Page 15 of Delilah In Discretion

“Now we will listen to Kimiko Masahiko’s speech for her campaign.” He stepped away from the mic, and everyone clapped.

I managed to throw my first cheer, “Go, Kim-Kim!” over the clapping. She looked over to me discreetly and held up a hand that had two fingers, letting me know I only had two more times.

“Students of Highland Bridge Academy. Faculty, family, friends. We need a leader. We need someone who will take control of their students’ wishes and bring them to life—”

I listened to her speak, saying it along with her since I knew it like the back of my hand.

She called upon her choice of vice president and spoke.

“My team and I have worked for the last month to discover how to expand our horizons and better the students.” She continued for a few minutes, and I didn’t miss one word, saying it with her. When she finished her speech, she said, “Thank you,” and the entire auditorium stood up and clapped.

“GOOD JOB, KIMI!” I said happily, and she smiled as we all cheered for her. I was even tempted to yell,”‘That’s my best friend!” as if everyone didn’t already know.

We took a seat after a minute, and only then did I notice the other candidate still looking very nervous, almost sure he wouldn’t win again—though he was probably more afraid of Luca than he was of actually losing. I could only imagine what would happen if and when he didn’t win.

After the campaign was over, Kimi had to take care of a few things, leaving me to have some time to myself before my next class. I walked into the courtyard of the school and enjoyed the smell of fresh air. We even had a bridge over a small lake. Though it was gorgeous, I didn’t see the point.

The committee of the academy spends a lot of money on meaningless things, and the families who don’t have a lot of money to pay the tuition have to suffer because the school thinks we may need facial recognition to enter the gates. Having Kimi as the voice of the students would bring these issues to light, and I could only hope that the board members would listen.

I was brought out of my thoughts as someone bumped into my shoulder as they walked past. Scoffing, I looked over to see a boy walking casually as if nothing had happened.

“‘Excuse me’ would have been the polite thing to say,” I said, annoyed, and the man stopped as his shoulders tensed slightly. I would have simply turned and left had he continued walking, but as he moved to face me, my heart dropped as Kimiko’s words rang through my mind once more.Delilah, I need you to promise me you’ll stay away from him at all costs.And here I was, like an idiot, poking the beast.

Luca looked at me curiously as he tilted his head. “Forgive me. I’m not one to be known for my politeness,” he responded, and deciding to listen to Kimiko, I swiftly turned and continued my walk.

After a few moments or so, my arm was roughly pulled back so I was face-to-face with him. His grip on my arm was tight, and I flinched slightly.

“Didn’t say you could walk away, did I?” he asked with a tilt of his head, and I gulped softly.

Images of the boy being beaten to a pulp by Luca and his posse came to mind again, and although I considered myself rather confident, I felt powerless in his grip. Nonetheless, I still responded in a somewhat snarky way, despite my arm burning in his hold.

“Forgive mefor not knowing I had to wait for your command,” I retorted, and a small smile graced his lips as he leaned in slightly.

“A little attitude, hmm? Not a problem… I like breaking pretty little things that don’t know their place,” he said menacingly as I glared in response.

“I am not a pretty little thing.”

Without any effort, he jerked me closer to him by the arm as he shook his head.

“You’re not just a pretty little thing, doll… because now,you’re mine,” he said as if anything about this situation wasn’t abnormal.

“What does that even mean?” I muttered in confusion, and he didn’t say anything as his hand held me tightly. It was almost like he was trying to understand something as he looked down at me in curiosity.

“You’re not familiar with how things operate around here, are you, doll?”

“If I was, do you really think I’d take time out of my day to talk to you?” I asked, and winced only slightly as his hand tightened.

I bit my lip as my arm was practically trembling under his hold. “Can you let me go, please?” I asked, trying to find my voice after a moment, and he leaned in closer.

“And why would I do that?”

“Because she asked nicely. It’s the least you could do,” someone said, and I heard Archer’s very familiar voice as he walked over to us. For some reason, I felt happy to see him, but another part of me knew he was going to bring me hell, too.

Luca let go of my arm and looked very displeased to see Archer.

Archer looked over to me and checked his watch. “You’re going to be late to class, Delilah. Let’s go.”

The tension grew thick as Luca stared daggers at Archer. I nodded my head and blushed profusely when I felt Archer grab my hand. It was always a weird feeling when he touched me, so odd that it would be too hard to explain how it felt.

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