Part of the Truson S.E.T. Series
Lex and some of the other students from the Truson School for Shapeshifters hurried back into the classroom with Dr. Madison’s encouragement. Once all of the students got settled in their seats, Dr. Madison stood in the middle of the room and cleared her throat.
“I’m sorry about the confusion around here. I know it may seem like things are a little chaotic right now–”
“Chaotic isn’t the word for it. I want to know what’s going on. Why isn’t Mr. Vanderson here? Where is he?” Lex asked. Some of the other students piped in, supporting Lex.
“I know this is very confusing for all of you, but I’m sure if you can all be patient for just a little bit longer, Mr. Vanderson will be back from his short visit and classes will resume as normal.”
One of the students scoffed. “And what exactly do you call ‘normal?’ Nothing in this situation is normal. Mr. Mayfield is not here because he’s dealing with some girl we don’t know, Mr. Vanderson is off doing God knows what and now we have you standing here, telling us to calm down. We’re not stupid, Dr. Madison. We want to know what’s going on.”
The other students rallied in protest. Lex nodded and watched Dr. Madison hold her hands up.
“You’re right Abdullah, you guys all need to know what’s going on, but I’m pretty sure Mr. Vanderson will fill you in on details. For right now, I just want you to be as patient as possible and continue whatever it was you were doing.”
“And what if we don’t do as you say?” Lex asked, challenging her decision.
Dr. Madison twitched. “Do you really want to challenge my authority on that one?” She took a couple of steps towards him.
Lex never moved. He wasn’t scared of her. Even though Lex was born an albino, it didn’t mean he was a punk. Considering who his father was being scared of anything wasn’t an option. If there were even a hint of fear in his eyes, his father would beat it out of him until he was satisfied.
“Lex, you really don’t want to mess with a woman like me. I’ll make you regret it.” They were basically nose-to-nose. Lex’s blood boiled. He sensed his alter ego coming out. His powers were forming.
Come on, test me. I dare you.
“Yo Lex, it’s not worth it. You just got here. Don’t screw it up,” One of the other students said.
“I would strongly advise you to listen to what your peers are telling you.”
Lex stared at her for a few moments while trying to calm himself. It wasn’t until one of his friends grabbed his shoulder that he broke eye contact and sat in the chair behind him. He searched the room to see if the other students followed suit.
They eventually did.
Just as Dr. Madison was about to speak, Stin came through the door.
“Hey, you guys, sorry I’m so late. I had to deal with an emergency,” Stin said. He turned to Dr. Madison. “Thanks for filling in for me. I believe I can take it from here.”
“Good cause I thought I was going to lose it for a second.” Dr. Madison waved good-bye and left the room.
“Sorry about that my future Ormans. I had to take care of something.” Stin looked at his watch. He swung his head back and forth, trying to figure out if he should let the class go early.
“So, what are we doing now?” Lex asked.
Stin clapped his hands together. “You know what? I think we should do an hour of training and then we’ll be done for the day, okay? How does that sound?”
Lex shrugged. “Cool.” He couldn’t have cared one way or another. His mind was too focused on what he saw earlier. Images of the woman with the bright curly red hair invaded his thoughts. He wanted to feel sorry for her. His mind continued to fool him about him seeing things, that the woman who stood in that window the other night wasn’t the same woman who he used to call his stepmother. Somehow, his instincts told him otherwise.
He couldn’t shake that feeling.
“Come with me everyone. We’re going to the gym.” Lex let the other students line up before he finally had the strength to move to the back of the line. Some of the students were talking about how the rest of the day was going to be spent after training was over. “Okay, let’s go guys.” As Lex and his classmates walked toward the gym, a bunch of teenagers started discussing the pep rally and the exams that were coming up within the next few weeks.
Mr. Vanderson turned and stared at the back of the line. “Keep the noise level down. Other students are trying to study in the classroom.” After seeing the mysterious woman talking to Ford earlier, in addition to following his father’s orders about killing Ford, Lex was on a mission and from the way things were heading, he knew he was on the right track. As some of the students headed toward the gym. Lex felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He gripped it until everyone turned the corner then he went toward the window and picked it up.
“Hey, Dad what’s up?”
“Don’t hey Dad me, you fool!” he barked into the phone. “Have you found Ford Mayfield yet?” Lex swallowed. He knew by the tone of his father’s voice he wasn’t in a good mood.
When has he ever been in a good mood?
“No Dad, I haven’t. I’ve only been here for two days. I haven’t had time to do much of anything considering the level of security.”
“Well you need to do something about this and soon because if I get one more visit from Samuel and his pesky sidekicks from the Transforments, your ass is on the line.”
“Dad, I’m working as hard as I can to figure out where he is. I get Samuel’s on your back, but I need to make sure they don’t see me as a target,” Lex said. “I’m sorry Dad, I have to follow the rules.”
“Don’t you talk back to me like that you albino freak. I need you to do as I say and find Ford Mayfield so we can send his body back to where he belongs–in a grave next to me,” he said. Lex heard his father chuckling at his own statement.
“And you will Dad. You just have to give me some more time.”
“Time for what?” A familiar voice asked. Spooked by the sound, Lex saw Mr. Vanderson leaning on the rail peering at him.
Seems like things are taking an interesting turn in this story. Tune in next Saturday, August 15th, 2026 for the next episode of An Orman’s Revenge.
