Chapter 4: The Price of Revenge
1191 Words
Chapter 4: The Price of Revenge
(Third Person POV)
Parker stared into the mirror of the Wellness Center bathroom. The white bandage wrapped around his forehead stood out starkly against his flushed skin, making him look ridiculous. His reflection mocked him, showing a fool who had been bested.
"Scarlet Miller," he hissed.
The name tasted like bile. That damned scholarship student. A nobody from the slums. He swore to himself, his knuckles whitening as he gripped the sink, that she would pay for this humiliation.
The door to the examination room swung open.
A young medical assistant froze in the doorway, clutching a tray of bottles he had just retrieved from the storage room. His eyes went wide.
On the floor, Dr. Evans sat crumpled against the examination table, clutching his injured leg and groaning in pain.
The assistant stood like a statue, afraid to breathe.
Parker glanced at him in the mirror, then turned slowly. A cruel smirk played on his lips.
"Are you afraid of me?" Parker asked.
The assistant blinked, his throat bobbing. He hesitated for a terrified second, then shook his head frantically.
"No."
Parker looked down at Dr. Evans, then shrugged indifferently.
"Good answer," he said. "Remember to say that next time, too."
He walked over to the corner of the room. He picked up a red fire extinguisher, weighing it in his hand to test its heft. Nodding with satisfaction, he turned and walked out toward the elevators without looking back.
The assistant rushed forward, dropping to his knees beside the doctor. He was new here. He didn't understand the rules of Crestwood Academy yet.
"Dr. Evans! Should I call the police?" the assistant whispered, reaching for his phone.
Dr. Evans grimaced, waving a hand to stop him.
"Don't be stupid," Evans rasped through the pain. "Parker Jones is just a trust fund baby, sure. But the Police Chief's name is on his friend's father's payroll."
This was the heart of Washington D.C. The Capitol dome was practically visible from the upper windows. Here, the web of power was tighter than a spider's trap, and far more venomous.
Down the hall, outside the locker rooms, Parker's "friend" Chloe Sterling didn't look nearly as comfortable as her status should allow.
The heavy door opened. Scarlet leaned against the doorframe behind Damon, crossing her arms over her chest. She watched the scene with cold detachment.
Raven, the black King Snake, slithered around Damon's wrist. Its cold, unblinking eyes fixed on Chloe.
Chloe took a sharp step back. Even though she had seen the creature a hundred times, the fear never faded. She remembered the bite-the scar on the base of her thumb still throbbed when she looked at the reptile.
Damon's mother had merely called the family doctor to stitch Chloe up. No one scolded Damon. No one told him to cage the beast. Since Damon was named the official heir, the Thorne household had become a zoo. His black Dragon monitor lizard roamed the halls, and his tarantula had its own climate-controlled rainforest in the living room.
Scarlet noticed something. Chloe wasn't looking at Raven anymore. She was looking at Scarlet.
Chloe's eyes darted away, trying to feign indifference, attempting to dismiss Scarlet's presence entirely.
Scarlet didn't shrink back. She didn't look down.
Instead, she arched a brow. A corner of her mouth quirked up in a mocking sneer. She let out a short, dry chuckle and lifted her hand, inspecting her fingernails as if Chloe were nothing more than background noise.
She knew the silence would burn. Scarlet locked eyes with Chloe, her gaze piercing. *You think you can ignore me?*
Damon broke the silence.
"Where is he?" Damon asked, his voice low. "The i***t friend."
Chloe blinked, putting on her best confused face. She pretended to think for a moment.
"Oh," she said, realizing he meant Parker. She turned to a blonde boy standing behind her. "Call Parker."
The boy fumbled for his phone, dialing with shaking fingers. "He's coming," he stammered. "He's just upstairs."
Scarlet lowered her head, letting her dark hair curtain her face. It wasn't to hide fear, but to mask the boredom in her eyes. She watched them all panicking like ants under a magnifying glass.
Something cool touched her ankle.
She looked down. A sleek black shape was winding its way up her calf. Raven.
The snake shimmered under the sunlight. It had left Damon and was claiming her.
Scarlet noticed Chloe's perfect mask crack. A flash of pure horror crossed the blonde's face.
Damon glanced sideways. He watched Raven climb higher, reaching Scarlet's knee.
"Watch the dress," Damon murmured.
Scarlet stood perfectly still. She opened her hand, letting the black scales glide over her palm. She stroked the serpent, maintaining intense eye contact with the terrified Chloe.
It was a dare. A provocation.
Chloe's stomach turned. She had tolerated Scarlet before because her cousin Ethan found the girl amusing. That was a mistake. Scarlet was just like her mother-a gold digger. Trash trying to climb out of the gutter.
The elevator dinged.
Parker came jogging around the corner, clutching the fire extinguisher against his chest. He was chewing loudly on a mint he'd found in his pocket.
He rounded the corner and froze. The dangerous aura he had worn in the Wellness Center evaporated the moment he saw Damon.
Parker looked confused. He scanned the hallway, sensing the tension but understanding none of it.
"What happened to you?" Damon asked, looking at the bandage.
Parker swallowed hard. He started to point at Scarlet, but his eyes landed on the black snake wrapped around her wrist.
His finger swerved mid-air, pointing vaguely back at the stairs behind him.
"I... I fell," Parker lied. "Accident. On the stairs."
Damon took a step forward. The mother-of-pearl buttons on his white shirt cuffs caught the light, blindingly bright.
Parker couldn't look away. He stood there, hugging the red canister like a bad comedian, staring at his shoes.
"An accident," Damon repeated, a smile touching his lips. He turned slightly, looking at the steep marble staircase behind Parker. "What angle would be required to achieve that effect?"
Parker opened his mouth to speak, but the words died in his throat. He looked at Chloe, pleading for help.
Chloe leaned back against the railing, playing with her nails. She wouldn't save him.
Parker's eyes darted wildly in desperation. They landed on Scarlet.
Scarlet paused her stroking of the snake. The corner of her mouth lifted. It wasn't a smile of forgiveness.
It was a silent *goodbye*.
She mouthed the numbers as she counted down in her head.
*One.*
*Two.*
*Three.*
*Bang.*
A dull, heavy thud echoed through the hallway. The entourage of students who had been so arrogant in the classroom flinched, looking down.
Scarlet squinted against the glare of the sun. She looked at Damon, who stood at the top of the stairs.
Damon slowly adjusted his cufflinks. He seemed to sense Scarlet's gaze and turned to her, smiling as if he had just brushed a speck of dust off his jacket.
"Go see," he said lightly. "Check if his wound is symmetrical."
- Writer
