“Elena,” she yelled after me, but all I did was stick my hand up to wave goodbye.
When I stepped outside of the student center, my breathing finally returned to normal. I hadn’t realized how claustrophobic I felt until I took a deep breath of clean air.
There was a group of people standing in front of the student center, laughing as I walked by. They smelled human with no supernatural in the mix.
It sucked because I’d give anything to be just like them. Human, normal, no knowledge of the supernatural, and only caught up in who’s doing what. They didn’t realize how lucky they were to be born that way.
I headed toward my history class. It started in thirty minutes, but I figured maybe there wasn’t anyone around and I could go ahead and get my seat.
As I moved in that direction, I felt a buzzing in my pocket. I pulled my phone out and saw a text from the bar I worked at.
Can you come and fill in for Suzy tonight?
That was the third time Brad had asked me to cover for her in the last two weeks. It paid the bills though and gave me something else to do. So I replied yes and shoved it back into my pocket.
It didn’t take long for me to reach the building, and as I stepped into the hallway, a guy with short dark hair and piercing green eyes walked past me.
My world seemed to stand still for that moment, but he didn’t glance my way. He rushed out of the building on some kind of mission or something.
I took a few steps, following him, when I realized what the hell I was doing. I’d lost my damn mind. I stopped and watched him run off toward the student center.
It probably was a good thing that I hadn’t stayed there. If Ella had seen my reaction, I was sure she would’ve wound up doing something to embarrass me.
Making myself turn around, I began my slow stroll through the hallway, looking for the class. After a few minutes, I found it on the fourth floor of the building.
It was empty, so I headed straight to the back, taking the center-aisle to the desk right in the corner. It was the easiest spot to hide. The only problem was when teachers would go overtime and I left. There was something about punctuality that had been ingrained in me. You arrive on time and leave on time. At least that’s how I’d been raised.
I pulled out my phone as it vibrated again. It was Brad again.
Good, there is a huge business party coming in, so be ready to haul ass.
Great. That meant tonight was going to suck. Usually, large parties included some kind of supernatural. It made it rough to pretend to be human because there was a scent all supernaturals had. Granted, I never shifted, so it shouldn’t be a problem, but you never know who you might run into.
Chapter Four
I put on my standard black shirt and blue jeans that were dress code for the bar. In all fairness, it was a trendy bar that businesses and more upper-class individuals liked to frequent.
It was a large open space with a huge bar in the center. The bar faced the open area, and there was a glass wall right behind it.
There were tables set up outside with a cover, and inside were more tables spread throughout. In the middle of the seating, there was a winding staircase that connected to the top floor. Up on the top floor was where all the pool tables, dartboards, and lounge seating were held.
“We better get some good tip money tonight,” Todd grumbled as he put on the apron over his dark shirt. He was only a few years older than me, but he complained about everything, and that was saying something, coming from me.
“As long as you put a smile on your face and keep the negativity to yourself, you should be good.” To say he hated when I called him out would be an understatement.
“It wouldn’t kill you to be nice every now and then.” He arched an eyebrow and tied the strings in the back.
“It might.” Being nice to people encourages them to hang around you more. That’s what I was trying to avoid.
“In all fairness, if you started being nice, it would freak me the fuck out.” Todd rolled his dark chocolate eyes at me. “I’ve grown oddly attached to your pessimistic vibe.”
“Not pessimistic.” I grabbed a clean towel and began wiping down the beer glasses. “Realist.”
“That’s what all pessimistic people say.” He grabbed his notebook and pen. “Shouldn’t you be the one serving all those bureaucratic men?” He nodded toward the door where a group of at least twenty-five men dressed in suits stood.
“I don't do people well.” Now, that wasn’t an exaggeration. I purposely went out of my way to not talk to people. That’s the reason I chose to work in the kitchen instead of a club. I made a little less, but I didn’t have sloppy, drunk-ass men hitting on me.
“You better be glad Brad cares that you’re underage, or he’d have your hot ass serving drinks.” He took a deep breath as if he was gearing up for the jackasses.
All men in suits were jackasses. I learned that at the tender age of six. And in all fairness, he couldn’t allow me to waitress. He’d tried, but I refused to get certified to serve drinks. “Don’t let them be complete dicks.”
He winked at me and nodded toward the large table that the hostess was pushing together. “Wish me luck.”
Considering the way that group looked, he was going to need more than luck. I left the bar area and moved back toward
