Page 129 of Tis the Season to be Bullied

She kicks her legs up, crossing them at her ankles and swaying side to side. “Didn’t sound like it.”

“What trash are you reading anyway? I thought they confiscated stuff like that.”

This earns me a sniff. I hurriedly pull my hair into a messy bun and go back to the bathroom to wipe off the makeup I’d just applied.

Honestly shouldn’t have bothered packing. Could have been here an hour earlier. Might have avoided theElitesfor all I know.

Nah. Fate seems pretty determined to keep me within range of a bunch of psychopaths. Why not? Seems I’ve lived a boring enough life up until this point. Obviously the universe thinks I can handle more.

I eventually find a nail file in my cosmetics bag and hurriedly file my nails down to the quick.

“Nail polish?”

“Nope.”

“Goddammit.” It takes me five minutes to get rid of what’s left of my black nail polish.

“Now we’re running late,” Romi says when I step back into the room.She’s standing by the door, glancing at her dainty gold watch and sighing.

“Shit.” I hurry for the door, but she clicks her fingers and points at the blazer I threw over the foot of the bed. I come to stand beside her, frowning as she gives me a critical once-over.

“I’m sorry, was I supposed to pluck my nose hair or something?”

She sniffs again, but at least there’s a sparkle in her brown eyes. “This will all be worth it, Nim.” She shrugs and opens the door. “You’ll see.”

I very much fucking doubt it. But she’s making an effort—I guess I should too. “Thanks.”

“Welcome.” She holds open the door and closes it once I’m through.

“Wait, so you haven’t selected any courses yet?” she asks when we’re halfway down the hall.

“Nope. Any recommendations?” I hope she doesn’t say something like physics.

“I’m confused. According to the schedule on your desk, you’re enrolled in several courses already.”

I stop walking. “Several?”

“Yeah.” She stops too, a frown springing onto her face. “You didn’t?—?”

“Oh, yeah, right. Actually…” I start walking again, tapping my temple. “There was this form thingy...”

“Yeah, you’re gonna do great here,” Romi mumbles.

I give her a punch on the shoulder, and she chuckles. I try to laugh too, but my mind is working overtime. The sponsorship, the tuition fee, now my courses? It’s like someone is mapping out my life, dictating where I should be, what I should be doing, and when.

The busybody in me just got a girl boner.

I should be terrified, instead I’m fascinated. I have to figure out what I’m doing here. More importantly…what I’m doing here withthem.

Chapter 15

Nim

My first day definitely isn’t going as expected. Both morning classes were a bust. Romi wasn’t joking when she said the semester began a weekago. I’m already behind on a curriculum I didn’t choose. I mean,accounting?Who the hell decided I was good with numbers anyway? Did the person who chose my courses even bother looking at my transcripts? If they had, they’d definitely not have chosen accounting. I’m wondering if it’s the same person who paid for my tuition, because they obviously have money to burn.

There’s one silver lining to this motherfucking storm cloud. I haven’t seen the Serpents since yesterday. Even though the Academy grounds are enormous and there are a ton of students, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that the Serpents would be waiting around every corner, ready to torment me every second of every day.

Maybe this is some kind of play. They’re waiting for me to let my guard down before they strike again.

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