“Yes, Nikki?”
“We were discussing Tenet Number One before class. There seems to be some issue with that right now, and the punishment for it.”
What was it with the girls in this school? Mr. Dawson scowled at Nikki. I smiled. Looked like Mr. Dawson didn’t care for her either.
He pulled some papers out of his satchel and stopped at my desk. He looked down at me and sighed before handing me a syllabus. “Let’s review what we know about biting humans.”
Son of a bitch.
I quickly scanned the syllabus. They’d covered this two weeks ago. I plopped my head down on my desk.
Could today get any worse? Please, I double dog dare you.
I picked my head up in time to see a hand rise in the front row—a guy with spiky black hair.
“It’s dangerous, which is why you have to have permission. Only one in a hundred guys can survive the transformation. And almost no girls live through it, more like one in ten thousand. Which is why some people think that boys outnumber girls so much.” He pointed at me. “That’s why everyone’s curious about her.”
Goosebumps broke out over my skin. I could’ve died? Did Dastien even think about that?
I couldn’t let it show that he bothered me or they’d pick on me more. “Really with the pointing?”
“I’m willing to briefly discuss this, but let’s leave Miss McCaide out of it,” Mr. Dawson said.
That seemed highly doubtful.
“So, class, if it’s dangerous—why bite?”
The boy in front of me raised his hand. “Because we police the world’s big bads,” said the boy in front of me. “We try to protect the humans and all supes—a.k.a. Supernaturals—from things that would out us. Things that would make the world into an ugly place.” He shrugged. “In the past, we’ve gotten low in numbers and so—” He chomped his teeth and the class laughed.
“And what are the big bads, as you pups like to call them?” Mr. Dawson said.
“Fairies, well the bad ones, black witches, vamps, demons. You name it, we hunt it,” he said.
What in the hell were they talking about? Fairies? Demons? Vampires? Seriously?
Nikki’s hand shot up again.
“Yes, Nikki?” Mr. Dawson said.
“Sometimes people find out about us and ask to get bitten.” She glared at me.
I met her stare, and she looked away instantly.
“That’s enough, Nikki.” Another hand shot up. “Yes, Gabriel?”
“Why would someone break the Law and bite a human? We have rules for a reason.”
I started a mental list of people to avoid. That dude was on it for sure.
“I know you all have questions about what happened, but I’m not going to answer questions about a private matter of one my students. Miss McCaide’s been through a lot, and she still has a hard time ahead of her. I expect you all to treat her with respect and compassion. This ends now.”
Nikki raised her hand again. “A whore—”
“Nikki!” Mr. Dawson said. This time power sizzled behind the command. The hair on my arms stood on end as it rolled through the room. “Did you not hear me? You will go—”
“You don’t even know me. None of you know me.” As much as I wanted Mr. Dawson to fight this battle for me, I couldn’t let him. I’d had enough of this. “I’m not a whore. I didn’t know he had a girlfriend. If he even had a girlfriend. To be perfectly clear, I sure as hell didn’t ask for this. This right here is a nightmare.” I motioned around the room. “And you’ve all just made it that much more shitacular. I hope each of you is feeling really awesome about that right now. And you,” I pointed to Nikki, but she couldn’t meet my gaze. “If you say one more word I swear to God I won’t be responsible for what I do, you stupid—” The hot, woozy feeling was back with a vengeance. I was so done with this class. I grabbed my backpack and my half eaten sandwich.
“Tessa. Wait,” Mr. Dawson called after me. Power backed the command, but I shook it off and kept moving. I heard shocked murmurs from the class but I didn’t look.