Chapter Four
“Hey, why’d you bolt so quickly?” Nik asks as he and Addam catch up with me.
I shrug, keeping my pace steady. “Not feeling great. I was hoping Mr. Sullivan had Advil.”
His face softens. “Fal, you okay? Anything I can do?”
I shake my head, but the minor headache I woke up with has already started climbing toward migraine territory.
We slip into the classroom.
“Mr. Sullivan?” My voice comes out quieter than I mean it to.
He looks up from his laptop. “Miss Black?”
“Do you happen to have any Advil?”
“Of course. Do you need to go to the nurse?”
“No. I don’t want to miss class. I think I just need medicine.”
He nods and hands me four liquid capsules.
I head to my seat at the back and swallow them with water from my tumbler.
Addam pauses beside my desk. “You vanished on me.”
“Sorry,” I say. “Just not feeling well.”
“Same question as Nik. Nurse?”
“Nah. I’ll live. I probably just need food.”
As if the universe heard me, Mr. Sullivan stands once the last stragglers make it in.
“Alright, class,” he announces. “I was going to take you to the library computer lab for a group project. We’ll start that tomorrow. Today, we’re celebrating one of your classmates with a pizza party.”
The room erupts.
The noise drills straight into my skull. I drop my head onto my arms and pull my hood up.
“You sure you’re alright?” Nik asks softly.
“I didn’t sleep well,” I mutter. “And I only had a banana for breakfast.”
“Miss Black?”
I lift my head.
“Happy Birthday.”
The class joins in, a messy chorus of birthday wishes. I manage a smile and a nod.
“The pizza is in the office,” Mr. Sullivan says. “I need a few volunteers.”
A handful of students jump up and head out with him.
I close my eyes for what I think will be one second.
It’s enough.
A scream slices through my head.
I jerk upright, heart hammering, but the room is quiet. Mr. Sullivan hasn’t even returned yet.
“Hey,” Nik says, sliding an arm around my shoulders. “You’re safe.”
“Thanks,” I whisper, embarrassed by my own pulse.
The smell of pizza eventually fills the room like mercy.
Mr. Sullivan sets up a table at the front with boxes, drinks, and cupcakes.
“Miss Black, birthday rules apply,” he says. “You start.”
I grab a plate, a couple slices, a soda, and a cupcake. When I sit, my phone lights up with a new text.
T - Happy Birthday, sweetie. I know you hate when people know it’s your birthday, but I couldn’t resist telling that hunk of a history teacher. Forgive me?
F - You’re forgiven. We’re having a pizza party with a movie, so everyone wins.
T - That’s sweet. What movie?
I glance up at the screen as the opening credits roll.
My favorite.
F - Looks like he picked my favorite.
T - The Covenant?
F - :)
T - Okay, either he’s one of us…
F - Or he just has great taste.
The rest of class blurs into pizza, sugar, and the faint relief of normalcy.
The bell finally releases us into the hallway.
Normal lasts about five seconds.
A hard shove sends me into the wall.
“Damn wide-load,” Anderson says, laughing like he just invented cruelty. “You should wear a warning label.”
I straighten slowly.
“The only person who needs a wide-load sign is you,” I say.
His smile twitches.
Addam and Nik crouch to gather my scattered books. I don’t miss the way Anderson’s eyes flick to them.
“Oh, so now you’ve got backup,” he sneers. “You think you’re brave?”
“I’ve been dealing with you for years,” I say evenly. “You still haven’t figured out I don’t care what you think of me.”
His glare follows me all the way into Speech.
“Good afternoon, class,” Ms. Morgan says once the room settles.
“Good afternoon,” everyone replies.
“Miss Black, would you hand out these packets?”
Being her TA is usually a quiet flex.
Today, it’s a hazard.
“No problem,” I say, grabbing the stack.
I pass Anderson’s desk and spot his foot sliding out.
I step over it without breaking stride.
He scowls.
I distribute the packets row by row, then turn back toward my seat.
This time his foot catches me.
I go down hard, palms stinging against the floor.
“Falencia, are you alright?” Ms. Morgan asks.
“I’m fine,” I say quickly. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
She studies me like she doesn’t buy it.
She’s right.
Anderson leans in just enough for me to hear him.
“You didn’t tell on me?”
I lift my gaze, bored and dangerous. “Where’s the fun in that when I can get creative?”
His eyes widen.
“Is that a threat?”
I smile sweetly.
“You don’t scare me, bitch.”
“I don’t need you scared,” I say softly. “I need you to understand I’m not scared of you.”
I slide into my chair and force my attention forward. Anderson is all bravado. He only gets brave when he thinks no one’s watching.
Ms. Morgan claps her hands.
“Partner assignment. You don’t get to choose. You’ll interview each other using every question in that packet, then give a speech about your partner.”
The class groans.
“Nik, you’re with Allison.”
He glances at the petite brunette with glasses and whispers, “She put me with the nerd?”
I punch his arm.
He yelps loud enough to earn a few looks.
Then Ms. Morgan drops the guillotine.
“Falencia, you’re with Anderson.”
My stomach goes cold.
“Can I be with someone else?” Anderson whines. “I don’t want to catch loser.”
I don’t even look at him.
The tantrum drags on, half the class sighing and pretending they aren’t entertained.
I’m halfway through other homework when his shadow falls across my desk.
“Meet me after school,” he says. “We’ll do these stupid questions.”
“Do you have a class next hour?”
“No. You?”
“I’m free.” I keep my voice neutral. “We can meet in the library.”
He stalks away, muttering like a villain whose budget got cut.
A loud CRACK snaps through the room.
Anderson drops backward as his chair gives out.
For one glorious second, the universe is kind.
His jeans rip from the pant leg up to mid-thigh as he fights a broken chair leg that seems personally offended by his existence.
The class bursts into laughter.
I should be laughing too.
Instead, something inside me hums.
Hot.
Bright.
Too close to the surface.
“Falencia?”
The voice sounds far away.
The room blurs at the edges.
A warm embrace pulls me back, and lavender wraps around my senses like a tether, as Freyja’s arms wrap around me.
“Falencia,” someone whispers. “You need to calm down.”
The classroom clicks back into focus.
Anderson is still struggling with the chair.
But I’m the one everyone is starting to watch. I don’t understand why, I hadn’t moved an inch, but it felt like the room had.
