CHAPTER 48: WE ARE LOST

An Hour Ago...

Everything was still hazy when Theo woke up alone in the room. She groaned, turning on her side, her mouth dry and her tongue heavy.

She blinked hard, trying to focus, but all she saw were blurred images and shapes. And the dull ache at the back of her head was becoming more apparent.

"Professor...?" she croaked. Her voice sounded more hoarse and slower.

She tried again, louder this time, "Professor Sylas?"

Still no response. Only the whisper of far noise outside and the faint echo of her own voice in the silence.

"Ugh, where did he go..." she mumbled, rolling onto her back, "He said he’d be here when I needed something, and I have to get going to class,"

Seraphina’s voice broke through her haze, also slurry and sluggish, *He’s gone. Probably couldn’t handle how cute you are drunk,*

Theo frowned, her lips pouting slightly, *I thought you were breaking down the uhh, the wine,*

*I’m still trying,* Seraphina drawled lazily, her voice wobbling like a drowsy hum, "But You drank a whole bottle of it. This is going to take a while,*

Theodora tried to stand up, and everything around her wobbled. She gripped the edges of the bed to steady herself, *I have to get to class," She murmured to herself.

*Theo...* Seraphina said, her tone suddenly serious. *Clothes. You need clothes.*

Theo blinked down at herself, at the thin towel wrapped precariously around her chest, and gasped, *Oh my God, I almost went to class naked,* She blinked again, *My boobs are gone again,*

*I transformed you back to Thaddeus, Genius!* Seraphina reminded.

*Ah!" Theo nodded once, "That makes sense. My name is Thaddeus Douglas,*

*Correct* Seraphina answered

Then, Theo looked around. The room swam in and out around her. She barely recalled tossing her clothes around in the shower.

As she kept trying to make out the images around her, she caught sight of what resembled clothes folded neatly on the small chair sitting in the corner.

She held onto the walls as she moved.

The shirt and pants on the chair looked... inviting, and she squinted at them, *They look comfy,*

*They look huge,* Seraphina corrected.

Theo shrugged, grabbing them anyway.

She almost tripped trying to get one leg into the pants, hopping on one foot with her other hand braced against the couch, *See? Fits perfectly,* she said breathlessly when she finally got them on.

The shirt slipped down to her thighs while the sleeves hung far past her wrists. The pants bunched at her ankles, the ends dragging a little, but the waistband was tight enough to stay up.

*You look like you raided a giant’s closet,* Seraphina muttered.

Theo smiled sleepily, and brought the neck of the shirt to her nose, inhaling deeply, *A very fashionable and delicious giant,*

Then, she turned around and began walking toward what looked like the door.

*You’re not walking straight, Theo,*

*I’m walking fine,* she said, taking another step forward, then sideways, catching herself on the wall again, *See?*

*That’s a couch,*

*Whatever,*

When she reached the door, she pressed her palm against it and frowned. *Why are there two doors?*

*There’s only one,*

*Oh,* She pushed at it, missed the handle once, then found it on the second try and stumbled forward as it opened.

*Where are we?* Theo asked, squinting her eyes.

*Looks like...a living room?*

*Not a dead room?* Theo giggled at her own joke.

*That looks like the entrance,* Seraphina said, and Theo looked at the closed door at the other end of the room.

*You mean I have to walk all the way down there?* She groaned

*If you want us to make it to class, yes!*

Another miserable circle of Swaying legs and sideway turns with any cases of almost falling over, she finally got to the door and grabbed the knob.

But to her greatest disappointment, it was locked.

*What do I do now?* She murmured

*Break it*

"Of course!* She cheered and gripped the knob even tighter.

With one firm pull, the locks gave way and broke, and the door flew open.

The morning light was too bright, making her squint her eyes even more, and the cold air that rushed in sobered her a little, just a little. Her hair fluttered around her face, the faint scent of wet earth filling her lungs.

She looked up, and squinted her eyes, *Are those...Tall gothic arches?*

*Have you forgotten you’re at Gravemont?*

She smiled faintly, still swaying, *Oh, I forgot*

She stepped outside, trying to find her way to class.

.

.

.

Sylas’s home was way out on the edge of Gravemont’s northern wing. It was secluded, walled in by the forest on one side and cobblestone paths on the other. Every direction looked the same - grey stone buildings and mist curling at the edges of the path.

"Okay..." she muttered to herself, hands on her knees as she stopped to yank up the pants for the umpteenth time that had decided to start slipping off her waist since she left the house, "The hallway... the left path... then another left and..." she trailed off, frowning, "Wait, did I just turn left or right?"

*I think we are lost*

Theo was determined to find her classroom. She turned into a narrow passageway, but it twisted again with vines curling around two tall walls.

*We are definitely lost*

*We are not*

*Theo, we haven’t even come across anyone since we left that house. WE. ARE. LOST*

*I’m not lost. I’m... exploring* She grumbled.

*You’re about to explore a ditch if you keep turning blindly like that*

Theo stuck out her tongue, then nearly tripped on a loose stone. She caught herself with a small laugh and kept going, turning blindly into another corner.

Then, she froze.

Up ahead at the far end of the alley were two figures, and they were standing a little...too close.

Theo blinked, squinting further. Her vision was doubled, but as she kept focusing on that one thing, it slowly became clearer till the outlines made sense.

The taller one was leaning against the wall, hands braced against the wall while the slightly shorter one had his chin tilted upward.

Jeremy and Finn.

*What are they doing?* She tilted her head a bit.

The taller one moved, and the sound that followed - soft and unmistakably a moan, had her jaw dropping.

*Oh my Goodness!* She whispered, slapping her palm over her lips, *Are they—" she whispered.

*Making out?* Seraphina finished flatly, *Yeah. Looks like it,*

Theo gasped softly, *But Eric’s—Eric’s dating Finn!*

*Well,* Seraphina drawled, *not right now he isn’t,*

Theo stumbled backwards and bumped into a barrel.

Her blood froze.

And so did the two figures.

Shit! They were gonna see her.

And she was still swaying, so there wasn’t enough time to hide properly.

Jeremy was already turning his head in her direction. She made a move to duck behind the barrel, when suddenly, a large shadow stepped in front of her, tall and big enough to block her completely.

Aurelius?

He glanced back at her, with that annoying smug face, "Good morning, Redhead,"