Chapter Seven

♦September's POV♦

"Welcome to Brenton Hills High." I tell myself, removing my helmet and getting off my bike. I shake out my hair and look around, parking my bike beside my sibling's rides.

I look back to see them glaring at me, exasperation etched on their faces. "Whatever," I mutter stalking past them, halting almost immediately as I look up to see tons of students staring at us like an alien ship had just dropped us from Saturn.

"Don't stop darlin'. You'll keep your audience waitin'." I hear Selena snicker in a faux Boston accent.

I turn and snarl, ready to stomp off when I feel someone drag me back. Cyril!

"Temper, Temper." He tsks, waving a finger in my face.

"Get that pickle away from me." I snap, slapping it away from my face.

"No need to anymore apparently." He says drily.

"Sorry," I mutter under my breath, miraculously audible.

"So you guys chose this moment. Today. To get all mushy and have a sister - brother bonding moment?" Selena asks tapping her foot on the floor.

"I just wanted us to go in together." He says, ignoring her snide comment.

Without anymore words, he started walking with Selena and I side by side behind him. The crowd that had gathered instantly parted for us to pass, turns out we were already popular.

Once inside, Selena turns to face the crowd, stood akimbo and asked. "What? First time seeing girls on bikes?"

"Selena? Let's go go already." I say hastily.

As if in a trance they return to their lockers, we had barely began the long walk down the hallway when a slender woman with an elegant mass of white hair approaches us in a power suit, eyeing Cyril appreciatively - wait! I did not just see that, yuck.

"The Laccrosses?" Her honeyed voice pours around us, stopping time as everyone in the wide hallway turns to look at us.

"Yes Ma'am." Cyril says in his best boy scout voice. "That's us."

"Oh." Power Suit gasps - a little dramatically, too dramatic to be real. Executing a perfect hair flip, "I am Kazandra Montez." Power Suit introduces, putting out a hand for a handshake. "With a K and Z." She adds.

I detect a silent scream of horror roll through the star-struck, staring students.

"Cyril Laccrosse," Cyril introduces as well, taking Kazan... You know what - Power Suit's hands.

Still holding on to his hands, Principal Montez turns her green, serpentine gaze on the onlookers.

"I either see an empty hallway in five or the entire school gets detention." Her cold voice rings out and everyone disappears - she's still holding my elder brother's hand.

I and my twin have a quick eye discussion.

Me: TF!  (Eyes wide open)

Selena: I know right, gross. (Rolls eyes)

"Ladies?" She turned, acknowledging our presence with a curt head nod.

I panic, thinking she'd understand understand.

"Selena Laccrosse." Selena introduces  impassively, steadying my internal panic.

"September Laccrosse." I say without embarrassing myself.

"Good morning ma'am." We both say, our English accent polished.

"I'm Principal Montez." She says with a forced smile.

'We know that woman. Just stop sticking yourself to him.' I snap and earned a weird look from Cyril, I think Selena was thinking the same thing.

'Would you guys tone it down a bit! Detention on your first day and you're dead. In bold capital letters." He warned ominously.

'Woah, big guy. Didn't know you were enjoying it.' I say in defense.

Selena just eye rolls and asks if we could have our schedules because the bell just went off.

"Of course. Follow me." Principal Montez says, leading us to her office. Brown, plain down with Principal embedded on a gold plate in capital letters. Cliche right? Although I think that stuff is pure gold.

She asks us to sit and I think that's not normal, she is just supposed to hand us our schedules, show us our locker details and show us the door but instead we sat on the comfortable leather chairs and listened to a boring talk on the history of Brenton Hills High.

It feels like hours before we're ushered out, schedules in hand and locker numbers memorized. But it's either Power Suit Montez has a thing with time or she talks really fast and you can notice because we spent just twenty minutes in there.

To say I feel nervous is the understatement of the century.

"Alright, see you around." Cyril says going upstairs. Presumably for his first class, how does he even know how to get there?

"Ember, catch ya. Make sure not to piss yourself okay." Selena says, putting books in her locker. Lucky bitch, because we're standing right in front of it.

Shutting her locker, she turns to start up the stairs.

"Bye," I mutter under my breath.

"I've got algebra, see you in chem." She says, speeding up the stairs, her ponytail flying.

"Whatever," I grumble, setting out to look for my locker. "541198, 541198." I repeat over ands over.

"Oh," I gasp, hunching over to read the minute numbers in thin stripes at the locker edges. Whoever decided that they had to be almost invisible to the human eye. "541195, 541196" I murmur, tracing with the tip of my black - painted nails.

"5411... Ouch!" I explode, colliding with a wall, a warm, soft wall. A warm, soft, huge... Wait a moment, where was I going with all this?

I pry open my eyes and inch, expecting to find myself on the ground. Instead wall dude was holding onto my wrist, his back to me.

"Did you just call me 'wall dude'?" Cameron faces me, laughter in his voice with a deadpan expression.

"Uh oh. I mean um..." I stammer. "Maybe." I add in a tiny voice.

"Really," he drawls, tightening his grip on my wrist. "First pretty eyes, now wall dude." He says incredulously. "Do you always nickname people you meet."

"No, it's just you." I say quickly, not wanting him to know my embarrassing habit.

"Oh." His eyes darkens, "don't you have to be in class now?"

"Umm yeah." I answer, peering around him, "I'm looking for my locker..." I trail away to look at my schedule, "plus, I've got history this morning."

"So do I, what's your locker's I. D?" Cameron asks, letting go of my wrist and slipping both of his hands into his bright, blood red varsity jacket.

"Umm... 541198."

"541198? Cool, that's after mine, I'm at '97." He says, indicating his locker.

I take a look and get a face full of bloody, dripping fangs and the face of a snarling wolf.

"This is yours," he says, pointing to the plain one after his.

"Wait, isn't this your first day of school?" I ask placing my thumb on the fingerprint pad to open it.

"Yeah?" Cameron replies, picking a note out of his locker.

"So how's your locker designed." I jam my locker, rearranging the books I held.

"Yeah that, I came over yesterday..."

"School opens on Sundays?" I interrupt.

"No September." He sighs.

"Oh."

"Right now, you really want to be in class."

"Well, I'm good to go." I say and we both climb the stairs. "So you know where the class is?"

"Sure," he shrugs, "but, I won't take you there unless..." He trails off, leaning against the marble railings, his legs crossed.

"Unless what?" I pause.

"Unless you flash me fangs."

"Wh-What?" I splutter, "that's like me asking you to undress." I accuse.

"Well," he drawls, tugging at the edges of his jacket. "I don't mind," he says, pushing it back to reveal his sweat shirt underneath.

'Oh my...'  "No! Don't!" I quickly stop him, my face flushed.

"So what's it going to be Septe."

"Umm..."

"No fangs, no class."

"Damn you." I snarl, flashing them, my eyes blazing red.

"Whoa," he exclaims, gripping the railing for support. "Really! You could have giving me some sort of warning.

I smirk, pleased with myself then my smile falls off my face. "SEPTE!" I exclaim in outrage but his back was already turned.

"With an 'E'." He calls over his shoulders, "and we're over one period late.

"Wh-What? With an 'E'." I splutter, following. "Like it fucking changes anything." I yell, shaking my fist at his broad back - which was really annoying me now - I mean, why was was it so broad and in front of me.

"Temper, temper." He tsks me.

I go red in the face, I'm about to yell out a long list of obscenities when...

"Good morning Mr Brooks," I hear Cameron, over the pounding blood in my head.

"Good morning Mr Brooks." I greet as well, my voice sultry and sweet. I take pride in myself when I talk like this because...

"Miss Laccrosse, I presume." Brooks says, interrupting me - ew, he has a girly voice.

"Sir," I answer, looking up to see Cameron mockingly smile from his seat at the back. "The fuck." I mouth to him.

"You're an hour late to a two period class." Girly  voice drawls mockingly.

I'm sure he pisses while squatting.

"Umm, I'm new here and I had a pretty hard time finding my class?"

"Not an excuse." Brooks Ta-taaed and I take a good look at him, he was too sleek to be human, dressed like he just stepped out of a magazine. Blond-black hair slicked back, not a pin outta place.

"Detention." Brooks passes judgment on me and I see myself in prison orange being being led to the hang man's noose. Goodbye world, goodbye meat, goodbye.

"Have a seat and I hope it won't repeat itself."

"No sir," I reply sashaying to my seat. Under my breath, I mutter, "like hell it will." I reach the back row and plant myself in between Cameron and Arianna.

"Sup Ari," I greet her, watching her paint her nails a fragile pale pink, carefully.

"Hi Ember," we texted a lot over the weekend, she waves with the paint brush.

I turn to a giggling Cameron, "how come, you didn't get detention." I whisper furiously with barely contained rage. "Crap! Cyril's gonna kill me," I crumble, dissolving into my chair.

"First of all, Cameron didn't get because Axel's gay..."

"Axel?" I interrupt, confused.

"Axel Brooks, our history teacher." Arianna says slowly rolling her kohl rimmed eyes like I'm brainless.

I turn to look at Axel and catch him making monkey eyes at Cameron and every other hot guy in class.

"So..." I trail off, jabbing a thumb in Cameron's direction.

"Yup, and you got because you were unfortunate enough to be the poor soul that escorted Cameron to his class."

"How is that even possible Cam?" I wail out even more miserable. "You're supposed to be new." I repeat, pointedly looking at him.

"Well," he shrugged nonchalantly, increasing my pain. "I met him a few times in town."

"Secondly," Arianna continued like she wasn't interrupted. "Selena also got detention."

"What!" That's it, we're both dead, we aren't even done with our first class and we've both gotten detention. "How did you find out?"

"Dane texted me, they both got." She added, putting the finishing touches on her paint job. "And once Dane has gotten, I have to get, it's a phenomenon." Arianna says bluntly.

"Any moment now," she mutters, totally unprepared for what is going to happen.

Just as Axel was about to get to the good part in his tale of how he met Billy Ocean, Ari's phone started blasting out Love scenario by IKON, the Korean freak.

"Darn," she mutters, "wrong timing."

"Miss Mistletoe?" He coos.

Ugh he actually cooed.

"That's a one way ticket to detention." He announces sweetly.

Odd. Then I look past Arianna to see another of Axel's crushes staring lovestruck at her.

"Oh, that explains it." I sigh.

"Damn you Nyx." I hear her mutter.

I scribble something behind my note and pass it to her.

"Easy peezy." She says with that Holly wood smirk of hers.

I don't really hear what she says but it ends with something that sounds like "an illusion that pleases the mind" or so I think.

"Brring! Brring! - Brring! Brring!" A loud ringing sound starts.

"Huh?" I look around, not finding the source of the sound. I end up staring at Ari's face, "what's that?"

She had laced her fingers with mine so she simply squeezed tighter. "Look at Cameron's pen."

"Uh, okay," I reply. "He's holding his pen."

She let go of my hand and I see him, phone in hand.

"Oooh!" I exclaim, "perfect."

"Of course." She says, grabbing my hands again.

"Wolfe?" Brooks calls. "Are you texting in class."

"No Sir." He replies, waving his pen in the air.

"You're waving your phone in the air," Axel says deadpan, his tone changing from disappointed to pissed.

"I'm not," Cameron almost argues.

The whole class, including us, stares at him. I'll bet my whole piggy bank he starts to see a phone instead of his pen, I don't have one so don't get me wrong.

"Detention young man." Axel says in exasperation, moving to the front on the class. "And put that phone away."

Cameron turns to look at Arianna and I. "What was that for? He asks Arianna. "Seriously." He looks at me.

"What?" We both mouth simultaneously, lifting our brows for effect.

He just shakes head and remains quiet the rest of the class, not even holding his pencil even though Arianna had already removed the spell.