DELONIX [COMPLETED]

Chapter 42

Red Pov

She wasn't right.

Not one bit.

My head kept spinning, and I couldn't seem to concentrate on the topic Mr. Caddel was explaining. It turns out he was shocked to see all of us at the library so late because he had us for first period that day. I had thought he was worried about me, but that was just wishful thinking.

What made me feel even more embarrassed was how awful I looked. My face resembled the walking dead, with a little life left in it. I didn't want Mr. Caddel to notice how terrible I looked, so I tried to avoid his gaze whenever he looked my way.

Ana and Avery seemed to be doing fine. By that, I mean they immediately rested their heads on their desks when we entered the class and luckily weren't caught by Mr. Caddel. Perhaps he saw them but decided to ignore their fatigue since we had stayed up late the night before.

I decided to search for Aubrey to see if she was experiencing the same exhaustion as the rest of us. She had been having a "special talk" with Fake Xavier, so I secretly hoped she would look worse than me. But my prayers never seem to be answered.

No!

She looked even prettier than usual. Instead of having baggy eyes and pale skin, she had sparkling eyes and glowing skin. Just great. I guess being a siren does have its advantages.

Feeling discouraged, I turned my attention back to my empty notebook, filled only with shades of blue ink from my pen. I couldn't help but overhear whispers about me once again. It was becoming too much for me to handle. I had thought I could ignore them, but I was grateful that Xavier had come up with a plan.

Speaking of Xavier, I noticed that neither he nor the other guys were around today. Were they also tired like us and decided not to come to class? I wouldn't have minded, but we had planned to expose Aubrey today. Did he abandon the plan?

My head started to feel dizzy, and my body finally gave in, forcing me to rest my head on my notebook. I didn't care if Mr. Caddel caught me; I just needed to close my eyes for a moment.

As my eyes slowly closed and the pain in my head began to subside...

RING!

The bell suddenly rang.

"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered along with Ana and Avery.

I felt frustrated, and my headache returned even worse than before.

"The bell isn't supposed to ring for another 20 minutes," a female student named Sage announced.

That's strange. If it wasn't supposed to ring now, then who...

My thoughts were interrupted when someone entered the class. It was our chemistry teacher, Mr. Enger, who happened to be a troll.

"Mr. Enger, what's going on? Is this the emergency bell?" Mr. Caddel asked with a concerned look.

"I don't think that's the emergency bell, but..." Mr. Enger was interrupted by a sudden sound coming from the speaker in our class.

"THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE. STUDENTS AND TEACHERS ARE EXPECTED TO HEAD TO THE WEST WING IMMEDIATELY." The voice faded away.

Whispers grew louder among the students, and I looked at Ana and Avery, curious about their thoughts.

"You don't think Xavier..." Avery trailed off.

"Nah... he couldn't, right?" Ana questioned, looking at me. Honestly, I had a hunch that he might be involved.

"Students, please move towards the West Wing," Mr. Enger instructed, and I glanced back at Mr. Caddel, who nodded in approval.