Seph genuinely wished she shared his enthusiasm, but plants were her mom’s thing, not hers. Instead, she let her attention drift from her sketches to the walls, eyes glossing past the cracking, faded biology posters that crowded them, and inevitably drawn to the red cage in the corner of the room that was home to Remy and Collette, a pair of white mice. Mr. Cole had repeatedly assured Seph he had no intention of dissecting the rodents, but the sight of the enclosure still made her uncomfortable, and she looked away. Her dad’s words echoed in her head as her brow furrowed for the helpless captives.

The only good cage is an empty one.

Eyes returning to the front of the room, Seph tried again to focus on pollination, but her mind refused to tune in. She actually felt bad for Mr. Cole; his passion for the material was wasted on a room full of kids who would rather be anywhere else. Outside the window, a cheeky sparrow caught Seph’s eye as it hopped down a long, reaching oak limb; he almost seemed to taunt her with his carefree antics, flitting erratically about the branch, wondering why she was inside on such a beautiful day. Seph narrowed her emerald eyes at the little bird, and the delicious freedom it inevitably took for granted, and in an instant it was gone, off with the breeze to wherever it pleased. Just then, a shift in focus of the heads around her called Seph back to reality and she turned in her seat, noticing a wariness in Mr. Cole’s eye.

“Yes, Cody?” he called hesitantly.

Cody Bradford cleared his throat, blue eyes twinkling in that certain way that always sent the tiniest flicker of levity through Seph, and she felt her cheeks warm. Being the only junior in sophomore biology, Cody’s raised hand was a pretty common occurrence, but Seph could tell from his poor attempt to hide a grin that he wasn’t looking for clarification on the lesson.

Here we go, she thought, amused in spite of herself.

“Pollination,” he began, “is basically plant sex, right?” He spoke plainly and loudly, keeping his expression as serious as he could. Mr. Cole actually seemed to blush.

“Just flowers shooting their stuff out into the air,” Cody continued, a snicker rolling through the class. “Waiting to fall into those sexy little lady flowers, blossoms wide open and eager to—”

“That’s correct!” Mr. Cole cut him off sharply, his voice cracking. “I’m thrilled to see that you understand the concept, Mr. Bradford.”

Cody grinned triumphantly and elbowed the boy to his left, and Seph let a bemused snort escape her as she returned her attention to the zebras.

“But it’s so much more than that!” Mr. Cole went on, almost comically passionate as he tried to wrangle the attention of the class back to him. “Can you imagine the outrageous audacity of a flower, to take such a chance? Without any guarantee of where its attempts may land?” He looked off into the distance dreamily. “Trusting in the wind and the world to deliver the very acme of its hopes and dreams to some distant, oblivious, waiting recipient!”

Still carefully shading stripes, Seph felt a bony finger jab the back of her shoulder.

“Hey Catgirl,” Blake Eisley sneered, as Seph’s jaw clenched at the nickname. The girl’s voice dripped mock sympathy and was loud enough to instantly commandeer all attention. Seph’s hands scratched absently at her desk in response to the taunt as she braced herself for whatever nastiness Blake was about to throw at her.

“I bet all that sex stuff went just right over your head, huh? Maybe after school we can grab a saucer of milk and I can explain it better.” Her angular features sharpened even more as she smirked with snide satisfaction, and the rest of the class looked to Seph for a response. Unfortunately, her throat had gone bone dry, and as her mind raced frantically, she found it difficult to swallow. Opening her mouth to reply, the swallow got caught, and instead of words, out came an awkward and spasmodic sputter of coughs.

“Uh oh!” Blake sang happily, thrilled with the err in her favor. “Hairball?”

The rest of the class descended into laughter and Seph’s eyes dropped into her textbook as she fumbled with her water bottle, nearly spilling it. Mr. Cole attempted to regain control of the class, but there was blood in the water and now Blake was cackling. Seph was beginning to sweat and still grasping at a comeback when a familiar and much appreciated voice from across the room cut through the noise.

“Hey Blake!” it barked.

Nava Surikesht stood up, her dark, well-defined arms thrust aggressively downward, hands balled tightly in fists. Her tone was icy, her gaze more so. As it zeroed in on Blake, the bully’s cockiness seemed to dry up almost instantly.

“Let me know where you guys are having that milk.” Nava grinned. “I’ll be the one outside waiting to knock your teeth in.”

She remained standing, dark, brooding brown eyes fixed on Blake, pondering the idea with what appeared to be genuine pleasure. Seph quietly beamed, still tense, but grateful for her best friend’s unshakably brutish edge. Blake moved to respond, then evidently thought better of it and sat down silently, letting her gleaming raven locks sweep across her eyes. An exasperated Mr. Cole cleared his throat loudly and repeatedly, finally bringing the focus back to him.

“Miss Surikesht!” he called sternly, mustering all the authority he could. “That’s quite enough with the violent threats. And Miss Eisley, the same goes for your rudeness.” He threw his hands up dramatically. “What is wrong with you people? Can we please return to pollination? I can’t even—”

A knock at the door cut him off and a young, stocky boy with a large mass of curly black hair entered holding a folded note, which he delivered to Mr. Cole. The teacher read it quickly, then refolded it and placed it in his shirt pocket. Donning a tweed jacket, he walked toward the door, then turned abruptly, addressing the class.

“I trust you will compose yourselves like civilized human beings for a moment while I attend to this,” he pleaded, eyeing Nava and Blake. Seph almost laughed out loud at his naivete.

The class fell into boisterous conversation the moment the door closed behind him, and Seph tensed, readying herself for another attack from Blake; but when her tormentor got up and casually walked toward the back of the class, Seph exhaled quietly to herself, pulling her gray knit hood over her head and tucking a stray lock of dark, chestnut hair behind her ear. Grateful to be inconspicuous again, she returned to her zebras, ready to lose herself in their camouflage, when a familiar flutter in her belly stopped her cold.

No, she thought. Not now.

She scanned the windows for the sparrow, thinking he might be the source, but the little bird was long gone. She closed her eyes and swallowed, throat still dry. Breathing slowly, Seph tried to calm the familiar, unnerving surge of adrenaline starting to course through her body. Her fingers twitched, involuntarily scratching at her textbook page, and still she continued to search for the source of the growing charge inside her, scanning the world outside the window for signs of life.

Without warning, the blinding pain of a migraine seized her brain, eyes flashing barren white for a single, excruciating moment. As the feeling passed, she felt an inexplicable fear begin to grow in the pit of her stomach: a fear of something much bigger than she. With a sudden realization, Seph spun around in her seat and locked onto the mouse cage. Blake was crouched in front of it, her face lowered to the bars. Without seeing them, Seph knew the mice were cowering in the corner behind their food bowl; she also knew Blake was smiling.

“Leave them alone, Blake,” was all she could muster through gritted teeth. It was hard to think straight, and Seph was starting to feel nauseous, her fingers twitching faster and more erratically. Nava caught sight of the confrontation from across the room and started toward them.

“Ha!” Blake scoffed back at Seph, amusement in her tone. “Or what?”

“Or I actually will knock your teeth in,” Nava interjected, coming to Seph’s side.

“Oh, come on, Nava.” Blake laughed. “So heroic. Are you always going to fight little Catgirl’s battles for her?”

Seph’s eyes were closed, every iota of her focused on holding it together, but she could feel the fear bubbling up and spreading down her spine and into her arms and legs like poison.

Breathe, she reminded herself silently.

“I mean it,” Nava threatened, advancing menacingly toward Blake, who responded by elbowing the cage sharply. The rattle startled Seph’s eyes open and she was forced back to reality; the sounds the mice made as they scrambled desperately for refuge made her stomach turn. Nava could see her distress and she stopped, hesitant to push things further, but Blake was already drawing her face closer to the cage, a hateful grin spread across her lips. Seph could barely think as she grabbed books and papers and stuffed them into her backpack, her movements jerky and panicked. She didn’t know what was coming next, but she knew she needed to get out of there. The last thing she wanted was another “Catgirl” incident right there in front of everybody.

Seph tried to appear calm as she hurried toward the door, but the terror of the mice was overwhelming her. Her fingers were twitching out of control, and as the feeling spread, small screams fought to escape from her throat. She shoved her hand over her mouth, but her erratic movements and awkward scrambling had already attracted the attention of the class. It was everything she could do to hold the tears back, and the humiliation burning her cheeks was nothing compared to the electric sensation anchored in her gut, now racing through her body.

Please, she begged herself. Not again.

Her hand reached for the doorknob, but it was too late. Blake stole an evil glance over her shoulder at Seph, then turned back to the cage. She took a deep breath, then delivered a surprisingly chilling hiss at the terrified mice, who squeaked pitifully in response. Yelping, Seph yanked open the door and rushed out into the hall, slamming it behind her as the laughter in the class crescendoed. She leaned against the wall in momentary relief, but her calm dissolved into horror as she felt the wet spot forming on her jeans. Miraculously, the bathroom was directly across the hall, and Seph felt the tears begin to stream down as she dashed frantically to its refuge, flinging herself into the closest stall.