"What? You can't blame me!" I whined and looked up to give him a pout.
"Probably not. You're all cute when you pout like that," he acknowledged and gave me a quick kiss.
"Finnick," I groaned. "We're still in class."
"He's just happy because we're not blaming him as usual," Connor voiced.
"We'll blame him anyways if this goes south," Jax stated with a shrug.
"Ugh. You guys always bully me," Finnick whined.
"Sure, sure," Kaito stated as he moved to stand next to us on my left side and patted Finnick's shoulder. "Though we normally have a reason for disturbing your peace."
"Like all the times it was your fault when things went to hell," Connor acknowledged as he moved to stand on my right side. Jax moved a little closer to examine the black rose.
"Isn't this a rare type of rose?"
"Hmm?" We all seemed to be intrigued by his statement before I recalled long ago when he'd given me roses.
"Wait a minute. Aren't those the roses that shift into a rainbow?"
The way Professor Phoenix smirked had all of us beaming in excitement as she slowly nodded her head.
"The point of this lesson is to teach you all a very valuable lesson about appearances," she began, as if she'd started the lesson. She raised her hand up as if putting it up in display for the world to see, as Jax returned to stand by Connor's side.
"With this being your final semester, you all are going to confront situations where on the outside, something will be extremely inviting. A shiny weapon of power, a book that has the perfect powerful emblem on its cover, or a shield that will guarantee protection."
She lowered the rose as she continued. "Not everything that glitters is gold. Just because a weapon oozes power, that doesn't mean it doesn't carry consequences to the individual who wishes to become its owner. Just because a book has an emblem that projects immense wisdom, that doesn't discard the fact that the pages may be completely blank inside. A shield that guarantees protection by appearance may be made of flimsy aluminum that crumbles at the slightest tension."
She brought the rose close to her lips as she whispered, "A rose doesn't give off its strengths. It doesn't need to glow brightly with magic, project itself as superior with symbols or incantations, and it's not something that's there to protect. Yet it's something that allows one to see the beauty in this vast world. Its petals hide nectar and other resources that aid in the circle of life in nature, and it carries the potential of being a symbol of hope in one's life."
She blew on the rose then, and it lit up like fire, the petals of black shedding into rainbow ones that glittered marvellously.
"So again, not everything that glitters is gold," she reminded as she lowered the rose to present it to me. "But when you find a hidden gem by following your instincts, you deserve to be rewarded."
I accepted the offered rose as a smile widened across my face. The rose was still as mesmerizing as I remembered, and it glowed with so much power and golden grace that it made my heart melt in happiness.
"I had a strong feeling you guys would be the only ones to pick up on the true gem in this test," she began and turned around. "Follow me."
With a snap of her fingers, a pink portal opened up before her. She walked right into the spinning vortex. We exchanged looks before Connor stepped right up to go first - followed by Jax. I went next, knowing my protective men wouldn't let me go last.
Finnick was behind me, and Kaito was the last to arrive out of the portal. The five of us looked around the neon glowing lights of the dark store that was booming with rock music.
Professor Phoenix was in a different set of clothes - a shorter black dress that glimmered even in the dim light while her hair was now curled and tied up in a ponytail.
Her heels were now red to match her striking red lipstick and she had various markings along her arms that we never noticed before - like ever.
I was sure I wasn't the only one gawking at her new appearance as she rang the bell on the counter before turning around to face us as a tall bulky mass of a man came out from the back.
He was huge - Gigantic? Ginormous? - and full of tattoos. He wore a black tank top, almost purposely to show off his guns of muscle, and black jeans with chains hanging from the side.
His short silver locks were sleek and brushed back to make sure they didn't get in his way, and he had a strap around his waist of various tools.
"Now, Aurora. You never told me you were making my shop a field trip getaway for your students," he grumbled in haste while giving us a long stare down.
"I told you ages ago," she replied with a shrug. "While you were drunk and talking about how no one comes to your shop because you're scary-looking. So suck it."
He blushed before moving his glare to her. "You promised you'd come back on the regular! I'm going to go out of business without any support here."
She purposely moved her dress up enough to show her leg, and we quietly gawked when it practically lit up with various glowing tattoos.
"Sweetie, I'm running out of space here," she reasoned. "You can't hate me."
"Ugh. Fine." He seemed to understand the truth of the matter before he looked at each of us. He suddenly pointed at me. "Isn't she a tad young?"
"I'm twenty," I spoke up while giving him a dissatisfied look.
"You have to be twenty-one to be here, little girl," he commented with a mocking tone that pissed me off. "I don't give magic tattoos to children."
Connor was going to say something, judging from the stiffness in his body, but Jax quietly held him back while I stared at the man for a long minute.
"You're giving me a tattoo," I affirmed.
He laughed and took a step forward until he was literally towering over me like a menacing villain. "Listen, redhead. Unless you can lift me up from the damn ground, there's no way you'd survive the pain of a magic tattoo. Your aura is practically non-exist-"
The string that represented my last nerve snapped right there and then, and I was positive from the way his eyes widened that my eyes were ink-black - just like the intense magic that wrapped around his huge body and not only lifted him up but slammed him against the ceiling.
He cursed and easily tried to combat it, but I only made my energy grow and grow, not realizing it was aiding in my own levitation abilities until I was in his shocked face.
"I'm a gifted Witchling in Aurora's class. I'm twenty because I was able to advance in school. Age doesn't define one's power. My hair is orange, not red. I've gotten magic tattoos and I know they hurt like a bitch, so don't lecture me, boy." I emphasized the last word as my body was fully charged to do some major damage.
"Rubin," Professor Phoenix practically sang. "I suggest you admit defeat before she destroys your whole shop. The wardrobe of special shit is shaking."
His eyes widened even further at the announcement before he grunted.
"Fine, fine! I apologize! I'll give you a tattoo! Whatever you and your friends want."
"They're my boyfriends," I corrected as Marianna pulled back while I began to descend back to the floor. All my magic cut off then, and he began falling before Finnick snapped his fingers and caught him with a gust of wind.