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"That's a shame, it would be good if you could get hold of some."

"I know. But it probably has to go through a load of testing before it's allowed to be sold to the public. It might not be any better, but I'm going to hold onto the hope that it will be."

"I do too." Completely for her sake, but the words are true. I suspect there are a lot of people who would be happier to have it as an option.

We finish our food while chatting amicably about various parts of life at the academy, and I end up feeling closer to Bernie than I have before. Which is a good thing. Spending time with her is harder than with the others because of the whole vampires-being-allergic-to-the-sun-in-a-big way thing. Honestly, the more I learn about them, the more relieved I am to be a shifter. Vampire life sounds very restricting.

A large yawn escapes me and I cover my mouth with my hand. "I'm sorry, it's been a long day."

"That's okay, I need to get going to one of my lectures anyway. You'd think they'd be more lenient on vampire students, but we only have a few hours to cram our classes into."

"They should start doing some remote teaching so you don't have to leave your dorms for it," I point out.

"I think they do in the summer terms when the sun barely goes away."

"Ah, that makes sense." And must be awful for the poor vampires. I get to my feet and hold out my hand for her dish. "I'll wash up while you get going. It's only fair when you cooked."

"Thanks, Krissi."

"No problem."

We share a quick smile and she hands it over, getting up and heading for the door. "I'll let you know how I get on with the vampires."

"I'd like that." I wave goodbye to her and focus on washing things quickly so I can get my shower and head to bed. I already feel a little bit better, but I know it's only temporary. I don't know how I'm going to manage with another week of late-night practices, especially when I have the shifter course coming up with Jeremy. But I'll manage, and it'll all be worth it when we lift the cheerleading trophy, I'm sure of it.

14

Krissi

I tugon the strap of my workout shirt, already worrying that I'm wearing the wrong thing. Which is ridiculous when I'm not even going to be in human form for the rest of the afternoon.

"Hey," Jeremy says, waving at me as he approaches.

My traitorous heart flutters at the sight of him. We're supposed to be friends, and today is going to prove it, but I'm not sure how well I'm going to cope with that when I'm already having a reaction to him and we haven't even said much yet.

It'll be easier once we're shifted.

I hope.

"Hey," I return.

"Are you ready?"

I chew on my bottom lip and his gaze briefly flicks down to them before he clears his throat and looks away.

This is getting harder by the moment.

"Is it bad if I say no?"

He shakes his head. "Have you ever been around this many big cat shifters before?" he asks.

"Only on the Sabre Woods Academy open day," I admit. "I hated it. I felt like such a fraud when they started showing off their shifter forms and I just wanted to stay human."

"Is that why you really didn't go there? I know you said you thought the curriculum here is better."

"The range of classes is the main thing behind my decision," I admit. "But I can't pretend that the way I felt at Sabre Woods wasn't a factor, but I think it's more than that."

He nods and I know he understands. He's spent time at the big cat academy, even if it wasn't as a student, and even if he hadn't, he's spent time at the shifter court, which I imagine is so much worse.