Raven took a deep breath and climbed out of the car.
Garrett squeezed the boy's shoulder. "You'll be fine. Don't worry."
The sub nodded and shuffled into the building with Garrett following behind him. Inside was a desk with a woman sitting behind it. They waited for the pair in front of them to finish signing in before moving up to meet the lady.
"Welcome, can I get your name and school?"
"Raven Ridge, I'm from Midfield Academy."
She scrolled down the list on her tablet to the Rs. "There you are." She looked to Garrett. "Are you from the school or his host family?"
"I'm his guardian, assigned by the school."
"Excellent, can you sign here please?"
Garrett set to work doing the paperwork as the sub looked around the large entryway. A few of the other students were standing around just on the other side of a desk. One boy was taking pictures of the mosaic on the ceiling.
"And that's it." The woman smiled. "You're all good to go, Raven. You can wait over there with the other students. Pick up is at 3 o'clock sharp. Please be on time."
Garrett nodded and looked at Raven. "If anything comes up, call us. Alright? We always have our phones on us."
"Okay."
"Good luck, and don't be too nervous. You're not the only new student here."
"I'll try." Raven picked at his fingernails. He was already so nervous, though.
"Alright, see you at 3 sharp." Garrett wave and headed out the door to meet up with his mate who was waiting in the car.
Raven shuffled around the desk and went to stand in the corner. He started to play with his hair. Going to a new school was hard enough without having to blend in with a different species. He folded his arms and leaned against the wall. The sub was startled by a flash. He looked over to see the boy with the camera.
"Sorry." The boy with dirty blonde hair gave the werewolf an uneasy smile. "The shot was perfect. I couldn't help it."
"That's alright."
"I'm Jace." The short boy offered his hand. "Jace Harrison, I'm from New York City."
The sub shook it. "Raven Ridge, I don't think you'll know where my hometown, but I won the Midfield Academy Scholarship."
"Oh wow, so you're the genius they sent this year. The guy who won last year was way ahead of us. Most of these people just have rich parents. A couple other students are like you, but Midfield is always one of the smartest."
"You did this last year?" Raven motioned around the room.
Jace nodded. "My dad's a pretty big photographer. It's where I get it." He fiddled with his camera. "My mom's a fashion designer. They're both busy, so they send me here. My older brother did the same thing. He told me all about the Midfield students, and he was right." Jace laughed.
Raven stood there, not knowing exactly how to respond. Jace was a strange human, but interesting.
"You don't really fit the type, though."
The sub frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Well," Jace laughed hesitantly. "All the others are more serious looking, and then you walk in." He motioned to Raven. "It was like an audible whisper went through the group."
"Why?" Raven looked around and noticed that people where sneaking peeks at him. "Did I do something wrong?"
"No," said Jace. "Not at all, you're just well... well, you're probably the most beautiful boy I've ever seen and I grow up in the modeling world. I've been hauled around to more shoots and run away shows than I can count, but you're something else."
Raven smiled to himself and hoped he wasn't blushing. "Thanks."
"Have you ever thought about modeling? If my dad sees you, I know he going to try and recruit you just so he can find a way to do a shoot."
The werewolf shook his head. "No, my dad's a little overprotective. It was hard enough to convince him to let me come, let alone modeling."
"I think you should consider it. You're the right height and with your long hair, you'd be great for editorial, high fashion work."
"I don't know..." Raven sucked in his lips. "Maybe."
A man in a suit walked to the middle of the room. "Alright, everyone gather around. Let's begin."
All the student wandered over to him. Raven glanced around and for once in his life, he was on the tall side. I mean he could see the tops of some people's heads. Was this how dominants felt all the time? He stood up a little taller with an extra boost of confidence.
"Welcome to the Rome, Italy's branch of the International Academic Experience. I'm happy to see some returning faces as well as students that are new to the program. I am Professor Bois. I'm excited to be leading the program this year. If you have any problems or questions, please come to see me." He cleared his throat. "Many of you have been chosen to represent your school through your academic excellence. It is expected to keep up your grades and be self-motivated."
Professor Bois scanned the crowd. "Test will be given out periodically with plenty of time for you to study the material. Failure to pass these test could result in expulsion from the program."
Raven felt his chest tightened.
Jace nudged him. "They're easy. They're more focused on hands-on experiences. Memorize some names and dates, and you'll be fine."
Raven relaxed a little.
"The main goal of this year is to expose you to different cultures and history," said Professor Bois. "You will be taken to historical sites and multiple museums. We will adventure up to Paris and other cities to further his expansion of new and different ways of thinking." He smiled at the surrounding students. "For today, I will show you to the classroom and we will go over the schedule for the next three months. Be sure to share this information with your host family, guardians, or parents. If you would please follow me, and let's start another amazing year." He motioned for us to follow.
***
Raven dropped his book bag on the floor of his bedroom and jumped onto his bed. Grabbing his phone, he pressed on 'Home' in his contact list. The phone rang but no one answered. Raven sat up, trying not to get upset. He called again.
It rang twice before someone picked up.
"Raven?" said his father. "Raven, are you there?"
"Hi dad," breathed the sub.
Darius laughed. "It good to hear from you. How was your first day?"
"Fine," muttered Raven.
"You sound upset. What happened?"
"The humans think I'm weird." Raven laid down on his side.
"What do you mean?"
"Everyone kept giving me weird looks all day. No one would talk to me."
"Are you sure it wasn't you being shy?"
"I'm not shy," stated Raven.
"As a pup, you spent more time hiding behind my leg than anything else."
"Dad," whined Raven. "No, I didn't."
"Raven, you have to realize you look a little different."
"It's because of my hair, right? Should I cut it?"
"Calm down, Rav," he laughed. "I doubt cutting your hair is going to change it. Werewolves' human forms are just different. We're naturally taller, fit, and human teens, well they go through an awkward phase. Most likely they were comparing themselves to you and found you intimidating. Just be glad you weren't Daven."
Raven smiled to himself. "I'm one of the tallest. I've never been considered tall in my life. It was kind of nice."
"See, even as a sub you can see the difference."
"I guess."
"You're a beautiful boy, Rav. In human standard, maybe too beautiful, but I don't see the need to change yourself to fit in. You're not there to fit in with humans."
"Um... well, one boy did talk to me today. He said something like that. His name's Jace and he said I should be model, like in the human magazines," Raven laughed.
"And you thought no one liked you," said Darius firmly. "Give it time. You're my son so I know you're not going to let some humans run you off."
Raven giggled. "I won't. Is mom around?"
"You're done with me then?" Darius scoffed. "I let my baby boy go travel the world and now he thinks he too good for me."
"Dad, stop."
"I'm hurt, Raven. You're tearing me up inside."
Raven rolled his eyes. "If mom finds out that you talked to me and didn't tell her, she's going to be really mad."
"That's why your my smart son," stated Darius. "You know how to keep your old man out of trouble."
"Sure thing, dad." Raven picked at his comforter. "So can you get mom?"
"Alright, alright, must have been some cute boy in your class. You need to gossip about with her."
"Dad! I am not. You're the one that said over and over no boys."
The alpha laughed. "Human boys, Raven. They are no threat. You can look all you want, you have my permission."
Raven rubbed his forehead. "Can you please get mom?"
"Okay, okay, I love you, Raven."
"I love you, too."
"If your mom picks up next time, promise to spare a couple minutes for your old man, okay?"
"Don't worry, I will."