Chapter 5 An Abnormal Obsession with Gemstones

Catherine's POV

Second period: Edible Gemstone Appreciation.

The class was held in the greenhouse as a walking tour. All the students followed the professor around with their notebooks, listening as he lectured.

Lynn walked beside me and tapped my notebook lightly with his pen. "I thought of a way to help with your awakening."

"What?" I perked up immediately.

"Awakeners naturally develop a strong interest in things that belong to their own category. Take dragons, for example, they have an intense possessiveness over treasure, and that shows up even before they've claimed any treasure of their own."

"So they'd be extremely drawn to other people's treasures."

"I think you could figure out what you're naturally good at by paying attention to which classes genuinely interest you, and use that to trigger your awakening. The academy's curriculum is really comprehensive, it covers subjects tied to every race."

It clicked. "You're right, that's a great idea!"

My excitement seemed to catch Lynn off guard. He looked a little shy. "I'm just glad I could help. So what do you think of this class? We can start here."

I turned my attention back to the professor.

"Students, magical gemstones come in a wide variety. Some are life-saving medicines, while others are deadly poisons. You'll need to memorize every type in your textbook, their appearance, properties, and uses."

The professor casually plucked a gemstone hanging from a vine and held it up to the light, where it gave off a faint shimmer. "They all taste the same, by the way, like a crisp jujube."

Honestly? Pretty boring.

My attention slowly drifted to Lynn.

Lynn was wearing the academy uniform today. The only thing that stood out were the diamond cufflinks on his sleeves.

I couldn't look away. Even the finest magical gemstones in this greenhouse couldn't match the way those cufflinks caught the light.

Strangely, I felt a wave of intense, uncontrollable fondness wash over me. It was so weird.

Up at the front, the professor shifted topics. "Speaking of gemstones, diamonds, and colored stones, let me share an interesting fact."

"As everyone knows, Dragonkin are famously possessive of their hoards. But in reality, gold makes up the vast majority of what they collect. They're actually not that interested in diamonds. In the magical world, there's only one particular race that's truly passionate about collecting colored gems and diamonds..."

"Watch out!" Lynn frowned and grabbed me just before I stumbled. I snapped back to reality, I'd been so fixated on those diamond cufflinks that I hadn't watched where I was going.

The professor's voice cut off. He looked over at me and Lynn with clear annoyance. "Pay attention, you'll miss important information. Now, let's keep moving. We're approaching the hazardous section, so everyone be careful."

"You like these diamonds?" Lynn gave his hand a little shake, and the cufflinks sparkled with the movement. I nodded hard.

Lynn had caught what the professor said. He stared at me, looking thoughtful.

After second period, my classes for the day were done, but Lynn still had to get to third period, Flight Magic. We said goodbye in front of the main building.

"If anyone gives you trouble," Lynn said, looking at me seriously, "you have to tell me."

"Okay." Watching him walk away, I felt even more certain that people's fears about him were just prejudice. He was thoughtful and gentle, not someone anyone should be afraid of.

I headed up to the second floor of the library, hoping to find some clues about half-bloods.

"Hey!"

A group of people stepped out from behind the bookshelves and blocked my path. Their tone wasn't friendly. "Catherine Wells, right?"

I frowned. "Move."

The guy leading them was tall and broad, smiling pleasantly at me. "I'm John. I'm the werewolf leader among the Beastkin."

I realized right away this wasn't going to be good. The library was completely quiet, not a single person around. I was completely on my own.

I watched this man who looked friendly but felt deeply threatening, trying to figure out why he'd come looking for me.

Then I spotted Celine hiding behind them.

The girl who had thrown water on me at the opening ceremony.

I took a slow breath. "What do you want? Is there a problem?"

John's smile barely hid his contempt. He circled around me slowly. "An ordinary human. An Unawakener who only found out she was coming here a few weeks ago. A shameless woman who keeps hanging around a half-blood."

By the end, any patience he'd had was gone. "You bullied Celine for that dragon's sake. Our advice to you is simple, stay away from that half-blood. And apologize to Celine."

I almost laughed at the nerve of these people. "What, apologize? Not happening."

John's smile faded. He looked like he couldn't stand having his authority challenged in front of his girlfriend. "Do you know who I am?"

"I don't care enough to find out, it's a waste of my time. I'm warning you: if you try anything, I will go straight to Principal Vera. And I'm pretty sure she cares even less about who you are than I do."

John's fist tightened. He stared at me coldly. "You know what, Catherine? I just figured it out. The reason you'd hang around someone like Liam Hammer is because you're just as much of a freak as he is. You're an outsider too."

I shrugged. "If there's nothing else, move."

On my way out, I caught Celine's hateful glare. I didn't have time to think about it. I walked out of the library quickly, my heart still pounding from everything that had just happened.

That whole situation had been completely out of my control. I couldn't imagine what would have happened if John had actually lost it and attacked me.

I was shaken. And underneath that, there was a kind of anger and sadness I couldn't quite name.

Once again, I was alone in an unfamiliar place with no one to turn to. More than anything right now, I wanted to go home and cry in Aunt Lassey's arms.

The carrier pigeon suddenly hopped onto my shoulder, its call unusually serious. "Miss Catherine, I can contact Guide Daisy or Liam Hammer to handle this. What happened qualifies as school bullying."

After everything, I just felt exhausted. I didn't want to make things bigger again. I shook my head tiredly. "Don't tell them. I can handle it myself."

Before I even had a chance to collect myself, a message came in from Lynn: [Class just ended. Want to grab afternoon tea together?]

I didn't want to turn him down, so I followed the pigeon's directions to where Lynn was waiting.

"Catherine, did something happen? You haven't seemed like yourself all day. Especially right now, you look really unhappy."

I didn't know how to answer. But I also didn't want him worrying over choices I'd made myself. Everything I was going through right now had started with my own decisions.

I forced a smile. "Do I? I'm probably just tired. It's the first day, I'm still adjusting."

Lynn didn't push it. He poured me a cup of hot tea. "You should call your family. They're probably wondering how your first day went."

That reminded me I hadn't talked to Aunt Lassey in two days. I grabbed my phone and called her right away. "Aunt Lassey!"

She had already been getting worried, just as I expected. It wasn't until I started telling her about all the amazing things at the academy that she finally relaxed and told me to make some friends.

"I already have one great friend! Look who's here!" I smiled and turned the phone toward Lynn, signaling for him to say hello.

Lynn looked a little caught off guard. He gave a slightly stiff wave at the camera. "Hello. I'm Catherine's friend. My name is Liam Hammer."