After going back to my locker and shoving my history homework away, I trudged into the gym, trying to act normal.

Lunalis' eyes doubled in size at seeing the size of the gym. "It's huge," she gasped in awe, eyes shining. "Even the Arenam isn't this big."
"Arenam," I asked, confused.
"It's where Ventils looking to challenge the Alpha fight," she explained. "Weapons aren't allowed, and neither is magic. You're only allowed to use your potestatem and brute strength."

"What about potatoes," Toby asked, coming up behind us, already changed for Gym. Red shorts, white tank top and a band around his forehead. "What happened to your clothes," Lunalis asked.

"It's gym class," I explained. "You change into certain clothes for this class only."
"Why?"
"Um, because we have to. Coach Lawrence says to, so we have to."

"Who's Coach Lawrence?"
"A gorilla who learned how to talk," Jim said, walking over to us. "Shouldn't you change, Krel?"
"Well, yes," I said. "But I can't leave Lunalis alone."

"Why can't I just come with you," she asked.
"Um," we all hummed in unison, scratching our heads and trying to formulate an answer. "Because it's boys only in the boy's room," Douxie said, walking over and coming to our rescue. "Same thing with girls."

"Oh," she said, probably wondering why there were separate rooms for boys and girls. "But I don't have gym clothes."
"Then I guess you just get to wear normal stuff," Toby said, bending over to touch his toes.

"Hey! Newbie," Coach Lawrence yelled, gesturing to Lunalis with a beefy arm. We both walked over, Lunalis holding her head high and shoulders back. "Tarron, get to warming up. I need to have a little chat with this little lady here."

Lunalis bristled at being called a little lady. "But, Coach, I-"
"I said now!" I opened my mouth to protest again when Coach blew on his whistle and pointed. Hesitantly, I walked away.

I sat down on the bleachers near Jim, who was tying his shoes. Toby was jogging in place, and Steve was shooting basketballs into the net. Claire was sitting higher on the bleachers near Darci and Mary, who were chatting and laughing about something.

"Hey, where's Lunalis," Jim asked me once he was finished tying his shoes. "Coach Lawrence decided to have a word with her," I replied, pointing to where he was. Lunalis had her arms crossed and, even with her back turned to me I could tell she wasn't very pleased.

"Douxie, do you know what potato salad is," I asked, standing and stretching my arms.
"It's an absolutely nasty creation made in the last century," he shuddered, grabbing his foot and pulling it behind him to stretch his quad muscles.

"Actually, I think Krel means to ask what potestatum means," Archie corrected him, shining his glasses with a paw. "I overheard your conversation with Lunalis," he explained at my bewildered look. "Potestatem are the animal side to Ventils. The abilities they have that make them the creatures they are. Wolves have incredible tracking abilities, and see in the dark. Cats can also see in the dark, and lengthen their fingernails to become claws.

Snakes, depending on where they come from, can have a venomous bite or kiss that can paralyze prey...or kill it. Sometimes, even just locking eyes with them can be deadly. Spiders can shoot webbing from their mouths or hands, and-"

"Wait, Ventils can be part spider," Jim asked, and he shuddered. "That sounds fake."
"Oh, I can assure you, they are perfectly real," Archie said. "You can ask Lunalis if you like," he gestured to where she had been standing next to Coach Lawrence moments before.

"She's not there," Toby said. Jim and I both shot onto our feet.
"Where could she have gone," I asked, panic rising into my voice.
"How did we lose a teenage girl in one day," Jim groaned, slapping his forehead with an open palm.
"Oh no," Toby said, face flushed and sweating.

"Let's not panic," Douxie said, though he very clearly was panicking. "I'm sure she's not far. Let's start looking."
"Wait," Archie said, pointing to the doors, which had just been blown open.

Coach Lawrence was gaping at whoever had opened it, breathing heavily out of his mouth, his whistle gently tweeting from the airstream. His face was brick red with rage. "What did you do to my uniform," he shrieked.

"I fixed it," came the very familiar, sassy reply. As Lunalis came into our line of sight, I gaped at what she'd done to the usual gym attire. Instead of blue sweatpants that reached down to her ankles, they were cut short at the knee. The white t-shirt was now a sleeveless top, and ripped seams showed where her claws had shredded the fabric.

"Okay, missy, it's against school rules to vandalize school property, and I think putting clothes through a paper shredder is a pretty offensive crime," he growled, putting his fists on his sides and towering over her.

I expected her to cower in fear from Coach Lawrence. Instead, without batting an eye, she crossed her arms and replied, "Will anyone else besides me be wearing these clothes?"

"No," Coach said, backing up. "That'd be disgusting."
"And will I be keeping these and caring for them?"
"Well, yes," he replied reluctantly, lifting his red baseball cap and scratching his bald head.

"And will I be responsible for these clothes for the rest of my life?"
"Well, um, uh-"
"Then I don't see how my choices about my clothing affect you or anybody else here," she replied. And with a flick of her fawn-colored braid, she turned sharply on her heel and left Coach spluttering and growing purple in the face.

I gaped at her as she sashayed over to us. "What," she asked our gawking faces. "Nobody's ever spoken to Coach Lawrence like that," Jim said.
"Yeah," Toby agreed. "It was so awesome!!" He broke into a huge grin and started to box an invisible opponent. "Yeah, yeah, take that, ya bald gorilla," he spat an insult with each jab.

"Is he always like that," Lunalis asked, sitting next to me.
"Yeah," Claire answered for me, walking down the bleachers to sit closer to us. "Coach Lawrence's volume control is permanently stuck on 'Loud'."

"No, I meant Toby," she said, staring at him, who was flexing and showing off what little muscle he had. "He's...odd."
"Yeah, he is," Jim smiled at his best friend. "But he's the greatest friend anyone could ever want."

She smiled at his theatrics, until Coach's shadow passed over us. "Newbie, you've gotta take the rope test," he grinned, his whistle crammed between his teeth. "My name is Lunalis," she said coldly. "What's the rope test?"

"Come with me," he smirked. She rolled her eyes, but she did what he asked and followed him to the ropes. I decided to follow along, Jim and Toby accompanying me to make sure she didn't try anything suspicious.

We watched him gesture to the rope, then to the bell hanging freely from the support beams. Then, Lunalis started talking and I see the back of Coach Lawrence's head turning an even deeper shade of purple in anger. Then, he pointed to the rope and we heard him yell, "Get movin'!"

"H-hey, Coach," Jim started, clasping his hands together and shuffling his shoes. "I just had a few questions I'd like to ask before you're busy again. Man, it feels so good to loosen up," he pantomimed stretching while sneaking a glimpse at Lunalis. She was inspecting the rope, trailing her fingers over it and gripping it with her claws.

"Sorry, Lake, but I've gotta keep an eye on the newbie, here," he gestured with a thumb over his shoulder. "She's a real piece of work." I looked to where he was pointing, and Lunalis was gone. Toby saw it too.

"Uh, Coach," Toby said, trying to interrupt Coach's ranting.
"Not now, Domzalski, I'm trying to focus," he replied. "Anyways, as I was saying, she's totally out of control! It's like she's an animal or something-"
"Coach," I insisted, "Lunalis-"
"I don't even want to hear her name! That girl has absolutely no respect for her teachers, and-"

"Do I have to hang here all day, or are you going to eventually stop bickering," Lunalis asked, and Coach looked up to where she was. He gasped, spluttering and looking from the floor of the gym, to where she was dangling in a gravity-defying contortion pose.

She was hanging upside down, her right leg wrapped around the rope, her left leg kicking the bell and letting it ding ding ding. Her hands were assuming a relaxed position behind her head, and she was smiling happily. "I think I cleared the rope test," she said in a sing-song voice.

"You, she, I can't, what," Coach said, his eyes bulging out of his head. "Nobody's ever been able to do it like that before! Not even Aja could climb the rope that fast!"

"This? This is just a warm-up," she said, though the grin on her face revealed her pleasure at being complimented. She twisted herself around, wrapping the rope around her legs and arms and contorting herself into poses I thought the human body was incapable of making.

Touching her toes to her head while suspended thirty feet in the air. Sliding herself down until she looked like she was flying, legs spread and arms out, head held high. She then unravelled herself, and slid down the rope, stumbling a little bit as she touched down on solid ground again.

"That was incredible," Coach grinned, rushing over to her. "How the heck did you do that?!" She stretched her arm out, then flexed it, letting the muscle ripple. "And that's just the tip of the iceberg," she smirked.

Over the course of a half horvath, Lunalis dazzled Coach Lawrence and everyone else in gym class. She aced every challenge he set her on. She could outrun the fastest boys in school. She could bench press almost 40 pounds. She was pitted against Steve in an arm-wrestling contest, and she won with ease.

As we left gym, Steve jogged to his next class, whimpering softly and nursing his twisted arm. The hallways were basically deserted. I grabbed Lunalis and pulled her into the janitor's closet.

"If you aren't careful you are going to be discovered," I whispered harshly, hoping nobody would overhear me. I couldn't really tell in the dark, but I think she rolled her eyes. "Well then, if you're so great at being human, then educate me. Tell me what to do and what not to do. Unless you'd rather let me blow my cover."

And with that, she left, leaving me pondering how in the world I could teach her to be human. Then, it clicked in my head. I ran after her, and said, "You want to act like a human? Then you will need to learn from them. I will talk with Douxie, and if he agrees, we will take you on a tour of Arcadia Oaks."

Hey Snowflakes! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Be sure to vote and comment any thoughts/feelings. 

BTW, a little A/N on the settings of the story: Chapters 1-5 alternate between the Ventil's den and Arcadia Oaks. Then, Chapters 6-9 are held in Area 49-B, a military facility. Then, Chapters 10 and onward are held in Arcadia Oaks until, like, the very end of the book. That's all for now. Stay safe, social distance, and peace out!