Chapter 3
Milo and I dropped Ben off at school and then drove to work. Together. I still hadn’t wrapped my head around all of it. Today wouldn’t help matters. I’d be swimming in teen angst all morning once they arrived.
“You excited?”
“To brace for hundreds of obnoxious teen minds?” I scoffed. “It’s gonna be a headache.”
Milo tsked. “You’re excited. Bet you’ve even got a little countdown going on in your head.”
He whipped up to the front of Cerberus Guild and let one of the newer acolytes valet his car into the parking garage.
“Such an appropriate use of company resources.”
“Did you just call him a resource?” Milo gasped. “He’s a person, you know.”
“You treated him like a resource, parking your car. I was making commentary on how that wasn’t appropriate.”
“For shame.” Milo mockingly shook his head in disapproval.
“Oh, go fuck yourself.”
“Why would I do that when I’ve got you for that?” Milo wiggled his eyebrows. “Speaking of…our morning is pretty clear until the interns show up. Wanna head up to my office for a little fun?”
“Pass,” I said. “I’m gonna wait here for the students.”
“Suit yourself.” He swaggered away, intentionally making his hips and ass all the more appealing with each step he took. “Don’t come crying to me this afternoon when you’re craving my cock.”
“Asshat.” I huffed.
Most enchanters, acolytes, and other employees went about their morning like it wasn’t any different from any other day.
Granted, a few minds scrambled with a checklist of tasks to complete before the interns arrived, but no one waited as anxiously as I did.
They’d all grown used to the yearly routine of gaining an intern or two and treated it more like a chore than an honor.
I found myself excited, eager, and on the edge of my seat.
Which was why I decided to stand and wait.
Milo kept his thoughts guarded, but I knew he had the guild master’s ear and knew who everyone had been assigned to.
Part of me hoped I had a student I knew, someone I had taught.
Another part of me was drowning in anxiety over the pressure of having an intern.
I’d only just recently returned to guild life, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready to ensure someone—or someones; I might’ve ended up with two or three interns—was ready for the industry.
Students began to trickle in at Cerberus Guild, small groups at first, all hesitant to be the first through the glass doors leading into the most prestigious company in all of Chicago.
It was amazing seeing my homeroom coven again, even from a distance. How they’d grown since their first day at Gemini Academy. Naturally, Kenzo was the first one through the front doors, and much to my surprise, he managed to drag two of his classmates with him.
Name: Kenzo Ito
Branch: Hex (Disruption)
Rankings didn’t matter much now that they’d landed their internships. But I hoped they’d continue improving this year, even students like Kenzo, who maintained top placement his entire time at the academy.
“Whoa, this is way bigger than my parents’ guild,” Gael said; the spikes lining his face helped frame his smile.
Name: Gael Martinez
Branch: Augmentation (Spikes)
I expected Gael to walk in alongside Kenzo since his bossy boyfriend tended to drag him everywhere for studying or training. But the bright smile and wide green eyes from Caleb as he strolled in on Kenzo’s other side was quite surprising.
Name: Caleb Huxley
Branch: N/A
I figured he would arrive on his first day with Katherine or literally any other classmate.
But it seemed, despite Kenzo’s demanding rigor and brutal discipline over their summer training, he hadn’t run Caleb off.
I nearly smiled, glossing through each of their surface thoughts and gleaning that they both held the memory of Kenzo’s apology close.
Caleb considered it a breakthrough and a sign of rebuilding something.
Kenzo only recalled his shortcomings and analyzed ways he could improve upon a future apology, which he truly believed Caleb deserved.
But right now, Kenzo believed the only thing Caleb deserved was beratement, and he went off about his sloppy form during their morning job, which happened to include the banishment of neighboring wisps.
That explained why Gael and Caleb’s pale faces were so flushed; they basically ran a half-marathon this morning at Kenzo’s insistence.
The pair ignored Kenzo, nodding in unison as he explained where they each needed to improve for the future, especially if they wanted to stand out during their internships.
Since internships didn’t require students to wear their academy uniforms, the boys showed up in their own clothes, and much to my dismay, they wore workout gear.
Nice workout clothing. Fine fabric tanks and name-brand joggers, but still gym clothes all the same.
Not what I’d have recommended. Kenzo badgered Caleb that it didn’t matter what they wore, and apparently, Gael seconded it with his knowledge of how guild internships worked based on his family ties to Hydra Guild.
“Mr. Frost!” Gael waved, rushing past Kenzo and over to me.
“How are you—”
“I’m fantastic,” Gael blurted, his thoughts racing faster than I could track, and the words poured out almost as quickly.
“It’s so great to see you. How’ve you been?
I’ve got so much to tell you. Oh man, you wouldn’t believe who our new homeroom instructor is.
Mrs. Whitehurst. She basically runs all the homeroom covens, though.
I guess that’s part of her new job. Not like your new job, Mr. Frost. Oh, crap.
Not mister. Sorry about that. It’s Enchanter Frost now, right?
That’s so cool. What inspired you to get back into guild work?
Did you know today’s our first day as interns?
Bet you’ll be one of our enchanter mentors.
Oh, that’ll be so cool. Think you’ll have one of us?
Who would it be? Who would you want it to be? I bet you’d wanna mentor—”
“None of us,” an obnoxious voice interjected.
Without even turning, I knew who’d arrived. The minxy chaotic energy was palpable. Plus, the mere presence of this irritating student brought on a migraine. Not just from me. Even Kenzo’s thoughts turned to frustration as he and Caleb made their way over.
“I can’t believe you hated us sooooooo much you literally quit teaching,” Gael said with boisterous laughter accompanied by the cluck of his rooster.
The pair wore matching vests. Vibrant orange vests, which accentuated King Clucks’ feathers and complemented Gael’s deep amber complexion.
Gael’s surface thoughts indicated he’d spent a lot of time planning to roll in here with the perfect outfit for himself and his familiar.
Name: Gael Rios-Vega
Branch: Bestial (Familiar)
“Ba-ba-bawk,” King Clucks added—something rude, as it made Gael snicker.
“Yeah, how terrible was Kenzo?” Gael asked, implying he was the source of my fleeing the world of education.
I sighed. If only it were that simple. “You realize I wouldn’t be your homeroom teacher. Third-year students work directly with—”
“Blah, blah, blah.” Gael waved a dismissive hand. “Yeah, yeah, but you still bailed on us. I was gonna take your history elective, but since you hated us so much that you quit—”
“He didn’t hate us,” Gael said, standing closer to Gael and King Clucks.
“You didn’t, Mr. Frosty?” Gael asked with a twinkle of mischief in his brown eyes. “I mean, Enchanter Frosty.”
“No, I could never hate anyone.”
“Bullshit,” Kenzo’s thoughts nearly rattled me as he went down a list of students and staff he assumed I must’ve hated as he found them quite vexing.
Naturally, despite how irritating Kenzo himself was, he had keen observations.
I wouldn’t say I hated the folks he listed off, but I could live peacefully without seeing a great deal of them ever again.
“So, why did you leave?” Gael asked.
Before I could form a response—a vague non-truth—Gael, being the kindest person in the world, spared me the headache.
“I bet he couldn’t imagine life in the classroom without us,” he said, flexing his spiked biceps.
“We were absolutely wonderful. Delightful. And inspiring. Watching us chase our dreams is definitely what motivated Enchanter Frost to dive back into the industry. Right? Am I right? I’m totally right. Right? Right?”
He wasn’t that far off. My homeroom coven did push my desire to go back into the industry. Granted, it had more to do with averting a possible future of them all dying along with the rest of Chicago, but they didn’t need to hear that part.
“As per usual, you’re absolutely correct, Gael.”
“See.” Gael’s sharklike teeth beamed. “We’re awesome sauce.”
Gael and his rooster squinted, surface thoughts bubbling with suspicion before he finally let his mind settle on one warning. “Do what you want, Mr. Frosty, but don’t stand in the way of my internship with my boy Enchanter Evergreen.”
I scoffed. As if Milo would ever take on an intern. He’d already shrugged off his duties with his former acolytes, leaving them to fend for themselves.
“Hey, it’s Mr. Frost!” a familiar voice called out.
“And Gael,” the same voice responded.
“And Gael with Kenzo,” another voice said. “And Caleb.”
“You owe me twenty,” said the same voice. “I said he wouldn’t kill him before the internships.”
“No, I said that.”
“No, I did.”
“No, you didn’t. I did!”
“Neither of you liars said it. Carter did.”
I turned to see a cluster of identical copies of Jamius huddled together with books in their hand. One by one, their attention waned, and they drifted away from their original ringleader.