“So, Professor Lynex says that I am going to be helping you study being a witch. Something about using your magic on Leanna. Why didn’t you tell me that you went to confront Leanna?” Keaira asked. There was anger in her voice. I moved my steak around on the plate as I thought.

          “I knew that you would have tried to stop me if I had,” I finally said, not looking up from my plate. I don’t know why I worried so much about what Keaira thought of me, but for some reason, I didn’t want to do anything to make her worry.

          “Of course, I would have stopped you. I don’t want to lose you!” Keaira said. Everyone else at the table just listened. No one wanted to get involved, it seemed.

          “I am sorry, Keaira, I didn’t mean to make you worry. I was just tired of how Leanna was treating me, and then she went after Alex because we looked alike. I couldn’t take it anymore.” I said as I kept my eyes down on the plate. I couldn’t look at her. Not when I felt like this.

            “We could have helped you, Michala. That’s what friends are for,” Keno said. I felt his hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him. He was wearing that smile that no one else could.

            “Yea dummy, that is what friends are for,” Ariel said. She cast me a look of disappointment. They were all making me feel bad in the best way. Sighing, I sat up, no longer feeling sorry for myself. Who cared what Leanna thought about me.

            As we headed back to the dorm, I saw Leanna standing in the hall. She looked like she was looking for someone. When she saw me, her eyes widened for a moment.

            “We don’t have time for your attitude Leanna,” Keaira said. Leanna shook her head, still looking at me, and then Alex.

            “I’m not here to give you an attitude. I need to talk to Michala, whichever one she is.” Leanna said. Keaira kept staring at her.

            “It’s fine, Keaira. I needed to talk to her anyway. Aunts orders,” I said, smiling. Keaira didn’t look convinced but nodded. Everyone else followed her inside.

            “Look, I get it. I don’t want to have to bear the burden of being a descendant, either. You don’t know what it’s like dealing with my father. His hatred, it rubbed off on me. I don’t want to believe that vampires are superior.” Leanna said. I didn’t know whether to believe her or not.

            “And I am sorry for what happened last night. I don’t know exactly what it was, but apparently, I used my magic.” I said. She looked at me with surprise.

            “So you’re a witch. That is something I hadn’t expected,” she said. I could understand her surprise. I was still getting used to the thought of it.

            We both walked back into the dorm. Everyone was watching us as we did. I went over to the table with my friends, while Leanna went over to her friends. As soon as she did, she started whispering to them. I was sure she was bragging about how I had apologized. I was sure that she wasn’t sincere in her apology.

            “So, what did the queen of the goon squad want to talk to you about?” Ariel asked as she watched Leanna. I sighed and looked at her.

            “She wanted to apologize for bullying me, but I am sure that it was a lie. The way she is acting tells me that she just said it so I would let my guard down.” I said as I watched Leanna, she gave a half-smile and waved, then went back to whispering to her friends.

          “I wanted to think you, Michala, you didn’t have to risk yourself at my expense,” Alex said as she looked at me with tears in her eyes. She was breaking my heart.

          After a while, we decided to go to Keaira's room away from the others. I wasn’t feeling like being in public but also wasn’t feeling like going to bed just yet. Apparently, Keaira had gotten a TV for her room, so we decided to watch a movie. It was nice how she was able to get whatever she wanted. We decided to watch 50 First Dates. I always loved that movie.

            As we watched the movie, Keaira laid her head on my shoulder. It was nice. I was starting to think that perhaps she really did have a thing for me. Having her lying against me made me feel all warm inside. I knew what I was going to do. When the time was right, I would ask her. I just hoped that she wouldn’t turn me down. With everything else that has gone wrong in my life, I needed a little good.

            When the movie was over, Ariel and I went to our room after wishing Keaira and Alex goodnight. When we were in our room, Ariel looked at me.

            “Your mark, I didn’t want to say anything earlier, but it looks like it is fading. You need to be careful. The witch said that it will only protect you when you have it. I couldn’t bear the thought of someone killing you.” she said. Worried, I looked in my hand mirror, and sure enough, it had faded. This was very alarming, but there was nothing I could do about it.

            “Well, it looks like I will have to be more careful from now on. It’s not like I am looking to sign my own death warrant,” I said jokingly. Apparently, Ariel didn’t find it very funny. Sighing, I looked at her with a more serious look. “I will be careful, I promise. I really don’t plan on dying.”

            Ariel smiled when she heard that. I never realized just how much I would care about other’s thoughts about me. But then again, it was different because Ariel was my friend. I cared about what she thought. Especially when it came to my safety. It was the only normalcy I had right now, and I didn’t want to lose it.

            Laying on my bed, I wondered exactly what Leanna's plans were. I knew for a fact that she had something up her sleeve. I just needed to know what it was. I would just have to keep my eyes open from now on. With that in mind, I closed my eyes, ready for the day to be over. As I laid there with my eyes closed, a thought came to me. What if Leanna was the one looking to kill me. That night. I didn’t sleep well.