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them.”
    “Ms. Rollins, I realize that it is hard for your young mind to grasp such subtlety, but it would be unforgivably bad of me were I to teach you a history that is not your own. What are we if not a product of our history?”
    “Ourselves?” Sip offered.
    “What would happen?” I asked, because Professor Anania seemed to expect a response.
    “That’s not the point.”
    Nothing at all would happen except that I might end up having to switch studies later if they found out I was a different paranormal. I didn’t see why this professor didn’t know it too. She tapped her foot on the floor, thinking.
    Finally, she gave a gusty sigh. “You may join the mages unless you would prefer to wait in the President’s office.”
    “No, thank you,” I said. “I’ll risk joining the mages.”
    I sat with the other Starter mages, a group that included Lisabelle, and we worked quietly for the rest of class.
    By the end of the first half of the day I was miserable. The classes had been unbearably hard and most of what the professors had told me I hadn’t understood. Many of the other students had grown up in households of paranormals, but not me. I didn’t understand terminology like “lightmare” (which was a particular type of paranormal animal), and since I didn’t know how to use my magic I couldn’t begin to practice my skills like the other students were doing.
    As we left lunch I could see Cale walking towards me. He gave me a smile and pushed one strand of his red hair out of his face as he reached me. I had the distinct realization that he was the sort of guy who looked good effortlessly, while I felt like I was a little sweaty and my face was hot. I was sure that my thick brown hair had started to frizz.
    “How’d your classes go?” he asked, beaming at me.
    “Oh, splendid,” I said, thinking of all the professors who were irritated with me.
    Cale laughed. “It’ll get easier,” he said. “We should catch up this weekend. Maybe get breakfast.”
    “Um, yeah….” I said. I liked Cale and it was great to have a friendly face, but he was a pixie and I wasn’t sure what that meant for us hanging out. Everyone seemed to keep to his or her own dorms.
    “I’ll find you later and we can talk about it,” he said, and walked off to join a group of friends.
    Since my mom had died I hadn’t been anti-social, but I’d been quiet. Cale and I had always been friendly, and that’s about it. I couldn’t figure out why he suddenly wanted to hang out.
    I had been pretty sure that nothing could be worse than my first half day of classes, but that was before I walked into A History of Hellhounds and Demons since 1700 and saw that not only was Professor Zervos the professor, but Lisabelle and the fallen angel Keller who had stopped the fight at dinner the night before were also both in class.
    If I was at a normal college I’m sure I would be happy to have someone I know in class, but I felt certain that Lisabelle and Zervos were going to hate each other, and since he already hated me he’d be directing a whole lot of animosity over to our little corner of the room. Besides, unlike normal school, I got the idea problems here were solved with violence. While all my other professors had greeted students as they came in, Professor Zervos had kept his face invisible behind a manuscript.
    When I walked in I could feel Keller’s eyes on me. I wanted to tell him it was rude to stare, but I didn’t have the nerve.
    I felt my face turn red and hurried to find a seat. Lisabelle sat next to me, folded her arms over her chest, and glared at Zervos. I hadn’t told her how badly he had wanted to get rid of me yesterday, but she seemed to have her own reasons for hating him.
    Suddenly, Professor Zervos slammed his chair back so hard it hit the wall behind him. He tossed his manuscript on his desk and leaned both fists onto the dark wood.
    Smiling a cold smile, he said, “A History of Hellhounds and Demons since