“So, am I dismissed or what? I’m supposed to turn in my physics work before lunch.”
He sat back in his chair and studied me. I met his stare, refusing to play nice now. It was bad enough I had my tío to deal with, but there was no way I was going to let another machista jerk run over me.
“I’m giving you a mark. If I find you in my office again, I’ll have to give you more. Do you understand, Miss Perez?”
My lip curled. “Got it.”
He waved me out and I didn’t waste another second. Red spots dotted my vision as I left, biting my tongue before I snapped at him.
Once outside the door, I took a deep breath and tried to relax. I didn’t know what the hell a mark meant, nor did I care, but the whole encounter left me shaking with fury.
I grabbed my physics assignment and threw it in a trash can as I walked by. Professor Lip could go stuff himself for all I cared. Feeling slightly better, I sent Javi and Shiloh a message letting them know I was on my way to lunch.
Food therapy was just what I needed.
The cafeteria was swarming with students when I arrived. Shiloh messaged me that she was working through lunch and would catch up later. Javi didn’t respond, but I found him waving me down from the back of the room.
He was with his usual gang of snobs—Tyler, some other dude, and two girls that I’d met once before. I didn’t miss the fact that the girls seemed to rotate weekly. My shoulders sank as I sighed and walked over. It was better than eating alone. They flashed me fake smiles as I joined them which I didn’t bother to return. Let them think me rude. I didn’t care.
“Why are we sitting here today?” I asked Javi.
The others snickered. I frowned at Javi, who just kept smirking.
“You’ll see,” was his cryptic response.
Tyler snorted, soda coming out of his nose. Classy.
I glanced down at the menu my cousin handed me, wondering when I was going to get the joke. The conversation carried on without me. I half listened as they went on about the upcoming house election, the final test, and the newest shifter attack in the city.
“Finally. We’ve been wondering when you were going to take our order,” Tyler’s voice boomed over the others.
I turned to find Grayson standing in front of us, an unreadable expression on his face.
“Grayson?” I blurted.
His face hardened. “Yes?”
My nose crinkled. “What are you doing?”
He waved his arm down his uniform. “Working.”
The table erupted in fits of laughter.
I shot a glare at Javi. He didn’t meet my gaze. The coward. I expected a stunt like this from the others, but not him.
“I hope you aren’t expecting a tip. We still don’t have drinks,” Tyler sneered.
Grayson glared at him. “Let me guess, strawberry daiquiri for you or have you already hit your midday alcohol limit?”
I snorted.
Tyler’s face reddened. “What did you say to me, Chapman?”
Grayson stood his ground. “Do you need me to repeat it slower?”
Tyler shot to his feet, banging the table on his way up. “Pulto.”
Grayson threw his arms up. “Oppilo.”
My eyes widened. Javi stood and laid a hand on Tyler’s shoulder. “Stop. The guards will catch you.”
“I hope that was worth the mark you’ll be getting for your unwarranted cast,” Grayson sneered.
His gaze raked mine. “Some of us aren’t here to play games.” With that, he turned on his heel and stormed away.
My cheeks reddened. His words were a slap. Who was the one playing games?
I stood and threw a glare at Javi and the others. “I’m getting something to go.”
Javi’s protests faded as I stalked away. I stood in line to place an order and scarfed down the sandwich as I headed for my next class, where I got extra homework assigned for being late. Two hours later and I was ending my day with Professor Cassiano and his ruthless drills.
“Where is your head, Miss Perez?”
I fumbled with the heavy sword, slashing the air in frustration.
“I’m trying,” I grumbled.
Sweat trickled down my neck. I lowered the sword and groaned. My body protested the movement.
“You’re wasting my time. Come back when you can focus.” Professor Cassiano held up a hand.
A lick of anger curled in my chest. I handed him the sword and marched toward the door.
“Miss Perez.”
I froze.
“I expect you to work twice as long tomorrow morning. 5:00 a.m.”
My jaw dropped. “What?”
“That will be all, Miss Perez.” He turned his back to me and locked up the sword.
I growled in frustration as the door slammed behind me.
Perfect. Just perfect.
What started as a crappy day had just become an even crappier one. I tried to brush it off, but I couldn’t stop replaying the lunch scene again and again. Some of us aren’t here to play games. What did he even mean by that, and why did I freaking care so much?
17
“Tough day?” Shiloh asked as I threw myself face first onto my bed.
I lifted my head and looked at her. “How could you tell?”
She smiled and moved closer toward me, uncertainty written in her eyes. “Do you… want to talk about it?”
Flipping over, I sighed and stared up at the ceiling. “I don’t know. I fell asleep in physics again and got sent to Headmaster Rutherford. Now I have extra homework and a mark, whatever that means.”
She nodded sympathetically. “Professor Lipstein?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re not the only one sleeping in his classes. Believe me.”
I sat up and pulled off my shoes so I could sit crisscrossed on my bed. “And Javi…” I stopped myself. He had his idiot moments, but deep down I knew he was a good guy and I didn’t want to tell Shiloh something that would tarnish her image of him.
Her eyes blinked behind her coral glasses. “What
