Bella Vita (36 page)

“Wait, what?! How is
that even possible? And what do you mean the end?” His eyes looked
like they might bug out of his head.

“Well, I don't know.
We're still learning about the bond. Apparently, if one of us is
asleep and the other gets hurt only our mental and spiritual
connections are effected. I was only awake for the slap, therefore
that is all I got on my end.” I put the ice pack down and
concentrated on healing the claw marks and throbbing hand print- I
felt them slowly vanish.

“Damn, Em. Do you know
what this means? If he dies or anything, you might die too! That
goes against the prophecy!” He shouted the words I had already
thought about.

“Well, then it looks
like I'll have to be asleep anytime he gets hurts then, doesn't
it.” I smiled up at him.

“Emma, this isn't a
joking matter.” Dom's voice was stern.

“Look, I realize this
creates some obvious issues, but as for the prophecy, we don't know
how it'll effect it. Now I've to get ready. Can you go make me some
cocoa to take with me?” I batted my lashes at him.

“Fine. Go get ready,
but please let me know if you need me.” I think he was concerned
that I might end up with another injury.

“Scout's honor.” I held
up three fingers and crossed my heart with my other
hand.

He shook his head as he
walked out the door.

I let out a long breath
and walked into the bathroom. The mirror shows no other visible
damage. I rotated my shoulders and found one to be stiff and sore
but not painful. This caught my attention. I leaned into the mirror
and realized that my left eye had some light bruising. I
sighed.
Damn.
I healed my eye and took the stiffness out of
my shoulder.

I walked back into the
room and grabbed my clothes- today I would be dressed in the part
of a professor. The student vest was no longer required of me, and
whenever I was in my classes I would be allowed to wear my new
status marking attire. Part of me hated how I would just be drawing
more attention to myself.

I got dressed and did
my makeup lightly. This day was already proving to be on the
difficult side of life. I pulled my Doc Martens on over my
fishnets. I had refused to give up some of my signature fashion
pieces.

My messenger bag was
loaded with the files of the people I would be screening today, all
staff. It also held my new course schedule and my teaching
schedule. The classes I had excelled in would now be the ones I
taught, with the difference of how I understood them. I still had
the two classes about my people and the history and learning to
live like a vampire, but my healing class was gone, as was my
mental training class. I was given the option of taking a different
class than tracking, but I decided to stay in it- it would be more
of an independent study class for me. I let out a long breath and
picked up the bag and headed downstairs.

Dom was pouring the hot
chocolate into a travel mug for me and had, what smelled like
chocolate croissants, wrapped up ready to go as
well.

“Mmm, smells good. What
about you?” I realized there was one set.

“I think I'm going to
go back to bed for a bit. I'll be by later to see you. I promise.”
He smiled and kissed the tip of my nose.

“Ugh, sleep whore. I
wanna go back to bed... but oh, no, someone dragged me out of my
bed just so I could be on time. Ugh, that's what I've to say about
that.” I grimaced at him.

“You are going to end
up loving today, especially once you get to teach your two classes
with your handpicked kids.” He smiled at me again and walked me to
the door.

My Jeep was waiting for
me, with the top pulled up as it looked like it would probably
rain.

“Aw. You pulled it out
for me and got it all ready. Thank you. But that still doesn't make
up for the extra sleep you're stealing.” I pouted and walked to my
car.

“I'm sure the tasty
treats I packed for you will.” He laughed and blew me a
kiss.

“Go back to bed,
slacker.” I laughed and climbed into my car, ready to start on my
newest adventure.

My morning flashed by
as I mentally waded through all the people on staff. I found
several more healers, two people that had some of my mental
abilities, a tracker that had never transformed before, and a
handful of other talents that hadn't been seen before. I suggested
that some of these people join in my classes- it was up to them
whether or not they wanted to unlock their true potential. For the
others that I didn't have the abilities to teach, I wrote out my
suggestions for each one and submitted them to the school head, Mr.
Spawling. Many of the staff were relieved to find that they had no
special talents that had been overlooked. However,
all
of them
had secrets; some were pretty dark. I tried not to think about any
of this as I rushed from the main building over to the secondary
greenhouse.

I requested that all
the herbs and medicinal plants be moved into the other greenhouse,
as we wouldn't have need for them. I wanted the light and warmth. I
had managed to get floor cushions brought in, as well as a few
desks. In the back of the room I installed a small waterfall to
help the atmosphere. I knew that the class would be a mix of young
and old, and that it would continue to grow as I discovered more
people. Dom had managed to get the thick drapes I had asked him to
get put up, and they even managed to make the room entirely black
if needed.
Yes, this semester is
going to be interesting.

I sat on a green
overstuffed, squashy cushion and pulled out my tentative roster.
Charlie, Leland, and Daniel were all registered to be in my class.
I wasn't sure which of the people I told this morning would come to
class, but I had put it out there. I knew that the other healing
students from Lily's class that I felt might do well with my type
of healing might be transferred over to me if I screened them-
something else that would take part on one of these earlier morning
days. The other names on my list I didn't know, or were surprised
to see. Lily had wanted into the class, but I knew I couldn't teach
her to do things like I did- we just healed differently. I had made
sure to have this class at the same time as her class to ensure I
wouldn't have to make an example of a professor. I took a calm
steadying breath.

The door opened gently
and Charlie, Leland, and Daniel walked in together. I smiled warmly
at them.

“Welcome. Sit wherever
you'll feel most comfortable.” I gestured to all pillows on the
floor.

“Thanks.” Charlie said
as he sat right in front of me.

“Ditto.” Leland took
the pillow to his left.

“I'm very excited and
thankful that you allowed me into your class. I'm also a little
disappointed that you won't be in my class anymore, Emma.” Daniel's
words were warm.

“I think that you and I
learned things very differently, Daniel, and as such, I would be of
better use teaching students and others that I've found to hone
their natural gifts that aren't really recognized or brought out in
other classes.” I smiled at him.

“Very true, and wise.”
He nodded his head in agreement.

“Charlie, have you been
feeling better lately?” I looked at the student in the room that I
knew for certain could master his ability to heal like I
had.

“Yes, thank you so
much. I feel like a new person. I've also been practicing focusing
my energy.” He beamed at me.

“That will
be
very
useful in this class. And I'm glad that you
decided to listen to me. Don't ever worry about getting ahead, I
can always tailor individual lessons for each student as I only
have two classes. But I'll make that announcement to the entire
class when we start.” I glanced up at the clock- ten more
minutes.

“Leland, you sure
you're up to the challenge?” I winked at him.

“Darl, if I survived
you slicing me open like a tomato then I can survive this.” He
laughed.

“Getting cut open and
learning how to focus your living energy- your life force as it
were- to heal another are entirely different things.” I raised an
eyebrow at him,

“Hey, hey, I never said
I couldn't do that either. It's all a matter of practice. I had the
other form of healing down, I'll get this one too.” His voice told
me he was ready for the challenge and his hazel eyes glinted with
excitement.

“Good. I'll expect that
kind of attitude from everyone. If they'd show up.” I turned to the
door.

“They will. I think
some of the people are nervous about discovering that they didn't
know a part of themselves for so long and the students are awed by
you. They will all come around.” Daniel's voice was comforting and
I had a feeling he was trying to compel my feelings in that
direction.

I fell into silence.
The boys began talking amongst themselves. At about two minutes
until the class was supposed to start, I saw them in a large group
walking toward the room. I let out a sigh of relief. The five
people I had screened this morning walked with several of the
students I had screened from Daniel's class. I also saw some of the
students from Lily's class coming this way.
Uh-oh.

I let everyone into the
room before I started talking.

“If you haven't been
screened by me and want to take this class, please come to the
front of the room.” As I said this, five of Lily's students came
forward.

I realized that there
were still three people that I had not screened and hadn't come
forward. “Could you three tell me why you're here if you don't want
to take the class?”

A tall mahogany colored
man stepped forward, “ We're here to observe, nothing more- nothing
less.”

“Can you clarify?” I
wasn't sure why I was being observed.

“When a new professor
position is created, as this one has been, observers are sent out
to watch. We will be here for this first week, after which we will
make our report on your progress with your students, your teaching
abilities, and how we feel you have done overall. You will have
three others in your next class as well.” The man stepped back, his
voice was flat with minimal inflections.

“If you'd like, I can
screen you for these abilities as well to find out if you might
find any of this information of use for you.” I decided to be
polite and offer it to these people.

The woman of the group
stepped forward. Her skin was pale pink. “Thank you for your
gesture, but the observers are not permitted to interact with the
observed. If at a later time the offer is made again, then it would
be acceptable for one of us to partake.” She nodded her head at me
and stepped back- again her voice held very little
feeling.

“As you wish.” I turned
my attention to the five students standing before me. “Does Lily
know you've come to my class instead of hers?”

“Yes, Mistress
Hutchinson. We asked permission before we came over. She said that
if you accepted us then we could stay.” The girl was a little on
the rounder side of life, but she held confidence that many didn't,
her deep chocolate eyes looked deeply into mine.

“If the rest of the
class agrees, I can take a few minutes to screen each of you. But
this is their time, so they'll have to agree first.” I gestured to
the students standing in the front, “do you mind if I screen
them?”

The room was silent,
but I realized that everyone had sent me mental 'okays' for the
screenings.

I stood in front of the
confident girl. “It has been agreed upon, you'll have your
screenings now. I'll start with you, what's your
name?”

“My name is Sarah
Whiteflower. Thank you, Mistress Hutchinson.” I had a feeling that
one of Sarah's gifts was to emit strong emotions- like
confidence.

This will not hurt, but
please don't try and force me from your mind. It will feel
uncomfortable if you do. Just relax and it should take a moment or
two.
I sent the words to
her.

She
nodded.

I took her hand and
closed my eyes. A sudden hushed silence fell over the room as my
new students watched me. I pushed all thoughts out of the
classroom. I found Sarah's power source and I followed it. I
instantly found her gift for healing, both traditional and through
energy, and I also found her gift of confidence, as well as a
talent for blending into the background- of allowing viewers to
mentally pass over her, as though she was invisible. I pulled out
of her mind.