I got to class and ducked into a chair at the back of the room, trying to avoid drawing attention to myself. I didn't need any more attention than I was already getting. All of the students seemed down today. No one paid me any attention when they came in and sleepily took their seats.

The next strange thing of the day came when Ms. Rice, the wizened old librarian, came in instead of Professor Rhodes. "Professor Rhodes will not be coming in today. She was going to assign you to read the next 3 chapters of Dracula, you may spend class doing this, or any other assignment, quietly," she said as she took up her post behind her desk.

That was strange. Professor Rhodes hadn't seemed ill, and she was so enthusiastic all the time. She wouldn't just miss class. I also had just seen her last night. She hadn't said anything about not coming in today...

I spent the time I should have been working on my homework contemplating the mysteries of the morning. I was pulled from my thoughts with no resolution when the bell rang.

I missed seeing Professor Rhodes throughout the day. I was so used to her presence, if only in the background, and the school seemed strange and somehow less safe without her around.

Unfortunately, I couldn't spend all of my time thinking about where she could be, or what was going on with the vitamins. I had to talk to Professor Kinoshita. I waited until after Japanese class to approach her.

"Sensei, I was wondering if I could ask you a couple of questions," I said after I had approached her desk and given her a bow.

"What can I help you with, Lykos-san?" she asked with a smile. She was my other favorite professor.

"I know there are no official physical education or club activities today, but I was wondering if I could come by the dojo and train for a little while anyway?" She nodded, then pulled a key on a long chain out of her bag.

"I had a feeling that you would ask," she told me. "I do not give this out lightly. There is no other student on campus with a key to the dojo. I did not used to keep the dojo locked, but I want you to have a space you will feel safe, if I am not there. You may train whenever you would like, whether I am there or not." She handed me the key. I bowed to her, more deeply this time.

"Thank you for the honor," I told her and carefully put the chain over my head and tucked the key under my shirt.

"You said you had a couple of questions, is something else on your mind?" she asked me.

I nodded, and hesitated a moment before asking. "There are a couple of shifter girls I know of who would like to learn how to protect themselves. For obvious reasons, they can't train with humans. They're just too strong and it would out them. I also can't train them myself. I'm not good enough, and I can't leave campus enough to teach them effectively. I know it is unlikely, but is there any chance they might be able to train here?" I asked her. She looked thoughtful for a minute.

"I see no problem with it and I would gladly instruct any student who wants to learn. However, I will need to get permission from the Headmistress. We will also need permission from the girls' fathers. I assume they will still need permission?" I nodded. "So I will check with the Headmistress to see if this is something we can accommodate. It is one thing to allow your family to come on campus, allowing other shifters may not be as easy. You should check with your father to see if this arrangement is something the shifters will be ok with."

I bowed to her again. "I will check with my father. Thank you for your help!" I told her, hoping my sincerity and optimism showed in my voice. I turned and left the classroom and pulled out my phone so I could set a reminder to call my dad later. I headed back to my campus house and dropped my things off in my room, though I did take my phone with me when I walked to the dojo to try out my new key.