On Monday my locker had the word ‘slut’ scrawled in big red letters across its surface. It was hard to miss.

My heart thumped against my ribs. My eyes stung as the first sign of tears appeared. People glanced at it, someone said “Dang.” If I walked past it, no one would know it was mine. No problem, I could take whatever I needed when the hallways emptied.

Intimidating Melanie didn’t seem to have worked. If anything, she doubled down her abuse. Someone had put up a banner above the school notice board in the commons, which read ‘Scarlett is a Harlot’. Who knows how long it hung there before a teacher removed it?

At least I had my first cryptology lesson to look forward to.

When I arrived to my new first period, I froze at the door. Not that I couldn’t recognize the twenty faces greeting me inside. Quite the opposite, I recognized almost everybody in that room, and it hit me hard what kind of lie I had been living in for the past year, maybe my entire life.

To think people I had bonded with, talked to about my secrets, invited over to my house, had never been human all along, and it never occurred to me to question it. I was talking mainly about Tiffany, who glanced at me and tried to cover up by pretending not to see me.

I could hear the whispers: “She’s a vampire,” or “Too bad it happened to her.”

“Hey! Scarlett!” Anja said in a loud whisper, waving her arms, which drew even more attention. “I saved you a seat!” 

I sank on my chair next to her. “Hi. Are… are you purring?” Maybe my hearing deceived me.

“Get used to it,” Oliver said, laughing next to her.

“It’s exciting we finally get to be classmates, isn’t it? Does it make you uncomfortable?”

“No, not at all! It’s just I’m not used to, you know, a girl purring.”

“Ms. Rosenbaum,” Mr. Royce called out my name from his desk. “Mind introducing yourself to the class?”

Yes, I do mind. I stood up, blushing at Oliver-levels, trying to avoid looking at anyone for too long. I felt exposed. People might point and say ‘Scarlett is a Harlot’. “Well, I-I’m Scarlett. Nice meeting you all.” Glancing around me, I spotted Eli with that odious smirk on his face, sitting at the far corner in the back of the class. Alan sat closer to the front. Our gazes met for less than a second. There was a dangerous glint to his eye. I sat back down before Mr. Royce gave me leave.

“On your feet, please. I’m about to put you in an uncomfortable position, and for that I must apologize beforehand. It’s all for the sake of time and a quick introduction to the class so we can get moving,” he said, before turning to the rest of the class. “Can somebody name what she is?”

Nobody said anything. But people’s hands were raised: Anja, Oliver, Eli, Alan and a few others I didn’t know by name. Tiffany hadn’t raised hers, but still refused to meet my eyes.

The teacher gestured at Anja. “Ms. Lynn, mind telling me how you identified her as a vampire?”

“I… well, she told me. Or Oliver told me, I don’t remember.” She giggled.

Mr. Royce rubbed his temples. “What about you, Mr. Roth?” 

He was now referring to Eli. The rascal balanced the chair on its two hind legs. He gave me a sly look. “I can sense the demon within her.” 

“Mr. Grayson?”

“I can feel it, too, sir,” Alan said, not bothering another look. “Although she’s also making it fairly obvious.”

“Vampires in general cannot help but be conspicuous outside their comfort zone. Now, Mr. Armstrong?”

“I…” Oliver began, but he looked down, flushed. “Me too, I can feel it…” He saw it happen, when I was sired. I didn’t think he’d tell that to everyone.

“Did anybody identify her as a vampire by observation and deduction?” A few raised their hands. “Yes, Ms. Underwood?”

The blond, lanky girl gave me half a smile. “The sunglasses gave it away for me.”

“Besides the awfully obvious giveaway, how would you be able to tell?” Mr. Royce said, raising his eyebrows. “Say, you meet at night. What signs would you look for?”

“A whiff of her scent would be more than enough.”

Mr. Royce let out a sigh of exasperation. “You can do that, but not everybody can. The signs you look for are sunken eyes, extreme paleness, slit pupils sometimes. Their personalities can be warped, to where he or she might behave like a completely different person when on the feed. Behavioral cues such as unbroken wariness, alertness, constantly roving through crowds on their lonesome.” That sure sounded like what I was doing yesterday at the party. The teacher turned to me. “Well, as you can see, this is the kind of sport we play here sometimes. Cryptoanthropology consists on being able to recognize the many beings that live outside human perception. This is naturally easy for some, but much harder for others. In turn, other beings are much harder to identify. Practice and hone your senses, and you’ll be doing it in no time.” He gave me an awkward smile. “Aaand you may sit now. Sorry about that. I won’t ask you to do it again.”

That day Mr. Royce taught us how to stall werewolves from transforming. During class, Anja stopped her assignment and said: “Hey, check this out.”

Her ears grew pointy and furry above her head. Cat-like would be comparable, but their shape suggested lynx ears. “I like them better this way,” she said, giggling.

Oliver reached out and scratched her behind the ears. She tilted her head in his direction. To my dismay, she purred softly.

“So are you guys dating?”

They both recoiled from each other, the purrs gone at once. 

Oliver stuttered. “No, not really. I mean, no. Never. We have never dated. I mean, we’re just good friends.”

Cryptology was a much needed change in my life. My first two periods became my favorite part of the day by far. Not only that, but I got to enjoy ninety minutes away from Melanie and her lackeys. I even forgot about the ‘slut’ word on my locker… until class was over.

There was no avoiding it though. For third period I’d need my history book, a monstrous-sized thing. My blood boiled when I spotted Melanie by my locker chewing gum while gossiping with her odious friends. The way they glanced at me said it all; they’d been waiting for me.

I approached. But the closer I got, the heavier my steps dragged. I knew I didn’t have it in me to face her before all the students passing by. It’s what she’d want. I was a coward. Where had the courage, confidence and nonchalance I’d displayed over the weekend gone? My eyes stuck to the word ‘slut’ and didn’t dare look at the culprit.

People would know it was my locker now. The thought made me mess up my lock combination. A tear blurred my vision.

Her gum popped, and she chewed. “Hey, Scarlett. Enjoying your day so far?”

One of her blonde friends laughed out loud.

“Oh, don’t feel bad. Here’s some to help you fight the stress.”

Her finger jabbed into my scalp and I felt my insides tearing in two. The chewed gum lodged between tufts of hair. I cringed on the spot, wishing I’d fit in the locker and vanish to a faraway wonderland.

I stood frozen, history book in hand, until their laughter died away. My shoulders shook and my arms trembled because I’d made my decision. Enough was enough.

After seventh period, Mr. Royce offered me cow’s blood.

“No, thanks. I don’t want any.”

The teacher arched his eyebrows. “Are you certain? Won’t you starve later in the day?”

“Don’t worry. I can take another twenty-four hours.”

He shrugged, closing the mini fridge. “I won’t insist then.”

“Is there a cure?” The question had been in my mind since day one.

Mr. Royce adjusted the collar of his sports jacket. “I’m going to beat around the bush. Ever heard of the Holy Grail? The empire of Atlantis? Perhaps the kingdom of Shambhala? If some form of cure to vampirism exists, it falls within the esoteric and the obscure. It’s what you’d call a legend within the vampire community. Personally, I doubt such substance or ritual exists. People say the Orpheus Almanac stores all kinds of information in their deep vaults, and if a concrete answer exists, that’s where you’d have to look. There’s nothing else I can say without straying into misinformation territory.”

“I see.”

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah, it’s nothing. Thanks.” I rose from the chair and stepped out of the office.

“Well, if you change your mind, let me know. Do you have my number?”

“Right, don’t sweat it. See you tomorrow.”

The truth was I was starving.

Anja had become my savior during the break when she scissored the chewed gum out of my scalp in the restrooms. You could notice the damage to my hair, but only if you paid close attention.

Lure Melanie. It was the one thought in my head, like a swarm of hornets banging the walls to get out.

It was working. The hunger racking at stomach, the starvation making my mouth water, it helped to bring out the vampire in me. And maybe Melanie could tell, too, because she stiffened when she saw me approaching, stopping her laughter mid-conversation with her friends.

“Hey, grazing the fields must make you thirsty.” I dashed the water in my plastic cup to her face. She ducked, but her reflexes were… human. She yelled and spat. The girls surrounding her stepped back, showering me with profanities.

“How dare you? How dare you, stupid bitch?” Melanie strode toward me, wanting to give chase, but she knew people were watching. “Wait until tomorrow. Just you wait.”

“Toilet water. Can you tell?”

Melanie bristled. She wiped her face. Her pace quickened, leaving her friends behind.

I walked backward, smiling at her. It was a lure, and she followed the bait, out the school’s back door to the yard. “What else do you want? You gonna beat me up now?”

I pulled the hoodie over my head as the heat flared, despite the clouds clogging the sky. Droplets rapped on my head and shoulders. I turned, pushed the door to the storage shed and closed it behind me. The hood would get in my way, so I took it off.

Football helmets and shoulder pads lined up the shelves. Lacrosse sticks and tennis rackets hung from racks. An assortment of nets held footballs, basketballs and soccer balls together.

The door screeched open behind me. But I didn’t turn to see, or else she might have noticed the vampire in me.

“You’re fucking done,” Melanie said. My scalp prickled when she grasped strands of hair and pulled back.

I set the vampire loose. I seized her arm, spun, and twisted it as though it were a toy behind her back. The raven-haired girl whimpered, struggling to free herself, “Ow, let go of me!”

There it was again, the scent of lavender when I pushed the hair out of the way.

“You should’ve taken the hint.”

I bit down.

Once when I was little, our class went on a school trip to seek out Easter eggs. The one with the most collected would win a chocolate bar. I really wanted it, so when I realized I was down a few from the first place, I snuck up on the boy leading the race and swiped a couple of eggs. He must have realized what happened a little too late because he bawled as our teacher gave me the chocolate bar.

It was bittersweet. I was satisfied while eating it, but then a gnawing guilt settled in my stomach. That’s how I felt as Melanie’s lifeblood seeped out of her throat and her lifeless body slid from my grip, only thousandfold. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. My mind roiled in turmoil. An acidic sensation burned the back of my throat. My hands shook when I looked down through a screen of tears, blurring my vision as I stumbled out of the shed.

I ran from the school grounds. Made my way out of there and as far as I could like the cops were hot on my heels. And kept on running until I couldn’t go further. The thought of stopping terrified me. Before I knew it, night had fallen and strong winds chilled my blood.

I ended up wandering into a park with groves of medium-sized trees. The maple tree bark was rough against my hands. A murder of crows watched me from neighboring pine trees, their eyes beady under the waning moonlight. My entrails turned, twisted, and vomit surged from my mouth on its roots. If I thought of the consequences to come, I’d go insane, so I pushed any related thoughts away.

Anja had texted me. “Was looking for ya.” If only I had gone with her instead.

Twigs snapped. Wind howled through the branches, and crows took flight cawing in the night. My heart jumped to my throat when I saw the man watching me between the trees. Even before I recognized him, I was already panicking. A root caught my foot, and I went down scrambling backward and away from him.

A set of three piercings glistened over his eyebrow. It’s him. He who sired me.

“Who are you? What do you want?”

“Tobias. You remember, don’t you? The dread twisting your guts tell you so, don’t they?”

“Leave me alone.”

“Don’t even try it. I will outrun you,” Tobias said as I regained my footing. The vampire wore simple blacks, sports pants and a sleeveless sweatshirt with a hoodie. It wouldn’t be hard for him to blend in. “It’s a bother you had to block all our numbers. There are only so many phones we can use.”

“Back off. Stay away from me.”

“Or you’ll do what?” He moved in a blur. A split second later he stood by my side, leaning over my neck, sniffing. “You’ve fed on somebody, haven’t you? Our girl’s growing up fast.”

I moved to shove him, but his hand snatched mine in midair.

“There’s still so much you could learn. If only you’d come with me. We can help you become faster, stronger…”

“Why would I do that? What do you want from me?”

“We’ve been watching you, Scarlett. We know your day-to-day schedule. We know about your friends, about your big-boned brother, your mom who is an attorney, and your dad, the forensic one. One way or another, you’ll join our family. You wouldn’t wanna involve any of them, would you?” Tobias let go of my arm. “Now that you’ve fed on somebody, you’d be wise to make friends.”

I took the chance to shove him and make a run for it. Although Tobias didn’t move. Only said, “I see how it is.”

When I came in to my first period the next day, the guilt surged and gnawed at my stomach. It occurred to me as I entered and every eye fell upon me, who in here might know what I did yesterday?

In the best-case scenario, Melanie would come back to life as a vampire and taunt me for eternity. In the worst cases, either her corpse would still be rotting in that shed, or the cops would come knocking down my door any day now.

But those turned out to be the least of my concerns. Anja hadn’t shown up to school. About ten minutes into the class I received a text from her number. It felt as though a fist had crushed my entrails when I read its content:

“Anja will be our guest for tonight. I warned you, sweetheart. If you want to see her again, you must come to the old abandoned lumber mill beyond the Devil’s Trail tonight. Alone. If not, she dies.”

I felt sick. I had to go lock myself up in the restroom. My reflection in the mirror looked calm, but far from it, the helplessness took its toll. I couldn’t stop the trembling of my hands. Minutes passed. Girls came in and out, glancing at me. As I reread the text, I found anger replacing fear. In the mirror, my bronze locks turned a bright scarlet.

I hated resorting to Alan, but he asked who sired me. When I walked up to his desk before the end of cryptology class, I shoved my phone displaying the text over the book he was reading.

“He’s the one who sired me. They kidnapped Anja this morning.”

“Excuse me, but why are you showing me this?” Alan said, raising his eyebrows.

“Don’t make me beg.”

That made him pause. “Are you… going?”

“It’s me they want. They’ll let her go.”

“Even if this farce turns out to be true, you’re an idiot if you think they’ll let her go.”

“I have to go, regardless. They’ll kill her otherwise.”

To my dismay, Alan nodded and went back to his reading. Although he closed the book after a few seconds and sat staring off into the distance, thinking.

Toward the end of class, I asked Mr. Royce to speak with him. I beckoned to Oliver, and he shrugged. But I insisted, and so we followed the teacher to his office.

“Why so serious? What’s the matter?” Mr. Royce asked, frowning.

A lump tied up my throat. I took out my phone and showed them the text.

“Anja’s number,” Oliver mumbled, staring at the screen.

Mr. Royce opened his laptop. “The old lumber mill was closed off and boarded up over a decade ago. Rumors had gone around that it might be a vampire den, but the Almanac had it raided. Our best course of action would be to report this abduction to them.”

“But… but you read what Tobias said. They’ll kill her as soon as someone else shows up. I have to go. It’s all my fault this happened.”

“No, it’s not,” Mr. Royce said, shaking his head. “Never say that. Why would it be in the first place?”

“I’m going. You can’t stop me.”

“You’re not thinking straight. They are vampires. If they don’t kill her, they will feed on her, possibly have her sired.” The teacher reached over to the fridge and took out a bag of blood. “Drink. It’ll clear your head.”

I pushed it aside. “No, thanks. I want to be thirsty tonight.”

Oliver gulped. “I-I’m going, too.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Mr. Royce said. “You’re only kids. Leave it to the professionals!”

“If I don’t show up, she’s dead. If we have it your way, she’s dead. What would you have me do then?”

“Fine, fine. Goddamnit.” The teacher massaged the bridge of his nose. “But I’m coming with you. I might be able to help.”

The Devil’s Trail was an oft-avoided track on Hallowed Road leading into deeper woods, where trees grow dense and closer to each other, and wild weeds grow thicker and more hostile. Even during daylight, these parts of the woods always cast a dark shadow over the forest floor. I had heard rumors before of people venturing in and coming back disturbed from the chatter of critters and whisperings of spirits. The only whispering I heard was from the chilly wind, howling through the old, creaking branches of towering maples and pine trees.

Despite the shroud of darkness, I could move nimbly through brush and bramble. Oliver and Mr. Royce, however, couldn’t make out their hands before their faces. So streams of light swam here and there as they pointed lanterns to light our way. 

“I see it up ahead,” I said as the building’s outline drew up against the trees. “Turn off the lights. If I run into trouble, I’ll beep you.”

“I don’t like it. I really don’t,” Mr. Royce said, though by then I’d left them behind.

The old lumber mill stood crumbling in the middle of a glade, with toppled trees and rotted logs strewn before it. Boarded-up windows, peeling paint, cracked planks, and rusted doors, the facade showed its age and decay. I stepped over mossy trunks and banged on the double doors. The handles hung by loose screws.

A hooded man opened the door by an inch. “He’s waiting for you upstairs.”

The doors closing on their hinges sent screeching echoes through the building. Mold clung to the walls, sawdust and splinters littered the floor, and lamps hanging by a chord threatened to flicker out any moment. Motes of dust clogged the air. A shoddy workmanship had nailed planks to the window frames, blocking out most of the sunlight and any opportunity to spot visitors approaching. Hands tucked in his pockets, the vampire led me up the stairs to the waiting room outside the foreman’s office. He then went back down to hold watch.

In the waiting room were three vampires lounging on stools. Tobias lit a new cigarette, another listened to an old radio, while the third, a woman, fidgeted with an old smartphone. The two strangers wore old denim and worn-out hoodies. One sported a Seahawks cap under it, and the woman carried sunglasses.

“We could’ve gone about it the easy way,” Tobias said, rising from the stool, cigarette in hand.

“I’m here now. Let Anja go.”

“Anja’s doing well. Better than ever. She’ll be waiting for you right over there.” Tobias stuck his thumb out over his shoulder toward the foreman’s office. He clapped his hands together. “Enough small talk. Time to meet your new family. Ezra’s on watch duty tonight. This is Woody,” he said, pointing at the man with the Seahawks cap.

He lowered the old radio. “Howdy?”

“And this beauty here is Elena. She’s the one in charge of stalking the boys,” he said, gesturing at the girl who looked to be between seventeen and eighteen years old.

The piercing through her nose triggered me a flashback. “Elena? Elena Castellano? Weren’t you friends with Rick?”

“Yeah, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Haven’t seen him in over, what, a year? How’s he doing?” she said, smiling shrewdly.

“He said you moved out of the country. That you never returned his messages.”

“Right. That’s the official story, yes.”

Tobias snapped his fingers. “So here’s what you gotta do, darling. It’s quite a simple task. You will feed on your friend, and she will join us.” As soon as he turned his back and headed toward the office, I slid my phone from my pocket, called Oliver’s number, and tucked it in just as Tobias unlocked the door. We had arranged I’d call Mr. Royce if I needed help on the first story. I’d call Oliver if I got stuck on the second.

Inside, a lone wooden chair stood in the middle, with coils of hempen rope crumpled around it. A creaking lantern hung over it, dimly lighting the room. I scrunched up my eyes. Clothes also piled around the chair.

Silence fell for a few seconds.

“What the Hell?” Tobias said, peeking his head inside the office. He whirled on the spot, grabbed Woody by the collar of his hoodie and smashed him against the wooden wall. “Turn that shit off.”

“She was there. I checked!” Woody said, not daring to look his boss in the eyes.

“She is still in there. The room, it reeks of her scent,” Elena said, nose raised in the air.

“Ah, we got ourselves a nonhuman,” Tobias said, releasing Woody. “Please, just give me an excuse.” His fingers twitched, heading for the office.

The building shook and dust knocked loose from the ceiling. A resounding blast came from the first floor and then hurried creaking footsteps. The vampire on watch duty came stumbling into the lounge. “Intruders! They’re coming up.”

Mr. Royce, carrying a gold pocket watch, charged inside, with an anxious Oliver at his heels. He raised the watch and aimed it at the group of vampires. “Back off, all of you!” It would’ve looked hilarious, under other circumstances.

“Anja! Where’s Anja?” Oliver said, peering to all sides.

Tobias pointed at Mr. Royce. “Kill the warlock first.”

I had never been in a fight before involving actual punches to the face. When Woody and Elena moved to kill, my body failed to react, and they knocked me to the floor as they rushed Oliver and the teacher.

Mr. Royce held his watch aloft and uttered a phrase in a strange, guttural language. A shock wave sprang from it, strong enough to knock the attackers off their feet. 

They were nimble, so they got back up without a bother. 

Another incantation, and Elena became spellbound to a stasis daze which slowed her movements down to infinitesimal levels. 

Woody pounced on Mr. Royce, sending the watch skidding across the room and under a table. His hands were at his throat, clutching.

“Oliver…” the teacher choked out. “Wait for it…!” The alien words he uttered next were grating to the ear, but worked to save his life. Time rewound for a few seconds, as Mr. Royce appeared back on his feet with the watch on his hands, and Woody appeared sprinting toward him from across the room. “Do it now!”

Oliver grimaced, and from his fingertips a small spray of flame shot out, at once catching the vampire on fire. 

As Woody shrieked and billows of smoke clogged the ceiling, Anja finally showed herself. A lynx, golden-furred and small, bolted out of the foreman’s office. 

By then I was already on my feet and on the move because I foresaw what would happen. Tobias lunged over her and hooked an arm around Anja’s small neck. The lynx yowled in frenzy and tried to claw at his attacker. But Tobias choked her windpipe. “Give me more of that and I’ll crush your tiny head.” The lynx stopped resisting then.

The world rolled before my eyes as the hooded vampire tackled me to the ground and knocked the wind from my lungs. He hoisted me up with a headlock just as Woody’s body shrank into a pile of smoldering ash. The stench of burnt hair, flesh and clothes filled the air.

“Not. One. Word. Old man,” Tobias said, clutching Anja. The lynx gasped for breath, slit eyes dilated with fear. “I really wouldn’t, or kitty goes snap.” Mr. Royce lowered the watch, wheezing. The spells seemed to have taken a toll on his stamina.

“You will burn,” Oliver said, shaking with rage. The ferocity in his voice sent chills through my bones.

“If you destroy our family, we’ll make more. Cut our head, and two more will spring. We’ll overrun you in our sheer numbers.”

“Let her go, please,” Mr. Royce said, putting his arms up in the air, watch dangling by a golden chain.

“No.” Tobias bared his fangs. “There are only two outcomes tonight. She either becomes one of us, or she dies.”

“No, do it to me instead. I’ll take her place,” Oliver said, shaking from head to toe. “But please… just let her go.”

The vampire roared with laughter. “Kid, I’m over a hundred years old. Do you think I’m stupid?” He snarled between his teeth. “What do you take me for?” Anja yowled as he clutched firmly. “Devils. Cannot. Be. Sired.”

There was a sudden flash of light, a thunderous crack, and then the snapping of wooden planks as a figure blasted through the boarded-up windows to land in our midst. White-feathered wings stretched behind his back. A glowing aura of light seemed to radiate from his flesh and blond hair. Alan only had eyes for Tobias.

The angel stood next to Elena, still in stasis, and reached out to touch her arm. Light emanated from her flesh, and for a moment she shone like a star in the middle of the night, until she imploded into clouds of dust. My heart caught in my throat. He’d threatened me before.

Ezra, the vampire holding me captive, let go of me and stepped back, looking for the exit.

“I swear I will ki-,” Tobias yelled. Anja yowled. A blast of light originating from Alan left my sire and me blind. I let out an involuntary hiss as I barred the sun-like radiance with my arms.

When I reopened my eyes, Anja had run across the room to Oliver and Mr. Royce, and Alan carried a white spear. Wings outstretched, the angel dwarfed the vampire in mettle. As he advanced, Tobias retreated, face scrunched up from his blinding aura. 

Alan took aim and prepared to hurl the spear like a javelin. Tobias ducked and threw himself out the windows, crashing into the sawmills below in a hail of shattered glass, and fled the building.

Seeing black spots in my eyes, I stumbled to my feet and made my way to Anja. She had returned to her human form. Grime and tears streaked her face, but was otherwise wheezing, and purring. She wore Mr. Royce’s coat over her shoulders, as she was naked underneath, huddled between Oliver and the teacher. 

“I’m so sorry.” I gave her a hug. “This wouldn’t have happened if-.” If you didn’t care about me. 

“It was scary, but I’m fine, thanks to you all.” Anja smiled at me. “Really, there’s nothing to forgive.”

Once outside the Devil’s Trail and back on Hallowed Road, we stopped on the sidewalk under the waning moon.

I looked to Mr. Royce for guidance. “How… how do we go on with our lives… after something like this?”

The teacher sighed. “Life goes on. You three have to learn to defend yourselves. I knew Oliver had my back with his flames, but you, Scarlett, and I’m not putting blame or anything, you however, became paralyzed.”

“I know. I’m sorr-.”

“No, don’t apologize. Learn from it. Those two vampires who fled, they’re definitely working for someone else, someone prominent. And you won’t be safe while they’re still out there.” The teacher turned to Alan. “Mr. Grayson, I have a proposal for you. A paid gig if you will.”

Alan faced him. “Oh, no. No way.”

“You said you wanted to ‘ascend in the ranks’. And here you have the perfect opportunity to prove yourself. There’s action and motive involved.”

“Please, anything but that.”

“No. You will be Anja’s guardian angel. Or I’m seeing your parents after school.”

Next Chapter: Bad Blood