Page 73 of Twisted Elites

The next few pages described her failed attempts to catch Prakash’s eye. I skipped over them and stopped at one particularly interesting passage.

The Bitch shoved me down the stairs, and I sprained my ankle. She told me that everyone hates me and wants me to drop dead. I reported her to the Scarecrow, but she told me I was in danger of losing my place. All she cares about is grades.

After reading out this passage to Cormac, I asked, “Was that Mrs. Benazir?”

“Miss Claymore. Mrs. Benazir is the leech.”

“Alright.” I skimmed through the next passages. They outlined Geraldine and Bianca’s attempts to get Corrine to stop staring at the kings, long meetings with Miss Claymore to talk about Prakash, and a few passages about Michelle fretting about her grades.

“Found anything yet?”

“Nothing worth reading out.” I turned the page and scanned for specific names, but one passage made me skip back.

I’m dying.

My garden is deflowered. Without the sun, no seeds will ever germinate. Nothing will ever grow.

Now that it’s been trampled by cruel words, vicious hands, there is nothing left to do but raze the earth.

Maybe something will grow from the ashes.

I scrubbed at my eyes. What the hell did I just read?

“You’ve found something.” Cormac shot off the edge of his mattress.

“Was she pregnant?”

Cormac shook his head. “When I escorted her to the police station for a forensic exam, a nurse came and gave her the morning-after pill. I made sure she took it, and she slept in my room in case it made her throw up in the middle of the night.”

“Oh,” I replied.

“Why?”

I read aloud that passage, and he slumped back onto the mattress. “I can see why you thought Corrine might have been pregnant, but I think it’s about suicide.”

A chill fell across my skin, making it prickle into goosebumps. “From what I’m reading, Corrine hoped to reconcile with Kash but became despondent when he didn’t acknowledge her.”

Cormac shook his head. “I don’t know what she was thinking.”

I continued reading. Apart from the background harassment from the queens, little much else happened. Miss Claymore continued to urge her to improve her grades. Mrs. Benazir threatened to have her sent back to foster care for the summer holidays if she didn’t achieve a ninety percent average.

Corrine also worried about the effect her struggles had on Cormac, who kept trying to confront the kings and kept getting slapped down by them in increasingly humiliating ways.

Cormac is threatening to follow me in the ways of Icarus. He keeps getting close to the sun, but it never works. Yesterday, the Bitch and the Whore tipped jugs of water over his head for approaching the royal table. The kings laughed, and so did everyone else. The Scarecrow watched but didn’t say a word. Even she loves the sun.

My heart twisted for Cormac. It was understandable that he had believed his sister’s lies and wanted justice. It was disappointing, though, to see this biased version of Miss Claymore. Despite everything, I still saw her as the type of teacher who didn’t tolerate bullies. At least those who weren’t her.

“There are lots of nasty little encounters, but nothing significant,” I said to Cormac.

“Maybe skip to the end?” he asked.

“Good idea.” We could read the other pages later.

Today will be my last day on earth.

The leech will replace me with another scholar, and I’ll be forgotten in a few months, only to be brought up as a meme or a cautionary tale. That’s fine with me. I swallowed back the lump in my throat.

My only regret is the pain I’ll cause Cormac. But in my current state, I’m dead weight.