Red Pov
She wasn't right.
Not one bit.
My head kept spinning, and I couldn't seem to concentrate on the topic Mr. Caddel was explaining. It turns out he was shocked to see all of us at the library so late because he had us for first period that day. I had thought he was worried about me, but that was just wishful thinking.
What made me feel even more embarrassed was how awful I looked. My face resembled the walking dead, with a little life left in it. I didn't want Mr. Caddel to notice how terrible I looked, so I tried to avoid his gaze whenever he looked my way.
Ana and Avery seemed to be doing fine. By that, I mean they immediately rested their heads on their desks when we entered the class and luckily weren't caught by Mr. Caddel. Perhaps he saw them but decided to ignore their fatigue since we had stayed up late the night before.
I decided to search for Aubrey to see if she was experiencing the same exhaustion as the rest of us. She had been having a "special talk" with Fake Xavier, so I secretly hoped she would look worse than me. But my prayers never seem to be answered.
No!
She looked even prettier than usual. Instead of having baggy eyes and pale skin, she had sparkling eyes and glowing skin. Just great. I guess being a siren does have its advantages.
Feeling discouraged, I turned my attention back to my empty notebook, filled only with shades of blue ink from my pen. I couldn't help but overhear whispers about me once again. It was becoming too much for me to handle. I had thought I could ignore them, but I was grateful that Xavier had come up with a plan.
Speaking of Xavier, I noticed that neither he nor the other guys were around today. Were they also tired like us and decided not to come to class? I wouldn't have minded, but we had planned to expose Aubrey today. Did he abandon the plan?
My head started to feel dizzy, and my body finally gave in, forcing me to rest my head on my notebook. I didn't care if Mr. Caddel caught me; I just needed to close my eyes for a moment.
As my eyes slowly closed and the pain in my head began to subside...
RING!
The bell suddenly rang.
"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered along with Ana and Avery.
I felt frustrated, and my headache returned even worse than before.
"The bell isn't supposed to ring for another 20 minutes," a female student named Sage announced.
That's strange. If it wasn't supposed to ring now, then who...
My thoughts were interrupted when someone entered the class. It was our chemistry teacher, Mr. Enger, who happened to be a troll.
"Mr. Enger, what's going on? Is this the emergency bell?" Mr. Caddel asked with a concerned look.
"I don't think that's the emergency bell, but..." Mr. Enger was interrupted by a sudden sound coming from the speaker in our class.
"THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE. STUDENTS AND TEACHERS ARE EXPECTED TO HEAD TO THE WEST WING IMMEDIATELY." The voice faded away.
Whispers grew louder among the students, and I looked at Ana and Avery, curious about their thoughts.
"You don't think Xavier..." Avery trailed off.
"Nah... he couldn't, right?" Ana questioned, looking at me. Honestly, I had a hunch that he might be involved.
"Students, please move towards the West Wing," Mr. Enger instructed, and I glanced back at Mr. Caddel, who nodded in approval.
It didn't take long for all of us to start heading towards the West Wing, although I had no idea what awaited us there.
Avery had mentioned that it was nothing special, just a huge hall with a gigantic TV screen that teachers used to educate students occasionally. It didn't sound too bad.
"You'll think it's not that bad until we have to stand for three hours learning boring stuff," Avery remarked. I could imagine how exhausting that would be.
We eventually stepped into a vast hall with walls painted in a simple cream color. As Avery had mentioned earlier, the room didn't appear particularly remarkable at first glance. However, my attention was immediately drawn to the massive television screen that dominated an entire wall, leaving me awestruck.
"Now that's a screen Aunt May needs in her house," I whispered to myself, unable to contain my amazement.
Suddenly, Rhyes appeared beside me, breaking the silence. "Do you have any idea what this is about?" he asked, his tone tinged with curiosity.
"No," I replied simply, taken aback by his sudden appearance.
"Are you sure?" he pressed, his voice carrying a hint of suspicion.
"Yes," I affirmed, a bit puzzled by his lack of trust in my response.
"Red!" Rhyes called out, his tone sounding almost like a warning.
"Rhyes!" I retorted, matching his assertiveness.
Just then, Ana interrupted our exchange. "I can't find Jacob or Dean anywhere," she announced, a note of concern in her voice.
"I couldn't find Xavier either," I informed her, sharing in her growing worry.
"Why on earth are you looking for him?!" I heard Rhyes growl. Did I just hear his growl in my mind? Well, regardless, I decided not to answer him. I already had enough of a headache for one day, and I felt as though I might faint right on the spot.
"Could you just not talk today? My head hurts like shit," I finally told him, just in case he planned to shout again.
"Then next time, don't pretend to have reading lessons," he retorted.
"How-" I began, but he interrupted me.
"Sweetie, this shouldn't surprise you, should it?" he remarked, implying that he knew my secret.
"Okay, who the heck called us out?" Aubrey exclaimed in annoyance, her voice cutting through the tension in the room.
As if responding to her voice, the television suddenly turned on, capturing my full attention. In an instant, my eyes froze on the screen, unable to look away.
"He really did it, that brat," Ana remarked, a smirk playing on her lips.
"Who's a brat?" Dean appeared suddenly, and Ana swiftly embraced him, momentarily startling him before he shyly hugged her back.
"Hey...where's my hug too?" Jacob chimed in, making me smile.
"You had two hours with two hot girls all to yourself yesterday. I think Dean needs some loving too," Avery scolded him, her annoyance evident, but I knew deep down she was glad that he was there.
"Where's Xavier?" I noticed a smirk on someone's face and decided to remain silent.
"Just keep watching," Jacob replied simply.
I couldn't help but wonder why we were watching the events unfold on the screen when we were all present in the same hall. Nevertheless, I thought to myself, enjoy the show, Aubrey.
My gaze shifted to Aubrey, who appeared pale, almost ghost-like. Finally, I had the chance to witness her downfall, and it felt as though my prayers had been answered, if only for a brief moment.
"Wait...my Sexy Vixen," I heard people gasp as they saw Aubrey, almost half-naked, straddling an indistinct figure on the screen.
"Oh, you've really changed, xxxxx," her moans echoed through the hall, and I realized that her mention of Xavier had been removed.
Not bad, Xavier.
"Of course, babe...but I was just curious about why Red was here," Xavier's voice filled the room, drawing everyone's attention.
"Oh, that? As you saw, she wanted to know if I did it," Avery blurted out on the screen, while everyone watched her seductively remove the unknown man's tie.
"Oh, but did you, honey?" people started to stare at Aubrey, some still fixated on the screen, which revealed her uniform being slowly discarded, exposing her bra.
"Do you think I would actually sleep with someone like that when I have you?" she replied confidently.
"Of course not, xxxxx, but I just needed to put fear in her. What better way than to make the whole school hate her?" With that statement, the TV screens suddenly shut off, leaving everyone in the room staring at Aubrey with the same disgust they had once directed at me.
As I silently celebrated my victory, I felt someone's hands on my waist. Before I could react and remove them, the person leaned in close to my ear and whispered, sending a slight chill down my spine. "How's that for a plan?"
Xavier.
I didn't bother to turn around; instead, I discreetly gave him a thumbs up, to which he chuckled.
It felt exhilarating to be a little wicked once in a while.