Lena Matthews

"Wake up." Aurelie shook me gently.

"What?" I asked groggily.

"Mom said to get your butt out of bed or you're grounded," Aurelie explained.

I groaned as Aurelie scampered away, giggling. Today marked day three of being in Atalka. It also marked my first day at Atalka Academy.

My school uniform had been neatly hung up in my closet. I started removing everything from its hanger, frowning. I'm not a uniform person, but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make for the Agency. I put on a white blouse and green sweater that had a weird symbol stitched in the top corner. It looked a bit like a dream catcher, with a circle that had a moon and wolf in the middle and feathers beneath it. The green skirt was covered in black and white plaid, and stopped just short of my long white socks. The socks were itchy, but I would only have to deal with them for months at most.

"Hurry up!" Aurelie called from downstairs. I sighed and quickly made my way downstairs, where Mom was making blueberry pancakes.

"That smells amazing, Mom," I said.

"Look who's up." Mom replied, not glancing up from the stove. A small teasing smile lit up her face.

"Thanks for waking me up earlier," I replied sarcastically.

"We tried," said Finn. "You need to sleep lighter if you want to be prepared for any attacks." After Finn's comment, everyone got quiet for a moment. Our shiny new house had momentarily distracted us from why we were really here. This was a dangerous mission, not a luxury getaway. After a somber moment, we all hurriedly continued with our morning routine. Finn and I finished breakfast and raced to pack our bags.

"First!" I declared proudly, zipping my bag shut.

"Not a competition, Lena," Finn replied, casually grabbing another binder.

"Whatever." I huffed. "I still won."

In Atalka, most people walked to school since it was so close. Finn and I were instructed to take Aurelie with us, and she skipped a few yards ahead of us in her blissful obliviousness.

Outside, I could see my breath sparkle in the morning air. It was beautiful now, but the forecast predicted rain every single afternoon this week. The Agency had chosen a house for us that was a bit more secluded from the rest of the town. While that had some advantages, it meant that Finn, Aurelie, and I were stuck with a longer walk in the rain after school.

The house we were staying in had been empty for some time before we moved in, but no one seemed to know anything about the previous residents, except something about the stairs. Although, it was possible that Jane-Anne knew more about the town than she let on. Jane-Anne.

"I almost forgot. That Jane-Anne girl volunteered to give me a tour of the school today." I told Finn.

"Who's Jane-Anne?" Aurelie asked. She stopped skipping and turned around, waiting for us to catch up.

"The mayor's daughter," Finn explained. "She came by while you were napping after the checkup."

Aurelie wrinkled her nose at the mention of the checkup. "That was so weird." She informed us.

"What do you remember from the checkup?" I asked, mainly out of curiosity. The only memory I had was Dad and fire, which didn't make any sense. Makaya always carried herself like she knew something no one else did, and she seemed to be the only one with the ability to give those odd checkups. It made me suspicious.

"I remember fire," said Aurelie, shrugging.

"Do you remember fire?" I asked Finn, not liking the pattern.

"I don't remember anything," Finn admitted.

"I think that Makaya's one of the Forbidden," I whispered to Finn. Aurelie had resumed skipping ahead, presumably bored with our conversation.

"Seriously, Lena?" Finn asked. "Did you not hear what Dad said? It's not your job to accuse everyone you meet. Leave that to him. Our job is to keep his cover."

"Ok," I said. "I think I want to befriend Jane-Anne. She is the mayor's daughter."

"That sounds like a good plan." Finn approved.

 "Then I can collect evidence that she is one of the Forbidden and report her." I finished.

"Lena!" Finn reprimanded. "Her too?"

"She was acting off when she visited! There has to be something!" I argued. "I need to prove myself somehow."

"Well, this isn't the place to prove yourself." Finn pointed out. "It's dangerous here, and if you really want to do something, stay away from the people here. You never know who anyone is in this place."

"Whatever," I replied. It was easy for Finn to dismiss my goals. No one's ever doubted him.

As we continued walking in silence, the campus finally came into view. Since Atalka was a wealthy gated community, I had expected Atalka Academy to look nice. Nothing prepared me for the behemoth of a building that awaited us.

The first thing I saw was the large reflecting pool that displayed a watery image of Atalka Academy in all of its glory. The Academy had one large bell tower that was made of stones, making it look more like a castle than a school. A giant bronze plaque above the large double doors of the tower wore the name "Atalka Academy" with pride. Two shaded walkways branched from the tower. To the left were the academic classrooms for grades 6-12. The other side led to the cafeteria, music room, auditorium, library, and elementary classrooms. After going to the office to collect our schedules, Finn reluctantly parted ways with Aurelie and I to get to his first class.

"Remember Annie, we have to be on our best behavior," I said. To say that I was nervous that Aurelie would blow a massive hole in Dad's cover was an understatement.

"I'm going to be okay." Aurelie insisted. She skipped ahead of me, her dark hair bouncing behind her. I sighed, and walked a bit faster to keep up. Aurelie's first class was with Mrs. Delaney, who taught reading. Mrs. Delaney had green eyes and bright red hair, and dimples that showed when she smiled at Aurelie. She offered me directions to the auditorium and even insisted on walking me there. I refused, determined to make it to the auditorium without help.

The auditorium, like the rest of the Academy, was absolutely gorgeous. I walked down the carpeted aisle that ran along rows of seats to the stage, where three girls were lounging and chatting, letting their feet dangle off of the edge. I identified the middle girl as Jane-Anne. The grand drape was closed, hiding backstage from view, and I half expected the three girls to stand up and perform a rehearsed dance routine the second they saw me. Each of them looked like they could be the popular mean girl in a teen movie. Maybe it was because I already had my opinion of Jane-Anne. Something about her was off-putting to me, and I was going to find out why.

Instead of bursting into a condescending music number, the three girls waved cheerfully. Correction: Jane-Anne and the girl to the left of her waved cheerfully. The third girl looked ready to murder me.

"Ivy! You made it!" Jane-Anne announced enthusiastically. She launched herself off of the stage to hug me.

"Hi," I said, not expecting the invasion of personal space.

"This is Kiara and Taylor, my best friends," said Jane-Anne.

Kiara's chocolate eyes met mine, and lit up with a mischievous glow. She had a round, innocent face, like Aurelie. Her curly brown hair went way past her shoulders, and a fedora with a green band was tightly situated on her head. She was the only person I'd seen in the school wearing a hat, which I had assumed to be against the dress code.

Taylor, who still was eyeing me suspiciously, had short black hair and stormy gray eyes. She had light caramel skin, and full pink lips that were set in a judgemental frown.

"Hi," I said to both of them. Kiara and Taylor smiled back, but Taylor's smile felt forced.

"It's nice to meet you," said Kiara. She leaped off of the edge of the stage gracefully, like an acrobat. "I'm going to be late for physics. You coming, Taylor?" Kiara turned quizzically to Taylor, who stepped off of the stage cautiously.

"I can be late," said Taylor casually. She glanced at me, not willing to leave Jane-Anne and I in the same room alone. If I wasn't working for the Agency, I would have accused her of being paranoid.

"You can go," said Jane-Anne. "It's not like you're required to be with me all the time, right?"

"Come on, Taylor." Kiara insisted.

"Fine." Taylor huffed, following Kiara as she skipped out of the auditorium. I watched them go, amused by their dynamic.

"So," said Jane-Anne. "I guess it's just the two of us." Jane-Anne sounded like she was trying to intimidate me. Her facade wasn't exactly working on me though. I could see right through it.

"I guess it is," I answered. I changed my expression to one much colder, hoping that I could get Jane-Anne to reveal herself. She had to be a monster in disguise, right? Finn's voice echoed in my head, reminding me that I wanted to see the Forbidden everywhere I turned.

"Okay, Ivy," said Jane-Anne. "Where to first?" She crossed her arms and put a weird emphasis on the word "Ivy".

"Would you mind taking me to first period? It's American Lit." I said. I raised the volume of my voice and added inflections to shatter the tension between Jane-Anne and I. It was a trick that Mom taught me. The sudden diffusal of conflict could throw the enemy off balance.

"Sure," said Jane-Anne. She looked confused, as though she was doubting whether or not our earlier exchange had even happened. "Follow me."

Luckily for me, the students of Atalka Academy were only one week into the new semester, so I didn't have to catch up on much. That was a massive relief. I silently sat in each of my classes, taking in all of the information being thrown at me with a terrifying speed. I was grateful for the uniforms since they allowed me to blend in with the crowd. No one looked at me weird, and I didn't feel too alienated as the "new kid". I did overhear a couple of whispers about Finn though. He was well-loved at our old school, and I wasn't too surprised that his popularity carried over. When it was finally time for lunch, I decided that it was best to avoid Jane-Anne and her two minions for a while. After a couple of random turns, I found myself in the library.

The library had shelves that nearly reached the ceiling with ladders that allowed students to reach even the furthest books. In between the aisles of shelves was an open space with tables and chairs illuminated by chandeliers that hung above them. I set my bag down on a random chair and looked around at the endless shelves of books. Meandering through the aisles, I stumbled across a section marked as "History".

None of the history books looked particularly interesting to me. I'm not the most academic person, especially considering that things like algebra don't help me fight monsters. Instead, I decided to stand on one of the ladders and ride it down the shelf. I placed my left foot on the first rung of the ladder and used my right foot to get a running start. I released my right foot and felt the wind rush through my hair as I glided past the endless books. I decided to challenge myself and climb higher as the ladder continued to accelerate. I almost made it to the top when the shelf ended. The ladder slammed to a stop. I yelped in fright and grabbed the shelf to steady myself. My glasses tumbled to the ground, leaving me stranded ten feet in the air and blind.

I'm stupid sometimes.

"Are you okay?" A voice asked. It was a concerned-sounding girl.

"I'm fine." I insisted.

"Sure you are." said a boy. I felt my cheeks turn red with embarrassment. "I can hear your heart thudding from here."

"What?" I asked.

"It's an expression. Do you need help getting down?" The boy asked.

"I can handle it." I insisted, hugging the ladder pathetically.

"Without your glasses?" The girl asked. "I can get a teacher or something-"

"I got it!" I called back quickly. The last thing I wanted was more people involved. I started to climb down, but missed the rung of the ladder and ended up causing one of the books to tumble off the shelf. I didn't hear it crash on the floor. Someone must have caught it. I returned to my initial position, still trapped ten feet up.

I tried again, slowly making my way down the ladder, and feeling each rung individually. I was terrified, but tried to calm down so the boy wouldn't make fun of me. When my feet finally felt solid ground, I was ready to dance for joy.

"Now that you're done proving what a big girl you are, here's your glasses and your book." The boy placed both objects in my hand. I scrambled to put my glasses on so I could see my rude spectator. He had his arms crossed, and his dirty blonde hair was carefully styled.

"You know, you could be a bit nicer," said the girl. She had glasses, like me, and long bangs. Even though she seemed shy, there was an innate friendliness about her that didn't match her companion, who was already walking away.

"Wait!" I called. The boy turned back around.

"What's your name?" I asked. "I'm new, and I don't really know anyone here. Except for Jane-Anne, I guess."

"I'm Carter," said Carter. "And you're not my type."

"Okay, then." I scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself. I'm Ivy, and I'm not interested."

"Ivy," said Carter. "Welcome to Atalka. Stay away from ladders. And people with two names."

"Do you know something about Jane-Anne?" I asked immediately.

"Sure," said Carter. "She has two names because she's two-faced." After that, Carter seemed pretty done with the conversation. He turned me away, leaving me with the random book.

"He's really nice once you get to know him. And Jane-Anne... I guess she hasn't been the same since those two girls started following her." The girl frowned, realizing that she may have said too much. "I'm Rowan, by the way. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," I said, smiling.

"Well, I should go catch up to Carter. But I'll see you around!" said Rowan, waving cheerfully.

"Bye!" I said, waving back. Rowan's energy was certainly infectious. As soon as Rowan was out of earshot, I sighed. "You're not my type," I repeated mockingly, still bitter about Carter's comment. I slammed the book on the table, not willing to climb up the ladder to return it. I frowned at the cover, which read: History of Atalka, Originally Pearcetown. I flipped through the old pages absentmindedly when a colored page grabbed my attention.

It was a drawing, which was shockingly violent. It had some man dressed in 1800s clothing holding an American flag. He stood on top of a rock that was crushing several people in Native American clothing. The Native Americans were depicted strangely, with claws and fur and yellow eyes. Like wolves. Wait.

I glanced at my school uniform, and the yellow school insignia on my sweater. A dream catcher with a wolf and moon. The first residents of Atalka were werewolves.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed that chapter! It was a fun chance for me to start expanding on the characters in this town (there's a lot, but they're all interesting). For now, everyone seems oblivious to the mysterious cold woman, but we'll see how long the ignorance can last...

QOTD: What do you think about all of the new characters? Any of them seem like they could be Forbidden?