under her shirt. Now that she'd turned around, I could also see the red band around her arm.

"I'm Alisa," she said, extending her hand. "I'm a cobra shifter."

"Aren't you the one that won last year's duels?" Tyree butted in, frowning at Alisa like she couldn't recognize her at all.

The girl sighed. "Yeah, that was me. I was in the shifting stream of duels."

I could feel the question marks appearing above my head one after the other as whatever they were saying made no sense to me. I was about to interrupt them when M. Crim entered and began his lecture, leaving me in the dark as Alisa turned back around with another smile.

Tyree leaned over while the teacher had his back turned.

"Alisa may seem shy and nervous, but she's actually a pretty good shifter. She's the quiet artsy type, though, so you don't have to worry about her."

I nodded, glancing at the girl in front of me before turning my attention to the blackboard.

It's the duels I'm curious about...

It was the end of class with about ten minutes before the bell rang, and I was finishing up notes with the help of Tyree. This was the most schoolwork I'd done in years. Many of my classes had notes and a lot of dicussing in them, and I found myself longing for sixth period, which was gym with the elite shifter Victoria until I got my form. Once I had my form, apparently I'd get moved into a class where we worked on actual fighting while in animal form. The rest of my classes were the boring ones.

First was the elements with M. Crim which wasn't too bad so far. After all, I had Tyree to keep me company.

Second was math, which I was hoping I'd avoid as a shapeshifter, with M. Garcia.

Before lunch I had shapeshifter and human history with Mrs. Halter, which wasn't as bad as it sounded because shifter history was interesting for the most part.

After lunch, fourth period, was shifting and animal forms 101 with Ms. Rogin. Next after that was languages and culture with M. Rogin, and I constantly found the fact that I had the couple as teachers adorable. They spoke about each other on occasion, and after M. Rogin found out yesterday that I was in his wife's class, he'd been excited.

Then finally was the best class with Victoria. The elite guard shifter had already begun keeping a close eye on me, but I was most calm burning off steam during gym. She also happened to be my favourite teacher.

It didn't make me any less tired though.

I wasn't in the same class during sixth as anyone I knew except for Sonya. Yesterday, she and I remained around each other for the entire class, and I found out that while she was calm, she was also determined to do her best. It kept me motivated, which is something I needed considering Victoria had us doing fitness and running. It was therapeutic and torture, but I loved it.

Tyree nudged me as the bell rang. "You okay, Katrina? You looked a little spacey there."

"All good," I replied, shoving my books into my bag. "Still adjusting."

The gorilla shifter walked beside me as we left the class. "I get that, this can be a lot," she agreed. I sighed.

You don't even know that I wasn't brought here like most people. They had to kidnap me.

I tucked a strand of loose curls behind my ear. At least I'm starting to feel better about this all.

"Hey, are you doing anything tonight?"

I frowned, looking back at Tyree. "What?"

"Everyone that was at our table yesterday is meeting up after school to hang out. You should come too. Just follow Sonya after sixth."

My mouth hung open for a second. Since everyone in Greenhill had a mutual hatred for me, the only people I ever went out with had been the siblings I grew up with.

I smiled, feeling like I could cause some ruckus with actual friends for once.

"Sounds good. I'll make sure not to let her out of my sight."

"Cool," she laughed, stopping outside her classroom. I waved, heading down to my own.

This should be fun.

Oh my god this is not fun.

I was panting, my gym shirt sticking to my chest. The gym clothes were something the school had given to us, Victoria shoving them in my arms yesterday. They had fit surprisingly well, and weren't too ugly.

However I probably looked like a boiled potato with how disgusting and sweaty I felt.

Sonya was doubled over with her hands on her knees beside me, breathing heavier than I was. Victoria had made us run for ten minutes straight while she alternated between chasing us or knocking things down in our way. It was an obstacle course that was completely random and left us at her mercy.

Beside us, another girl was flopped on the ground. Victoria was legitimately laughing at the entire class, and we all looked like we despised her for it.

A smile appeared on my face, and I bit my lip to hold back a laugh.

"You guys are going to have such a fun time when you get your forms," Victoria mused.

A student beside me glared at her, clearly not impressed by her humour. I heard them curse, and I straightened up immediately.

"Hey," I called, "we're going to have to be in shape for this. She's trying to whip us up into good shifters. Don't be so pissy because you can't take it."

The girl seemed so insignificant that I didn't even bother checking her element. The familiar cold feeling of being completely focused returned as she stomped over to me, shoving her face into mine. Amusingly, she was shorter than I was, and had to go on her toes to get close enough. I snorted, uncaring as I smirked down at her.

"You couldn't take it either," she snapped, "so don't act like you actually like her. You suck just as much as the rest of us, you know."

"I'm not saying you suck," I shrugged. "I'm saying you shouldn't be pissed about the class."

"Why is it any of your business?!" She shrieked, the annoying tone of her voice causing me to cringe. She spotted my expression instantly, but mistook it for fear or regret.

"Oh, do I scare you?" She mused, stepping closer to me so that our chests were almost touching. "Did I hit too close to home?"

"Not even close..," I growled, my hand clenching into a fist at my side.

"Katrina."

The two of us looked over at Victoria, who stood with her arms crossed. I backed off instantly, falling in beside Sonya. She nudged me with a playful smile, trying to defuse my frustration.

"No fighting in my class, you got that?"

I nodded, while the other girl muttered something under her breath. Victoria and I met gazes, and I winked at her. She hid a smile, instead glaring at the bitchy student.

And then promptly doused the girl in mud conjured by her element, her hands glowing green.