•DEAD OR ALIVE•

FOURTEEN

"Had a guy, but I couldn't find proof" Saya walked over to us, her hand rubbing her forehead and her eyes were filled with worry.
"You'll still be valedictorian" I reassured her, about to warn her about the test when I was cut off.
"I hobbled a jaywalker, was the best I could find" Viktor's voice made each of our eyes roll, my head banging back onto the wood in response.

"Burning a package for my old man" Chico let his head drop, palm flat down on the wall gaining my attention. Maria glanced between him and me, her voice calm as she spoke, "My fault baby, I should have done-"

I watched Chico from my peripheral vision as he dismissed her with a few words, my eyes narrowed. "Guess you disappointed your daddy, bitch boy" I grinned menacingly at him. Better to have his anger aimed at me than at Maria. Chico grunted, flipping me the bird and I laughed. My smile slightly wider knowing I pissed him off more. Killian huffed, elbowing me in the gut as a warning.

Our complainants were cut short as the clatter of bars caught our immediate attention, sending some of the students into a frenzy. Bars slammed shut, our exits closed off. Some ran forward their hands wrapping around the metal, trying to pry open any possible exit. I rolled my eyes, discarding my books on the floor and tried the handle on the classroom door. Huffing I brought my leg up, kicking the door wanting to knock it off its hinges but of course, it didn't budge.
A loud ringing from the speaker shut everyone up and Killian gripped me by the waist. His arm protectively staying around me even as I tried to shrug him off.

"I'm alive without breath and cold as death. I'm never thirsty but always drinking. What am I?"
My brain scoured for every possible answer but came up blank. I was never amazing at riddles, not ones like this anyway.

"To pass this quiz and survive the poison gas, you need to make it to the botanical classroom and answer that riddle in five minutes"

Gas seeped out the vents quickly and I shortened my breath, both Saya and Killian doing the same. Marcus, on the other hand, was almost hyperventilating.
Gripping him by his shoulder I shoved a bandana into his hands and brought it up to his mouth. "Control your heart rate and take it slow" I instructed, my voice colder than I intended as I glared at Viktor pulling at the bars. Marcus followed my gaze, "Hey, I think I can help" he moved towards the dumb jock, Brandy taking notice of this.
"I think you can screw off!" She exclaimed pushing at Marcus's chest. Killian groaned as I scowled at the dumb hillbilly. "Don't do anything stupid"
"How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you" I grinned sheepishly. Quoting his favourite comic, making him scowl at me.

"What is this loser Rat doing in AP class?" Brandy shouted, her massive hair bouncing as she did. Marcus took this opportunity and pulled out a hairpin, moving past her quickly. I snorted watching Brandy screech, her arms flying about "Get your hands off of me"
I caught hold of Brandy's shoulder. My grip hard, intending to hurt a little.
She groaned, rolling them so my hand fell to my side, "Don't you touch me either, rat fucker"
I responded with a smirk as I moved past her, my hand patting her arm as a way to mock her. 'Rat fucker' that's a new one, it's not creative but none of the insults that come out of her mouth usually are.

Eventually, the bars swung open, all thanks to Marcus and I could just picture the smug look on his face. The racist hillbilly pushed me out of the way doing the same to Marcus. "Out of the way rat!" She strutted through the open gate with Viktor close behind.
"Your table awaits Jocko!" Marcus called after them, a smirk plastered onto his adorable face. The four of us waited until the rest of the class flooded through the gate before we followed. I stayed silent as I watched Saya lightly gripped Marcus's arm, whispering a few words in his ear. Since when were they so chummy.

I narrowed my eyes, following after them just as Killian laced his fingers with mine. He grinned, a charming smile. The one I liked. Until his eyes locked onto my lips. I tried not to flinch as he brought his other hand up to brush his thumb over my top lip showing me the red liquid that followed. He squeezed my hand wiping the blood away on his blazer.