Never After (School for Good and Evil x Reader)

Chapter 14

"How will he correct them?" Hester groused. "He can't even see!"

At curfew, Hester, Dot, Anadil, and I trudged back from the common room, piled high with books, only to find the room turned into a laboratory. Dozens of brilliant-colored potions bubbled over open flames, vials of creams, soaps, and dyes littered the shelves, a mess of dried leaves, herbs, flowers blanketed the three beds . . . and in the center of it all sat Sophie, buried under sequins, ribbons, and fabric, testing new concoctions on patches of skin.

"My God, she is a witch," Anadil gasped.

Sophie held up The Recipe Book for Good Looks. "I stole it from an Ever at lunch."

"Shouldn't you be studying for challenges?" Dot asked.

"Beauty is a full-time job," sighed Sophie, lathering herself in a bright green balm.

"And you wonder why Evers are slow," Hester said.

"Sophie is back, darlings. And she's just getting started," Sophie mooned. "Love is my challenge now."

And indeed, though Sophie placed near the bottom in all three challenges the next day, she placed first in Attention, arriving to lunch with her black uniform remolded into a dazzling slit-back toga dress, sashed with blue orchids. Her heels were a full inch taller, her face shimmering bronze, her eye shadow provocative periwinkle, her lips delicious crimson, and the glittering F on the front of her dress was now complemented by sequins on the back that read: ". . . is for Fabulous."

"That can't be allowed," Beatrix whined to drooling boys.

But she was wearing her uniform, Sophie insisted to teachers, while usually fierce wolves looked just as awed as the boys. Dot swore one even winked at Sophie when it filled her lunch pail.

"She's making a mockery of villainy!" Hester fumed, black eyes flaying Sophie across the Clearing. "They should lock her in the Doom Room permanently."

"Beast's still missing," Anadil yawned. "Whatever spooked him must have been pretty bad."

A tiny flame of pride sparked in my chest, before horror replaced it.

No. I was not proud of the fact I killed a man. . .beast. I was not.

And yet, the feeling of the knife against his throat, of knowing that whether he lived or died rested in my hands. . .it sent a rush of power through me. One that was terrifying.

The next day, Sophie flunked all her challenges again and yet somehow avoided failing out of school. Though she was clearly the worst, each time she saw a "19" pop up instead of a "20." ("I'm just too lovable to fail," she preened to mystified classmates.)

During Forest Groups, Sophie ignored Yuba's lecture on "Scarecrow Survival" and scribbled busily in her notebook, while Agatha glowered at her black baby doll dress, pink lollipop, and sequins spelling "F . . . is for Fun."

"Name something else that starts with F," Sophie whispered to me.

"I'm trying to listen and so should you, since we'll be here forever."

"F is for 'Forever.' Mmm, a bit heady. How about 'Flirty'? Or 'Fetching'?"

"Or 'Futile'! He hasn't even talked to you yet!"

"F is for 'Faith,'" Sophie said. "Which I thought you had in me."

Agatha and I scowled the rest of class.

But Sophie almost made me a believer when she arrived the next day in a belly-baring black halter, poofed miniskirt, spiky pixie hairdo, and heels dyed hot pink. The Everboys spent lunch goggling at her between slobbery bites of beef. And yet, even though Sophie could see Tedros sneak peeks at her legs, grit his teeth each time she passed, and sweat when she got too close . . . he still didn't talk to her.