Chapter 3 3

It was dark.

I waited.

Waited for Dad to come home.

22:17

22:45

23:13

23:56

00:34

Had I missed him?

He can't be gone for that long.

My mother had told me that it would be a little later for him today.

But not so late?

I quietly got up and crept out of my room.

Oh, actually, my father was already there.

Oh man.

This matter confused me more than I thought.

Now I don't even notice when my father comes home.

I slowly lowered myself to the top step and listened intently.

"...not sure anymore," Dad was saying.

He and Mum had probably been arguing for a while because he sounded annoyed, tired and his voice was hoarse.

"We can..." Mum started but he interrupted her.

"Celine! Listen to me!

Sarina is no longer the little girl you would like. It's time for her to live with her peers. With teenagers her age...

She has no friends here." This sentence gave me a pang.

He's right.

I wasn't liked at school.

I was respected, yes, but I had the feeling that most people didn't feel comfortable in my presence.

At first I convinced myself that it wasn't my fault. But that was ages ago.

"We have to give her the chance to find some. She can also teach herself the 10th grade material if she really wants to... We've already gone over the topic so many times... Maybe we should give her the

decision left."

-Silence-

"You know which one that is, don't you?

"Yes, I saw it in her eyes." Mum said, her voice cracking.

I took a mental leap into the air. Tyler really knew my father felt differently about it.

Mum, on the other hand, made a strangled sound.

Does she really find it so terrible there?

"Honey," Dad said lovingly.

"Nothing will happen to her.

At the academy she will be given a normal life. Well, as normal as possible. She will be happy there. Just like we were back then."

So not after all.

"Promised!"

Wait, they went to school there!?

Why didn't anyone feel the need to tell me about it?

It occurred to me that I actually knew absolutely nothing about my parents' youth.

When asked about it, they always wrote it off like this: "When you're older, I'll tell you." or "Do you want a muffin?

That's what Mum always said.

But the older I got, the less the muffin trick helped. Eventually I was told not to ask for it anymore.

My mother probably nodded now, because my father sighed with relief.

"Good. I'll let you know." With these words he ran towards the stairs where I was still crouching.

I quickly sprinted back to my room and threw myself on the bed.

My breathing was ragged and my heart was pounding as fast as if I had taken part in a 100-kilometer race.

I couldn't help but giggle hysterically and bit my pillow.

I would actually go to Pheonix Academy.

But what if I couldn't keep up with the others.

I mean, surely they grew up knowing what they really are, right?

As I thought about it, doubts began to arise in me. No, I shouldn't worry about it yet.

It was already 1:43 a.m. when I finally fell into a restless sleep.

There was a knock.

Rays of sunlight fell on my face as I rolled over and snuggled further into my pillow.

Then it clicked .

"Oh."

I sat up with a start and suddenly felt dizzy. I stayed in the sitting position for a few seconds until nothing turned anymore. Then I groped sleepily to the door to open it.

I paused.

Standing outside my door was a beaming Mum.

She had elegantly pinned her sandy-colored hair up. She wore a blouse and matching pants.

She had makeup on and was smiling at me as if I had competed in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and won. Her brown eyes exploded with excitement.

I looked at my mother suspiciously.

"Mum, if you keep laughing like that you'll get cramps in the corners of your mouth." I pointed it out to her.

"Oh darling, I'm so happy." she now piped and scurried past me into my room, where she began to drag a suitcase out of my walk-in closet.

Okay.

Everything was terrible yesterday, but now the sun is shining again?

I hesitantly closed my door, but then decided to leave it ajar. Just in case her mood was contagious and I needed an escape route.

"Are you perhaps having mood swings?" I asked her cautiously.

"No, no. I realize I overreacted a bit yesterday.

Oh yes?

She looked at me embarrassed. "I had a conversation with your father last night."

I tried not to let it show.

"He said I should leave the decision up to you. I...I can still remember how terribly excited I was when I got the invitation. I didn't sleep a wink that night."

Her gaze was directed into the distance.

"Mom,..." I wanted to ask her something, but didn't know how to phrase it.

"Hmm?" she turned back to me.

"Wh-why did you keep this from me? I mean..." I hesitated. My mother seemed to know what I meant. She sat on my bed and motioned for me to sit down.

"Life as a metamorph is quite dangerous.

If you know that we exist, then of course there must be other mythical creatures too. It's very dangerous for us. Werewolves, vampires, fairies. All these creatures. These are actually our natural ones enemies."

"Werewolves?" I asked skeptically. "But they also turn into an animal."

"The werewolves don't understand why we are allowed to transform whenever we want. They blame us for their suffering and are therefore not very disposed to speak to us. But you will learn all that. "

"Isn't that unfair?" I asked.

"Since when has life been fair? We have to be constantly on guard. Eat and be eaten. That's reality." Mum said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"And the others?"

There was another knock and my father opened the door.

"Good morning." he said and smiled.

"So, again to be clear, am I allowed to drive or not?"

My parents glanced at each other. Mum nodded almost imperceptibly and my father said, "Yes, Tyler will take you to the train station today."

I let out a cry of joy and hugged first my father, then my mother.

"You are the best parents in the world. Even if I can't really forgive you yet. Now if I get a delicious breakfast, we can negotiate it." I said sternly. My parents looked away contritely.

I started to chuckle and then burst out laughing.

"You should see your faces.

After my parents watched me cringe with laughter for a few seconds, my father said with a grin, "Well, let's leave the chickpea alone."

And ran a hand through his dark brown hair.

My mother stood up and said, "When you're done, will you come down to eat?"

I nodded, still gasping for air.

After they both left, I took my clothes into the bathroom and got in the shower.

Today would be a very interesting day. . .