Savage Elites: An Elite High School Bully Romance (Bully Boys of Brittas Academy Book 2)

by Sofia Daniel

  “Physical altercations are against the school charter.”

  “So is bullying and sexual assault, but you’ve done nothing to stamp that out.”

  Mrs. Benazir’s dark eyes burned with so much fury, I thought she would expel me for being rude. Instead, she asked me to return to my classes and wait for the announcement at dinner.

  Strangely, none of my teachers seemed to notice that I had been asked to leave the school, and I wondered if Miss Claymore had demand for my resignation because she lacked the authority to expel me. Perhaps she hadn’t anticipated the duration of Mrs. Benazir’s absence and thought that the headmistress would accept my leaving without a fight.

  In Software Systems Development, Cormac, who I had informed of my forced resignation, settled into the computer station next to mine.

  “I can’t tell you how relieved I am to see you back,” he whispered. “Since hearing about your departure, I’ve been worried sick. It was hard to imagine how you could balance all those A levels with a part-time job.”

  “Same here,” I muttered.

  The teacher walked around to our bank of computers and asked us to keep our voices down. I turned back to my screen and worked on my project. It was hard to concentrate after hearing Sebastian’s account of how he’d seduced Miss Claymore. The conversations, the grand gestures… It all sounded too familiar.

  It was even harder not to wonder whether I would be the next victim of the pull-a-pig game. Corrine was dead, Ashley expelled, and Miss Claymore would be fired. If I wasn’t careful, how would things end for me?

  I shook off those thoughts. The emotions Sebastian had shown today had been real, and Leopold had always been upfront with his intentions. In a place like Brittas Academy, paranoia was an act of self-preservation. I just had to make sure it didn’t consume me and ruin my relationships.

  At dinner time, I sat at the royal table between Leopold and Sebastian. Mrs. Benazir sat in the center seat of the head table for once, and Miss Claymore moped at her side, her broad shoulders slumped, and dark strands loose from her usual pristine hair bun.

  “Do you think this is her last supper?” asked Leopold.

  “I fucking well hope so,” muttered Sebastian. “Otherwise, she’ll drown me in my bath tonight.”

  I glanced from Leopold to Sebastian, wondering if that was an exaggeration.

  Prakash rubbed his chin. “Save the melodrama until Miss Claymore has finished her speech.”

  The deputy headmistress stood. “Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention.”

  The dining room chatter stopped, and I placed my knife and fork on the edge of my plate to listen. Miss Claymore rarely spoke during mealtimes except to give someone detention for a misdemeanor.

  Once the entire room went silent, she said, “It is with a heavy heart that after eleven years of teaching at this wonderful institution, I have been asked to move onto alternative employment.”

  Hardly anyone reacted to the announcement, but the queens exchanged shocked gasps, and someone from the knights’ table snickered. A relieved breath escaped my lungs. At least Mrs. Benazir had come through on one of my demands.

  “Guiding young minds has been a dream for me, as has seeing you all grow from first-years to the bright and attentive students you’ve become.” She wiped a tear from her eyes.

  “A-and I forgive the deluded young woman whose accusations lost me a position I have come to take as my vocation in life.”

  The sincerity in Miss Claymore’s words twisted my heart. On the surface, she had fought so hard to stamp out bullying, her lectures had been great, and she had helped me pull up my grades following the accident. But I hardened my heart. This was also the woman who had slept with a thirteen-year-old boy. Not only had she pursued Sebastian relentlessly for years after, but she had tried to kill me for being involved with him.

  “T-thank you all.”

  Someone’s hand shot up. “Miss, I have a question.”

  Miss Claymore turned to a table full of first years. “Yes, Miss Verens?”

  “Are you going to become a headmistress in another elite school?” asked a little girl.

  “I would hope to obtain such a position.”

  “Miss?” asked Geraldine.

  “Yes, Miss Hill?”

  Instead of facing the head table, Geraldine turned her head and stared directly into my eyes. “Was the young woman who got you into trouble the same one who reports people to the police for the slightest complaint?”

  I clenched my fists. Now everyone would know I was behind Miss Claymore’s firing. I glanced at Cormac and raised my brows as though to ask him whether he was sure that Geraldine was as kind as she had portrayed herself. Cormac scowled and dipped his head.

  Miss Claymore gave the girl a watery smile. “Please do not bully her.”

  My nostrils flared. Why had a woman who had slept with a minor get to throw me under the bus while making herself look like the victim?

  Bianca’s hand shot up. “Will you reveal how Willow Evergreen got you fired?”

  Her gaze roved over to the king’s table. “I will not.”

  Now the entire population of Brittas academy stared at me instead of Miss Claymore. I longed to shoot to my feet and blurt out the reason why the deputy head got fired, but revealing that information would hurt Sebastian and might encourage others to stage deadly interventions as revenge for poor Miss Claymore.

  Bianca stood. “On behalf of the student body, we would like to thank you for your eleven hard years of servitude. Whose with me? Hip, hip!”

  “Hooray!” everyone boomed back.

  I gnashed my teeth. Shouting out words like that triggered people’s call and response mechanisms. I could shout ‘Hi-de-hi-de-hi-de-hi’ to the tune of Minnie the Moocher and hear hundreds of ‘Ho-de-ho-do-ho-de-hos’ back. It didn’t mean that they agreed with me or liked Cab Calloway. It was just an automatic response.

  Miss Claymore dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief, and I stared into my plate of spaghetti carbonara. Even after everything she had done, she still managed to make me feel like a vindictive bitch for getting her fired.

  A tiny voice in the back of my head asked me if I was sure about this, but I pushed it to one side. The only other suspect I could think of was Mr. Byrd, but he couldn’t have been responsible for the staged drink-driving accident.

  I dabbed my napkin to my lips. It was more logical for the person I’d caught in bed with my new boyfriend to come after me, and that was Miss Claymore.

  After the third ‘hip-hip-hooray,’ a few verses of ‘For She’s a Jolly Good Fellow,’ and a rousing round of applause, Miss Claymore concluded her goodbye speech.

  “Thank you. I will always remember my time at Brittas Academy as one of the fondest in my life.”

  The older woman ducked her head and walked out of the room to cheers and whistles and applause.

  Geraldine placed her hands on her hips. “Our replacement for English had better be just as good as Miss Claymore, or we’re going to make your life hell.”

  I glanced at the head table at the teachers, but they all glowered down at me as though I’d been at fault for arranging the firing of the woman who had tried to kill me.

  Chapter 18

  The first lesson of the next day was English. The person Mrs. Benazir scrounged up at last notice was a beanpole-shaped man with trembling hands and a stutter that rendered speaking and writing on the board impossible.

  I sat between Leopold and Prakash somewhere close to the back of the lecture theater and cringed. Had this man ever taught? From the way he stumbled over the lecture, it looked like he’d been pulled off the street.

  Several people shot me hateful glowers, but I clenched my teeth and tried to decipher the teacher’s words.

  Fifteen minutes before the class was due to end, Bianca sauntered over, clutching her books to her chest. She walked with that odd swaying motion with her hips that made a few of the guys sitting at the end of the rows watch
her ass as she moved.

  I narrowed my eyes and held my stomach muscles, bracing myself for a threat or an insult. Prakash stiffened, and Leopold folded his arms.

  Bianca tilted her head to the side. “Evergreen, may I have a word?”

  I narrowed my eyes at the use of my name. “Spit out whatever you want to say and leave.”

  “This is serious. Is there somewhere private we can go?” she asked.

  “No.”

  “It’s about my father.”

  A boulder of dread dropped into my stomach, splashing hydrochloric acid to the back of my throat. As much as I despised Bianca, the part of me that hated predators wanted to listen.

  “What about him?” I asked.

  “It’s…” Her eyes darted from left to right. “Personal.”

  Clenching my teeth, I inhaled through my nostrils. Every fiber of my being told me to walk away. To leave Bianca in her own private hell with her pervert father, but I just couldn’t. If she needed me as a witness to put him behind bars, I would help.

  I glanced from Prakash to Leopold. “Are either of you available to make sure it’s not an ambush?”

  Bianca rolled her eyes. “As if I would be that desperate.”

  Prakash leaned forward. “Willow may not remember, but I have a vivid image of you and your entourage attacking her.”

  I kept my face blank. Why hadn’t he told me any of this before?

  Bianca sniffed. “Evergreen started it. Besides, she gave as good as she got.”

  “I’ll come with you,” said Leopold.

  “So will I,” added Prakash.

  Sebastian leaned forward and raised his brows in a look that seemed to ask if I needed him. I gave him a tight smile and shook my head. What he had done for me yesterday, opening up about something personal to the police, had touched my heart but also left me wondering whether I was his next pull-a-pig victim.

  If I could just remember how he was with Miss Claymore when I had caught them in his room together, things would make better sense. Had he been fighting off the older woman or enjoying her fist of fury, as Leopold had described it?

  “Are you coming or not?” asked Bianca.

  I rose to my feet, making both Leopold and Prakash stand. Bianca sashayed out of the lecture theater, and the three of us followed. Out in the hallway, she opened the door to the stairwell and flicked her head for us to follow.

  “What do you want, then?” I placed my hands on my hips. Leopold and Prakash stood behind me like walls of protection.

  Bianca reached into her bag and pulled out a thick envelope. “This is from Father.”

  I stepped back, stomach churning at the thought of more photos. “What is that?”

  “Twenty-five thousand pounds in cash—enough to cover your expenses until you scrape up a scholarship.”

  “Why?” I folded my arms across my chest.

  Bianca’s gaze flickered from Leopold to Prakash, and the corners of her mouth twitched downward with displeasure. Perhaps their presence restricted what she felt comfortable to say, but I didn’t care. The contents of that envelope looked like a bribe to keep quiet about Mr. Byrd’s proclivity to abuse his own daughter.

  With a pained grimace, she said, “Because of our differences, you’ve embarked on a campaign of malicious slander. He wants it to stop and is willing to fund your academic lifestyle as a gesture of goodwill.”

  “I can help you.” The words tumbled out of my mouth. “I know what I saw. If you—”

  “Take it.” She tried pressing the money into my folded arms.

  I stepped away. “Why are you helping him?”

  “Because you’re a disgusting liar,” she spat. “And a money-grubbing whore like your sister. Take the cash.”

  Irritation flared across my skin. Bianca was probably throwing out random accusations to distract me from her terrible secret, but I was too accustomed to Ashley’s distractions for Bianca’s to have any effect.

  Wiping signs of annoyance off my features, I said, “You know, he grabbed me after the Board of Governor’s meeting, and he’s probably done worse to other girls. Fathers don’t do that do their daughters or anyone else’s.”

  Her gaze darted from Leopold to Prakash. She lowered her head and whispered, “Don’t you think I know that? Unlike you, I don’t have nothing to lose.”

  “But—”

  “Stop it!” Bianca stamped her foot. “Stop thinking you’re better than everyone here because you’ve had a better life.”

  I reared back, nearly bumping into the kings. “Orphaned at seventeen, and you think that’s good?”

  “I’d sell my soul to be in your position.” She waved the envelope of cash over my chest. “Even with those monstrous things!”

  “You’ve said enough,” snarled Prakash.

  “Finish your point,” said Sebastian.

  Bianca raised her chin and leveled me with a determined glower. “He wants you to sign a prepared statement that says you won’t slander him or me.”

  I shook my head. “No amount of money will make me deny what I saw.” She opened her mouth to protest, and I said, “And no, I’m not doing it to be vindictive. Your father needs to be stopped before he attacks some other girl.”

  “Don’t you have a younger sister at home?” Leopold’s voice was soft.

  Her bottom lip trembled, and her shoulders shook with rage. She darted around us and stormed out of the stairwell and into the hallway.

  I tried to follow, but Prakash held onto my shoulder. “Nothing you say will sway her. Bianca has to come to this decision herself.”

  “But—”

  “She’s more likely to refuse your help just to frustrate you,” added Leopold. “Give her some time and don’t even think about dropping the police investigation because you feel bad about her situation.”

  My posture slumped. They were probably right. I hated Bianca with every ounce of vitriol in my liver, but I despised her father even more.

  After classes, I returned to my room to find Bianca’s thick envelope on my bed. I stood in the middle of my room and surveyed its contents. If she broke in to leave her father’s blood money, what else had she done?

  Corrine’s diary lay on my desk, next to my laptop and propped against the wall stood two photos Aunt Hortense took of the five of us painting the outside wall of the house.

  A pang of sadness twisted in my chest. That was the month after we had moved out of London, and the light behind Ashley’s eyes had started to dim. If I had known we’d only had four more years together, I might not have spent more time doing things with Mom and Dad and less time studying.

  Tearing my gaze away from the photo, I walked to the bed, picked up the envelope, and stuffed it in my bag. “I don’t want it.”

  Someone knocked on the door. “Willow?”

  “Huh?” it sounded like Sebastian.

  “Can I come in?”

  “Go on.”

  He opened the door and slipped into my room. “I don’t think I explained myself very well.”

  I placed my bag on the bed and folded my arms. “What do you mean?”

  “I know how that statement I gave the police sounded.”

  My heart thudded so hard, I twitched. Logic told me that people grow and move on from their thirteen-year-old selves, but the pattern of behavior he had depicted in the statement mirrored precisely how we had gotten together. The main difference was that he’d brought a friend along for the seduction, and my resistance had been as flimsy as tissue paper.

  Even though he would deny it, I had to ask, “Am I just a challenge to—”

  “No.” He crossed the room and placed a finger on my lips. “What we have is real. We might have Grease and other things in common, but isn’t that the basis of all friendships?”

  I stared up into the widened pupils of his verdant, green eyes and gulped. “Is that what we are? Friends?”

  “A lot more.” He brushed his knuckles down the side of my face, sending a mirroring
tingle down my spine. “I want things to be back the way they were before any of this madness started.”

  My gaze lingered on his full, kissable lips. If I continued staring at his face, I would melt and never get any answers. Instead, I focussed on the green, striped tie of his uniform.

  “Willow, you’ve come to mean so much to me,” he murmured. “I really like the girl behind the pretty face and hourglass figure. You’ve suffered so much, but it’s made you stronger and not twisted you like it might have done to other girls.”

  Heat rose to my cheeks. There were so many compliments in that statement, I didn’t know how to react. “You really think so?”

  Sebastian nodded. “I also want to kiss and make up.”

  I raised my brows and tilted my head up to meet his hopeful gaze. “Just kiss and make up?”

  “More, if you’ll let me.” His lips spread into a grin that made a stray butterfly flutter between my legs.

  My gaze flickered to my narrow bed, which made him chuckle. “Not here.” He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Back at the hideout.”

  After donning a winter coat, I took his hand, and we walked through the academy and through to the dark, snowy courtyard. Iron lamplights illuminated our way, making the academy grounds look like something out of a Christmas card.

  A contented sigh escaped my lips. With Miss Claymore gone and Sebastian about to reconcile with me, my only outstanding issue was Bianca and her father. As soon as I returned from the hideout, I would hand her back her envelope and tell her I would never cover for her father.

  I sank into the jeep’s leather seat. “Coming to the hideout with you is no guarantee of anything.”

  He started the engine and reversed around the other cars. “I know, but hiding the truth from you has been torture.”

  “Why didn’t you just tell me when Leopold suggested?”

  “Mostly because I was ashamed of what I’d done. Miss Claymore always directed her anger at me, and I could handle that. It wasn’t until Leo told me you’d been poisoned that I truly believed she was behind the attacks.”