He grinned, and it reminded me of the way Julian always did.
“Hardly...” Nash sighed, visibly pleased.
Alarik looked at him for a moment. He seemed as if he was considering saying something, but didn’t.
Instead, he continued. “I’ve prepared a project for you.”
“Great, this is going to be fun,” groaned the brunette guy from Nash’s group of guys.
“That’s right Noah. You’ll have to spend some time on it, but a little more dedication wouldn’t hurt.”
Alarik went to one of the more modern lockers and opened the door. He took out a large box, which he set down in front of Emely with a clatter.
She also seemed unimpressed and looked with mistrust at the box.
Alarik pulled out a black book and placed it in front of her. Then he went on and handed out the same books to the guys.
“What are we supposed to do with a notebook?” this Noah asked, flipping through the empty book.
“That’s exactly what I want you to ask yourselves.”
Alarik put one down in front of Nash and pulled the cell phone out of his hand.
“Hey!”
“You’ll get this back after the ninety minutes.”
Nash snorted and took the notebook in his hands.
When Alarik finally reached us, he placed two books in front of me and Larissa. Then he gave me a friendly look and went back to his desk.
I could feel Larissa’s grin from the side.
“You’ve been given blank pages. I want you to do something with them.”
“He really thinks we’re creative...” the brown-haired DeLoughrey laughed from the very back.
I noticed Adrian staring in our direction, but when he spotted my gaze on him, he too turned his attention to the book in front of him.
“Indeed, Miles.”
The professor smiled encouragingly in the direction of the troublemaker with the undercut man bun, who turned the book back and forth, his eyes rolling.
For a moment, the werewolves stared at them tensely, and I knew they were trying to ignore the fact that the DeLoughreys were here too.
“This is not just any book. Think of it as a gift from me to you,” Alarik continued.
“Great gift,” exclaimed one of the other guys next to Nash, whom I didn’t know.
“Can you guys shut up now!” Vivienna sounded annoyed, as usual.
Nash looked at her, slightly tense and probably wondering if he should respond to her, but Alarik spoke up before anything could happen.
“There’s some food for thought I’d like to share with you.” He held up the notebook. “Books are meant to connect.” He glanced around the room and stopped briefly at me. “Books serve as a means of communication between at least two parties. The sender and the recipient. Also known as the author and the addressee.”
I picked up the notebook and felt the black leather and the golden metal edges. It seemed to be of high quality.
“That’s why I want you to find a partner with whom you can design the book together. How you do that is entirely up to you.” The gleam in his eyes almost showed how enthusiastic he was about his own idea. “As always, it’s not compulsory, but it might inspire one or two others.”
A groan went through the group of guys. I looked back at Julian, who was looking thoughtfully out of the window into the courtyard.
“And now let’s get on with the classics.”
Alarik pushed the book aside and started talking.
Maybe I should tell Mum about the strange conversation with the professor...
I would spend this weekend with her, and maybe I should use the time to do something with her, push away all the resentment and get my mind on other things. Maybe there would even be an opportunity to talk about her past and perhaps find out more about her teenage years.
I wondered if the professor’s words last night came from a longing for the old days. The days where Mum had also gone to university here.
And suddenly, there was something melancholy about sitting here, walking through these halls. As if I were part of something bigger.
Mum did have a life here. Perhaps even a very nice one.
Chapter 51
Julie
