Page 29 of Hidden

“Shutup!” he hissed, his spit flying in my face.

“Alright,” I muttered sarcastically. “You only needed to ask. A boy is becoming one with the Lord, singing about his dancing and leading, and this school treats you like a common criminal. It’s scandalous. Dante… Do you see this?”

“It’s tragic,” he said dryly.

“Itistragic. Trent is still dancing.”

“Trent is half your size and hasn’t done crowd diving!” Mr Hodges snapped back.

“I did that once.”

“Twice!”

“The first time was an accidental crowd dive. I hardly think that counts,” I scoffed.

“And the second?”

“That was the intentional one,” I nodded, knowing I was pissing our teacher off, but couldn’t find it in me to care. His grip tightened on my tie ever so slightly, and I beamed a grin that was the picture of innocence.

A couple of the lower classes giggled at our exchange, but quickly turned their heads back towards the front, watching the piano playing with an intensity that made Mr Hodges tut.

“Behaveyourself, Luke. I won’t tell you again.”

“I’m sure you will,” Dante replied.

“What was that, boy?”

Dante shrugged. “I’m sure you will have to tell him again. In fact, I’m sure you’ll have to scream and yell at him no less than a thousand more times during our next two years at this school. You shouldn’t get yourself so worked up about it.”

“And maybe you should take some responsibility for your friend and encourage him to behave!”

“What am I, his keeper? He’s on your time, sir. You find a way to deal with it.”

“I’d like to deal with the lot of you Descendants,” he muttered under his breath, earning himself a chuckle from Dante.

“Next up will beThis Little Light of Mine,” the head teacher announced, shuffling her papers to get the notes she needed. I groaned, closing my eyes tight and fist pumping the air.

“This one! This one right here is my jam!” I announced, getting back to my feet.

The piano clanged out the first notes, slightly out of tune as always, and my body practically vibrated with excitement.

“This little light of mine,”I heard sung from the back, and a quick whip around of my head saw Gabriella and Natalie on their feet, doing the dance moves. I practically shoved Mr Hodges to the floor in my haste to jump back onto the benches.

“I’m gonna let it shine!” I yelled back, wobbling precariously on the benches and only just managing to right myself. With one swift move, I dived forward, jumping onto Trent’s shoulders, and he carried me around the back of the room, both of us singing at the top of our lungs.

“I give up!” Mr Hodges said, spreading his arms wide before walking away, muttering to himself about bringing back caning.

Gabriella

Half an hour into assembly—which was only supposed to take twenty minutes—and my sides hurt from laughter. Could you rupture your stomach from laughing so hard? Because I felt like I was in genuine danger of that happening.

The minute Mr Hodges had loudly announced he was giving up trying to control Luke, he saw that as his free pass to act however he wanted.

He had been on stage, sitting next to the teacher playing the piano with her—terribly, might I add. His blonde hair had caught the rays spilling through the windows, and if it wasn’t for the fact he was such a chaotic gremlin, he would have looked almost angelic up there.

He had convinced half the Descendants to get up and dance with him, and was currently staging the can-can dance toHe’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.

“Dante,” Luke called, leading the can-can line over to where he was leaning against one of the walls. “What does he have in his hands?”