Hateful by Eden Beck

Chapter Eleven

I pushmy way through the busy hallway to get to class. Everyone seems to be clustering around the flyers posted here and there along the hallways, but I’m just grateful that that means no one is paying any attention to me.

“The next event’s a debate,” Neville says excitedly as he catches up to me and Rafael in the hallway.

I snort. “And Jasper, Beck, and Heath are doing it? Yeah. The girls have got this one.”

Rafael laughs. Neville eagerly begins speculating about what, exactly, they’ll have to debate about—just as I look up to see The Brotherhood passing us in the other direction.

Beck’s eyes are on me. He looks very much like he heard me from the way his eyes glow with murderous intent.

“Isn’t your next class with them?” Rafael asks quietly after they pass.

“Yep.” I sigh. “It shouldn’t be that bad, though.”

“Sure,” he says sarcastically. “I saw what happened at the puzzle thing.” He raises his eyebrows at me. “You sure you’ll be okay?”

“I’m sure.” I look away. I haven’t told him about Jasper kissing me—not yet, at least. I’m not sure how to feel about it yet. I’m still processing. Plus, Rafael already said he doesn’t want to be my sexual shaman.

But deep down I just feel guilty. Rafael is my only real friend here, and yet I find myself keeping more and more from him. At this rate, we won’t know each other at all soon.

Not really, anyway.

The three of us head to the dining hall to grab a snack before I split off from them and head to class. The Brotherhood is already there; all three of together. Some other students are seated, too, but the professor is nowhere to be seen.

That’s when I know I’m in trouble.

Beck grins at me as I walk in, but it’s nowhere near friendly. “So, you don’t think we’ll do well in the debate, huh?” he asks.

I pretend not to hear him and just keep walking. He can’t bother me if I don’t let him, right?

Wrong. There’s a scraping sound as he pushes his chair back from his desk, and then he’s in front of me, smacking my books out of my hands and down to the floor.

“Answer me!” he snaps, bending down to shove his face close to mine. “Or have you forgotten who you are?”

I glance over at Jasper, who averts his gaze.

“If this is how you debate, then no,” I say quietly. “I don’t think you’ll do well.”

Beck grits his teeth as rage flares up in his eyes. He grabs my upper arms. “Say that to my face.”

“I just did.”

“He’s kind of right,” Jasper says.

Astonished, I look over my shoulder to see Jasper with his textbook open in front of him, casually turning a page. “You’re not very good at debating.”

The class snickers, but a hush falls as Beck shoots them all a look. For a second, I think he’s going to try to make some kind of example of me. His breathing is heavy, his eyes holding me in place like two spikes staking me to where I stand.

But then, just as quickly, he suddenly pulls back.

“Just go,” he growls. He puts his hand on the nape of my neck and shoves me toward my desk as he heads toward his own. I bend down to scoop up my books, but when I glance over my shoulder at Jasper, he’s still not looking at me.

Beyond him, our professor hovers in the doorway, looking unsure of what he should do until Beck has flopped back down in his seat.

I, meanwhile, head to my desk and sit down.

Class proceeds as normal with no more incidents from Beck. But at the end of it, as I’m attempting to leave while minding my own business, he sticks his foot in front of me and trips me. I stumble forward, unbalanced because my backpack isn’t settled all the way on my shoulders, and slam into the doorway instead of going through it.

“Watch your step,” Beck says with a grin. Behind him, both Heath and Jasper share a confused glance.

I glare at them. There’s got to be something they can do to stop him, but neither of them lifts so much as a finger.

“Thanks for the advice,” I snap to Beck, dusting myself off and straightening my backpack. I push through the doorway, leaving The Brotherhood behind, and join the throng of students flowing toward whatever class they have next.

I’m jostled in the hallways a bit, but that’s fine. I’ve lost Beck, and that’s all I really want at the moment. I let myself drift down the hallway, not bothering to look where I’m going or even attempt to steer myself. I just want to get as far away from The Brotherhood as I can.

I finally separate myself from the tide of students somewhere around the entrance hall and pause to get my bearings. It’s past noon, and I have a free period as my last class today, so I’m planning on a nice, long run through the hiking trails. Just thinking about it gets my calves tingling.

I’m actually enjoying my runs now, not just viewing them as a chore to get my butt to go away.

There’s something cathartic about the experience. It’s as if the further I run, the further away I am from Bleakwood and all of its troubles … even if at the end of the day, I always actually end up back inside its walls.

But it seems I won’t be allowed to go, not at least without paying some more penitence first.

“Mr. Trevellian—it’s nice to see you.”

Trying not to roll my eyes, I turn to see Headmistress Robin coming from the direction of the big double doors leading to the courtyard.

I am not in the mood. I know what she wants, and if I knew how to get it for her, I’d already have it.

“Headmistress.”

The word drops from my lips like a well-intentioned slip of the tongue instead of the insult it’s meant to be.

Her mouth twitches, but she doesn’t correct me. She doesn’t have her entourage of students with her today, only further confirming my suspicions about what she’s here for.

She smiles politely, tips her head, and says, “Have you gotten around to your task yet?”

At least she isn’t wasting any time.

For a moment I pretend have no clue what she’s talking about. I stare at her uncomprehendingly before a mock look of sudden recognition starts spreading across my face.

“Not yet,” I tell her.

“And why not?”

Again, I try hard not to roll my eyes. There’s a whole host of reasons why I wouldn’t want to go ahead and steal records. The possibility of getting caught and expelled, for one. Plus, I was angry when I agreed with her; after my brief encounter with Jasper, I’m not entirely sure how I feel anymore.

On one hand, I want The Brotherhood to pay for the way they’ve treated me.

But on the other … I keep remembering the look on Jasper’s face when … when …

When he kissed me.

Of course, I don’t tell Headmistress Robin any of this.

“I just haven’t,” I say with a shrug, not looking directly at her. “Maybe the bullying isn’t as bad as I made it out to be, anyway.”

She glances around. None of the students pay her any attention. She’s become a regular fixture in the school nowadays, unremarkable. The few students who do look this way are staring at her ass, but who can really blame them? It’s not often they get to see a woman.

And as long as they’re not staring at mine, I’m not about to complain.

“What, just because there’s a pause, you think it’s not a problem?” she asks quietly. “Think about what you’ve suffered. Think about how they’ve done nothing to help you. I’m trying to help you.”

“I’m not so sure,” I snap. “I think I’m the one trying to help you here.”

Her face contorts into an ugly expression of anger, then relaxes into vague politeness once more. “Do you even know where the records room is?”

“No,” I tell her, the same thing I told her that day she convinced me to do this in the first place. “And I don’t know when I’ll be able to find out.”

“Dean Robin!” calls a girl’s voice somewhere behind us, the headmistress turns as some girls push through the double doors, and I step back into the crowd.

I’m not going to ask for another opportunity like this. Not, especially when the sound of that voice means I have two people I need to hide from.