Heaven's Rebel Heart

Chapter Four: The One With All The Attention

We walk into homeroom, and I notice the stares haven't stopped. Even the teacher glances up when we enter, her eyes briefly flicking to me before she smiles politely and gestures toward the back of the room.

"Take a seat wherever you'd like," she says.

Emerald pulls me toward the back row, and I follow, grateful for the chance to sit somewhere that isn't in the middle of a spotlight. As I settle into my seat, I hear more whispers.

"That's her."
"Yeah, the one who told Klaus off in the parking lot."

I sigh and lean back in my chair. If this is how my first day is going to go, I might as well get used to being the center of attention—whether I like it or not.

Just as I start to relax, the teacher clears her throat and looks directly at me.

"Oh, you must be the new student. Why don't you stand up and introduce yourself to the class?"

The words hit me like a brick. Introduce myself? Ugh, no thanks. But judging by the expectant look on the teacher's face, I don't really have much of a choice. I can already feel the stares intensifying, the entire class waiting for me to make some kind of first impression. Well, if they want a show, I might as well give them one.

I stand up slowly, feeling all eyes on me. "I'm Heaven Astrid Holden," I say simply.

The teacher smiles, but then adds, "Why don't you tell us a little more about yourself?"

Oh, great. Just what I needed. I glance around the room, making brief eye contact with a few students, and then I see them—some girls glaring at me like I've personally offended their very existence. It doesn't take a genius to figure out why. I'm the girl who talked back to Klaus, and to them, that's basically like talking down to a god.

So, instead of giving a boring, standard introduction, I decide to lean into the sarcasm.

"Well, I'm Heaven Astrid Holden. As you can see, I've already made a fan club." I wave a hand vaguely toward the glaring girls, which earns me a few chuckles from the class. "But no autographs today, sorry."

The laughter grows, and even the teacher looks like she's trying not to smile. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of Klaus sitting in the back of the room. He's watching me with that same unreadable expression from earlier, but there's a flicker of something else there—maybe amusement.

I sit back down, and the teacher continues with the lesson, but I can still feel the tension in the air. Apparently, taking a jab at Klaus and his fan club has made me even more interesting to the rest of the class.

---

By the time lunchtime rolls around, I've resigned myself to the fact that avoiding attention today just isn't in the cards.

Emerald and Esmeralda lead me toward the cafeteria, chatting about something or other, but I'm only half listening. My mind is racing, and I'm feeling that familiar knot of anxiety in my stomach again. The thought of walking into a room full of students and having all eyes on me is... well, it's pretty much my worst nightmare.

We push through the double doors, and just like that, the noise in the cafeteria dies down. You could hear a pin drop. It's like the whole room just hit pause the moment I stepped inside.

Great. Here we go again.

I glance around the room, feeling the weight of a hundred pairs of eyes on me. My sarcastic instinct kicks in before I can stop it.

"Please," I say, raising my voice just enough to carry across the cafeteria. "My fans and royal subjects, don't stop eating or whatever you were doing to welcome me. Feel free to do so in my presence, and besides... I don't bite."