BITE ME

CHAPTER THREE: Book Thief

CHAPTER THREE: The Book Thief

Bree stared at her uniform, her fingers creasing the envelope in her hand as she traced the embossed cursive of the school’s crest. Her trip to her new school earlier that day had been short but it had been enough for her to realize that she does not belong there at all.

Covington Fort High had all the makings of an elite school: a city inside a fortress—an impenetrable fortress with its ivy-covered exterior and old, wrought iron gates, roughly cobbled streets, and the sight of its Edwardian castles. Most, if not all of its infrastructures, were something straight out of an Ivy League school. Olympic-sized swimming pools, concert halls, an equestrian center, and even its own forest.

And that wasn’t even all of it, yet.

The moment she stepped foot inside the campus, she could already feel their stares boring a hole right through her. With her denim jeans and plain black shirt, she stood out almost immediately amongst the swarm of uniformed students who had already started their first semester. Bree felt like a fish out of water, almost way too literally after one of the students ‘accidentally’ pushed past her, landing her inside a small fountain.

She could still hear their laughter ringing in her ears. “Seriously, what the hell is it with me and fountains these days?” she mumbled under her breath and cracked the wax seal off of the envelope.

She couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

“What’s that?” Mason’s head popped out from behind her room door, and she looked up at him, almost looking disinterested. “Did you get invited to join Hogwarts or something?”

Bree just sighed and dropped herself against her bed, slipping out the letter that contained a list of all of her requirements and a handwritten letter from the management themselves. “I think they want me to buy a book.”

“Who? Dumbledore?”

“Will you just get out of my room?! I already have too much to think about without you pestering me every two seconds.”

“Oh, come on. Aren’t you glad I gave you my slot? I would’ve been a perfect fit for that school with my unusual charms and astonishing intellect.”

“Jesus, have you been reading the dictionary again?” She rolled in her spot and turned away from him, going over the list in her hand. “And need I remind you that you’ve been rejected from that school? Didn’t your previous school records scare them into letting me in instead?”

Mason just scoffed. “It’s not my fault they can’t appreciate my greatness.”

“You know what, you’re right.” Mason gave her an incredulous look, and she, in turn, gave him a forced smile. “Since you’re so great, Your Majesty, why don’t you lend me some money so I can buy the books? I need it for tomorrow.”

“See? You’re only agreeing with me when you need something.” He scoffed again but reached for his wallet, nonetheless. “How much are those gonna be? I don’t have much with me right now.”

✧ ✧ ✧

Slicking back the few stubborn strands of her hair, she looked at herself in the mirror and just decided to altogether give up. She had never been a fan of fixing herself spotless whenever she heads out, but somehow, after she’d seen what lies beyond the gates of Covington Fort High, a prestigious school for the elites, something struck her that used to never bother her before.

The way she looks, the way she dresses, and the way she acts: it doesn’t belong in Covington. She doubts it even belongs anywhere, really.

“Are you heading out already?” Mason asked through a mouthful of toast and chugged the milk straight from its carton.

Bree just looked at him like he was an unruly spot on the surface of the bathroom floor. “You know, you’re the reason why I don’t trust opened milk cartons anymore. You’re disgusting.”

“Who cares? I’m awesome.”

She just scoffed at him and put on a pair of shoes, brushing the small collection of dust over the top of it, before waving. “Well, I’m off. I’ll just buy you food if I get the chance.”

Floundering past the overgrown shrubs in their walkway, Bree made it out of their gate safely without letting herself fall into her clumsiness. The sky overhead was clear with little to no clouds visible from where she stood. Still, despite it being sunny, she pulled her jacket closer to her skin, feeling a slight breeze blowing against her nape.

“Watch out!”

Bree’s head turned in the direction of the voice. But before she could look at the girl who had shouted that from the top of their house’s balcony, a dark figure had already brushed past her, missing only by barely an inch.

Her heartbeat got caught in her throat and she fell over, face ashen as she followed the black motorcycle with a look. The driver glanced at her through his rearview mirror. And as if to add insult to injury, Bree saw the corner of his lips twitch into a smile.

“You assh*le!” she shouted and pushed herself up, attempting to run after him but he had already disappeared around a corner. Bree just glowered in the direction the guy had disappeared into. And before she could get any more embarrassed than she already is, she decided to just brush herself off, only then realizing that she had scraped her palms falling over on the street.

When she arrived at the final bookstore that everyone had recommended as having the last book that she’s been asking for, she was already a disheveled mess. Still, she straightened herself up and began browsing the shelves.

Almost everything in that store was being sold at half its original price. Sure, all of the books were used and many of them could be rented out, but still ... it was a bit of a relief for her to finally get some kind of bargain.

Looking for the aisle that the cashier had pointed at, she began dragging her fingers along the spines of the books, hoping to come across the familiar title. After what seemed like ten minutes of doing that, she finally found a copy of the book and started reaching for it. It had been at the topmost shelf—something that would prove to be rather difficult for her to reach even with her full five foot two.

“Dammit,” she cursed under her breath and started straining her arm just to reach it, her feet on full tiptoe.

Another arm reached behind her and effortlessly grabbed the book. A small smile made its way into her face as she turned to face the guy. But as soon as she got a good look at him, that smile quickly vanished when she realized he didn’t grab the book for her.

He grabbed it for himself and now he’s walking away with it.

“Hey, that’s my book!” she shouted but the guy didn’t stop. Before he could even turn a corner, Bree had already bolted, snatching the book from his hands. If there was anything that she valued most in this world, it was that chance to take advantage of a half-price sale.

But clearly, this guy was also aiming for the same thing.

She hadn’t gotten away that far yet when she felt him tug against the hood of her jacket. “That’s mine!”

“I got here first!” She hugged the book close to her chest but the guy was already wrestling her for it. When he had finally managed to take a hold of it, their scuffle catching the attention of half the people in the store, Bree clenched her jaw and with all her might, she jumped.

She jumped and landed on him and they both fell to the ground.

“Aha!” she crowed when his hold loosened around the book and she stood up, smiling victoriously at him. “Take that, you.”

She was about to turn away to pay for the book when she heard a small groan come out from the guy that was still lying on the ground, clutching his arm. Bree turned around to look at him, her eyes wide as she shook her head, telling the people that it hadn’t been her fault.

“Come on, stop acting.” She nudged the guy with her foot and looked at him like she was afraid to go to jail. “I wasn’t even that heavy. You can’t seriously be that hurt, can you?”

When the guy grunted in response, his face contorting in pain, Bree had no choice but to kneel closer to him.

“You’re scaring me. Everyone’s looking at—HEY!” Bree was yet again pushed off into the ground when the guy suddenly dashed past her, an evil grin plastered on his face as he waved the book in his hands.

“I told you already, didn’t I?” He gave her a lopsided grin and c****d his head to the side. “It’s mine.”

✧ ✧ ✧

“How hot is he?”

Bree frowned at the question that greeted her after she’d just told her best friend about the rough week she’s had. “Chloe, weren’t you listening to anything I just said?”

“Well, duh. You just mentioned that your childhood sweetheart is KINDA hot and then never talked about it again.”

“I never said he was my childhood sweetheart!”

Chloe just laughed at her from the other end of the call and she could almost feel her look of disapproval burning a hole through her phone. “Sweetie, who the hell do you think you’re fooling? We’ve been best friends for three years. I thought you’d do better than that.”

“You think I’m lying?”

“Obviously! And besides, there’s that Mr. Book Thief, too. Was he hot?”

Bree just mentally rolled her eyes as she started pacing in her room, summoning the memory of what had just happened back at the bookstore. “Well ... “

“Oh, come on. Don’t leave me in suspense.”

“... he’s kinda hot.” She bit back a smile and started squirming in her place, her face burning from what she’d just admitted.

Chloe laughed hard on the other line and she could almost picture her slapping the arm of the person next to her, in this case, her boyfriend, Jake. “So, who’s hotter? Your childhood sweetheart or the Book Thief?”

“Well—” She paused, “—wait, aren’t you gonna ask me if I’m okay?! That should be your priority. I almost got hit by a motorcycle!”

“Whose motorcycle?”

“I’m not sure, but ... “ She looked around and brought her voice to a low whisper, “ ... the guy driving looked like Mrs. Johnson’s son.”

“OMG.” Chloe gasped, and Bree nodded solemnly. “Your childhood sweetheart tried to kill you? Why?!”

She just shrugged at this and took a seat in front of her room window, her eyes wandering as she tried to formulate a reply. But before she could even open her mouth to say something, she was immediately put to a stop when she realized that someone had been staring at her the entirety of her conversation with Chloe. Realization dawned and she instantly recognized who it was.

“Sh*t!” She ducked in her seat, still holding her phone up to her ear, and buried her face inside her sweater.

“Bree? Are you okay? What happened?”

“My childhood sweet—no. Mrs. Johnson’s son ...”

“What about him?”

“I just saw him looking at me. I think he heard our conversation.”