Devil on the Rooftop [Book 1]

Chapter 30 - Khaleel

The final warning bell rang hard and loud, urging students to their respective classes. Hino told me yesterday that Arisa had first period with us, but by some coincidence, her seat was right next to mine too. She was not happy about it. The feeling was mutual, I wanted to say. The thought of teasing her didn't do it for me anymore. Not while I knew Loyal was crushing on her. He said he wouldn't act on his feeling because she was out to sabotage us but I couldn't shake off the irritation. He had her on the do-not-touch list without knowing it and that officially made her my responsibility.

As if I didn't already have enough on my plate.

I claimed Hino's seat, which was right behind Arisa. Mrs. Patterson wouldn't mind. I was sure she would just happy to mark me down as present. I was absent yesterday because of the dumb old dean, but all the times before were just bad timing. It was pay week, so I was busy collecting money from clients. I couldn't exactly tell her that, so I let her assume I was playing hooky. "Settle down everyone," the frumpy woman said. "As promised, you will have the first half of class to finish your reading assignments from last week. I'm sure you haven't forgotten presentations begin tomorrow. This applies to everyone except Arisa."

The classroom turned to look at the new girl. I saw her shoulders stiffen from behind. "Could you come up here, dear?" Mrs. Patterson asked.

Arisa promptly obliged.

"I recommend the rest of you take advantage of the next hour,"  Mrs. Patterson said. "I don't want to hear any excuses tomorrow."

I leaned back in my chair and focused on my new target. I had to take initiative and find out how she really felt about my friend. She told him not to bother liking her but it could all be an act..or maybe she meant every word? There way no way to know for sure. I could ask for the truth but it would have to be without my usual tools of interrogation. Becoming her friend wouldn't work, not while she associated me with Loyal and the rooftop. Seducing her was out of the question...or was it? No. I couldn't. Not while Loyal was pissing around her and marking territory. What else was there?

Mrs. Patterson's voice was sharp and assertive. "Is there a reason you're not working, Khaleel?"

"I finished the reading last night," I replied, a slight grin sweeping across my face. "Just waiting for everyone else to get on my level."

The overachieving prudes who refused to use our services, glared at me. The rest of my peers stifled their laughs. It was nice to be the centre of attention again. Contrary to belief, I didn't enjoy missing classes, it was just a part of my job as the enforcer.

I caught Arisa's deadpanned expression. She really didn't like me—which made sense after the shit Loyal put her through, but her reaction was still annoying. There was a hint of arrogance to it, not entitlement, but moxie. It was as if she was daring me to make a move; to give her a reason to threaten me again. Matilda wore that same expression, but while her warnings held hints of vulnerability, Arisa's were governed by resentment.

A fire sparked in my chest and startled me out of the seat. The class's attention was still on me but now I feared my peers would sense my internal conflict. "Can I go to the washroom?" I asked the teacher. Arisa Hoffman didn't take those icy eyes off me and I was sure if she did, I would say or do something to get them back on me.

"I don't know, Khaleel, can you?" Mrs. Patterson replied.

I let out an exasperated sigh. "May I go the washroom?"

"No, you may not."

"Ugh! You're killing me, Ms.P!"

I dropped in the seat and crossed my arms on Hino's desk. I rested my head on my forearms and desperately searched for an answer: how to extract information out of Arisa without losing myself in her ferocity? It was going to be tough. I might never recover. She might take the source of my raging hormones and skewer them together. I groaned in agony at the thought of it all.

By the time Arisa returned to her seat, I was distraught. I was trying my best not to steal any glances but every so often, she would catch me peering. "You're really pissing me off," she commented. "What do you want?"

"I want to make sure you stay away from Loyal," I replied, trying to convince myself that was the whole truth. "I want to make sure you don't hurt him."

"I'm going to hurt you if you don't start minding your own business," she retorted.

Fuck. "I would love to see you try."

"You're the scum of the academy, you know that?"

"That's a bit harsh. Where do you get off saying something like that?"

"Where do you get off hurting Matilda's feelings?"

Her accusation surprised me. Did she start digging into our pasts already? How much did she learn and what did she plan on doing with this information? I had so many questions but I couldn't ask any of them without letting that growing flame scorch my chest. I had to play it cool. I had to ignore this sprouting interest before I jeopardized my friend's plans for the future.

"Wow," I drawled. "How far are you willing to go?"

"Toy with Matilda again and you might just regret asking me that."