Chapter 81: Privilege stripped
WILLA
"Why us? Why me?" Verah groaned, dramatically rolling across the pile of clothes scattered on the floor.
She spread her arms wide, glaring up at the ceiling as if it had personally betrayed her.
The second verdict had come down, and that was why Verah was in this level of agony.
All house privileges had been stripped with immediate effect for disobeying school rules. According to the council, I had entered the Forest of Death on my own accord even though it hadn’t been on purpose.
"Fine," Verah muttered, pushing herself up into a sitting position. She turned to glare at me. "Even if they wanted to take the privileges, waiting until the end of the term would have been better than springing it on us a single day before break!"
"I’m sorry, BBN it’s my fault." I murmured. I dropped the last folded piece of clothing into the box and sat on the edge of the now-empty bed.
I looked around the room I had come to know as mine. I hadn’t seen the other rooms, but from Verah’s extreme reaction, I could already tell ours was going to be bad.
"How is it your fault?" Her scowl deepened.
"I broke the rules," I reminded her quietly.
"You had amnesia!" she exclaimed. "Anyone in your position would have forgotten. A warning should have been more than enough!"
I guessed amnesia wasn’t considered a good enough excuse for just a warning.
"How is it fair that you’re the only one getting punished and losing points while Dashiel walks away free?" Verah continued, her voice rising. "He wasn’t even given the same mission as the other boys. He went in there on his own!"
"He was trying to help me," I said.
"Help my freaking ass," Verah snapped.
She shot to her feet and stormed over to the window, shoving her head out and dragging in a deep breath before letting it out sharply.
When she spun back to face me, irritation twisted her entire expression.
"I keep telling you they’re misogynistic. You keep trying to find reason in the nonsense they do," she said, throwing her hands up.
Well, I didn’t see it quite that way. The verdict felt pretty accurate, even if I thought they could have been a little more lenient.
A soft knock sounded on the door. Verah and I turned toward it at the same time. She furrowed her brow, glancing at me.
"Are you expecting anyone?"
"Nope," I muttered.
"Neither am I," she said.
The knock came again, sharper this time.
"Go away," Verah called out.
On the third knock, she huffed and marched to the door. She yanked it open. I expected a burst of angry words from her, but instead she stepped back, eyes widening in surprise.
"Miss Hart," an unfamiliar masculine voice said.
I stretched my neck to see two academy guards in crisp all-black uniforms standing there, expressions stern.
"Miss Maddox," the first officer spoke again, tall, muscled and dark hair falling across his handsome face.
They stepped into the room without waiting for an invitation, their heavy boots thudding against the floor. They glanced between us with serious, unyielding looks.
I braced myself for the second round of terrible news today.
"You have two minutes to leave," the second officer announced. The shorter of the two with raven black hair, and a fading scar on his left cheek.
My stomach dropped like a stone.
"Two minutes?" Verah exclaimed, looking around the room wildly. "My things are still unpacked!" She pointed at the massive heap of clothes, then at herself. "I’m literally in my pajamas!"
"Do you expect me to walk around the whole academy naked?!"
"You are only moving within House Valerius," the first officer answered dryly, rolling his eyes.
"It’s still around the academy!" Verah shouted. "Everyone will be out there. I need to look my best... and oh god..." She shoved her hands through her hair, running around the room in a panic but stopping nowhere.
"One minute," the second officer continued the countdown, voice flat.
"It’s just clothes and books. I can help you shove them into a moving box," the first officer offered, already bending down to pick up one of her dresses.
"No!" Verah screamed, lunging forward to stop him. "I don’t appreciate anyone other than me and my best friend touching my things!"
Her lips turned down in disgust as she stared at the officer’s hand hovering inches away from her pink Versace dress. She snatched it off the floor, yanking it out of his reach.
"Only the Goddess knows where those hands have been and what kind of diseases they’re carrying right now."
"Disease?" the first officer murmured, a small, amused smile playing on his lips.
I winced, glancing at the second officer. He wasn’t amused at all. He looked like he couldn’t wait to get rid of us so he could go back to whatever he’d been doing before this.
"Thirty seconds... twenty-nine... twenty-eight..." he continued in a bored tone.
I rose from the bed and zipped up my box as quickly as I could, heart pounding.
"Come on," I said, gripping Verah’s hand and trying to pull her toward the door.
She yanked her hand free. "I’m not ready!"
"Better to leave not-ready than get thrown out and embarrassed in front of the whole house!" I snapped.
She was the one so desperate to save face, after all.
"Eighteen... sixteen..."
"Stop counting!" Verah screeched.
"Fifteen... fourteen... thirteen..."
"I hate this school. I hate everything. I hate everyone!" She dropped to the floor, frantically snatching up her scattered clothes and shoving them into a brown moving box.
"One..."
Verah reached desperately for her phone, but I didn’t let her. I grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the door.
Only when we were already outside did I realize my own boxes were still inside. I had come out with nothing.
The officers stepped out after us, locking the door with a heavy, final click.
"Come with us," the second officer said, leading the way down the corridor.
Luckily, not many people were in the common room yet. Some were still out, but the ones who remained turned to stare. Phones came out. Pictures were taken. Laughter and boos followed us like a wave.
"This is so embarrassing," Verah grunted, staring down at her feet as we followed the officers.
It really was.
After a long, silent walk, we reached the fifth floor. The officer stopped in front of an old, battered door. It was covered in what looked like dried blood stains and deep scratches, as if someone had used it for target practice.
He inserted the key, then kicked the door open with a loud bang.
"Go in," he ordered.
We obeyed.
The moment we stepped inside, dust mites swirled up to greet us, followed by a strong acrid smell that burned my nose. I gasped, quickly covering my mouth and nose with my hand.
Verah dropped her box with a thud and slapped a hand over her own mouth. She turned, ready to bolt back out, but the officer blocked the doorway.
She gagged, doubling over. My eyes widened. For a second I thought she was actually going to throw up, but she managed to hold it in.
"This will be your room from now on," the officer said.
The room didn’t look like a room at all. It looked like an abandoned warehouse. Brown boxes were scattered everywhere. Thick cobwebs draped half the ceiling and corners. A single dirty window on the far side was the only source of light, casting a weak, gloomy glow over everything. It didn’t look livable.
The first officer stepped in behind us. "Your things will be moved in here whenever you want. Just let us know and the door will be opened."
I nodded, too stunned to say anything.
"Good luck, ladies," the first officer said, already turning toward the door.
"There is nothing good about this," Verah hissed.
The officer paused at the threshold and looked back at us.
"One last notice," he added. "For obstructing and shouting at a sentinel, you are expected to complete fifty drills before the day is over tomorrow as punishment."
Great. I muttered under my breath. Just freaking great.
Verah’s eyes widened in shock.
"You need to report to me as soon as you’re done," he finished, stepping out.
"Jerk!" Verah screamed after him, clenching her fists. "I hate all of you!"
