Page 25 of Out of My Flocking Mind

Often, Spirits went to private schools like this one, at reduced rates for those who needed it. The Spirits who inherited their skills needed extra help, and the human children of Spirits often required additional understanding. Things like full moons could cause havoc in a pack household, after all.

“Nice place.” Stone covered the outside of the enormous building, reminding me of the old-school Ivy League universities. It made sense because, for those who wanted it, this place was basically a pipeline there. Still, compared to my school, which had used portable buildings that remained there for thirty years, it was a whole different world.

Then again, when I spotted the kids, it wasn’t as different as I’d have excepted. Sure, the kids drove fancy cars or had drivers who dropped them off. They wore designer clothing, had expensive phones, and all around had things I had only ever dreamed of. Still, despite all that, the underlying behavior was just like every other teenager.

They complained about their parents, about their teachers, about their schoolwork. They gave Harrison and me side eyes, and no doubt they snickered about the new people on campus.

So it seemed no matter how much money people had, they were, at their core, the same assholes as the rest of us.

Harrison held the door open for me, the chivalrous act strange. Still, I didn’t need to draw more attention to myself, so I walked through. The interior of the main office mirrored the other décor. Marble floors, fancy decorations, expensive artwork on the walls. It was like a five-star hotel except for the spoiled brats who went there.

Not that I bet they realized just how lucky they were.

“Would you please refrain from looking as though you are casing the joint?” The way Harrison said that last part forced me to resist the desire to laugh. He sounded like a terrible parody, trying to emulate a criminal but having never lived such a life.

“I’m not trying to ‘case the joint’,” I pointed out. “Though, if I were, there’s some nice shit here.” As soon as I said that, a student turned their head my way, as though the curse word drew her in. I smiled and shrugged, to brush off her surprise.

Harrison merely shook his head and continued walking, taking the lead since he hadn’t given me details. Sure, I knew we were going to work at the school to try to find some sign of the person selling Cloud—and use that to find the person making it—but beyond that?

Not a fucking clue.

I didn’t love being out of the circle when it came to plans, but I also didn’t love that condescending look Harrison liked to give me when he didn’t appreciate me asking too many questions.

What was it about the men in my life that they felt the need to constantly underestimate me?

At least it meant I could get in close if I ever needed to bury a knife in them.

“I don’t think I care for that smirk,” Harrison said despite not turning around. He couldn’t have possibly seen my smile, could he? Or, hell, for all I knew, maybe he was just that good at guessing what I would do or how I would react.

Either way, I didn’t remove my smirk. If he didn’t care for it, maybe he shouldn’t have acted in a way that made me feel as though casting him out in the middle of the ocean was a completely viable communication plan.

We stopped in at the main desk, but the receptionist seemed to know exactly who he was. She handed over two name badges with our photos and names already on them—when the fuck did he get this picture of me?

I stared at it for a moment, then cursed.

The asshole had taken this when I’d fallen asleep on the couch the other day, hadn’t he? Damn it, I hadn’t been feeling well and that should have been a sacred time! Worse, because pictures didn’t work well for me, it was smeared and barely recognizable.

Once the bell rang, the hallways emptied. The sea of kids disappeared, leaving the previously packed spaces now abandoned. Only the rare slackers still appeared, and fuck, those were my people.

Harrison and I followed a guidance counselor who took us on a tour of the school grounds. They were even more massive than I’d expected, honestly. Despite having a fraction of the kids compared to a public school, it was easily four times as large. The school filled that space with a few tennis courts, massive learning facilities and a cafeteria that could have had its own spot on the best places to eat. This was more resort than school.

“So, Mr. Harrison, you will be in room forty-three.”

I snorted. “What are you teaching?”

Harrison didn’t respond—fuck, he didn’t even turn my way. Instead, the counselor answered for him. “He is working as a special lesson instructor for social-emotional learning.”

I cocked my eyebrow at Harrison, trying to ask without speaking.

He turned, as though he heard my expression aloud. “I will be fine.”

“Wasn’t you I was worried about,” I muttered, keeping my voice low enough that the counselor wouldn’t catch it.

Harrison narrowed his eyes, then turned his back on me to end the conversation.

Still, while I wasn’t besties with Harrison or anything, I knew him well enough to guess he wouldn’t endanger a bunch of kids. If he said he could handle it, I trusted he could.

Not like I had other choices.

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