3.2

Kataya knew what was going on before the teachers did. Immediately, she kneeled in front of him to soothe him. “Ari?” She spoke softly while touching his hair. “Ari King, you’ll cause the change to happen before your body is ready. Remember, Ms. Tanis says we have to remain calm? We can’t continue to let our emotions get the better of us?”

He unfurled his hands from around the arm of the chair and breathed out. His shoulders relaxed. Ari King kept his eyes closed until the rush of anger subsided. He looked immediately at Kataya. A tiny tug nagged at the depths of his heart. “I’m alright Kat.”

Ari King wasn’t sure what it was that his ten-year-old heart was trying to convey. Hiru glared at the way she kneeled in front of Ari King. An emotion he wasn’t familiar with bubbled up, causing him to lash out. “Why do you care so much? You won’t ever shapeshift, so why don’t you take your ugly self off the mountain! No one will want you here.”

Ms. Tanis called his name sharply. “HIRU! We do