Page 3 of Spearcrest Knight

“You’re right,” Luca guffaws, turning his back on Sophie. “Wouldn’t want to give her the attention she so clearly craves.”

Her eyes leave mine and pierce the back of Luca’s head. Oh, she hates him too, she can’t even hide it. But the thought of her hating Luca more than me fills me with fury.

I don’t want her looking at him like that. I don’t want her looking at him at all. I want her to look atme, to focus all her hatred onme. I can’t get enough of her hatred, and I’m not about to share it with Luca.

“It’s not like she’s ever going to get anything better than attention though, is it?” I say lightly. “Guess most guys don’t wanna fuck desperate little social climbers.”

My friends reward me with bellows of laughter.

Her eyes meet mine. There are no tears in them, not even pain.

There’s nothing in them but pure, raw, delicioushatred.

I turn and follow the others inside the assembly hall. This is not the first, or the only, or the last heinous thing I’ve said to her or about her. But I can’t stop myself. I can’t get enough of her hatred—it’s like I’m addicted to it.

And I’ve only got one more year of getting my fill before I’m cut off forever.

Might as well make it count.

Tutoring Programme

Sophie

Evan’swordssearthroughme, burning like a brand for hours. It’s not even like it’s the first cruel thing he’s said to me—it’s just that my thick skin always softens over the holidays, leaving me weak and exposed to his barbs.

The first blow of the year is always the hardest to take, but I’ll toughen quickly.

Because only the tough survive Spearcrest.

I’m distracted for the first half of the day, but I immediately cheer up at lunch when I spot Araminta Wilson-Sing and Audrey Malone. They are sitting in our patch of grass west of the campus, by the big oak trees near the old Greenhouse. They wave me over and I hurry towards them, my heart suddenly lifted.

They are my only friends in Spearcrest—they are the ones who picked up the pieces of me after Evan destroyed our friendship.

The two people who make life here bearable.

“Sophie, how did you ever manage to get this tall?” Araminta exclaims when I reach them.

Araminta is short and curvy and full of this super feminine energy. Her parents are both in politics, and they probably hope she'll follow in their footsteps, but if I’m honest she’s too good for politics. Too beautiful, too lively, too sincere.

“I told you milk was good for you,” I tell her, sitting at her side.

She pulls a face, but before she can lecture me on how disgusting cow milk is, Audrey wraps us both in her arms and squeezes, knocking our heads together.

“I have missed you girls. So. Bloody. Much!”

Audrey is probably one of the smartest students in the school. She’s wiser than most adults I know. If I ever need advice, she is my go-to.

We eat lunch in the grass near the sixth form dormitories, doing our best to catch up. After I finish eating, I lie back in the grass with my head on Araminta’s lap, listening to Audrey. She’s telling us about some exotic older guy she’d met on holiday.

“An older man, Audrey?” Araminta asks salaciously. “You have to be careful with those. You know they only want one thing.”

“And boys our age don’t?” Audrey retorts, rolling her eyes. “At least older guys are more subtle about it. They know how to woo a girl.”

“Woo?” Araminta cackles. “Who are you, Jane Austen?”

I melt into easy laughter. When they’re not around, I always get this horrible sense of urgency, like I’m running out of time. Like everything is going to go wrong.

But around the girls, all the worry fades. It’s still there, just out of focus. Mum and Dad are always reminding me of how hard I’m going to have to work for even a fraction of the opportunities Spearcrest kids are going to have, but Araminta and Audrey make me feel like I’m one of those Spearcrest kids.

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