Luna Queen Pariah

Chapter 3: Sariah the Goner

Luna Queen Pariah by Joanna J

Chapter 3: Sariah the Goner

Sariah

I was so dumbfounded I was left speechless. On top of everything else, she was revealing her own secret, the one she had just attacked me for, and she was pinning the fight on me. How did she get those bruises? Had she inflicted them herself? What a complete psychopath! She could not have punched herself in the face though. Ruby must have done that. I was dealing with total nutcases.

The whole class erupted into chatter as everyone reacted, gossiping in their little groups and gawking at Stella and me.

“Miss, I did not attack Stella! She attacked me!” I said, my voice shaking. “They…they hacked Layla’s phone somehow. They texted me from Layla’s number telling me to go to the old library and they ambushed me! Ruby smashed my phone and Stella slapped me! She told me to stay away from Rodney! He’s…he’s my friend and my next-door neighbour! They knew I knew he might be Stella’s mate!” I explained, everything coming out a bit jumbled.

Miss Briar-rose looked like she did not know who to believe.

“She’s lying obviously, Miss!” Snapped Ruby. “Look at how badly injured Stella is! She was trying her best to fight Sariah off!”

“That’s a lie!” I shrieked, making Miss Briar-rose jump.

“You’re a liar!” Roared Ruby, her eyes black. “You would have killed Stella out of jealousy if I had not come along and pulled you off of her! Yeah I smashed your phone but you deserved it! You’re a monster! I have a right to be angry! You attacked my best friend!”

I had to admit it: they were amazing at lying or acting or whatever this was. It was scary. I could not believe they were really doing this. Tears of frustration streamed down my face.

“I’m not lying,” I said, my voice cracking.

“Layla, was your phone hacked?” Asked Miss Briar-rose, trying to piece the story together.

Layla looked like a deer caught in the headlights. All eyes were on her now. I looked at her, pleading with my eyes.

“Um, Miss, no, my phone seems fine. Stella just put her number in it,” said Layla.

“YOU SEE!” Screamed Stella, drawing the attention back onto her.

“Calm down, Stella,” said Miss Briar-rose. “Everyone needs to calm down!”

“But Sariah isn’t violent!” Insisted Layla, standing up suddenly.

Everyone looked back at her. At least, she was trying to defend me.

“Sariah is the one who gets bullied and Stella is the one who does the bullying and everyone knows it!” Said Nova, standing up too. “Why would today be any different?”

“Oh please, of course they’ll stand up for her! They’re her best friends!” Said Ruby, rolling her eyes.

“And you’re Stella’s best friend!” Said Layla with a shrug.

“Settle down,” said Miss Briar-rose. “Sariah does have a spotless record but we still need to investigate all of these contradicting claims! First things first! Neither of these two girls have their wolves yet so they should get some medical attention right away before we get to the bottom of this!”

Ruby nodded.

“Quite right, Miss!” Said Ruby, sucking up to the teacher.

I sighed.

“Someone fetch the school nurse! I don’t want to make these girls walk all the way over to the infirmary!” Said Miss Briar-rose.

One of the girls who had her wolf zoomed out of the classroom at top speed.

“Could someone get my phone for me please?” I asked softly. “It’s in front the old library.”

“Sure,” said Miss Briar-rose kindly.

Before anyone rushed out for it, as if on cue, Scarlet entered the classroom.

“I have it!” She announced.

“You have my phone?” I said, furrowing my brow.

I knew instantly she must have tampered with it.

“Can it still turn on?” Asked Miss Briar-rose eagerly.

Scarlet nodded, showing her the cracked lit-up screen. Miss Briar-rose made me and Stella sit in chairs at opposite ends of the teacher’s desk, facing the class.

“Sariah, show me the text that lured you to the old library!” Said Miss Briar-rose.

Ruby snorted with laughter.

“Miss, that’s bullshit, obviously!” Said Ruby.

“Language, young lady!” Said Miss Briar-rose indignantly. “The fact that your elder brother is the Beta and Stella’s elder brother is the Alpha does not mean you two can just behave however you please!” She added sternly.

I felt a little better. Miss Briar-rose knew I was an honest and hardworking student and that Stella’s clique was always at the centre of drama. Scarlet handed me my phone, almost dropping it before I could grasp it. She snickered. Miss Briar-rose was too focused on Ruby still to notice. I opened the messaging app Layla and I always used. Of course, the message allegedly from Layla was gone.

“Miss, Scarlet just erased it, that’s all,” I said with a shrug.

“Oh please!” Scoffed Scarlet.

“What were you doing by the old library? If all three of you were there and there’s one of me, then clearly it was an ambush and a set-up for me,” I said, eliciting a few whispers from the class.

“Ruby and I were just walking in the garden when we heard Stella screaming so we ran to help her but of course Ruby arrived before me! She has her wolf!” Said Scarlet.

I shook my head. I was disgusted.

“How can the three of you lie like that? It’s despicable!” I muttered, in disbelief at their audacity.

“SHUT UP!” Shrieked Stella. “You’re the liar! Miss Briar-rose! Call my brother! I want Sterling to pick me up!”

My whole body filled with ice-cold dread. Sterling would obviously believe his own evil little sister over me, a total stranger, a nobody. What if I was exiled from the pack  over this? Or worse?! 

“Miss, Sariah doesn’t look good at all! What’s taking so long? Where’s the nurse?” Demanded Nova. “Miss, look at her, she’s shaking!”

I realised she was right. I was literally trembling in fear. What if the Alpha actually killed me like Stella said he would? What if I didn’t even live to see my eighteenth birthday next week? I would never shift. I would never connect with my wolf. I would never meet my mate. And Rodney and everyone else might actually think I was guilty if the Alpha said so. 

The nurse came running into the room. It was Nurse Evita, my favourite school nurse. 

“I’m so sorry I took so long, Miss Briar-rose,” said Harlow, the girl who had rushed off to fetch the nurse. “Nurse Evita was already dealing with an emergency when I found her!”

“Today is just something else,” said Nurse Evita, wiping her brow with a handkerchief. 

She was a tall, shapely woman with a mocha complexion. I smiled at her.

“What’s wrong with my girl?” She said, alarmed by my bruises.

My stomach churned again. Everyone would hate me before today was over. I felt ashamed even though I had not attacked Stella. At that very moment, Stella, not to be outdone, slid off her chair onto the floor. Girls began to scream needlessly.

“She’s just fainted! Pipe down!” Said Nurse Evita, checking Stella’s pulse. 

Girls were sobbing and hugging each other.

“These are the softest she-wolves I’ve had the misfortune to meet in a while,” muttered Nurse Evita under her breath.

She seemed surly at first but she was actually really wonderful. She was just tired of how spoilt and dramatic some of the girls at this school were with Stella leading the helm. Nurse Evita did not look convinced by Stella’s faint. I would bet my bottom dollar that Stella was faking too.

“Maybe she’s lost too much blood,” wept Ruby.

“She has two skinned knees, a few scrapes and a black eye. She’s barely lost a few teaspoons of blood. You are aware that the average body has five l****s of blood in it right!” Said Nurse Evita, annoyed. “Five l****s is about one thousand teaspoons to put things into perspective!”

“Come on, Stella! I’m not carrying you to the infirmary with this bad back of mine so you better end scene!” Hissed Nurse Evita, close to Stella’s ear.

I saw the corners of Stella’s mouth twitch as if she wanted to frown. I knew it! Slowly, Stella opened her eyes, looking confused. She sat up and felt her head gingerly with her manicured hands. Ruby and Scarlet rushed to help her. 

“They don’t pay me enough for this,” muttered Nurse Evita. “Can you walk, my girl?” She said to me.

I nodded.

“Let’s go!” Said Evita, motioning for us to head for the door.

She let Scarlet and Ruby assist Stella who was putting on the performance of a lifetime.

“My girl, you should probably have a friend or two escort you also since it’s a field trip apparently,” said Evita, pressing her lips into a hard line in disapproval.

I knew Stella reported to the nurse’s office pretty often. She tried to get out of all her classes whenever she got her period and her period seemed to come more often than everyone else’s with no explanations or investigations into this phenomenon.

“Layla, Nova,” I said, my voice coming out small and frightened.

Layla seemed reluctant but she walked with me. Nova actually kept her arm around me in case I felt wobbly but I was fine.

“What did you and Stella fight about?” Whispered Layla on the way to the infirmary.

I could hear Miss Briar-rose’s heels clacking against the hardwood floor as she followed us to the infirmary.

“Nurse Evita, don’t you think we should send for two stretchers and attendants to carry them?” Suggested Miss Briar-rose.

“No,” said Nurse Evita simply. “If they had energy to fight, they should have energy to walk to the infirmary.”

“Nurse, I’m afraid this is a special case,” said Miss Briar-rose in a stage whisper. 

“Has anyone called my brother, Sterling, yet?!” Whined Stella.

“You’re going to bother the Alpha for this?” Said Evita incredulously.

“I’ve been assaulted!” Said Stella indignantly.

Evita said nothing.

“Sariah, I’m talking to you,” hissed Layla, annoyed. “What did you and Stella fight about?”

Nova glared at Layla.

“I have a right to know,” said Layla.

“It wasn’t a fight! Ruby and Stella ambushed me, broke my phone, knocked me down and slapped me. Stella was perfectly fine when I ran back to class and then she showed up with all those bruises,” I whispered.

“You’re saying they’re self-inflicted?” Asked Nova.

I nodded.

“Or Ruby did it on Stella’s orders or something,” I said, thinking aloud.

“That’s completely bonkers,” said Layla.

“Home sweet home,” announced Nurse Evita as we reached the infirmary.

Ghost Moon Girls’ Infirmary was a long room with very pale pink walls and a matching tiled floor. There were a dozen beds total with six on either side of the room. All the bedding was plain white. The school used to have hot pink bedding but Nurse Evita had complained that the bright colour was giving her migraines. The fluorescent lights overheard were bright and kept the room somewhat warm despite the air conditioning.

“Pick beds far away from each other,” ordered Evita.

“Call my brother,” ordered Stella.

Evita ignored her.

“Let’s get to the bottom of this before we disturb the Alpha, okay, Stella,” said Miss Briar-rose gently.

There were two nursing students in light purple uniforms whilst Evita’s white nurse’s uniform matched the bedding.

“Take their vitals,” instructed Evita, prompting the nursing students to get to work.

“My name is Sonia,” said the nursing student who approached me.

“Nice to meet you,” I said with a half-hearted smile.

“That’s a pretty hair pin you have,” said Sonia.

“Oh,” I said, my hand automatically reaching for it. “Thanks! It belonged to my mother!”

My fingers absentmindedly traced the grooves of the pin. My mother had worn it on her wedding day years before I was born. I had seen it in photographs. It was a simple rose-gold plated pin with three small flowers on it. It was comfortable so I tended to forget it was even there sometimes. It did nothing much to pin back any of my thick hair. I just slipped it in my hair every morning out of habit. My mother had given it to me right before she had left to go on tour with my Dad. That was the last time I ever saw them. I quickly pushed those memories away.

“I like your uniform. The purple is nicer than our pink ones,” I said to Sonia.

Sonia grinned. She took my blood pressure, my pulse and my temperature. The other nursing student saw to Stella. The nursing students both cleaned our cuts and dressed them with appropriate bandages. Evita oversaw everything.

“See, no one is dying,” said Evita, pleased with our dressings. 

She left the room to go check on her other emergency. It seemed that one of the teachers had diabetes and was hypoglycaemic, meaning her sugar had gone low. I had heard whispers from the student nurses that an ambulance was coming to collect her. 

Stella glared at me once the room was devoid of any real authority.

“Call my brother!” Ordered Stella, looking at the two student nurses.

Not this again. I sighed.

“I can’t do that, Miss Stella, I’m sorry!” Said Tonia, the other nursing student. 

“Why the hell not?” Asked Stella.

“We have to wait for Nurse Evita! Only she can make important infirmary calls like that!” Said Sonia.

Stella sneered.

“You’re toast,” said Stella, looking at me with an evil grin on her face.

“Sterling will be pissed!” Said Ruby excitedly.

Layla looked horrified at the thought of meeting s*x God Sterling under these unsexy circumstances.

“Raphael will be pissed too!” Said Stella, grinning conspiratorially at Ruby.

Raphael was Sterling’s Beta and Ruby’s brother.

“Raphael and Sterling are best friends,” said Ruby to me.

“Just like Ruby and me,” said Stella.

I did not know what came over me but that supremely confident alter-ego was back. It was the same inner voice who had pushed me to be brave during the altercation.

“Are they idiots like their younger sisters too?” I found myself saying.

Stella and Ruby were flabbergasted. Their mouths were agape.

“Hey! That’s the Alpha and Beta you’re talking about!” Snapped Layla, turning on me.

Nova remained silent.

“Whose side are you on?” I hissed at Layla.

“The side that lives to see tomorrow!” Said Layla in indignation.

“Then go over there then,” I mumbled, fighting back tears.

I really did not want to cry in front of the terrible three. I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction.

“Would the Alpha actually kill a bunch of school girls over something like this?” Asked Nova incredulously.

“I don’t know,” said Layla. “He might. Stranger things have happened.”

“Sariah,” said Nova softly in an apologetic tone.

Oh no. Not her too.

“I can’t afford to get in trouble with an Alpha…again,” admitted Nova.

I sat up a little straighter, staring at her. Layla looked at her in surprise. 

“My family already moved once because of me. Alpha King Sterling was really decent to accept us into his pack and kingdom but he made it clear we had to show him unwavering loyalty,” whispered Nova.

Stella had an evil smile on her face. Did she know about this? I made a really tough decision.

“Go,” I said to Nova.

“Sariah, don’t be mad at me,” said Nova.

“I…I get it. Just go. Don’t let the Alpha see you with me,” I said, a lump forming in my throat.

“Sariah,” said Nova, looking conflicted.

“I mean it. I don’t want to put your whole family at risk over this,” I said decisively.

A small selfish part of me hoped she would stay.

“I’m really sorry,” she said.

I nodded. Nova left the room with her head down. Ruby and Stella were in their glee. Scarlet just stared at her phone, seeming bored.

“Can I go too?” Whispered Layla.

“Seriously?” I said softly, looking up at her with wide eyes.

“I…why’d you run off at lunch over the party talk? This never would have happened if you would have just heard me out?” Complained Layla.

“Are you for real?” Was all I could say.

Layla sniffled. She turned around and walked to the door with a sigh. The terrible three burst into laughter.

“See you at my party, Lyla!” Said Stella, still getting her name wrong.

Layla gave Stella a little wave which felt like a knife to my back. Layla left just in time to avoid the Principal and Vice Principal. They strutted into the room on their red stilettos.

“Looking fab, Miss Gab,” said Stella.

Miss Gabora Hora was our principal. She was a former beauty pageant Queen and retired model who used to be the Etiquette teacher here before she was promoted to principal. She was also a past pupil of this prestigious school as were all the other principals who preceded her. Her flawless face was frozen from years of botox injections, leaving her with the best poker face. No one ever knew what her real opinion or reaction to anything was. She had a light olive complexion with light brown eyes and wavy dark hair. There was something hypnotic about her cold beauty, specifically her eyes. Everyone said she was part witch but she had neither confirmed nor refuted those claims. Today she donned a red midi dress with short ruffle sleeves and an A line skirt. Her wide brimmed black hat matched her long black gloves. 

Mr Alexander Crawford was the vice principal. He was a former pageant coach who was rumoured to be a retired drag Queen who had gone by the stage name Patty Cake. He wore designer suits and stiletto boots everyday. He had perfect eyebrows and eyelashes, shiny jet black thick hair, black cat eye shades covering his dark eyes, a narrow nose and very full lips which looked like filler to me but I wasn’t a surgeon so I could be wrong. He had a poncho-style cape on today with a black exterior and a white interior that matched his white gloves.

“Stella, Sariah, the Alpha is here,” announced Miss Hora.

I felt faint. Stella was in her glee.

“He is furious about this,” said Miss Hora.

“Please, Miss, I want to explain the situation I’m in to him,” I said.

“He doesn’t have the time today!” Said Miss Hora dismissively.

Mr Crawford lifted his shades and gave me an apologetic look. The pity in his eyes told me I was a goner.

“He’s simply here to pick up Stella,” said Miss Hora while she slid her sleek gloves off.

Great. Perhaps this would blow over.

“You are suspended for a week, Miss Prince…” said Miss Hora.

“Miss, that’s not fair! They attacked me! Stella inflicted her own injuries. Please let me explain!” I cried.

“…after which you will have a chance to explain…” continued Miss Hora.

I relaxed a little.

“… to the Alpha King himself as you will be called before him on your eighteenth birthday to be tried as an adult,” explained Miss Hora.

Mr Crawford sighed and dabbed at his eyes under his shades with a pink paper towel. The wicked grins of Stella and the Red Devils seemed to loom before me as the ground came up to meet me. I slid sideways off the bed and onto the floor. The cool silent darkness came to comfort me.