Chapter 3
Joline shifted the sack of books on her back as she trudged into the cafeteria.
She tried to keep her homework off her mind, but it was only Wednesday, and her weekend was already going to be full of reading and assignments.
But all that floated away as soon as she spotted that mysterious redhead sitting at a table in the far corner.
Had the woman shown up for dinner because Joline had extended the offer, or was it mere coincidence?
Five was a pretty common time to eat, and the cafeteria was the only place to get food.
Was it too forward for Joline to sit with her?
She didn’t think so, but that anxious voice in the back of her head suggested the woman may want to be left alone.
Joline walked toward the line of shifters waiting to get their food, debating with herself the whole time.
Her stomach growled. Joline forgot to eat lunch earlier.
She sniffed at the air, hoping Maude’s meatless meatballs were on the menu today.
As a porcupine shifter, she stuck to eating plants only.
While she could eat meat—certified “non-shifter” meat, of course!
—if she wanted, she didn’t crave it, so she chose to stick with her animal instincts when in human form. With food, anyway.
Grabbing her tray, she noticed she was in luck.
After asking for the spaghetti with an extra helping of the meatless meatballs, Joline grabbed a bottle of water and crossed the cafeteria towards the red-haired woman.
She never did get her name earlier. As she neared the table the shifter sat at, Joline wondered if this was the correct decision.
The woman’s brow wrinkled in worry as she pushed the macaroni salad around her plate.
There was hardly a bite taken out of her hamburger.
Maybe this wasn’t a good time to make a new friend.
Joline was about to turn around when the woman said, “I can feel you standing there. Feel free to sit, but I’m warning you, I’m in no mood to talk.”
Joline blinked at her. How did she know she was standing there? She took a seat as commanded, setting her bookbag on the floor at her feet. “Don’t worry. I brought a lot to read.” She gave the woman her best smile.
“Oh, it’s you.” She appeared to relax, her shoulders dropping as she leaned back in her chair.
“Yeah, well, I said I eat around five, and I saw you sitting here…” Joline felt stupid.
The words dried up in her mouth. Embarrassment tingled up her neck before settling in her cheeks.
Luckily for her, her darker skin tone usually hid a blush, though that did her no good when around shifters who could sense emotions.
Joline was trying to figure out which category the woman fit into when she said, “Don’t worry about it. I had a shitty group today and am just sitting in my own… feelings.” She spat out the word as if it tasted wrong. The freckles on her nose shifted when her nose wrinkled up. “Please sit.”
Joline sat in the chair opposite the prickly shifter, setting her tray of food before her. “Oh,” she said as the words ‘group therapy’ really sank in. So that pretty much confirmed that she was a rescued experiment. “What’s your name? I didn’t have time to catch it earlier.”
“I didn’t give it earlier.” Her tone was flat, bordering on snarky. The shifter bit her lip as if debating whether it was safe to divulge that information.
“You don’t have to…” Joline considered getting up and walking away. Was it worth working so hard just to have someone to talk to? “Like I said, I can read and eat so you don’t have to talk.”
“No!” she said with a fierceness that almost led to quills sprouting over Joline’s skin.
The shifter cleared her throat. “Sorry. I guess I’m more on edge than I thought.
” As the woman raised her hand to push a few strands of auburn hair behind her ear, Joline noticed that the woman’s hand shook slightly.
“I meant to say, I would rather you talk. Then I can keep my mind off of…”
“Off of group?” Joline offered.
“Yes.” She swallowed before adding, “I’m Ariel.”
“Like the mermaid?” Joline spat out before she thought better of the joke. It was the same thing that drove her crazy.
Ariel laughed, the corners of her eyes crinkling. It looked like she hadn’t had a good laugh in a while. “Is that payback for the Dolly Parton comment?” she asked with a grin. Surprisingly, it seemed genuine.
Joline chuckled, glad she didn’t make the situation worse. “No, it came out without thinking.” She brushed some of the dark, curly hair away from her glasses. “It’s funny to be on the other side of that.”
“Yeah, I guess it is.”
Joline wasn’t sure what to talk about. Would asking Ariel about why she’s in WANC bring up what she was trying to forget?
“Have you thought about becoming a cadet?” It seemed a safe subject, something that was a pretty common trajectory for others in Ariel’s situation.
Although once she asked, Ariel’s demeanor changed.
Ariel smiled, though this one did not reach her eyes. “Do they pay you guys to recruit shifters?” She chuckled bitterly. “I don’t think they’d take me, even if I wanted to join. Which I don’t,” she added quickly, still pushing the macaroni salad around on her plate.
“No, I’m not trying to recruit.” Joline shrugged.
“It’s just all I’ve ever wanted. I enjoy helping others, and my quills can come in handy in a pinch.
” She cut into the steaming meatless meatball.
After taking a bite, Joline enjoyed every savory second of it.
Some asked why she would eat imitation meat when she didn’t eat real meat.
She told them it was all about the spices, the flavor, the experience.
“You’re a porcupine shifter?” Ariel asked, her shoulder dropping as she continued to relax.
Joline nodded. “I come from a family of them. A long line of them, actually. Porcupines can be loners, so I guess we usually attract each other. I’m not really sure.” She shrugged, never having had to think about why there were so many porcupine shifters in her family before.
Ariel’s green eyes widened. “You don’t seem like a loner.”
“No, I’m different, I suppose.” Though, while she enjoyed spending time in her room while living at her parents’ house, things felt different at FUCN’A.
The loneliness she never thought would bother her started creeping in over the last year.
Maybe it was just that self-critical part that told her this wasn’t the place for her, that she’d never make a good agent.
That impostor syndrome, rearing its ugly head yet again.
“There’s nothing wrong with being different.”
“Are you different, too?”
“No,” Ariel said softly, shaking her head, sending her auburn hair swaying. “I’m too much like my brother. I think that’s the problem.”
“Are you two not getting along?” Joline got on well with her little brother but had heard from others that sometimes people who were too much alike didn’t get along well.
The things they didn’t like about themselves they saw in the other person, and it drove them crazy.
She wondered if this was something like that.
“I guess you can say that.” She continued to push the food around her plate. “Though, as much alike as we are, we currently aren’t agreeing on something. So I’ve been avoiding him.”
It was hard to give out advice when Ariel was being so vague. Maybe she didn’t want help. Joline decided to find out by asking, “Do you want a suggestion?”
“What if I say no?”
“Then I’ll change the topic. Why give advice someone doesn’t want? I’m sure it’d just piss you off.” Joline hoped she wasn’t being too bold. Sometimes she was blunt.
“You’re probably right about that. And thank you for asking. I don’t think I’m ready to hear advice yet. I’m still… processing.” She chewed her bottom lip. Joline found the gesture adorable.
“You know, if you need a distraction, they do have plenty of them on campus. There’s a fun obstacle course we can shift and run on.
There’s a lake for aquatic animals to play in and trees for those who like climbing.
They even have a large sandbox for shifters who like burrowing in the ground.
” Joline wanted to give out all the options, not being sure about what type of shifter Ariel was.
Ariel perked up at that, like a wilted flower that just received some much-needed water. “Do they, really? I haven’t spent a lot of time outdoors yet. I was afraid to leave the building, actually.”
How terrible. Maybe Ariel was afraid to get recaptured. Joline had come into contact with many who were former experiments since coming to WANC. She couldn’t even imagine what they must have gone through. “There’s always the library. They have more than academic books there.”
Ariel scrunched up her nose, her caramel freckles shifting with the movement. “I’m kind of sick of reading. That’s all I did when I was first here. That or therapy.” She punctuated her sentence with a bark of laughter.
“There’s a pub in town we sometimes go to for drinks.
They have mocktails if you don’t drink alcohol.
Or a coffee shop. And plenty of stores. Do you like shopping?
Maybe we could go this weekend.” Excitement made the words tumble out of her mouth.
Joline looked to the pile of books hiding in her bag.
“I will probably need a break from reading.” The amount of class work she had to do was daunting, but usually she did better if she took breaks.
Joline was far more productive if she was able to rest her brain from time to time.
“Shopping?” A bright smile lit up Ariel’s face, showing perfectly straight teeth. Joline couldn’t help but feel a little self-conscious about her own slightly crooked teeth. “I haven’t been shopping in years!”
Joline smiled, glad she was able to suggest something helpful. “There’s a couple of cute boutiques in the next town over. Just small shops, really, but I think you’ll like them.”