CHAPTER 50: CHAPTER 50: ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?.

Aiden woke up the next morning feeling surprisingly refreshed. The faint golden glow of the morning sun streamed in through the small gap in his curtains, casting long slants of light across his room. For a moment, he lay there staring at the soft beams, feeling an odd sense of calm. Then, with a small exhale, he pushed himself up from bed.

He padded toward the bathroom, the cold floor making him shiver slightly, and took a quick bath that helped wash away the last traces of sleep. Once done, he dried off and dressed neatly in his school uniform, buttoning it up with a sense of purpose. Today was just like any other day of supernatural classes, and yet something about it felt different to him.

Today, Aiden decided to carry a backpack. Normally, there was no reason to. The first four days of the week were devoted to supernatural training, and there were no books or notebooks needed, no pens, no papers. But today was not a normal day for Aiden. He carefully placed the hammer he had borrowed from Langley yesterday inside the bag and zipped it shut. That was the entire reason he was carrying it.

When he was satisfied with his preparations, he turned toward the bed and saw Rainbow still asleep on the pillow he had claimed for himself last night. The little bird had stretched out its tiny body, wings slightly spread, looking completely comfortable as though it owned the bed.

Aiden reached out and lightly poked Rainbow’s side. "Wake up," he said quietly.

Rainbow’s voice rang inside Aiden’s mind, groggy and irritated. "Aiden, what are you doing so early in the morning? If you have nothing better to do, go find something else to keep you busy and stop disturbing a lonely bird from having its beauty sleep."

Aiden rolled his eyes. "Why is everyone around me obsessed with beauty sleep?" he muttered under his breath.

Despite the complaint, Rainbow obediently fluttered off the pillow and perched itself on Aiden’s shoulder. But his words did not stop. "Now look at what you’ve done," Rainbow said, his voice full of mock offense. "Because of you, I haven’t had my bath today."

Aiden’s brows drew together, and he gave the bird a puzzled look. "You bathe?" he asked incredulously. "I didn’t know birds needed baths too."

Rainbow’s voice rang again, this time tinged with pride. "My previous master was a complete clean freak. She couldn’t stand anything dirty touching her. She made it compulsory for me to bathe every single day. She told me my feathers would collect dust and lose their shine if I didn’t wash. Since then, I have valued cleanliness. But I suppose you wouldn’t understand since you’re nowhere near as clean as she was. You’ve only been my master for two days, and now you’re forcing me to go with you to class dirty."

Aiden pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "You can bathe when we get back from classes. That way, you’ll stay squeaky clean the entire day just like you want."

Rainbow let out a dramatic sigh in Aiden’s mind. "Even if you didn’t say that, I was going to bathe anyway after your classes. But thank you for the suggestion."

Aiden decided it was pointless to keep arguing. Every time this bird spoke, it either irritated or frustrated him. So, he kept quiet, grabbed his bag, and stepped out of his room.

He walked to Julian’s door and knocked. The door opened moments later, revealing Julian already dressed in his school uniform, looking as neat and put together as always.

"Good morning," Julian greeted with a bright smile.

"Good morning," Aiden replied with a small smile of his own.

Julian’s eyes quickly drifted to the backpack on Aiden’s shoulder. "Why are you carrying a bag today? You know we won’t need one until next tomorrow when normal classes start, right? We don’t need it for the supernatural classes during the first four days."

Aiden gave a casual shrug and smiled. "Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just used to carrying one. I felt like bringing it along today."

Julian studied him for a second, then nodded. "Well, whatever suits you. Are you ready for class?"

Aiden nodded. "I’m ready. Like always, I’ll do my best and leave the rest to fate."

Julian chuckled softly. "That’s a good mentality to have."

Together, they left their dorm, took the elevator down, and walked toward the dining hall for breakfast. Because Julian was with him, Aiden didn’t hesitate to eat in the hall. The usual stares from the students were still there, but they were far fewer today. Everyone seemed far more interested in gossiping about Ryker and Zane’s fight than staring at him.

Breakfast done, Aiden and Julian made their way to the witches’ school building.

Like always, Aiden gave his best during class. And like always, he still failed to light a single candle with his mind. Teacher Mina’s disapproving stare was like a weight pressing down on him, and the other students’ disdainful glances were hard to ignore. Still, he refused to let it get under his skin.

Julian, as always, stood by his side, quick to defend him whenever someone tried to make a snide remark.

After witches’ class, Aiden split from Julian and made his way to his Fae class. Unsurprisingly, the results were the same as before. He still couldn’t produce even a flicker of Fae fire. The other students glanced at him with poorly hidden contempt, but Aiden had already braced himself for it.

Once class was over, he walked to the wolf building for his final class of the day. He could feel his nerves building as he stepped inside. Like always, the classroom’s inner section led straight into a vast training forest.

He was the first student to arrive, which wasn’t surprising since he had skipped lunch just to be here early. Slowly, other students started trickling in. Then, the person he had been waiting for finally walked in.

Carl.

Aiden’s eyes immediately followed him, calm but steady.

Carl caught his stare, noticed the quiet intensity in it, and smirked. "What are you looking at me for? Do you want to die?" he taunted, his voice loud enough for nearby students to hear. "I thought I told you yesterday to know your place. Now you’re glaring at me? Do you want me to choke you again? Mr. John punished me yesterday for choking you, and I’m still mad about it. I can assure you, I’ll gladly do it again if you keep glaring."

Before Aiden could respond, their teacher, Mr. John, walked into the room. He had heard Carl’s threat and didn’t hesitate to respond.

"Apparently, your punishment yesterday wasn’t enough," Mr. John said sternly, his sharp gaze landing on Carl. "I can’t believe you’re foolish enough to threaten Aiden again right in front of me. If you dare lay a hand on him, I promise you your punishment will be much worse."

Carl quickly went silent, clearly not expecting Mr. John to appear at that exact moment.

Aiden, on the other hand, felt a small spark of gratitude. It meant a lot that Mr. John’s first words upon entering had been to defend him. But he couldn’t allow that to distract him from what he had planned today.

He smiled politely at Mr. John. "Good afternoon, Mr. John."

Mr. John’s face softened slightly, and he returned the greeting. "Good afternoon, Aiden."

Aiden’s smile grew a little. "Mr. John, can you do me a favor? I’d like you to be the referee for something. I don’t want certain people using underhanded methods later and denying the results."

Mr. John raised an eyebrow, curious. "Of course, I can. But what exactly do you want me to referee?"

Aiden kept smiling, though there was a quiet determination in his voice now. "I’d like you to referee a fight between me and Carl. Because I’m challenging him to a duel—right here, right now."

Mr. John froze for a moment, clearly taken aback. Then his first instinct kicked in, and his voice came out louder than usual.

"What? Aiden, are you out of your mind?"