𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐩

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔗𝔴𝔬

"If you don't want people to know it's you, you should try to not leave evidence."

I folded my arms and snapped my head away from the white-haired headmistress.

"If your father heard about this, he would be very disappointed," she continued with her speech, intertwining her fingers and resting her chin there with a pathetically sympathetic look.

I rolled my eyes at her attempt to turn my frustration into guilt. "It was to drive my point home," I replied. "Maybe even spark a revolution."

Pfft. Yeah, right.

I almost laughed at my own words.

The only revolution these preppy brats would stir up would be banning me from the world. Aka: A suspicious event where I mysteriously disappeared and no body was ever found until thousands of years later when my body was no longer recognizable and I was found at the bottom of the deepest pit in the world.

"Listen, Miss Adair," Headmistress something said, drawing my attention back to her.

"It's Tempest," I corrected subconsciously.

"Miss Tempest." She lifted her head from her folded fingers and leaned back in her seat. "You've put me in quite the situation."

"Because I can't be expelled?"

She frowned. "You have this twisted idea that nothing you do matters because nothing has consequences for you."

"Which is true."

"Everything has a consequence."

"What's the consequence for breaking every rule in your little book?"

"Expulsion."

"What if I told you that I broke every rule today? All one thousand, four hundred and fifty-three." I leaned forward, resting my elbows on her perfectly polished desk.

She imitated my action and narrowed her eyes. "Impossible," she stated.

I narrowed my eyes back. "Rule number one: Don't be dumb. Rule number two: Don't do dumb things. Rule number three: If you followed the first two rules, then you are better than everyone else. Rule number four: Think before you act. Rule number five: Protect your pride. Rule number six: Always be on time for class. Rule number seven: Never skip class. Rule number eight: Wear school uniform." I gestured to my casual onesie, the pants tucked into my tall boots. "Rule number nine: Follow the dress code outside of school." I ran my hands through my loose hair, unlike the headmistress' which was tucked into a perfect tight bun. "Rule number ten: Never enter the tunnels. Rule number eleven: Do not enter the restricted areas. Rule number twelve: Do not touch anything restricted. Rule number thirteen: Do nothing suspicious. Rule number fourteen: Do not go off on your own. Rule number fifteen: No exploring. Rule number sixteen..." I rambled on as I watched the headmistress become increasingly more annoyed. Her eye started twitching by the time I got to two hundred and she was squirming by five hundred.

She finally stopped me as I neared a thousand. "You have proved your point. So is expulsion your goal?"

"Even if it was, it isn't possible."

We both stared, each knowing the outcome of our match. I was the one to break the silence first. "If that is all, I will be heading back to the dorms now."

"School still isn't over."

"Is it not?" I questioned before swiping up my backpack and heading for the door.

Suddenly the headmistress spoke. "Miss Wren Bertillon wasn't at class today."

I froze, my hand hovering over the bronze door handle. My blood began boiling with anger. My face was red when I whipped around to face the old lady. But before I could say a word, she said, "You think that nothing has consequence. You may want to rethink that idea of yours."