Chapter 5 The First

Vee's POV

The bell has barely stopped ringing before Chloe takes off.

"Chloe!" I yell, running after her, trying hard to catch up with her, amidst the crowd racing down the hall.

"Run!” She yells over her shoulder without slowing.

I increase my pace, doing exactly as she says but people flood the hall from every direction. More doors fly open as the footsteps increase.

For a second I lose sight of Chloe. By the time I spot the back of her dark hair again, someone slams into my shoulder.

My foot slips, my knee twisting at an odd angle, forcing me to slow down.

Before I can regain my pace, another body crashes into me from behind, and this time I fail to preserve my balance.

My cheek burns as I slam hard against the ground.

For a second, all I see is polished tiles inches from my eyes. Nobody stops. Several feet run past and even over my head.

Not one person offers to help.

I push myself upright with a groan. My whole body hurts but mostly my cheek.

Still pain isn't strange to me so I don't overreact.

By the time I reach the field outside, people are already standing in neat lines.

As I step closer to the crowd, every single person turns to look at me.

My intestines roll into a knot. Why are they looking at me like that?

At the front of the field stands a tall young man. Dark hair brushes his forehead, and a pair of honey-brown eyes sweep over the crowd with quiet indifference.

When he turns to see what the others are looking at, his expression remains unreadable.

But there's something dark in his gaze as those eyes settle on mine.

"You are two minutes late." He mutters calmly.

I stop in my tracks, not sure how to respond to that or if he's someone I should pay any mind.

"A hundred push-ups before warm-up is over." He suddenly orders.

“What?” I frown at him, unwillingly noticing the complete silence across the field.

"Fail to finish them in time and you will complete another hundred." He turns away from me as though the conversation is already over.

I look around. Surely I heard that wrong.

Right?

Who the fuck is he anyway?

"I can't possibly do a hundred push-ups." I say loud enough for everyone to hear.

He keeps walking.

"I wasn't even told what the rules were!" I state, this time allowing the annoyance to slip into my voice.

His feet halt.

I glare at nothing in particular when even the monitors stop moving.

The guy turns around slowly, those cold eyes settling on me again.

It is at this point that all the monitors look away. Some even walk a distance, pretending to not hear what's going on.

"Now." He gives one word, a bit of anger evident in his tone.

I lift my chin. "And if I refuse?"

The moment I hear subtle gasps around me, I know I've crossed a line. But it's too late to back down now.

"I was fucking pushed down, okay? It's not like I decided to be late to whatever the fuck this is."

"Two hundred." He declares as he takes one more step toward me.

I shake my head, a disbelieving laugh escaping my lips.

"You can't be serious."

He says nothing. And his darn expression gives nothing.

"Who the fuck are you anyway?" I add, feeling the urge to just walk out on whatever this is.

"Three hundred." He adds without a shift in his expression.

"Well, fuck this." I throw my hands into the air. "Your majesty of misery, how about you do the exercises yourself." I seethe, turning away. "Leave me out of..."

Pain shoots across my face as the world tilts, and I hit the ground before I even realize I’ve been punched.

Chloe crouches beside me. My cheek burns so bad tears actually fill my eyes.

"You..." I swallow. "You punched me."

"Hm." She does not even look guilty. "Unless you want another house captain to handle it."

I stare at her, my breathing slightly heavy.

"You disobey the First," her voice stays strangely gentle, "you get beat up." She shrugs. "It is the law here."

I look past her at… the First?

“Roman?” I whisper, looking back at her, my hand rubbing my hurting face. “That's him?”

She offers me a hand. "Serve your punishment. Save my arms the ache of beating you to a stupor." She nods toward the crowd. "Come on. Everyone is watching."

I look around. Hundreds of eyes are fixed on me. Even the remaining monitors are walking away from the center of the field, like whatever happens next has nothing to do with them.

A voice cuts through the silence. "Oh, come on."

I know that voice. I didn't know how well I'd registered that annoying proud tone until now.

"If all of you are too soft to put one stubborn little birdy back in her cage, I don't mind doing the honors." James adds and laughter erupts from a section of students dressed in brown T-shirts.

Chloe gives me a tired look. "Please don't make me punch you again." She slowly lifts her fist.

"I'll..." I raise a hand over my face. "I'll do it."

She lowers her hand. "Damn, girl." She exhales quietly. "How did that take you so long?"

Without another word, she walks back toward the others.

Three hundred.

I lower myself to the ground, too ashamed to look back up. “One, two, three…”

Roman turns back to the crowd, carrying on like nothing happened.

A/N___ Hi, me lav! Please remember this is going to evolve into a dark romance novel. I'll put trigger warnings where necessary.