Page 6 of The Devils They Are

Wow—talk about not getting a break. It's only day one and he expects me to magically know everything. To be fair, I would have been here sooner, but I hung back, waiting until all of the Cedar Heights students had been processed and paired up with a buddy to find their first classes.

Judging by numbers, I’m the last to arrive. There’s a handful of blue jerseys in the class with me, and they beam at me happily.

As I scan over the students, my face deadpans at Tai's grinning expression. He's in the back row, last in line. Leaning against the wall lazily, he shoots me a wink before turning his head to the free seat next to him.

The last available seat.

Fucking great.

Forced proximity is one issue, but close proximity? Dammit.

"And you are?" the teacher asks when I make no effort to move from the doorway.

Turning my focus back to him, I try to ignore the obvious hairpiece staring right at me. His dusty-brown toupee is crooked, brushing over the tops of his wide-rimmed spectacles.

"Bexley Spencer," I answer, glancing at the paperwork again. "I assume you are Mr. Hardwood."

Fuck me. What an unfortunate name. I do my best to keep my face expressionless, biting my tongue as he nods.

"You're late, Ms. Spencer. I don't tolerate tardiness in my classroom. However," he pauses, clicking his tongue as his eyes skim over my jersey. "Given it's your first day, I'll let this one slide. You can take a seat next to Mr. Beckett up the back."

"Thank you," I say politely, walking past him as I head to the back row while swallowing a curse.

Apparently, politeness toward our elders is not a trait that Tai and I share—his legs lifting up and perching themselves on the edge of my new history desk, ankles crossed.

I drop my bag on the desk and without hesitating, I shove his feet, letting them fall to the floor with a bang. Sliding into my seat, I give Mr. Hardwood an innocent smile while Tai readjusts himself.

"As I was saying," Mr. Hardwood grumbles, finally looking away and continuing on.

Reaching into my bag, I take out my textbook and pens, getting set up. I feel burning eyes on me, daring me to look his way but I ignore him. That's how nuisances like Tai work—they feed on attention. But if you ignore them,eventuallythey burn themselves out.

I listen closely to the teacher, trying hard to pay attention as his toupee shifts with his movements. Focus… Focus and figure out what page I need to turn to.

My fingers are pressed into the spine of the textbook when Tai leans toward me, lowering his voice.

"Hey, Sexy Bexie. I can help you."

Cringe.

Not the first time I've heard someone use the terrible nickname, but it sounds far worse coming from his lips.

"I've got it under control," I mutter back, still glancing straight ahead. "But call me that again and I'll staple your balls to Hardwood's desk."

Tai doesn't react, his face stoic, but I do notice his hand casually disappearing under the desk. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Spencer."

"And let me guess," I whisper, turning to finally face him. "The easy way is to let you boss me around? I'll pass, thanks. Just because we've been forced here for the time being, doesn't mean you get control over us."

He finally cracks with a smug smile. "I have no problem going down the hard route, babe. I was just trying to do you a one-time favor."

"Don't bother," I shoot back, looking away. "The day any of us bow down to you is the day that hell freezes over."

"Fine," he replies, playful demeanor vanishing. "Don't say we didn't warn you. We're going to make your life unbearable. And when the lowlives from Cedar start to crack, I'll make sure they know why—or rather, who is to blame."

My jaw clenches at his words, but I don't bother dignifying his threat with a response. If hard is what they want, then hard is what they are going to get.

Chapter three

Bexley

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