The ceremony wrapped up with more applause than I knew what to do with, and before I could even catch my breath, this kid—fourteen, maybe fifteen—walked right up to us like he’d been waiting his whole life for this moment. He had that classic freshman energy: big eyes, nervous smile, hair still a little too long in the front like he hadn’t figured out how to style it yet. Mrs. Johnson rested a gentle hand on his shoulder.

  “Meleek, this is Brennen. He’s going to show you to your locker and walk you to your first class.”

  Brennen stuck his hand out fast, like he was afraid he’d chicken out if he waited too long. “Welcome to our school, Meleek. You’re actually a lot taller than I—”

  “Meleek!”

  Kylie’s voice sliced through the hallway like a damn siren. She strutted up and punched me square in the arm—hard enough that I felt it in my funny bone.

  “Ow! What the hell, Kylie?!”

  Brennen’s whole face went pink the second he clocked her. Eyes dropped to the floor, shoulders hunched, suddenly very interested in his own shoes. I caught it immediately and smirked. Oh yeah. Another one bites the dust. Poor kid didn’t stand a chance.

  “That’s for roasting me onstage, jerk,” Kylie said, completely ignoring—or maybe just not caring about—Brennen’s obvious meltdown. She crossed her arms like she’d just won something.

  A couple of her cheerleader friends drifted over next—girls I recognized from the times they’d crashed our house before. Kylie lit up and waved them closer like she was presenting a prize.

  “Meleek, these are my friends. They wanted to come say hi.”

  I gave a small, awkward wave and tried to play it cool. “Hey… good to see y’all again.”

  They jumped right in—introductions flying, compliments raining down like confetti. “You look so different!” “Your hair is fire!” “Those eyes are insane!” I tossed a few back—nothing too wild, just enough to keep it light. Kylie rolled her eyes so hard I thought they might get stuck.

  After a few minutes of chatter, Brennen cleared his throat and gave my arm the tiniest poke. “Uh… Meleek? Sorry to interrupt, but we really should get you to your locker and class.”

  I nodded, turning back to Kylie and her crew. “Catch y’all later.”

  Quick goodbyes, a few more squeals, and we were off.

  The hallways were a circus. People stared—some subtle, some not. A few even stopped us outright, asking Brennen random questions about schedules or clubs while blatantly eyeballing me. It slowed us down big time, and I could tell Brennen was starting to get annoyed—his shoulders creeping higher, jaw tight.

  “Sorry about all the distractions,” I said, trying to keep things chill. “So… what’d you think of those girls back there? Cute, right?”

  His eyes went wide like I’d just asked him to confess his deepest sin. “What? Uh… yeah, I guess so.”

  I smirked. Kid was exactly like I used to be—flustered, tongue-tied, heart probably doing backflips. I still got nervous around new people, but years of talk shows and interviews had taught me how to fake it ’til I made it.

  We finally made it to the classroom. The second I stepped inside, the room went dead quiet—like someone hit mute. Every head swiveled. The teacher walked over with a big, welcoming smile. Tall, skinny Black guy, button-up sweater, khakis, glasses—looked like he’d stepped out of a teacher catalog.

  “Welcome, Meleek. I’m Mr. Hamilton.”

  “Nice to meet you, sir.” I shook his hand.

  He scanned the room. “Sorry, most seats are taken. Only one left is in the back by the window. That okay?”

  I glanced at it—corner, out of the spotlight. Perfect. “Yeah, sir. That’s great.”

  As I headed down the aisle, I felt every pair of eyes tracking me. Then, thanks to my elf ears, a soft female voice drifted over:

  “Damn… elves are hot.”

  I flicked my gaze that way. Dani—sitting with her little posse, grinning like she knew exactly what she’d done. She knew damn well I could hear her. I let out a quiet laugh and shook my head.

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  “Oh god, I think he heard you,” one of her friends whispered.

  “I know he did,” Dani replied, not even trying to be subtle.

  The open seat was next to a guy who screamed jock: short wavy dark-brown hair, light brown eyes, deep tan, built like he lived in the weight room. He was already staring at me—big, goofy smile on his face.

  I slid into the chair. He leaned in immediately.

  “Don’t tell me you seriously don’t remember me.”

  I turned, really looked at him—and it hit me like a freight train.

  My jaw dropped. “Holy crap… Lucian?”

  Lucian—my second-family little brother, the kid I used to play video games and cause chaos with until they all vanished when I was thirteen. He’d changed so much—taller, broader, voice deeper—but that grin was the same.

  He laughed, clapping me on the shoulder. “Took you long enough, man.”

  Before I could even process it, Dani’s voice whispered again—low, teasing, just for me:

  “Meleek… can you hear me?”

  I glanced over. She and her friends were all grinning like they were in on the best secret ever. I gave her the tiniest nod—yes, I heard you. They immediately burst into hushed giggles.

  I rolled my eyes, fighting a smile, and turned back to Lucian.

  “You look completely different,” I said. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

  “We just moved back a few days ago,” he started. “So how—”

  Mr. Hamilton cleared his throat—loud, pointed. The room snapped to attention.

  Lucian leaned in just enough to whisper, “We’ll talk later.”

  The teacher dove into the syllabus overview—books, grading, the usual first-day rundown. I tried to focus, but it was impossible. Whispers kept drifting my way. Heads kept turning. Phones lit up under desks, sneaky pics being taken.

  Mr. Hamilton noticed. He pushed through for a while, pretending not to see it, but eventually his patience snapped.

  He slammed his book shut with a sharp thwack that echoed off the walls.

  Every eye snapped forward.

  “Fine,” he said, voice calm but firm. “Since you’re all clearly more interested in Meleek than in quadratic equations today, let’s just get it out of your systems.”

  He turned to me, rubbing the back of his head with a half-smile. “I hope you don’t mind, but I think the class would really like to know a little more about you. Would you be okay answering a few questions?”

  Relief flooded me. “Yeah. I don’t mind at all.”

  The room lit up—chairs creaked, backs straightened, excitement buzzing.

  Mr. Hamilton stepped to the front. “Ground rules: one question per person. Make it good, and keep it respectful—no rude or invasive stuff. We’ll start with Jordan and go row by row. Introduce yourself first.”

  Jordan swiveled around. Deep voice, confident grin. “Hey, I’m Jordan. I was wondering—do elves live longer than humans, or are you guys, like… immortal?”

  I smirked. This dude had definitely sunk too many hours into fantasy RPGs. “Hey, Jordan. From what I can tell, no. We live about as long as humans do. I’m only seventeen.”

  Next up—a stocky Hispanic guy with long, neatly parted hair. “Hi, I’m Gabriel. I read in a book once that elves can see in the dark. Is that true?”

  Another fantasy fan. I chuckled. “Hey, Gabriel. Yeah, it’s true. My eyes amplify whatever light is there, so even a candle-lit room looks fully bright to me. That’s also why they glow a little in the dark.”

  The second I said “glow,” the room exploded.

  “Wait—can we see?” “Do it!” “Please turn off the lights!”

  Mr. Hamilton raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. “All right, but just for a minute.”

  He flicked off the overheads. The room plunged into dimness, lit only by soft window light.

  My irises brightened—subtle at first, then noticeably luminous, like pale silver-blue rings catching faint moonlight.

  A chorus of “Whoa” and “That’s so cool” filled the space. Phones lit up as a few kids tried to sneak pictures.

  After maybe fifteen seconds, Mr. Hamilton turned the lights back on. I squeezed my eyes shut against the sudden brightness, blinking hard until the dazzle faded.

  “Impressive,” he said with a small smile. “All right, settle down. Let’s keep going.”

  The questions kept coming.

  Crystal—bubbly, excited—asked if there was an actual elf language and if it sounded like the one from Lord of the Rings.

  I laughed. “I’m pretty sure we had our own once, but since I’m the only elf around and never met any others, I never got the chance to learn it.”

  Wanda followed quickly. “Does it make you sad being the only one?”

  I hesitated, the question hitting deeper than I expected. “Yeah… sometimes. I wish there were more of my kind. Maybe I’d have answers to some of your questions—and some of mine. But I’ve got my human family, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”

  The mood stayed light. Robert—clearly trying to be funny—asked, “So you’re saying Santa and his elves aren’t real and my parents lied to me?”

  The class cracked up. I rolled my eyes playfully. “Nah, Santa’s real. He just uses gnomes now. They work harder.”

  More laughter.

  Then Dani leaned forward, chewing her bottom lip like she was deciding how bold to be.

  “So… do you find human females attractive? And would you ever consider dating one?”

  Her friends immediately squealed and giggled. The rest of the class chuckled too.

  I smirked, leaning back in my chair just enough to meet her eyes. “Oh yeah, definitely. I’ve got a real thing for cute redheads.”

  Dani gasped—genuinely surprised—cheeks flushing pink. Lucian shoved my shoulder, laughing hard. “Smooth, dude.”

  The bell rang, cutting through the noise. People started packing up, but a few lingered, crowding around my desk with more questions.

  “Back up, you vultures,” Lucian said, stepping in front of me like a human shield. “Give the man some space.”

  They grumbled but listened, slowly drifting away. He turned to me once the crowd thinned.

  “You know where your next class is? I can walk you if you want.”

  I fished my schedule out of my pocket. “Uh… English 3, room 213.”

  He leaned in to look. “Oh, damn. That’s Mrs. Andrews. I’ve got her later. Word is she loves pop quizzes and gives a lot of tests.”

  “Great,” I muttered sarcastically.

  We both laughed under our breath as we headed out of the room and into the hallway together.