Page 9 of Lords of the Campus

“I think we just need to be a little patient,” I tell them. “She’ll give in. She has no choice.”

5

LEVI

As we walk back to the frat house, I think about the confrontation we just had with Lyric.

It felt good to confront her like that, to tell her off for the way she treated us and take her down a peg or two. A twisted sense of relief settled inside as I watched her face contort in fear, realizing she wasn’t going to be able to get away with what she’d done to us, that she wasn’t going to be able to sweep it under the rug and pretend it never happened.

Admittedly, I think I’d taken the entire thing the hardest of the three of us. The Hudson’s took me in and losing them was like a punch to the gut after everything I’d been through. All I wanted was to look into her eyes when she explained why she did it, but it looked like she was still trying to claim she was innocent.

“Looks like we have Intro to Sociology with the princess,” Archer says, stepping into my room without knocking.

“Perfect,” I say, grinning as I tug on a pair of combat boots. “She gets to enjoy the pleasure of our company while we make sure she knows exactly how serious we are about this entire thing.”

The two of us finish getting dressed and head out, walking across campus together. Zane is still asleep since his class doesn’t start for another couple of hours.

We enter the classroom, making a beeline to sit on either side of Lyric, who’s planted herself far back in the lecture hall.

She ignores us as we settle down, trying to pretend she doesn’t see us, but I make sure my knee brushes up against hers. She stiffens, and I smirk to myself.Bingo.

Lyric was always weak for our attention, even as kids. Archer stretches out, faking a yawn as he reaches his arms up and drops one loosely behind Lyric’s chair.

She shifts, moving to stand up, but I throw an arm out, blocking her from going anywhere.

“Where do you think you’re going, Songbird?” I ask, using our old nickname for her.

Lyric sits back down, slumping in her chair. “Please, just leave me alone. If you want to hate me forever, fine, but please don’t do this to me.”

“We’re only getting started,” I whisper back. “We can do this all day.”

More students start filtering into the lecture hall, filling up the seats. She has nowhere to go now, and she’s trapped between us.

Pulling out a notebook, she tries to ignore us again, but I nudge my foot out, knocking over her book bag.

“Oops, sorry,” I say, tone mocking. “How clumsy of me.”

As she bends down to gather the contents, Archer shifts his foot so he knocks her pencil case into the row in front of us. Lyric has to jump up and scramble to get it, glaring at us as she sits back down in her seat.

The professor strides in at that moment, pulling out the syllabus to go over. While Lyric is taking notes, Archer’s elbow nudges into hers, causing her hand to slip and mess up her work.

“Stop,” she whispers harshly.

“Sorry about that,” he says, a smirk on his lips.

I lean into her space, whispering into her ear as the professor continues speaking. “Do you even belong here, Songbird?” I ask. “You probably can’t hack it in a school like this. Bet you wish you’d gone anywhere but here, don’t you?”

Lyric’s face gets increasingly redder as I speak. “You have no idea how pissed I was when I saw your face again. You’re nothing but a worthless, traitorous bitch.”

She closes her eyes for a moment, hands shaking. “Stop,” she whispers. “Please, I’m begging you to stop.”

“I’m not saying anything that isn’t true,” I remind her in a soft voice.

“You don’t know anything!” Lyric shouts, jumping up and slamming her hands on her desk. “Stop talking to me!”

The professor and the entire class go silent, all eyes on her.

“Is there something you need?” Professor Nelson asks, blinking. “What’s the commotion?”

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