The Unchosen Ones

Chapter 3

3

The classroom used by St. Bernard High School for detention was a small room with two broken windows covered with cardboard and some broken tables and chairs that ensured sitting was as torturous as could be. It was a little dusty; Amberly and Trace were usually the only two who would ever be sent to that room. On the wall at the front of the class was a square chalkboard with the words “LOOK AT YOU” written in menacing block letters. A CCTV camera looked down from the top right corner of one of the walls. Kire found himself a nice broken chair and took out his books to start working on some homework.

Ten minutes into detention, he heard the door creak, revealing Amberly.

“What is she doing here?” Kire said.

“Be quiet,” Mrs. Goody snapped. “Amberly here is every bit as infamous as you are around this school—”

“I’m not infamous; I was only late to class,” Kire interrupted through gritted teeth.

“Which is a habit you’ve become rather infamous for,” Mrs. Goody said. “This young lady here was found dancing in front of the principal.”

Kire raised his eyebrows. “What?”

“Sit down,” Mrs. Goodly barked at Amberly. “You seem shocked, Mr. Hunter.”

“Maybe she was showing him some new… cheerleader moves?” Kire said rather slowly.

“Precisely what I told them,” Amberly murmured.

Mrs. Goodly scoffed at this. “And the principal has a degree in creative criticism of dance. Just the right audience,” she said dully.

Amberly was smiling as though she had just won the lottery but was trying to hide it. Kire knew what this smile meant—trouble.

“Uh, Mrs. Goody?” Kire said, springing to his feet. “You know, I’ve thought about what I did.”

Mrs. Goody nodded curtly. “You realized your wicked ways?”

“Yes,” he said, rolling his eyes internally. “How about you punish me by making me clean the toilets?” Anything to not have to spend the next hour with Amberly.

“What?” said Mrs. Goody.

“Yes, you see,” Kire began, “what I did was so rude—coming into your class late and all. I just remembered how much I hate cleaning the toilet, so how about instead of making me stay in this room; you just make me clean the toilets instead?”

Mrs. Goody started chuckling at this. “So, it’s true then?” she said.

“So, what is true?” asked Kire.

“I’ve heard people say that you and Amberly McHenry have a cat and dog kind of relationship.”

Kire shook his head. “More like cat and rat—she’s the cat and I’m the rat. This girl is after my life.”

“I don’t know what he’s talking about,” Amberly said innocently when Mrs. Goody shot her an inquisitive glance.

“I think you’re being paranoid. Your detention still has forty minutes on the clock. Enjoy,” Mrs. Goody said, walking out of the classroom.

“Seems like I struck the jackpot,” Amberly said darkly.

“I’d like to warn you that there’s a CCTV camera in that corner—” He pointed to the corner. “I’d stay where you are if I were you.”

“It’s broken,” Amberly said, not looking away from Kire. “Trace told me so. It’s just for show.”

Amberly got up and found a different seat closer to Kire. “You and I have a lot to talk about, my friend,” she said.

“We have nothing to talk about,” Kire said.

“Have you noticed that we have a lot in common?

Kire snorted. “I’m not obsessed with making Kire Hunter’s life a living hell; only you are.”

“And you don’t think there’s a reason for that?” she asked, tilting her head.

“There’s no reason, Amberly. You just don’t like that I’m a genius and you’re not.”

She exhaled sharply. “As expected, you’re really good at pretending. I wonder if he taught you that, to deny your connection to people. You both must have had all these years together…”

“What are you talking about?”

Amberly sighed. “You know what I think?”

“No, not at all.”

“The two of you are just the same. You both think so highly of yourselves that the whole world is beneath you. That’s why I try to make your life hell because hell is the only place fit for demons like you and him.”

“Whatever stuff you took before coming here, I strongly recommend you don’t take it ever again. You’ve gone clean crazy.”

“I am crazy,” she said with a shrug. “I danced in front of the principal to get detention with you.”

“W-what?” asked a very confused Kire. He didn’t know what he did to earn such reproach from Amberly, but she was absolutely obsessed with hurting him.

“Yeah, I know,” she said in a bored voice. “But better a crazy girl than the devil you were raised to be. You had it all growing up, right? Vacations, sleepovers, family game night?”

“What are you talking about?” Kire snarled. “You think you know me? You think I had it all smooth, nice, and easy growing up?”

“Yes, you did have it all smooth, nice, and easy,” she said matter-of-factly. Amberly’s face displayed no emotion whatsoever at the moment. “I hate you, Kire. For acting like there’s nothing between us, I hate you.”

Kire was dumbstruck. Was this Amberly’s weird way of telling him she had a crush on him?

They were still looking coldly at each other when Mrs. Goody pushed the door open. “Both of you out. Now.”

Amberly smiled and rose to her feet. “We haven’t even started yet, Kire. The fun has just started.”