⚜Guardian⚜

Chapter Five

At 1:08, Lacey was in English Literature, doodling angry scribbles in the margins of her notebook. She had gotten permission from the nurse to return to class, and was oddly grateful for the mindless babbling of Mr. Roberts. He was going on about a book called To Kill A Mockingbird, which Lacey had already read and reread at least a thousand times. She tried not to let her thoughts veer to much from careful disinterest, as she was afraid she would remember what had happened yesterday. Her nearly perfect transcription of Mr. Robert's lecture was sure to win an award one day, she mused to herself.

As the teacher came around to check homework, Lacey removed her homework from last night, setting it out in a neat place on her desk. She allowed her mind to wander a bit as she looked at the clock. This was her last class of the day, as she wasn't permitted to go to her swimming class on doctor's orders. She decided during that time she was going to take a nap to make up for lost time she had spent tossing and turning last night. At least dinner will be fun, Lacey hoped to herself, looking again at the clock. She silently willed it to go faster, but it ticked at a completely normal pace.

She was reviewing her notes for the fifth time when she felt something tap her on the elbow lightly. She looked down, seeing the little paper airplane. Lacey looked up to make sure Mr. Roberts was preoccupied before leaning down and lifting it up, praying it wasn't from either one of the Torture Twins.

It read, Chip, where did you disappear to yesterday? You practically vanished off the face of the Earth. She winced, knowing the note was from Calvin. Still, she looked up, trying to locate him in the room. Her eyes fell upon Asher, who was looking in her direction. She dropped her eyes before deciphering the emotion in his eyes, knowing it would hurt to look. Instead, she looked in the other direction, finding Calvin's imploring gaze.

"I'll tell you later," she mouthed at him, but he shook his head, throwing his hands up confusedly. He made a gesture like he was writing on an invisible paper, and she sighed, yanking a piece of paper out of her notebook. She wrote in big, overly dramatic letters.

Magic is part of my charm, Dale. She sent the note over when Mr. Roberts turned to face his overhead projection, pointing with his fingers at the major plot points he had established. She quickly wrote down the new plot points, making an almost perfect imitation of the picture on the overhead. She even wrote down some things that Mr. Roberts was saying. She knew that she was going overboard, but the handiwork allowed her to keep her thoughts in order. Another airplane tapped her arm, and she moved to scowl at Calvin, gesturing at her notes.

"Mr. Hallock. If you have something to share with the class, please share it aloud. Do not disrupt one of my students," Mr. Roberts chastised Calvin. The teacher moved to pick up the paper airplane, and he pocketed it on his way back up to the overhead.

"Sorry, Mr. R, but we just couldn't contain our excitement. Your lecture absolutely fascinates me," Calvin droned, rolling his eyes. He leaned his head against his hand, looking anything but excited. Mr. Roberts turned to him, looking as if Calvin had just popped his bubble. Lacey mentally winced, knowing that talking back to a teacher was one of the worst things you could do. The class suddenly awakened, becoming interested in the drama unfolding before them.

"Mr. Hallock, if you are so fascinated, how about you tell me the three major plot points I highlighted in last night's reading," Mr.Roberts challenged. This was clearly a battle of wits, and Lacey hoped for Calvin's sake that he had remembered what Mr.Roberts had written. Heck, she just hoped he had done the reading.

"Well, it was obviously the interesting parts," Calvin retorted. The class practically smacked their foreheads in unison, knowing that was entirely the wrong answer. Luckily, though, the bell rang then, but Calvin was summoned to stay after class.

"Lacey," a voice called out to her in the hallway. Lacey felt her gut twist menacingly. Was it Theo? Or Asher? Lacey looked up to see Dr. Griffin waiting patiently, holding a small stack of yellow papers. She let out a long breath. How long would she be able to live in fear before she went crazy?

"I'm sorry I haven't caught up with you earlier, but I've kind of been busy," He explained flatly, adjusting his brown glasses. Lacey said nothing, wondering what he wanted with her.

"Anyway, I, uh, I have your pass to skip Swimming. You are to have this period free every Wednesday so we can meet," Dr. Griffin exclaimed, handing her the pass. So much for my nap, Lacey mused to herself. She figured he was probably the high school nerd back in his day, but she felt like that was maybe a good thing. It made him a little more relatable.

"Oh okay. Thank you," she said politely, looking down at the pass. She pretended like she was examining it thoroughly, as if checking for errors.

"Well, I'll see you in my office. I have to go hand out more slips," Dr. Griffin said, dismissing her. She walked away after saying goodbye, walking numbly to her locker and emptying her books into her bag. Lacey quickly jotted her English homework in her agenda before haphazardly stuffing it into her bag.

"Oh my goodness," Lacey heard a voice exclaim behind her.

"Aren't you excited for tonight?" The voice was high pitched and nasally, clearly imitating someone. Lacey stiffened then, realizing Jocelyn was making fun of someone.

"You are so leading her on," Jocelyn smirked. "That dumb drunk bitch doesn't know what's coming to her." Lacey whirled then, knowing they were talking about Alyssa. She opened her mouth to talk back to Jocelyn, but she wasn't in sight. Lacey moved from her locker, looking up and down the hallway, but Jocelyn was nowhere to be seen. Had she imagined the entire scenario? Maybe she was paranoid. She shut her locker then, slinging her bag over her shoulder and walking back to the Dorms building. Lacey dropped her bag inside and went to the counselor's office.

When she got back to the Dorm building, she did her homework, typed and printed her English essay, and reviewed the chapter for Global Civics. When she finished, she threw herself on Alyssa's bed, looking out the window mournfully. Alyssa was prancing around the room drunkenly in search of an outfit for after dinner. She watched the trees shake in the breeze. The light was slowly fading away, a sure sign that the days were getting shorter.

So many things are wrong in my life,

Lacey thought, frowning at the window. First of all, Theo the badass demon lord wants to use me as a puppet. How do I respond without him killing me!?! How do I even want to respond? Lacey began biting her nails unthinkingly. On one hand, I could say yes, and become special and powerful. I could be someone. Yet if I do say yes, I could become something so dangerous, so evil... Besides, consorting with one of Earth's most violent creatures isn't exactly a smart idea. He could double cross me. He obviously has evil practically tattooed onto his blood.

This thought led her to think about Asher, and a shudder of wanting rippled through her body. I do like him... a lot. But what if he is a fallen angel, like Theo? What would that make me? Would I be guilty by association? Do I even know that he is demonic? Would that change the way I felt about him. A strong part of her denied that she would even stop talking to him if he was dangerous, let alone stop liking him. I need to find an answer.