The next day, I woke up to an outfit laid out on the coffee table. Next to it was a note wishing me an uneventful day at school. It was signed my mom with a packed lunchbox sitting beside it. Looking inside of it, I saw leftovers from last night, and I smirked. The insulated lunchbox would keep it cold until lunch, and I could use the cafeteria's microwave to reheat the steak and corn.
Getting dressed, we all gathered in the kitchen for a quick breakfast. My guards gave me a small bluetooth earpiece to keep in contact with them. They told me that they would switch up how they'd guard me. Instead of all of them being around me, Lily and Jared will patrol around the school. Meanwhile, James and Rita would patrol the inside of the school while Viper stayed in the security room, watching the security cameras.
"How do we know that this won't be a repeat of Monday?" I asked when they told me about the change.
"Because Lily and I would be the first line of defense. If they get past us, then we'll let the others know." Jared started the explanation.
"And with James and I patrolling the halls and Viper watching the cameras, he can tell us where the intruder is at. That way, we can intercept them before they get to you." Rita added, confident in this plan.
"It's also why you have an earpiece as well. So you can be in the loop about what's happening." Viper said, finishing the explanation. Before leaving, we all put the earpieces in and turned them on. After making sure they were connected, we left for the school.
The shooting was still the most talked about topic and, as I walked to my locker, the whispers got worse. Trying to ignore them like usual was hard. Especially with the most common rumor being said about me.
"It's him. He's the reason for the shooting." A random kid said, not whispering as we passed by.
"How much do you wanna bet that it was planned?" Another kid asked.
"Like it was only done as a form of attention?" A random girl asked, disgust in her voice.
"If you have an issue with me, say it to my face." I said, loud enough for everyone in the hall to hear. "Getting shot, or having everyone's life threatened, was never planned. School shootings happen sometimes. Get over it." I was tired of being around people already, and the school day hasn't officially started yet.
The hallway got extremely quiet as people hurried to their first class of the day. Taking a deep breath, I finished at my locker before walking into AP World History. Mr. White was setting up the rest of the documentary for us to watch today. Turning around, he gave me a concerned look.
"You okay, Andrew? I heard your outburst." He said, pausing the show.
"I'm okay. Just in pain and tired of people talking about me like I can't hear them. It pisses me off, especially when they blame me for something I couldn't control." I said, venting my frustration to my teacher.
"I get it. Take it one day at a time and it'll get easier." Mr. White said before starting the class. Hearing people say 'it'll get easier with time' was beginning to irritate me, but I knew they were right. As the documentary played, my guards gave the 'all clear' for where they were at, and Viper confirmed what was being said.
AP Biology was the same as World History. We finished the documentary on the differences between Shifters and Humans, and then answered a worksheet on it. After that was lunch and, as I got us a table, Adam heated up my lunch before getting his own. I chose a table outside where there were less people, and once my brothers, Jacob, and Amber joined, I played my instrumental Black Veil Brides playlist.
I sang Savior II, Field of Bones, Blackbird, and My Friends. When I was done singing, there was clapping and a chorus for an encore. Scrolling through my playlist, I sang Black Veil Brides's song, Devil, as the final song before lunch ended. Getting recognized for my singing was still a new feeling, but it was one that I was starting to like. Hopefully once we started doing concerts, it would stop the negative comments about me.
In AP Algebra, Mr. Norris had problems written on the board, and he had us go up and solve for the missing angle. It confused me as to why we were doing something from Monday, but Josh told me that Wednesday was a free study day, with busy work to try and keep their minds off the recent incident. For AP English, Mr. High gave the role of Juliet to someone else since Rita wasn't with me today.
That made it a little easier to focus on my lines, and the class flew by. For PE, Coach Hill gave us a free day and we could do whatever we wanted. My group, consisting of Josh, Adam, Damian, Dominic, Jacob, and Amber, decided to work on our homework. This way, it was done and we could go straight to the Music Room when we got back to our home.
"So my parents finally got a sound board for you guys. I can install it once we get to the room." Jacob said when we were done with all of our work.
"That's great! Give them our thanks, would you?" I said, excited about trying the new equipment.
"Of course. I can give them a video call once I have it installed, that way, you can tell them personally." Jacob suggested. After he said this, the bell rang and we went to our cars. The drive home was uneventful, and soon we were home. Jacob and Amber had followed us and they unloaded the sound board to bring it inside. I led the way to the room next to the Music Room. It was designed for sound equipment when we got it, so there was already a spot for it. The room also had a two-way window and a speaker system to watch and talk to whoever was in the room next door.
While Jacob and Amber installed the sound board, we went to the next room to warm-up. I adjusted the mic so I could use it while sitting down, and then I did some vocal exercises while my brothers made sure their instruments were tuned. We finished around the same time as Jacob and Amber, so we went back to the Sound Room for the video call.
"Hey mom, hey dad. I wanted to call and show you something." Jacob said before switching the video to face us.
"Thank you!" We all said, crouching in front of the sound board. Well. I was standing on the end to the left, but I didn't care. We now had the last piece of equipment that we needed, and we were extremely grateful.
"You're welcome. We hope you boys enjoy it." Alpha Jeremy said, smiling at our excitement.
"If you don't mind, I would like to ask a question." Luna Monica added. "Andrew, what happened to your leg?" Concern laced her words and delicate facial features.
"Oh. There was an incident at the school. I was the target of a shooter." I said, thinking that they already knew about it.
"I heard about it, but I wasn't told that anyone was hurt." The Alpha said, a perplexed expression on his masculine face.
"I was the only one hurt, and only my parents, Aunt, and Uncle were told about my being the only victim. The other parents were just assured that their kids were safe and unharmed." I said, explaining what I knew about the situation.
"How badly were you injured?" Luna asked, an unknown emotion laced her words.
"The bullet went straight through my leg, but I'm okay." I assured them.
"Don't forget that you scared the shit out of everyone because the bullet was laced with Dragon's Bane and Wolfsbane." Josh added dryly.
"WHAT?!" Alpha Jeremy and Luna Monica said in unison.
"Like I said, I'm okay. And we really do appreciate the new sound board." I said, trying to turn the conversation back to the original reason for the call.
"Alright, we'll drop it for now. Why don't you boys come over next weekend? The rest of your family is more than welcome to come as well." Alpha Jeremy said, extending the invitation.
"We'd love to, but we'd have to talk to our parents first." I said, grateful for the change in conversation.
"Of course, dears. Just let Jacob and Amber know your decision, and they'll let us know. We'll let you kids go now, so enjoy yourselves." Luna Monica said before ending the video call. Once the call ended, my brothers and I went back to the Music Room and we played songs from Disturbed, Five Finger Death Punch, Avenged Sevenfold, and Dropkick Murphys. When we were done, Jacob and Amber left and we had dinner before going to bed.