The Afterlife Academy Saga

Chapter 28

28

The days shifted seamlessly into each other, all more or less the same. The entire Academy fell into a routine that even I couldn’t escape. Mornings without Ryoko, class with Aellyn, bullying from the Reapers during lunch, cancelled lecture with Flavia, and then the next day, I did it all over again.

Twang.

The blade of a scythe slammed into the table, followed by a lot of giggling and snickering. Sim...

I rolled my eyes as I looked up at him. "What now?"

"You're sitting on our table."

"No, I'm not," I countered, calmly eating a piece of pink fish from my stew. They could antagonise me as much as they could, I wasn't going to react to it.

"Well, I want to sit here now," Sim said, checking if his squad was still laughing.

I gestured to the empty seats. "Be my guest."

He scoffed. "I don't want to sit with you, Valkyrie. Scram."

For the first time, another of the girl's weighed in. "You're a useless piece of s**t, Wolf Thief."

"I'm not a thief," I growled back. Despite my intentions, the first signs of anger boiled up in my gut. The wind hissed, the desire to tell him where to stick it growing. But I couldn't get into a fight, not when it was against Academy rules. Although, at this point, it wasn't like any of the teachers were present enough to notice a brawl.

"Maybe the wolves just ran away because they didn't want to be with a loser like you," she cackled, swinging her scythe past my head.

I flinched as the blade barely missed me, the glint temporarily blinding. The school should be more strict with who they allowed to carry weapons like that, but they didn't seem to care.

"f**k off," I hissed, balling my hands under the table to stop myself from exploding. While Sim was annoying, he never went too far. But this girl…

"Or what?" she dared, spitting on the table. "Valkyrie scum."

The chatter in the dining hall had died out even more than usual. Almost as if they knew this was going a lot further than usual.

Flustered, I looked around for anyone that might give me some support. I knew that the other Valkyries didn't like me, but the Reapers weren't just insulting me.

Everyone seemed curious but not in the least inclined to come to my aid. Great. This was what I got for being on my own. They were never this vicious when Aellyn was here.

Where was the damned Wood Elf?

The Reaper girl snickered as she shoved me with the end of her scythe. The crowd gasped, but nobody said or did anything. They just stared, watching the spectacle unfold.

Hands gripped me by my shirt and dragged me off the chair. With a thud, I fell to the floor where she threw my bowl of food at me. The dark stew splashed against my white shirt, the plate clattering on the marble floor as everyone watched in silence.

"Get lost, thief," the girl sneered as she demonstratively occupied the table with her scythe and bags.

Embarrassed, I wiped as much gunk from my shirt and swung my bag over my shoulder. For the first time I got here, I didn't manage to keep my head up high. It was too much. I just wanted to go to my room and crawl in a ball and cry.

"Ylva! Over here!" someone shouted, grabbing my attention. Did Aellyn finally get here?

Not sure who was calling me, I awkwardly twirled and shuffled back and forth. Maybe Ryoko wanted to save me from my public humiliation?

"Ylva!"

I turned towards the sound, scanning the tables. As I searched for the owner of the voice, my eyes landed on the centre table. Could it be...?

Flavia's blonde head stuck above the others as she waved at me.

I checked around me, making sure if she actually meant me. She shot me an incredulous look and gestured again, pointing at the empty seat.

My gut clenched and I bit the tears back. A warm feeling coiled in my stomach as I dashed towards them, hope fluttering in my chest. If they were accepting me as a group member again, I wouldn't have to be the outcast anymore. Other Valkyries would treat me differently if I was part of a squad, that was how it worked.

The Reapers... I wouldn't have to deal with them on my own anymore...

"Hi, guys?" I hesitated before taking a seat, not wanting to make a fool out of myself. Maybe they didn't want me to sit down with them after all.

Oda shot me an unexpected smile as she gestured to an empty seat. "Sit."

I looked at Flavia who nodded approvingly. This was real. They wanted me.

My heart thrummed in my throat as I sat down, a weight falling from my shoulders. This public invitation was as big of a grand gesture as there could be.

"That was too far," Flavia noted, nudging one of the girls to pass me some bread. Dagmar? Ava? I couldn't remember.

"It's just been one of those things," I said, surprised at how casual I managed to sound with the wind raging in my veins.

"They're assholes," Oda quipped in, retying her dark braids. "We'll make sure this is the last time they bother you."

Overcome with emotion, I could only nod. Relief washed over me, like the kiss of summer after a never-ending winter. I didn't have to be alone anymore. Not when I had friends.

Friends.

It seemed so surreal, but that was definitely what this was. And unlike the first time they invited me into their group, this was genuinely about me.

As their conversation returned and I settled into my new spot at the table, I glanced over at the Dragon side of the dining hall. From here, I could see Ryoko perfectly with her clique. The four girls that were in our room the other night, or at least, I assumed so.

Looked like I wasn't the only one sitting with the cool kids...

And while I was so grateful that Flavia and Oda saved me from social failure, but part of me just ached that Ryoko hadn't said anything. Maybe if she wasn't all buddy buddy with her popular Dragon friends, she might've actually stuck up for me.

But she hadn't.

She was just eating her dinner with her head down, pretending like she didn't know me.

A sadness birthed in my chest, suffocating me. I didn't know why it affected me so much, but it stung even more than the actual bullying. Maybe things weren't going to get better between us after all...