"Alright, so let me get this straight. Jinn's mother accidentally enrolled him… I mean her, into Brighten because she has Alzheimer's and assumed Jinn was his… I mean her, older brother. Everyone went along with it because they felt bad, so now Jinn has to disguise his… herself as a boy and take classes here," Maximus summarized.
I let out a yawn, cradling the pillow in my arms as I fought to stay awake. Alice was already asleep on my shoulder, totally unbothered by our current dilemma. To be fair, at this point I'd given up caring seeing as we hadn’t even lasted twenty-four hours before getting caught.
We were in the living room; Zane and Kage were sitting on the two-seater sofa on my right, I was sitting in the middle seat of the three-seater suede couch, and Logan was standing to my left while watching Maximus, who was pacing back and forth like a crazy person.
"Pretty much," Logan replied, still looking like he wanted to kill someone after the guys got a glimpse at me. It wasn't like I was naked, but again, it was extremely embarrassing and made me want to go back home and call it a day. I looked over to Nixon who came back into the room with two mugs. I took a whiff of the air and smiled at the scent of coffee. Hazelnut coffee to be exact.
He walked over and passed me a mug. I looked up to see his usual calm expression. "This will help stabilize your mana,” he announced. I looked at the cup, reaching out to take the mug from him and took another sniff.
I sighed before smiling at Nixon. "Thank you," I whispered. He nodded, taking a seat next to me. Alice woke up, fluttering her wings before hopping off my shoulder and moving over to Nixon’s. She relaxed, closing her eyes once more. Guess she likes him too?
"Are we gonna address more pressing matters like the fact Nixon knew Jinn was a girl?" Zane asked.
"I don't think it’s a big deal. I'm more interested what he put in the coffee and if I can have some," Kage asked. Nixon grinned and offered the second cup to Kage who happily got up and accepted the other mug.
Nixon pointed to his eyes and they began to shift to red, the tiny black magic circles making their appearance.
"I can see certain things with my eyes,” he announced casually. We were all silent, as we stared at him.
Kage leaned over to Zane and whispered, "Is that like x-ray vision?"
Zane turned his head, but his eyes remained on Nixon. "I think so. Maybe he can see your most embarrassing stories, like how you wet the bed until you were eight years old."
Kage elbowed him. "You just said it out loud idiot!"
"Oops. See, it’s the power of his eyes. They distracted me." Zane pointed at Nixon accusingly.
Maximus groaned. "I can see why your brother is supposed to be here with us. We need him to watch the both of you."
"Hey!" Kage and Zane said together, glaring at Maximus who stopped pacing to stare at Nixon.
"So, how did you know Jinn was a she?" Maximus wondered.
Nixon glanced over at me as I sipped the rich hazelnut coffee. I could sense a touch of magic in the steamy liquid but it made me extremely calm and was already giving me a hint of energy with each sip.
"Everyone has an aura around them. Not your 'magic aura' that you can see when you concentrate on an individual. Just a simple aura that kind of defines you. Males are usually blue and shift to warmer colors as they grow older. Girls are normally pink or purple, depending on their personality and shift to the cooler colors as they grow older. Jinn's aura is a really strong pink. It's not something I could ignore," Nixon explained.
"Why didn't you question him… her, earlier?" Maximus asked.
Nixon shrugged. "Why should I? She could have been transgender. Who am I to get into her business and reveal what isn't present with the human eye? If she wants to be male, whether it's for her own personal reasons or for a situation like this, she certainly can and I shouldn't interfere. Doing so is simply selfish,” he replied and I had to smile.
Nixon is a really nice person. "Hoot," Alice replied. I looked at her and saw she was awake, though just barely. "He's cool. Give him a cookie," she stated before she closed her eyes again. Nixon lifted his hand and petted her.
"That reminds me, Kage. What was with your comment about Ali?" Logan asked.
"Hmm? Oh, Ali's a she too, right?" he asked, turning to stare at me.
"How did you know? Oh, her name is Alice by the way," I replied, sipping more coffee. Seeing as the cat was out of the bag, I might as well be honest.
"I told you Kage is really good with familiars. He can tell their gender and strength just by looking at them," Zane praised.
"Really?" I asked.
Kage nodded. "Yes. Our parents both had familiars and I got obsessed with learning more about them. I can tell Alice is very powerful on her own without using much of your mana. I can only imagine what she'd be like with even a bit of your power. She's friendly too,” he added with a smile.
Alice poked an eye open. "Hoot hoot,” she replied. "That's right, praise me."
I rolled my eyes. "Don't spoil her with praise. It'll go to her head," I cautioned before having another drink.
"Hey Nixon, how did you know Jinn needed a magic boost?" Zane asked. Nixon relaxed on the sofa while he pulled a black hair tie from his wrist to tie back his long red locks.
"Jinn has been looking exhausted since the exam. As fast as her mana recovery speed may be, she's using a large amount of mana in her male disguise. Literally burning mana every minute she's in that form. Then she had to deal with the exam which lowered her mana threshold even more. Think of it as a scale. Jinn was at a nine out of ten before the exam. It dropped to a three out of ten, but instead of slowly going up, it remained there because her male form was still demanding mana. By the time we got here, she should have looked a little more rejuvenated but looked worse. She slept all afternoon and then again all the way up until thirty minutes ago. Now that she's in female form, her energies can recuperate."
We all gawked at his vast knowledge on the topic. "How do you know all of this?" Logan asked.
"My mom had to do the same when she used to be a mage warrior," Nixon revealed. What?!
"Used to be?" Kage asked.
"Like she retired?" Zane asked.
"No. She's dead," Nixon said simply, with no inflection. We all exchanged worried glances, even Logan's once mad expression softened at the revelation.
Nixon rose up. “I'm gonna make more coffee,” he announced, then pointed to my empty mug. "Do you want one more cup, Jinn?"
"Yes, please! Oh, you guys can call me Jewel. That's my real name."
Nixon smiled. "Nice to meet you, Jewel. Pretty name." He took my mug and headed into the kitchen.
"Jewel is a lovely name," Kage smiled.
"Agreed," Zane commented.
"Guess it’s pretty," Maximus mumbled.
"Aww, he's getting shy now that he knows Jinn is actually Jewel," Zane teased.
"Watch, he's gonna try and avoid her all the time now," Kage whispered to Zane who chuckled in response.
"Fuck off you two!" Maximus shouted, which only made them laugh harder.
Logan sighed, coming over to sit next to me. Nixon returned with coffee for himself and another for me. I grinned, happily taking it. I took a quick glance at Logan. He looked incredibly tired, but still gave me a small smile when he noticed my gaze. I smiled back, glad he wasn't upset with Nixon giving me coffee. I guess since he knew a little bit about Nixon and his inherited trait, he didn't see him as much as a threat.
"I guess I'll gather my things and go home then," I mumbled to myself, at least glad I hadn't unpacked.
"Why?" Everyone asked in unison. Huh?
I looked back up to stare around the room. Everyone, including Logan looked confused as if I'd spoken in another language.
"What you mean why? I can't stay here now that you guys all know. My cover was blown on the first day. What makes you think I'll survive three years here?" I pointed out. Normally school was four years, but with how fast-paced Brighten's education system was, students with higher grades and performance could graduate after the third year.
"Well, to be fair, your cover was only blown cause of Nixon's cool ninjutsu trick over there," Kage pointed out.
"Did you just compare him to a Naruto character?" Zane asked.
"You read manga?" I asked Kage, who smiled in excitement as he nodded.
"I have a whole collection. I hope our parents don't find it because they think reading them is a waste of time, but I hid the majority of it. I watch anime sometimes but the manga version is better,” he revealed.
I grinned, glancing at Logan. "You two can be friends."
Logan sighed. "Jewel, you're not supposed to tell everyone about that,” he mumbled.
"Why? I think your obsession is cute," I complimented.
"Does that mean we have a chance at Jewel?" Zane asked Kage who rolled his eyes.
"You don't even read manga. Go away,” Kage huffed.
"Last time I checked, Jewel was MY girlfriend," Logan announced.
"Hey Jewel, can I get first dibs if Logan fucks up?" Nixon asked.
"Nixon's secretly a womanizer," Maximus grumbled.
Logan huffed. "I don't share."
"My eyes tell me otherwise," Nixon grinned and I blushed glancing over at Logan.
"Tell your eyes to fuck off,” Logan scolded, his face flushed.
"You know, eyes are a part of the human body and can't hear when you insult them," Kage announced.
"I think he knows that," Zane pointed out.
"We're totally OFF topic. Jewel, you're not going anywhere," Maximus declared.
"Oh, right!" Zane exclaimed. "Ya, what Maximus said.”
"But… I can't stay… right? Aren't you going to tell?" I frowned.
"You did say the headmaster knows. Ms. Landsford and the main nurse too," Kage reminded.
"Ah, yes," I replied.
"Then what's the problem?" Nixon asked. I glanced at all of them, looking confused.
"Aren't you guys upset that I'm a girl?" I asked.
"No. Guys don't really stress about those things," Zane commented with a shrug.
"Plus you're really nice and helped us pass the test," Kage added.
"And you're hot," Maximus said. We all turned to him and he blushed, suddenly realizing what he just said. He quickly raised his hands. "I didn't mean that! I mean… fuck, whatever,” he huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked away. I smirked, turning to Nixon who was petting Alice.
"Your secret is safe with me." he promised.
"What if someone else notices my aura?" I wondered.
"Braxton should be able to do something about that," Kage suggested.
"Oh right! Brother knows how to cloak auras and shit. Like, he can basically make you invisible for a lengthy period of time," Zane elaborated.
"If Braxton can cloak your aura, I can stabilize it so even the professors won't be able to notice. Since we all know, you don't need to be in your male form at home. I doubt we'll have visitors but even if we do, they have to ring and identify themselves at the door. You should be fine," Nixon reassured.
"What if-" I tried to think of another excuse but Logan sat up. I turned to face him and his hand reached out to brush the side of my cheek.
"You're staying, Jewel,” he whispered. I smiled, looking at the others and lowering my head.
"Thank you, guys. I appreciate it." I was grateful for their secrecy. They barely knew me but were willing to protect my secret. It made me feel excited for what was to come this semester with a bunch of interesting people who seemed unconcerned about the fact my mom had a mental illness and what that entailed. They wouldn’t gossip or shit-talk about me over it. I actually had a chance to enjoy both being a male outdoors during class time and a female indoors in the comfort of my new home.
"Don't worry about it. If they're fine with keeping the secret, we don't need to kill them in their sleep," Logan spoke dryly, which only sounded scary and threatening.
I gawked at him, then glanced nervously at everyone else who looked just as shocked, except for Nixon.
"He's joking… right?" Kage whispered to Zane.
"To be honest, I have no clue,” he replied, looking deep in thought.
"I feel threatened," Maximus mumbled.
"Whatever. I just want to cuddle Jewel again," Nixon declared.
"Again?" the others exclaimed and I blushed.
"I'm gonna go shower," I announced, getting up quickly and walking to the kitchen to place my mug in the sink, filling it with water. Then I speed walked past them, straight up the stairs.
"What do you mean by AGAIN, Nixon?! You said you were playing fucking cards!" Logan shouted. I cringed, thankful that I wasn't in the room.
I walked into the room, about to grab my male clothes but then remembered I could stay as a girl for a little while till we went outside. At least now I can shower as a girl. Yes!
I personally wasn't ready to acknowledge having a penis as a male. I wouldn't deny the fact that I did do a personal inspection of my own cock and determined that attempting to spin your cock like a helicopter does NOT work. Can't judge me for trying and yes, I did sing 'WEEE' for added effect.
"A nice hot shower will boost me up after that amazing coffee! Time to get clean," I hummed, grabbing my shampoo and conditioner and heading to the washroom.
Who thought a simple explanation would give me a chance at a new school life? Maybe from here on out things will get easier?