"Now, I'm sure you're all wondering how there could be eighteen of you in a class meant for seventeen. I would like to introduce you to Clarissa Frey, who dropped in on us...unexpectedly." Elemae said, gesturing towards Clary's seat where she sat staring at her hands uncomfortably. She didn't look up to meet the stares of her fellow classmates. "In any case," Elemae continued, shattering the unsettling silence "she has been specially selected for this class, as were you all. And even though she hasn't had any formal training," She paused, the stares of the class turning towards her, a few sporting disbelief. "she will begin here. Now, today's lesson." She finished, turning the attention of the class to the chalkboard where she began scribbling as high up on the board as her arms would allow. A few students stifled a chuckle in the back of the room.
An hour and a half later, Elemae dismissed them for a half hour break, only to return later. Clary was the first to bolt out the door, eager to get somewhere away from the awkward stares she was getting in no shortage. As soon as she was out and making her way down the hallway, clutching her jacket to her chest, she felt someone behind her, trying to catch up to her. She picked up her pace, not wanting to talk to anyone. But, to no avail, Jace Wayland jogged to her side, smiling.
"Hey." He said, smiling down at her with his white teeth and near perfect smile. Clary glanced up at him, examining his features. He had angular cheek bones, bright blonde hair, honey colored eyes, and was quite attractive to Clary. She muttered no reply, and began to walk faster. No matter how cute the boy, Clary wasn't in any mood to talk to anyone. "Hold on, there!" Jace shouted, and jogged once again to catch up to her. Clary sighed, would he ever leave her alone? What was this guy's problem? "Bad day?" He asked, still not getting the signal that Clary wanted to be left completely alone. She didn't acknowledge his question, and decided the best way to get rid of him was to pretend she didn't understand him.
"Je suis désolé, je ne parle pas l'anglais (I'm sorry, I don't speak English)." Clary said in a perfect French accent. She was quite smug, thank god for the three years of French she took in middle school. Jace's face fell, than rose again. "So, you speak French, and no English at all?" He asked, a small, devious smile spread across his lips. Clary resisted to shake her head, which would indicate that she understood what he said. "Je ne comprends pas ce que vous dites (I don't understand what you're saying)." Clary said to him, looking up at his face with the best confused face she could muster. "Qui cherches-tu à tromper (Who are you trying to fool?)?" Jace asked her, and chuckled slightly at the shocked look on her face. Clary was at a loss. What was she supposed to say to that? "Je suis sûr que je ne sais pas ce que tu veux dire (I'm sure I don't know what you mean)." Clary said after a long pause of disbelief. Jace stopped her from walking, so sure that she didn't know where she was going. Truth was, Clary just wanted to put as much distance between her and the judgmental stares of her classmates, not stopping to care where she was going. "Vous parlez anglais, vous ne trouvez, Clarisse? (You speak English, don't you, Clarissa?)" He asked, even though he said it like it was more of a statement. Clary began fighting off tears. "Just stay away from me, okay?" She muttered in perfect English before stalking off to the garden, at least she knew where that was.
EEE
"Justine! Wait up a sec!" Jace called after his mentor, which he had seen hang a right onto the hallway he was walking down. Justine turned around to acknowledge him. She was tall and had straight, reddish brown hair that hung just below her ears. Her skin was pale and her lips were thin and a light shade of pink. She had sharp cheekbones below thoughtful brown eyes. She wore a black business suit with a white shirt underneath her vest and held a mundane newspaper under her arm. "Of course, Jace, what's the matter?" She asked, her contemplative eyes blinking at him, as they always did when she was curious. Jace finally caught up to her, panting from jogging.
"What's the deal with Clarissa Frey?" He asked. He crinkled his nose when his tone came out harsher than what he intended. Justine cocked her head to one side. "I mean, where did she come from?" Jace said, his voice lighter. She straightened her head, but still blinked with curiosity. "She was in a foster care facility outside of Manhattan. One of the caretakers was a former member of the Clave and noticed that Clary had the Sight. She sent me a message, and I went to examine her. She has Shadowhunter blood, so I offered for her to come and live here." Justine said simply, but Jace was still unsatisfied. "Was she, by any chance, from France?" Jace asked, flinching when Justine cocked her head to one side again an stared at him curiously. "Of course not. She's from Jersey. Where ever did you get that idea?" She said, her head still to one side. Jace hadn't stop to think of what she might say when he asked her if she was from France. "Oh, um, the name Clarissa, its a French name. I was just wondering." Jace said, watching carefully for Justine's reaction. "All right then." She said, her head returning to its normal position. Jace let out the breath he was holding in relief. He started down the hallway in the opposite direction of Justine but stopped; she had called him.
"If I were you, Jace," Justine called to him. "I wouldn't pester the girl. She's very distant and likes it that way. Her life's been quite rough, don't antagonize her." Jace paused, then nodded and set out down the hall, determined to get to his room and enjoy his half hour relaxing.
EEE
Elemae stalked into the classroom, leaving the double doors wide open and let the afternoon sun stream in. "Stop your meaningless chatter. Time to learn." She said loudly, her voice echoing off the walls of the classroom and through the corridors, ceasing the mumbling among some of the students. She stopped at the front of the room, and turned to face the class. "You've seen the nice, childish side of me," She said to them, her expression hard as a rock. "now, it's time to challenge your minds. You are all capable of doing everything I am prepared to throw at you. For example, spotting demons in the simplest, most innocent forms. In fact," she continued, her green eyes moving over each pupil's face. "There is one in this room. Right now." The eighteen teens fell into a state of confusion, a low murmuring rose from them. "It's the cat." to everyone's surprise, it was Clary who spoke. "The one on your desk." Her voice wasn't quite confident, and her tone rose at the end of the sentence like a question. "Very good, Clary! That was quite impressive." Elemae said incredulously. The murmuring grew louder, some even stared at Clary's sheepish face as she just shrugged. "Everyone! Pay attention! I would like you to meet, Titan." She said, turning the class' attention to the grey cat perched on her desk and away from Clary, which she was glad for.
The cat stood and stretched, its claws extended out in front of him as his back arched. "Titan," Mae continued, she seemed to be speaking to the cat. "Could you show that class your true form, for educational purposes?" She asked, hopeful. He cat yawned as if he was bored and turned his head lazily towards her. He seemed reluctant, but leaped off the desk, landing at Elemae's feet. Suddenly, he began to transform before the students' eyes.
When the transformation was complete, he stood before the class. Some of them gasped, others jaws dropped open. Titan stood on two legs before them all. He was covered in grey fur and paws and the face of a cat complete with a pink nose with whiskers spread out around it, large green eyes with slitted pupils, and two twitching ears perched at the top of his head. "He's a cat man," said a student at the far right side of the classroom. "not a demon." Mae turned towards the voice, her emerald eyes sparkling. "Ah, but that's where you are wrong, dear child." Elemae said, earning the stares that were previously on Titan. "He appears to be just a, 'Cat Man,' but in his veins pulses demon blood. The blood of the lycanthrope (Did I spell that right?)." Elemae explained. Murmurs erupted once more from the students. They all seemed to be saying one thing, werewolf.
"How were we supposed to know that?" Another student asked. Multiple students shrugged at the remark. There was a long silence, Mae waiting for anyone to explain. "His eyes." Clary said in a small voice, the stares quickly returning to her. "Why?" Mae said, the question sounding more like a statement, or even a command. "Well," Clary began slowly, self-conscious of the stares on her, "How many cats have you seen that have that shade of emerald eyes? It's too bright for cats' eyes. Plus," she continued, feeling more confident. "the color is common among the lycanthrope." she finished, surprised at how great she felt to hear the approving murmurs from her classmates. Elemae nodded once. "Very good. Thank you, Titan." she said, turning to the Cat Man. He nodded to her, and quickly fell back onto all fours and shrinking back to his feline form. He trotted through the double doors and down the corridor, leaving the class to stare.
So, I seriously screwed with the storyline. Pretty much the only things I took from Cassandra Clare's books was the idea, characters, and the Mortal Instruments. And don't worry, the Lightwood kids are going to show up eventually. Valentine too. I only read the first book so I'm sorry if things are a bit different, like I said, screwed majorly with the storyline. I seriously hate Hodge, so he's not going to be in it. I created Elemae (El•eh•may) and Justine from my imagination, and my inspiration for Clary's attitude and actions comes from my best friend Nicole. She always walks super fast after class and clutches her books to her chest like she'd die if she dropped them. Also, she's quite shy. But I love her! Oh, and another thing, Jace and Clary aren't related in this fic. And I hated how Jace's name was Jonathan, so his name is Jason, which makes much more sense for his nickname to be Jace. And things may be confusing now, but it will all play out later. K, I gotta go, my head is pounding cuz I just drank some wine, XD. It was like drinking rubbing alcohol straight form the bottle. Happy New Year everybody, be safe, don't drink and drive, and get seriously shit faced. Have fun, cuz its the last fun you'll ever have in 2009. Enjoy your New Year, just not too much. Love you, be safe.
~Tess