Kaleb
I'm fucking going to be arrested again.
The school disciplinary committee doesn't seem to have registered it in their minds that I just can't stick to rules. It's not my thing. No matter how long or how much I'm arrested and punished, it won't make me change in the slightest.
I sit at my desk with my head low and my earbuds plugged in tight as the teacher drones on about supernatural history.
Rules, timelines, councils, alliances, bonds. It all sounds like a script written for people who have something to prove—and I don't.
The only reason I'm still here is because of my last name. If I weren't a Dimitrov, I'd be gone—expelled, imprisoned, maybe even executed, depending on who you ask.
Ms. Reynar snaps her fingers in front of me. "Kaleb Dimitrov," she says in her sharp, clipped tone. "Care to join the rest of the class in reality?"
I lift my head slowly, pulling one earbud out. "Nah. Reality's boring."
Laughter ripples through the classroom except from her lips. She doesn't smile. She never does. I am her worst student, after all.
I smirk anyway.
The scent of the disciplinary teacher is getting closer, and he'll be here in three—
One... Two... Three...
"Kaleb Dimitrov. Come with me."
I wink at Ms. Reynar and follow the huge-bodied guy out of the class. She clench her fist so hard that of she could, she'd give me a heavy punch.
He doesn't say a word as we walk down the long, cold hallway.
I shove my hands in my pockets and tilt my head back, staring at the cracked ceiling as we head for the same office I've visited more times than I can count.
When we get there, the door creaks open before we even knock.
Principal Kaveri Vance looks at me with a tired, annoyed, wrinkle-free face.
"Sit down, Kaleb."
I drop into the chair like I own the place—legs spread, slouched, and unapologetically unimpressed.
"The CCTV camera caught you again," Principal Kaveri says with an old twinge of disappointment.
I shrug. "He started it first, and I fucking didn't even do anything."
"Yet he landed in the infirmary with a dislocated jaw?"
"Yeah, my bad. It was all self-defense," I mutter, without a tiny hint of sincerity.
Kaveri leans forward. "You're one mistake away from being shipped off to the outer border camps. Do you understand what that means?"
I stare her down. "Means I won't have to listen to boring lectures like this."
She slams her fist on the desk—hard. The sound ricochets through the room.
"Do you think this is a game, Kaleb?" she snaps. "The border camps don't care about your last name. Out there, Dimitrov means nothing." She speaks calmly, with no light in her eyes.
I glance at the cracked wall clock. Not because I'm scared of that. I'm just curious what it'd be like not to feel this heavy all the time.
She exhales deeply, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You're wasting your life. You were born with power most students only dream of—you've got the status, bloodline, intelligence. And all you do is bully others. Is that how you intend to rule your pack?"
I smile. "The apocalypse is coming anyway."
Her lips press into a thin line, her eyes softening for just a second. Then she leans back, tapping a file on her desk.
"There's a new student arriving next week. She's... not like the others. But she's been placed in your class."
"And what, you want me to babysit her?"
"I want you to either grow the hell up or find someone who makes you want to try. You will handle giving her a tour around the school and getting her acquainted. I'm giving you this responsibility so you don't bully her."
She throws a photograph at me. I catch it mid-air, then let out a hearty laugh.
"A fucking nerd human now? Ohh, Kaveri, you are a vampire. Is 709 years not old enough? Why do you want to save the world like some psychotic hero? It would be more fun watching it break apart. And you're sending a human here? She's not going to survive. Do humans even know supernaturals exist?"
" she won't be the only human this year. We need humans too if we are to fight the apocalypse. We just need to find the perfect mates for you and the other 'Dominant Quads.'"
"My mate can't possibly be a human. Let alone a nerd! Come on, Kaveri. I have class, and you know that."
"Tell that to your moon goddess. You are dismissed. And your punishment isn't to be forfeited."
I can't stop rolling my eyes in disgust. My punishment has always been the same—locked in a cage.
For 24 hours.
With a dead body.
With no fucking air conditioning.
The thought of it irks me so much. But she knows too well, that's the only punishment that gets to me.
"Can I be forgiven, Ms. Kaveri?" I ask with a tender voice, my gaze on the white floor tiles.
She doesn't answer right away. Just the sound of the old ceiling fan creaking overhead, struggling against the heat.
We've begged Kaveri to switch to modern air-conditioning, but her old self thinks ceiling fans are still better—and that the sound calms her down.
"Oh wow. Now you know how to ask, whoever conceals their sins will not prosper but those who confesses and renounce them finds mercy" she finally says, her tone clipped. "This isn't a church, Kaleb. If you need forgiveness, go kneel in front of a priest."
I look up at her. Her expression's unreadable, but her jaw is set. Tired. Like she's dealt with one too many versions of me. And she's given up since she couldn't find any good in my multiple versions.
She walks around the desk and stands in front of me, arms crossed. "You killed a boy, Kaleb."
I blink in surprise. Why does Brookshigh keep admitting weak things? This isn't a playground, for fuck's sake!
"He's dead? Besides, do you think a day in a cage with his body changes me? He fucking deserved it anyway. How dare he call me the son of a slut?"