Page 180 of Forbidden Lessons

No way in hell I can brush this off.

In fact, I’m pretty sure I won’t even survive this.

“I’m not doing it.” I shake my head, hoping it will cement my decision. “I refuse.”

“You can’t do that,” she whispers.

As if there’s someone here with us in this creepy hallway.

“Says who?”

“Says the people that gave you the money to come to college.” There’s the briefest little crease between her eyebrows. “You didn’t realize you’d have to be involved in stuff like this if you accepted the grant? They would have notified you.”

“Let me guess,” I say dryly. “My invite got lost in the mail.”

She nods. “Exactly. Or maybe Ted forgot to deliver it.”

Well, fuck.

The nice Korean family living at my old Riverside address must be confused as hell, getting all my mail. Which reminds me, I really have to update my address. At least I can get stuff sent to Gamma Alpha Zeta now.

I hold up my hands. “No, it’s cool. I’ll just get up in front of a hundred million strangers and make up a speech about social inequality.” I lean in. “You know. Using my imagination.”

“I doubt there are more than three hundred people here,” Melissa says, but grudgingly. “Want me to stand next to you?”

“No, it’s fine.”

None of this is her fault. It’s one-hundred percent Haven Lee’s fault.

Should have known there’d be strings attached. I mean, the whole point of charity is so that they can look good in front of other people right? Like, have some kind of moral advantage? When everyone gets to heaven, they’ll have a VIP parking spot.

If I’m going down, it’ll be on my terms.

I tighten my hand on the gold clutch Melissa borrowed me, and stalk down the corridor. She catches up with me a second later.

“Say something smart about how important education is.”

I mouth, ‘how smart’, and then shake my head. “You’re terrible at this.”

The classical music fades, and there’s some scattered applause. All muffled, because of the door up ahead, but I can clearly make out the announcer calling the dean of Agony Hollow College to the stage.

Oh God.

My brain scrambles as I try to think of what the hell I could say up there. Unfortunately, a certain someone with warm brown eyes and the most fucked up mind I’ve ever met keeps interrupting.

And when I finally gethimshoved out of my head, it’s all Kai. All Kai, all the time.

Damn it.

My clutch vibrates in my hand. I take out my phone without even thinking about it, glancing down at the screen.

It’s a text from an unknown number.

UNKNOWN

Get out. He’s…

What the hell? I fumble with the phone, unlocking it to read the full message.

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