Surviving Year One: A Reverse Harem Bully Romance (Grim Reaper Academy Book 1)

by Cara Wylde

  My suitcase was waiting for me on the bed, and when I checked it, I was happy to see no one had gone through my things. I stripped out of the dirty uniform, threw it in the laundry basket, then took a shower, and crashed as soon as I was done. The bed was comfortable, the sheets smelled divine, and I could easily tell the mattress was new. Who needed a whole apartment and a huge TV when I could just have a good night’s sleep? That was all I needed, really, to feel human again.

  Human…

  I drifted off in minutes, silently praying for a slumber without dreams. But that was too much to hope for.

  A pair of green eyes. I couldn’t identify them, I couldn’t tell whom they belonged to. I’d seen so many faces that day, met so many people, had been mocked by so many students, that I just couldn’t place those eyes now. Familiar, yes, yet too elusive. It was as if the name was on the tip of my tongue. The eyes turned brighter and brighter, like two guiding lights in the dark, and then more of the owner’s face came into view. High forehead, sharp cheekbones, straight, slightly upturned nose, a freckle or two here and there… God, I knew him! I knew him! His name was etched into my brain, I was sure of it, but my brain was simply too tired to cooperate.

  His eyes turned from green to a dark shade of yellow, and the pupils narrowed and narrowed until they became long, sharp slits. His handsome face morphed into a snake-like shape, and I still couldn’t remember his name. When his jaw elongated and two fangs emerged from underneath his upper lip, I startled in my sleep and jumped wide awake.

  Light was pouring through the curtains. It must have been morning. I’d been so exhausted that I’d slept like a log, yet now felt like I hadn’t slept at all. I threw a glance at my phone – I’d changed the card after I’d run away from home, – and saw I’d woken up before my alarm. Looking down at the bed, I noticed the sheets were a mess. I must have tossed and turned more than I remember. Absentmindedly, I scratched an itch on my thigh. I plopped down on the pillow and closed my eyes, since I had another half an hour to snooze before the alarm went off. I shifted uncomfortably and reached out to scratch at my arm. My knee itched, too, then my ankle, my neck, my lower back. I tossed in bed, scratched where I could reach, then let out an exasperated sigh and threw the sheets off of me.

  All my cognitive functions froze for a moment. Just one moment. Then I jumped out of the bed, screaming and clawing at my pajamas and my hair, trying to get rid of the tiny, black and brown things that had clung to me while I was asleep.

  Cockroaches.

  Fucking cockroaches on my pillow, under my pajamas, in my hair, everywhere in my bed.

  “Fuck! Shit! What the fuck?! How sick do you have to be to…”

  I screamed at the top of my lungs and ran into the bathroom, stripping down and throwing my pajamas and my panties on the floor. There was a knock on the door, but I barely registered it. They were back, right? They had put cockroaches in my bed, and now they were back to enjoy the show. I ignored the persistent knocking and ran my fingers through my hair and all over my body, checking myself in the mirror. The knocking stopped at some point, and I thought they’d left. When I was sure that nothing was crawling all over me, I turned to go back into the room and take care of the disaster that was my bed. My heart jumped in my throat when I almost bumped into Klaus, who was standing in the doorway, staring at me like I was a madwoman.

  “What the hell are you doing here?!” I covered my breasts and my crotch with my hands, looking around for something to put on. Klaus threw me a towel, but I didn’t feel like he deserved a thank you. “Did you do this? Oh my God, did you know about this?”

  “No, no, no! Mila, why would you think that? I’d never do something like this. Not to you, not to anyone else. Not to my worst enemy. You have to trust me.”

  I was breathing heavily, my chest rising and falling like I’d just run a marathon. Adrenaline was coursing through my veins, and through the jumble of thoughts filling my mind, one was louder than all the others: Find out who did this. Take revenge. I had no idea how I could take revenge on the culprit (or culprits), since I didn’t have any powers or special skills, but logic wasn’t my first concern at this moment. I wrapped the towel tighter around my naked body and pushed past Klaus.

  “Don’t worry, sis, I’m not interested in what you have there.”

  I rolled my eyes. Sure. That didn’t mean I felt comfortable with my gay friend seeing me naked. Was he my friend, though? He hadn’t stood up for me last night. I approached the bed carefully.

  “I don’t understand. Why would anyone do something like this? Why do they hate me so much?”

  “Well, they’re dead, at least.”

  I cocked an eyebrow. Klaus was right. The cockroaches were dead. Disgusting as hell, but dead. I let out a deep sigh of relief. My skin was still itchy from having touched them. I was probably allergic, but who wouldn’t be? At least I knew they hadn’t crawled all over me as I was sleeping, and I’d only had some in my pajamas because I’d tossed and turned all night.

  “Can you help me with this?”

  Klaus shrugged. “Sure. Piece of cake. I’ll just teleport them somewhere outside.”

  “You can do that?”

  “Girl, I can teleport myself. Kind of. Doing it to a handful of dead cockroaches shouldn’t be a big deal.”

  “How did you get in my room, anyway?”

  “I magically picked your lock, of course.”

  He winked at me and proceeded to clear my bed of the disturbing insects. He lifted his hands in the air, furrowed his brows, and focused. One minute later, my bed was cleared.

  “There are some in the bathroom, too. And maybe on the floor.” As he did his thing, I started thinking. If Klaus could pick my lock so easily, that meant any other mage could do it. “Lorna,” I said. “I’m sure it was her. She either got into my room while I was sleeping and dumped them on me, or she teleported them in like you’re teleporting them out now.”

  He sighed. “Makes sense. Although, Lorna and I are not the only mages around here.”

  “So far, she’s the mage that hates me the most. Although, fuck knows why they’re all so against me. By the way, how’s your room?”

  Klaus gave me a pitiful look. “You know… nice.”

  “Ugh!” I took my uniform out of the wardrobe. “They gave you one of the big, luxurious ones, right?”

  “Well, that’s the custom.”

  “Then why did I get this dump?” Okay, I was exaggerating. It was far from a dump, but it irked me that it was so lame and poor compared to what the others had gotten.

  “I don’t know, really. Maybe because you’re the only girl in the VDC and they hadn’t expected to have to prepare a… mmm… girly room?”

  “Seriously? That’s the lamest explanation you could’ve come up with. You know what? Nevermind. I’ll find out today.”

  “How?” There was an edge to Klaus’s voice.

  “I’ll ask Headmaster Colin.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  “So, why are you here?”

  He fidgeted for a second. “I wanted to make sure you’re alright. Also, I thought it would be a good idea to take you to breakfast. You can sit with me and my Cabal.”

  I huffed. “I doubt they’ll let me.”

  “Can’t hurt to try.”

  “Can’t hurt you, I don’t know what to say about me.”

  I took a quick shower, washed my hair, and let it dry on its own, then applied just a tiny bit of makeup to cover the dark circles under my eyes. Klaus waited for me patiently. Part of me wanted him to just fuck off and leave me alone. He hadn’t given a shit last night, when Lorna was throwing food at me and the whole dining hall was laughing, so how could I believe that he cared about me now? Another part of me, though, didn’t want to go to breakfast alone. God knew what was waiting for me.

  I actually looked nice in the black and red uniform. It was comprised of a red shirt, a black skirt that was too short for my t
aste, and a light black blazer. Thank God it didn’t come with a tie. I hated those things! A pair of red, opaque tights and black leather ankle boots completed the outfit, but even though most of my skin was covered, I still felt exposed. I reached into the suitcase I hadn’t yet unpacked and pulled out my old wristbands. I slipped them under the sleeves before grabbing my scythe and following Klaus out the door. He stopped me before I even walked over the threshold.

  “Where do you think you’re taking that? Do you see me carrying my scythe?”

  “Err… no? But I thought… I thought it’s like a magic wand. Like we’re supposed to have it with us all the time.”

  Klaus laughed. “Show me your schedule.” I gave him the piece of paper, and he pointed at the tiny icons printed in front of some of the classes listed. “See? That’s a scythe. It means you have to bring it because you’ll need it in class. If you don’t see this, then leave it in your room. They can’t have students walking around with scythes all the time. They’re dangerous weapons, after all.”

  “Oh.” Well, thank God for Klaus! I would have made a fool of myself at breakfast, and that was the last thing I needed.

  We arrived in the hall, and I was relieved to see breakfast was an open buffet. I piled my plate high with eggs, bacon, tomatoes, and some pancakes, then sat down at the MDC table, next to Klaus. So far, so good. The VDC guys weren’t yet giving signs that they’d noticed me. I sighed in relief and dug into my food. Since I hadn’t eaten the night before, I was starving.

  Klaus introduced me to some of his friends, and I was ready to say that the Merciful Death guys and girls weren’t half bad, when a girl, Selina (she was a seraph), screamed at the top of her lungs, pointed at me, then stumbled backwards and almost fell off the bench.

  “Spit that out! Oh my God, spit it out!”

  I didn’t understand what was happening. She’d attracted everyone’s attention, and now all the students at the table were making disgusted noises, grabbing their plates, and moving away. Some were laughing.

  “Mila…”

  Before Klaus could say anything, I looked down at my food, and pure terror took over me. My breakfast was crawling with cockroaches. Live cockroaches, this time. I spat out what I had in my mouth and looked at the mess in complete shock. I didn’t know what to do, how to react. I was the only one left at the MDC table. Even Klaus had jumped over the bench and taken a couple of steps back.

  I turned to look over at the VDC table. They were all laughing with tears, especially Sariel, Paz, and GC. Lorna looked mighty proud of herself. Damn mages.

  “Mila…”

  “It’s okay, Klaus. I was done anyway.”

  I stood up and walked out of the hall, holding my head as high as I could, trying not to make a run for it, as I had the night before.

  Now the MDC doesn’t want me around. Not after I let a bunch of cockroaches loose all over their table. Fine. I can eat alone in my room. Little did I know… They weren’t going to allow that, either.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Day one, semester one. Yesterday didn’t count. Klaus helped me identify where my classes were, and we had the first one together. History. Not History per se, but the history of death. Mrs. Morgan, our history professor, announced semester one would be all about famous Grim Reapers that revolutionized the field. From Gilgamesh – who was, apparently, a fay, – to the snake lady Medusa, infamous mage Nicolas Flamel, vampire Nostradamus, and more recent figures, one of them still practicing today, – a certain Valentine Morningstar. I thought he was either an angel or a demon, at first, but Klaus told me he was a nephilim. The child of an archangel and a human woman. Fascinating! So, hybrids were a thing! Dwelling between the human world and the supernatural world, they were usually claimed by the latter.

  The History class went smoothly, but unfortunately, the rest of the day wasn’t going to be as easy. Klaus wasn’t in my next class, Mythology, but instead, GC and Paz were. At least, there was no sign of Sariel. For now. No sign of Pandora, either, although the other redhead with wavy hair and long legs, whom I later learned was named Kitty and was a succubus, strolled through the door hand in hand with GC. Sammy, the dark-skinned angel was hot on their heels, and when GC made to sit down, the two girls fought over who sat next to him. I rolled my eyes and buried my head in my Mythology book. For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why girls were so crazy about GC. He was obviously only interested in fucking them, then sending them on their way. Were they stupid, or something? To let some guy use them and treat them like that? Anyway, it was none of my business.

  It was going to become my business.

  Because GC, exasperated with their bickering, left them there and came to sit next to me. Something twisted in my stomach. I still felt a bit sick after having, probably, eaten some live cockroaches, and now, with GC sitting so close to me, I felt like I could throw up right in his lap. I swallowed hard.

  “Is this seat taken, normie?” He snickered. “Of course not. Who’d want to sit next to the girl who’d just had cockroaches for breakfast?”

  “Who put Lorna up to it? Sariel?”

  He shrugged, disinterested. “I have no idea, and I don’t care either. I have more interesting things to occupy my mind with.”

  I looked up at him. God, he was gorgeous! His hair was of a soft shade of yellow today, and his eyes were as blue as the sky. Even though some of his features seemed to shift every couple of minutes, like he was some sort of chameleon, GC Apis was unmistakable. Those perfect cheekbones, that strong jaw, the two dimples he made when he laughed, those soft lips… I bit the inside of my cheek and looked away. There was no way I was letting myself be charmed by his looks! He was a jerk and a manwhore. Even though he pretended not to care about the bullying, he was in cahoots with the others. He never took my side and was always the first to laugh his head off at my misery. I returned to my book. The professor was late, and I was starting to count the minutes.

  “So, normie, whatcha doin’ later?” He turned his full attention to me, giving me one of his best smiles. “Tell you what. I’ll make you a one-time offer, because I feel like you’re in need. And I’m a nice guy like that.” He winked, and I groaned. Was there any way I could make him stop talking? Was there any way anyone could make him stop talking?! “I’ll act as your protector today. Your bodyguard.”

  Well, that certainly piqued my interest. “And why would you do that?”

  “Because you’re going to repay me with a kiss. Not a peck on the cheek, mind you. A real kiss. Tongue, and all. Three minutes, at least.”

  Three minutes of French kissing, just so Sariel and his minions – mostly Lorna; she might have been his only minion, but fuck was she powerful, – wouldn’t pull off another disgusting prank on me? Hm… Let me think about that for a second. No.

  “I’m good, thanks.”

  He laughed out loud, attracting everyone’s attention. Great! Now, literally all the girls in the room were looking at me like I was fresh meat, just perfect to be devoured. Maybe I should just stand up and make a public announcement that, no, I was not interested in GC, and they could all have him for all I cared. They could pass him around like the horny manwhore that he was.

  “You don’t have to give me an answer now, normie. Just think about it.” He winked and turned to the front of the classroom when the professor slammed his book on the table and told us to open to Lesson One.

  “I’m going to warn you now, just this once, and then we’ll not mention it ever again,” he started in a grave, almost pissed tone. His hair was streaked with gray, but he was tall and quite ripped for his advanced age. I couldn’t tell what he was, though, but when he turned around to write something on the whiteboard, I saw the two long slits elegantly cut down the sides of his jacket. I wondered if only angels had wings. “We’re studying Mythology in this class, and I don’t want to hear from any of you that Mythology is meaningless fiction. Now, don’t get me wrong, it is fiction, but it’s far
from meaningless.” He turned back to the class and fixed each of us with his intense gaze. “We’re studying the gods and goddesses of death.” He made air quotes around gods and goddesses. “Now, we all know there is no such thing as gods and goddesses around here. We live in a dual universe where there is only one God, and one anti-God. The rest are false gods and false goddesses. Understood?” He looked straight at GC, but Apis didn’t seem impressed. He’d laid back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. He held the professor’s gaze as if it was nothing. “What mortals have called gods and goddesses through the years, are just supernaturals who were doing their thing. In this case, their Grim Reaper duties. Even though we know the stories mortals have come up with through the ages are complete bullshit, we’re going to study them anyway. This semester only, thank God.”

  “He doesn’t seem very passionate about his subject,” I whispered.

  GC grinned. “Because it puts Grim Reapers in a bad light.”

  “Mortals thought you were gods. How is that bad light?”

  “It puts them in charge. The humans. They tell the stories, they define what we, the supernaturals, are, and they write, sing, and speak about us like we’re mere characters in their narratives. It was okay at first, in the old times, when they believed gods were all-powerful beings, so they brought us offerings and prayed to us. But then, psychology and philosophy happened. The modern world happened. And your scholars started saying all gods were figments of the humans’ imagination. They couldn’t explain perfectly natural phenomena, like fire, lightening, rain, and so on, so they came up with fictional all-powerful beings. Now, that’s offensive.”