WILLA

Weird things kept happening in this academy.

One minute, students gathered around the body of a girl who had possibly thrown herself to her death.

The next?

Everyone moved on like nothing happened. Like a student hadn’t just died.

It reminded me too much of what happened when that monster attacked me. I was the only one who saw it. The only one who felt it.

Everyone else acted like nothing was there. Maybe this situation was worse since someone had actually died.

Yet nobody seemed willing to talk about it.

"What are you wearing for karaoke night?" a girl suddenly asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

I glanced sideways toward the nearby table where a group of Aurelian girls sat together.

"Karaoke?" one girl with unnaturally pink hair frowned. "Curfew is still active. And didn’t you hear the recent verdict on the Houses?"

"How does that stop us from having fun?" another girl replied with a careless shrug. "We aren’t the ones getting punished..."

Her voice trailed off. Slowly, she turned toward me. Before I could look away, our eyes locked.

"Besides," she drawled, "we didn’t go begging witches for spells just to make boys fight over us."

Heat rushed instantly to my face. I looked away quickly, but it was too late. I could already feel dozens of stares shifting toward me.

"More importantly," the girl continued loudly despite sitting only a few seats away, "we’re the smartest House in the academy."

A few girls snickered.

"We’re not stupid enough to get caught doing something pathetic like that."

Bitch, I muttered under my breath.

If they were truly that smart, they wouldn’t loudly announce their plans to sneak out of the academy.

"Exactly," another student agreed immediately.

I tucked the loose strands of hair falling over my face behind my ear and stared down at my fingers, trying to ignore them.

"Elyse!"

My head snapped up instantly. The pink-haired girl had risen from her seat.

She wrinkled her nose dramatically before flipping her hair over her shoulder and walking toward me.

My heartbeat quickened as I watched her approach. Not because I was scared.

Well, maybe a little.

Combat class earlier had already shown me something painfully obvious.

In this academy, I was probably one of the few students who barely knew how to properly defend herself.

And I was still recovering from the humiliation of embarrassing myself there. Still, I wasn’t going to back down without a fight.

But not in the damned cafeteria.

The girl stopped only inches away from me, planting her hands against her hips.

"Don’t you think it would’ve been better if you stayed hidden?" she asked mockingly.

Before I could respond, she continued, "At least the rest of us could’ve enjoyed one or two peaceful months of freedom."

She turned toward the other students. "Don’t you all agree?"

Several nodded.

"Definitely," Candace added with a snort. "She can always come back during competition season when the disasters usually start."

I stared at her as she dropped back into her chair. She smirked and gave me a little wave.

I didn’t return it.

The pink-haired girl shuddered. "I wouldn’t even want her returning during competition season," she said. "I promised my parents I’d do my absolute best this time."

She pointed toward herself proudly. "And my best definitely doesn’t include dying because some freak decided to participate and her precious House refuses to let her go because they enjoy the death and chaos she brings."

I swallowed hard, still staring at her.

A freak?

That was new. Elyse was one of the most popular girls in the academy. She had everyone’s attention.

Her ex-boyfriend was a House Alpha and easily one of the most attractive guys here. By every definition I knew, someone like that couldn’t possibly be considered a freak.

Someone like that wouldn’t be treated like an outcast. Not the way I was.

"What?" the girl tilted her head mockingly. "Surprised?"

More than surprised.

Because suddenly, everything I thought I understood about Elyse’s life felt wrong.

"Too bad I’m not scared of you," she said smugly. "And I’m definitely not part of your little fan club."

"I’m not either," Candace chimed in. "We’re not all stupid."

"We’re not." Another voice cut cleanly through the cafeteria.

I turned toward the serving area. Verah stood there holding two trays. Every head in the room turned toward her.

I frowned.

I knew Verah was coming to the cafeteria. I’d waited for her before getting food. I just didn’t expect her to march straight into the middle of the tension.

I rose to my feet and walked toward her. Taking one of the trays from her hands, I glanced around uneasily.

Verah smiled at me briefly before turning toward Candace.

"Like I said," she said in a calm voice, "we’re not all stupid. But you, Candace? Definitely are."

"Bitch!" Candace snapped, slamming her palms against the table as she shot to her feet.

Verah ignored her. Instead, she shifted her attention toward the pink-haired girl. "Don’t you think it’s time to move on already, Rosy?"

Rosy’s lips pressed into a thin line. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

Verah tilted her head. "Kol doesn’t like you," she began casually. "Eric was never interested in you either. And Lance rejected you before you even got the chance to embarrass yourself properly."

A small laugh escaped her. Some of the students around Rosy laughed too.

Rosy whipped around sharply, glaring at them hard enough that the laughter died instantly.

Verah sighed and shook her head. "At this point, your obsession with stalking them is honestly getting disturbing."

"What the hell would you know, bitch?" Rosy sneered.

Verah stepped closer. Rosy immediately matched the movement. Tension crackled heavily between them.

I groaned inwardly. The anger radiating off Rosy was obvious now.

"Stop," I murmured. I didn’t want Verah fighting because of me.

The students already believed I’d somehow manipulated the boys. Now they’d probably decide I was controlling Verah too.

Verah turned toward me, irritation flashing across her face briefly before she looked back at Rosy again.

"I know enough," Verah said, her voice icy, "to totally ruin you, whore."

Rosy let out a dramatic gasp, clutching a hand to her chest.

"Whore?" she cried loudly. "Did you just call me a whore?!"

"Yes," Verah answered without hesitation. "And I should’ve added a cheap, dirty little whore too."

A sharp crack split through the cafeteria.

The entire room went silent. My eyes widened. Verah’s head had snapped sideways from the impact.

One hand slowly rose to her reddening cheek while the other still held tightly onto her tray.

"W...what did you just do?" Verah asked. Her voice had gone dangerously calm.

Rosy lifted her chin, puffed out her chest. "I slapped you, bitch," she spat. "I’ll gladly do it again."

The fight was unavoidable now.

The other students clearly knew it too because phones were already being raised in excitement around us. Some people were even smiling. I quickly reached for Verah’s tray but I wasn’t fast enough.

Verah grabbed the bowl of hot chicken soup sitting on it and dumped the entire thing over Rosy’s head.

"ARRRGHHH!" Rosy screamed.

The sound echoed across the cafeteria. Furious, she lunged forward and raised her hand to slap Verah again but Verah caught her wrist midair.

"This," Verah snarled, "is the last time you ever raise your filthy hand at me."

Then she shoved her hard.

Rosy stumbled backward into a chair, nearly falling before two of her friends grabbed her arms to steady her.

"Let me go!" Rosy screeched, jerking violently away from them.

"We’re trying to help you," Candace muttered irritably.

"Help me?" Rosy hissed.

"Yes," Candace replied flatly. "We did just now. Besides, you can’t force help onto someone who clearly doesn’t want it."

The other girls quickly sided with Candace. Their agreement only seemed to anger Rosy even more.

She shoved Candace hard.

"You’re a fucking bitch," Rosy shouted. "Good thing Josh dumped your ass."

Candace’s face flushed pink. Her hands clenched tightly at her sides. For a moment, I thought she was about to hit Rosy back or scream at her.

Instead, she only let out a sharp huff and turned away. She took two steps then suddenly stopped and spun back around. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"You know what?" she growled. "Everything the whore said about you is actually true."

"Geez," Verah drawled sarcastically. "I’m honored to be referred to as a whore now."

Candace ignored her. "You call Elyse a freak?" she laughed bitterly. "You’re honestly worse than she is."

Rosy’s face crumpled.

"And for the last time," Candace continued in a harsh tone, "nobody wants you, bitch. Stop forcing yourself into places you’re clearly not wanted."

The crowd erupted.

Some students gasped. Others booed loudly at Rosy even though she hadn’t said another word.

"Our friendship is officially over," Candace said coldly. "Goodbye bitch."

Then she turned on her heel and walked away. Rosy bit down hard on her bottom lip. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears as she slowly noticed everyone staring at her.

Watching. Judging. She stood frozen and trembling in the middle of the cafeteria.

Serves her right.

I quietly let out a breath of relief. At least the fight hadn’t escalated further because of me.

If I were to be honest, I don’t care about any of them right now. I just wanted to sit down, eat, and think about everything happening in this academy.

I grabbed Verah’s hand and pulled her away from the crowd.

"Fight’s over," I muttered. "The food’s getting cold—"

"You...!"

Rosy’s shrill scream cut through my words. I turned just in time to see her lunging.