Page 21 of Monster's Melody

“Great,” Mikaela muttered.

“We’re going to grab a couple more snacks,” Sunny said.

“And refills,” Daya said.“You guys want anything?”

“No, thanks,” I said.

“I might burst if I ate one more thing,” Kasi said with a groan.

“We’ll see you on the field, okay?”Mikaela called as we headed out.

By the time we reached the front door of the castle, I was feeling like a new woman.“Maybe that tonic wasn’t so bad, after all.”

“Or maybe I was right and the food made a difference,” Mikaela said as she led the way outside.“How about you, Kasi?Are you feeling any better?”

“You know what?I am.Maybe the tonic was on a delayed release.”

“Ormaybeit was the food,” Mikaela insisted, now frantically scratching the back of her neck.

“Well, whatever it was, I’m never trusting a sentient wine cellar again,” Kasi said.

“Or just don’t trust Jasmine next time.”

Kasi laughed.

“Hey!”

“Speaking of sentient wine cellars,” Mikaela said, now scratching her neck with both hands, “Where do you think it went?”

Kasi grinned.“Are you trying to distract yourself from the itching?”

“Of course, I am!I thought the shoulder was bad, but the neck is way worse.Besides, I can’t stop thinking about it.The cellar just disappeared.”

“Well, the entrance to it did anyway,” I said.“For all we know, the wine cellar’s in the same spot, but its door moved to some other passageway in some other tunnel.”

“Good point,” Kasi said.“Either way, the timing of it was pretty cool.”

“Or freaky,” Mikaela muttered what I was thinking.

Jahrdran had been the last to exit the cellar and the minute the door had closed behind him, it had disappeared.So quickly in fact, it was a minor miracle he still had both feet attached.

I was about to agree with Mikaela when I saw who was waiting with the rest of the class up ahead.“You’ve got to be kidding me!What is he doing here?He’s not even in our class.”

Kasi chuckled.“Man, he must be really desperate to be out here this early just to see you.”

“Especially if he ended up drinking as much as we did last night,” Mikaela said.

“How is this even fair?”I demanded.“I was looking forward to spending the morning admiring Professor HDB.”

“HDB?”Kasi asked.

“Hot, Dark and Broody,” Mikaela and I said together.

“You mean Professor Vesely?”

“Of course, we mean Professor Vesely,” I said impatiently.“He’s the only one who qualifies for that designation.”

“Well,” Mikaela drawled.“Sometimes Elliot and I play Stern Professor and Naughty Student.When that happens, he definitely qualifies.”