With a shrill scream Chizuru sat up in bed, eyes wide and chest heaving as she tried to regain her bearings.  Loosening her grip on her blanket she fumbled for her phone in the dark, checking the time only to find that it was almost 5 in the morning.

She sighed.  Shifting, Chizuru swung her legs over the side of her bed.  Her head throbbed slightly from the sudden movement, and she gingerly massaged her temples in an attempt to ward off the headache she felt coming on. 

Even though she didn’t have to get up until 6, Chizuru knew she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep again.  At least, not after the dream she had just had.

It was always the same.  She would dream about that night, her parents, the fire, the wolves.  Every night she would be plagued with the horrid scenes from the night that changed everything for her.  She couldn’t escape it no matter how hard she tried.  Hell, she had even tried not sleeping for a while.  Eventually, though, she had passed out, and the second she closed her eyes the nightmares had come back full force. 

With one last begrudging glance at the time display on her phone, she let out another deep sigh. 

 “Okay.  Lets do this.”

Chizuru stood up and trudged over to the bathroom. 

She winced when she the light, both at the brightness and at the sight she saw reflected in the mirror. 

She looked…tired. 

There were dark circles under her eyes, a stark contrast to her pale skin.  Her skin itself was paler than usual from not having ventured out into the sun for so long, and her once healthy hair was a tangled mess.  All-in-all she looked like a ghostly mess, and not at all fit to be going back to the Academy in about two hours. 

But I am, she thought sullenly.

“Ahhh I don’t wanna”, Chizuru whined out loud, mussing her hair into an even frizzier mess.

She sighed, again. 

Okay, she gave her reflection a determined glare, Let’s get this over with.

Even taking her time, Chizuru was dressed and ready to go by 6:30, leaving her a good half an hour to sit around and twiddle her thumbs.  With the free time that she suddenly found herself with she couldn’t help but get nervous thinking about the day ahead of her. 

It wasn’t just the fact that she had been away for nearly a year that bothered her, it was the fact that today was the Assignment.  As a Keeper, she would be assigned to a Pack, a group of what most people would refer to as werewolves, and she would be expected to watch over and lead them.  

Needless to say, Chizuru was not looking forward to that.

She was still suffering from the last traumatic encounter she had with wolves.  She hadn't even had contact with her friends in the year that she was gone out of the fear that she would accidentally push them away.  So being assigned to a pack was the last thing she wanted right now, no matter how prestigious it was.

Chizuru ended up leaving her temporary apartment -- a place close to school -- at 6:50, making it to the academy exactly at 7, quickly slipping into her class. 

As she took a seat towards the back by one of the many windows, she couldn’t help but notice a group of attractive boys grouped around one of the tables, loudly talking and laughing with each other. 

Chizuru also didn’t miss the flirtatious glances the other girls in class were sending them, or the jealous glares that were coming from the guys. 

A small content smile formed on her lips.  At least this means I won't be the hot topic in class.

Almost as if knowing what she was thinking, the shortest of the four boys turned to look at her.

Catching her staring, he gave her a small nod in acknowledgement as his lips quirked up into a cute heart-shaped smile.

Chizuru jumped, her cheeks warming up from the embarrassment of being caught staring.  She felt her whole face catch fire when a second boy, one with a strong jawline, prominent cheekbones, and lips that curled a bit at the ends, turned his attention to her as well.  

She ducked her head and shifted so that she was looking out the window, inwardly wincing at how obvious her actions were.

Chizuru stayed tense in her seat, not daring to look anywhere else, until she felt the two curious gazes move away.

She let out a small relieved sigh.  

The last thing I need right now is to draw attention to myself.

Their teacher, Mr. Jung, walked in a few minutes after class had technically started, rambling about how off campus traffic is a nightmare at this hour.  He started doing attendance once he was settled, instantly loosing the attention of half the class, Chizuru included. 

Observing the class,  she had noticed how despite the amount of attention the group of four boys had been getting earlier, the other students had sat rather far from them.  In fact, Chizuru was probably sitting the closest to them at the moment.

She was trying to figure out the reason for this when Mr. Jung called her name.

“Min Chizuru?  Is Min Chizuru here?”

Noticing that he had called her name twice, Chizuru quickly raised her hand in the air.  

“Here”.

Mr. Jung looked up from his attendance list, his eyebrows furrowed in thought.  He stared for a second before Chizuru saw a look of recognition flash across his face.

“Ahh so you’re Chizuru-ssi", he smiled, slightly nodding his head.  "I’ve heard a lot about you and am looking forward to your performance in class."

Chizuru gave him an awkward smile in return, growing uncomfortable with the looks she was now getting.  Her classmates, who were just now noticing her presence, were starting to recognize her.  Comments like, "She's back", and, "Is that really her?", could be heard as more people glanced back at her.  Even the pretty boys turned around, curious about the person that everyone seemed so surprised to see.

Chizuru silently groaned.  This was exactly what she wanted to avoid.

And to think, the day just started.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

1st chapter edit done~