Chapter 4 Cafeteria War

VANESSA'S POV

The dining hall is always noisy, but today it's worse. Trays are banging, and everyone is talking at the same time. I sit at our usual table in the back, pushing my spaghetti around my plate.

Across from me, Lena is halfway through her rant. She leans forward, waving her fork like it's a weapon.

"I'm serious, V. It's week eight. Why are we still letting them act like they own the air we breathe? The Elites are just rich kids with bigger bank accounts and smaller brains. That stunt Adrian pulled in the hall? Shouting your name like that? He's such an asswipe."

"He was just mad about the homework" I mutter, keeping my head down. My scalp still feels tight from the stress of the morning. "I shouldn’t have pushed him. Now I’m stuck tutoring him every day starting Monday. It’s a mess.”

"No, it's dope," Lena counters, her eyes lighting up with a grin. "The look on his face was worth it. You finally bit back. I just wish you'd do it more often. They treat us like doormats because they think we're soft."

I don't tell her that being soft is the only thing keeping me from accidentally breaking someone's arm. I just want to finish my lunch and disappear into the library, but obviously, the universe has other plans.

Melissa walks in surrounded by her clique, all of them wearing the same smug expression. Melissa is in the middle, her blonde hair perfect, she's wearing a white sweater I heard costs about $400.

She heads straight for us.

"Oh, look," Melissa says, her voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "It's the scholarship girl. Still trying to blend in with the trash?"

Lena starts to stand up, but I grab her wrist under the table, urging her to stay down. "Don't," I whisper. "Just let it go."

Melissa stops right next to me. She's holding a bowl of oily pasta in one hand and a red drink in the other. She looks like a queen, but her eyes are cold, like a shark that just saw blood. She looks like she's been stewing over that hallway scene for the last twenty minutes.

"You think you're special now, don't you?" Melissa says. Her voice is loud enough for the tables nearby to hear. "I saw you in the hall, Vanessa. I saw you trying to act all tough for my boyfriend."

"We were just talking about the assignment, Melissa," I say. I try to keep my voice calm, but my heart is racing.

"Is that what you call it?" She smirks, leaning closer so only I can hear her. "I know your type. You're a scholarship rat trying to climb the ladder. But let me tell you something. Adrian doesn't like freaks and nerds. He just uses them to get what he wants. You're just a tool to him."

"I don't care what I am to him," I say, looking her right in the eye. "I'm just doing the tutoring so I don't lose my spot here."

"Are you?" She smirks. She looks at my messy hoodie and then at her perfect white sleeves. "You look a little messy, Vanessa. Maybe you need a wash before you start tutoring my boyfriend on Monday.

It's like slow motion. Melissa stumbles for no reason at all, and dumps the pasta and red drink on my head.

The cold liquid hits my head, and the oily pasta slides down my face into my lap. I gasp as the cold red drink soaks my hoodie. For a second, the whole cafeteria goes silent... and then everyone starts laughing. It starts at the Elites' table and spreads fast. People are pointing and laughing.

Melissa stumbles back and covers her mouth like she's shocked. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry... I'm such a klutz!"

Lena's screaming, but I don't even hear her. My chest is burning. As the pasta slides off my shoulder, something inside me snaps.

I stand up slowly, letting the mess drip onto the floor. I wipe the red drink from my eyes with the back of my hand and stare hard at Melissa. Her smirk drops. She didn't think I'd stay. She thought I'd freak out and run.

Then I reach down and grab my tray. It's still full of red sauce spaghetti.

"My turn," I say.

Before she can even blink, I dump my tray right over her head. The red sauce splashes into her perfect blonde hair and soaks that $400 white sweater, turning it into a sticky, messy pile of pasta and sauce.

Melissa freaks out. "MY SWEATER! YOU FREAK! DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW MUCH THIS COSTS?"

The cafeteria goes completely silent. Everyone's eyes are on me like I just exploded something. Lena is standing next to me, her mouth wide open, looking like she wants to scream and laugh at the same time.

I drop the tray on the table and walk out, leaving the mess to do the talking. Nobody says a word. My clothes are ruined and I'm probably in trouble with my scholarship, but for the first time in eight weeks, I can finally breathe.

And then I hear her, loud enough for me to freeze in the doorway: "You'll pay for this, Vanessa.”

I just ignore her and push through the doors and into the quiet hallway. I'm shaking in anger, trying to keep my wolf from coming out.

Then I stop.

Derek Thorne is standing by the office. He's Adrian's dad. He’s on the school board and runs the security here. He stops talking to the Dean when he sees me. I'm covered in red sauce, and he just stares. It's a sharp look that makes my skin crawl.

My wolf goes dead quiet, like it's hiding. I try to walk past as fast as I can.

"Miss Vance," he says. His voice is deep and calm.

I freeze. I didn't think he knew my name. He isn't smiling. He's just watching me with those cold, gray eyes.

"Get yourself cleaned up," he says. "We can't have the scholarship students looking like animals, can we?"

He turns back to the Dean like I'm nothing.

I just run toward the dorms. My heart is pounding. Melissa was loud, but the way Derek Thorne looked at me felt different. It was a weird feeling I can't explain. I thought I was just in trouble with the popular kids, but now I feel like something else is watching me.

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