Wild and Out of Control

|chapter four|

"In the interest of preserving peace within Navarre, no more than three cadets carrying rebellion relics may be assigned to any squad of any quadrant."

- ADDENDUM 5.2, BASGIATH WAR COLLEGE CODE OF CONDUCT

------------------------------

|Xaden|

"What do you mean you broke her shoulder?" I question the fairly smug pink-haired Imogen in front of me.

     She scoffs, blowing a piece of pink hair out of her face. "It means that I broke her shoulder. And may have also dislocated it." She shrugs nonchalantly, glancing over to Garrick. "And anyway, why do you care? Her mother captured our parents and that friend of hers Danica's father oversaw the execution of our parents."

     "It's not that the broken shoulder bothers me, it's the fact that you did it in front of Hawthorne when she could easily kill you." Her I give no fucks could ruin everything I have planned if it meant that she could get revenge on the children of the people who killed our parents.

     I feel a presence come up beside me, a firm hand on my shoulder to pull me away from punching a certain pink-haired girl. I turn to see my best friend and section leader, Garrick, with a questioning look, but I shake my head and he leaves it. Bodhi comes up from him as he snacks on some orange slices I grabbed just for him. Since when was he in my room? I rub my temple with my forefingers as he and Imogen take up residence on my bed. This is the last time I use my room as a meeting place for them.

     "What does she look like anyway?" Bodhi asked through slices of oranges, and I swear I felt a bead of juice hit the side of my face. 

     I swipe the juice off my face. "Lovely, cousin." He jokingly smiled, raising his middle finger in the air in front of him. "And what does who look like?" I glance at the clock atop my desk and hold back a sigh as I realize I only have an hour left to prepare for a leadership meeting with Fourth Wing.

     "Danica Hawthorne," he answered while stuffing his face with the rest of the oranges, spilling the rinds onto my bed. Younger cousins, I swear. "I know Violet Sorrengail has silver at the ends of her hair and is shockingly small. But what about Danica Hawthorne? I heard some of the boys talking about how hot she is and wondering if it's true."

     Imogen swatted him on the back of his head. "Stop objectifying women, you asshole. And she's not that hot. Not as hot as me, at least." She must have felt my stare because she turned toward me. "What's wrong with you?"

     "Nothing. Just pissed off."

     "At what this time?" Imogen asked. "You can't keep saying you're pissed off just because you're in a bad mood. Maybe you're just in a bad mood because you're in a bad mood, not because you're pissed off."

     I look up to the ceiling and count to ten, willing my annoyance down. It started with Garrick, then Imogen joined when she wanted to discuss what happened in the training gym, and Bodhi just showed up out of nowhere. They wanted to talk about personal stuff instead of business, which should be saved for meal times. And now they were talking about Hawthorne and Sorrengail. This couldn't get any worse.

     Danica Hawthorne and Violet Sorrengail are going to cause me more trouble than I want. Sorrengail I could handle, her unableness to fight back might just be fine, but Hawthorne has this fire to her that I just can't seem to stay away from. Has this spark in her eyes when she stands up to me like she won't back down from a fight. And I can't seem to stay away from it. Like a moth to a flame. It was a mistake placing them in my Wing, but I needed to keep a close eye on them to make sure they didn't mess with any of my plans.