Witches & Werewolves: A Sacred Oath Read Online Free PDF Page B

gratitude, so I try to keep my gushing thanks to a minimum. I gather up my bags, say goodbye to Gwen and Sophia, and head inside.  

CHAPTER 6

    A NEW DAY, a new dawn. I’m terrified. It’s the first day of school. After breakfast, Jake tosses me the keys to the rust bucket, and I drop Noah off at his middle school before heading to class. The first day is rather uneventful, except for the fact that everyone wants to know all the gory details of the incident. I have quickly become known as the girl who saw the dead bodies. By lunch I am exhausted, and my throat is dry and cracking from telling the story so many times already.
      In the cafeteria, I sit with Jennifer, Sophia, and Gwen. I just want to sit down and eat in peace, but the barrage of questions continue. A nonstop flow of people just happen to stop by the table and introduce themselves, cutting straight to the chase. I can’t begin to keep up with all the faces and names. As draining as this all is, it pales in comparison to the sense of dread I feel about encountering Ethan in the cafeteria, or in the hallways. The image of him hovering over the bodies, bloody and snarling, is permanently etched on my retinas.  
      What will I say to him? What will he say to me? Maybe he will just ignore me and act like nothing ever happened. That would be for the best. I try to keep my head down, focused on my pale green lunch tray. It holds something that looks sort of like beef, with sides of mashed potatoes, peas, carrots and green beans.
      I try my best to resist the urge, but every now and then I scan the cafeteria looking for him. I am quite relieved not to see him among the throng of students, but I’m also unnerved. Unlike my old school, where we had an A, B, and C lunch—due to the size of the student body—here, we have a single lunch period for all grade levels. By all rights, Ethan should be somewhere in this cafeteria.
      With all this anxiety, I have zero appetite and can only manage a few bites. It’s okay, I guess. If things continue on like this, I will never have to worry about my weight.
      My next class after lunch is chemistry. Upon entering, I’m assigned my seat by Mr. Fischer—a puffy, round man wearing a lab coat and thick black glasses. I take my seat behind a tall lab table and wait for the class to begin. The lab table has a black marble top with a stainless steel sink and fixtures in the middle. A propane spigot to fuel the Bunsen burners juts out from the fixture. Within minutes the tardy bell rings and I notice the seat next to me is still empty. Mr. Fischer scans the rows of desks comparing the attendees to his seating chart, mumbling out names to himself as he goes.  
    “Has anyone seen Mr. Storm?” says Mr. Fischer.  
      My heart climbs into my throat. I start to sweat. Am I really going to have to sit next to him the entire semester? At least he’s not here today. Maybe I can go to the office after class and get transferred into another time. I exhale and try to calm down. Just then, the door bursts open and Ethan stumbles in.
    “Good of you to join us, Mr. Storm,” says Mr. Fischer. “I’ll assume you got lost looking for my classroom, since this is the first day.”
    “Uh, yes, sir,” Ethan says.
    “Be aware that any further late arrivals to my class this semester will be rewarded with a unit of detention.”
    “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir,” Ethan says.
    “Take a seat.”
    Ethan glances to the empty chair beside me and our eyes meet. My heart flutters with a shot of adrenaline, and I dart my eyes down to my textbook. From the corner of my eye I see him stroll toward me as I pretend to read. I shift slightly away as I hear the chair clatter against the floor as he pulls it out, taking a seat.
      “Open your textbooks to chapter one, Atomic Elements and Properties,” says Mr. Fischer. “Everything in this classroom is made up of a combination of elements. The desks, the chairs, the chalkboard, even you…   all