Rare

Chapter five

The rain remained heavy when third period began. Mr. Merkez's was in a sour mood because the heavy rain meant class was confined inside. Usually, a slight drizzle was welcomed, and the class would spend the period outside.

     Instead, he split the class into small groups, with the instructions of testing out each student's ability to wield lightning. 

     Jordin watched as Lexi Anker shifted, her pale feathers matched her platinum blonde hair, little bolts of lightning almost glued to her feathers. With a squark, her wings fluttered wide. In the arch between her wings, a bright bolt of lightning grew, connecting the tips of her feathers together.

     It was almost blinding to watch. The rest of the group – consisting of Kim Tesler and Justin Himmler – had to shield their eyes. Usually, Jordin wouldn't need to look away at such a sceptical, but she did so anyway. Just to appear normal.

     "Nice power, Lexi," Mr. Merkez said, nodding his approval as Lexi, beaming with pride, shifted back into human form. 

     Lexi playfully elbowed Justin. "Beat that," she challenged.

     Justin was quick to accept the challenge. "You're on."

     Justin was usually all talk, boasting more than doing. As a result, his lightning wasn't quite as spectacular as Lexi's had been. He returned to human, a scowl in place.

     "Jordin? You're up," Lexi said, acting as the leader of the group.

     Jordin remained seated. "I'd rather not."

     "Doesn't matter," Lexi said. "It's the assignment. You gotta do it."

     True. But Jordin wasn't happy about it. It was also suspicious that she was reacting so strongly about it. With one look across the room at Cameron, who only gave her a thumbs up of encouragement, Jordin stood.

     She could feel the rest of the group watching her, along with the teacher. Prying eyes. Expectant eyes. Even bored eyes. No one really expected anyone to outshine Lexi. How Jordin would like to wipe that smug look off Lexi's face. Release all her power, show this class what she could really do.

     Now, that'd be something.

     Something terrible, no doubt. Her nightmare from last night came to mind. That would become a reality if people found out she was a draugr.

     Keeping that in mind, Jordin summoned her magic. Her body tingled slightly as she shifted forms. Her manifestation into bird form only took a moment, much faster than either Justin or Kim. Jordin slowed down the flow of magic streaming through her body. Slow it down. Restrict it. Not too much power.

     Her body craved the electricity. Craved for more power. It'd be so easy to increase the energy that surrounded her form in lightning bolts. Easy to fry the lights in the room too. Maybe even shatter a few windows. Crack the glasses that dangled from Mr. Merkez neck.

     So easy.

     But Jordin didn't.

     She couldn't. Keeping her status as a draugr was far more important than anything else.

     Breathing in deeply, Jordin kept her power tucked close. Only a slimmer burst out. The lightning display was nothing impressive, and Mr. Merkez quickly lost interest and move on.

     With the assignment completed, Jordin shifted back into human form and took her position on the ground once more as she waited for the lesson to come to an end.

     Lunch was a much-needed break.

     Jordin had put on a bit more mascara this morning than usual and refusing to spend the rest of the day with panda eyes, she stuck to the cafeteria today. Cameron was at her side as they waited in the never-ending line. Slowly, the line moved closer to the counter of food.