Chapter 0020
By the time we arrive at my next class, I’m starting to feel austrophoble. I really hope Alice is wrong about me having five bonds, I don’t think I can deal with five men surrounding me full–time.
“Don’t worry, she will be fine,” I hear Dot say in annoyance
“Any issues just shout and we will be straight in there,” Marcus tells her, stepping to the side to let me out of my cage of muscle. I see Dot at the door of the changing room, she’s with a small Asian girl who smiles at Damien sweetly before introducing herself to me.
“Hi, I’m Sunny, Damien is my bond and has recruited me the girl team,” she giggles, looping her arm through mine and leading me inside. I look back and give the guys a small wave before Dot slams the door in their faces. I let out a relieved sight.
“Intense huh?” she asks.
“Just a lot,” I snort.
“Things will settle down soon,” Sunny reassures me. I follow the girls to a bench and they place their bags down, pulling out shorts, t–shirts and socks that match their tie colours.
“Erm… I don’t have anything to change into,” I admit, feeling like an idiot. I did 8 years of human education, which required a change of clothes for classes like this. Why did I think it would be any different here?
“Oh no, Josie this is bad, real bad,” Dot looks at me horrified.
“Why? Will I get detention?” I ask.
“No worse,” Sunny exclaims, “you’ll have to wear the kit of shame,
“The what?” I laugh.
“It’s not a laughing matter, it’s an old sweaty kit that stinks, and not only that but every piece is a different colour. A red top, green shorts, one blue sock and one yellow,” she cringes.
“I’m never going to live this one down am I?” I cover my face with my hands, already embarrassed.
“No. Quick fall on the floor and pretend you blacked out,” Dot whispers.
“Yes, good idea,” Sunny nods enthusiastically. I glance around to make sure no one is watching and as I’m about to drop to the floor a chorus of beeps sound out.
“Uh oh,” Dot frowns.
“That’s the urgent school alert, it overrides the silencer on everyone’s phones. It means we have to stop what we are doing and read the alert,” Sunny explains taking her phone from her pocket with a frown. I search for mine and read the message that’s flashing up on my screen.
‘Whole school assembly in the grand hall. Attendance is mandatory for all staff and students. Please make your way there immediately.‘
“Well, that was a stroke of luck,” Dot laughs, shoving her lat back into her bag. I blow out a sigh of relief. I’m saved from the public humiliation.
I check the message that Mr Collins had sent earlier whilst the girls pack their stuff back up.
‘Miss Banks, please address me as Mr Collins. Anything else will be deemed as inappropriate and will result in
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¿Chapter 0020!
punishment.
I keep my features neutral, not wanting Dot to question me when I hit reply.
‘Oops, sorry Sir. What kind of punishment do you have in mind for me?”
I respond and then instantly regret it. What the hell am I doing? I have five potential bonds and I’m trying to flirt with my headmaster. Get a grip, Josie! His mind control must have scrambled my brain or something.
“What’s going on?” Sunny asks when we walk out to meet the guys.
“No idea,” Damien shrugs.
“I’m sure we can all take a guess what this is going to be about,” Cole laughs and everyone goes silent.
“What?” I ask because no one else is.
“You, of course,” he rolls his eyes.
“What makes you think that?” I frown.
“Because I’ve been here for two years and we’ve never been called to an urgent assembly until you arrived,” he shrugs.
“Fantastic,” I mutter.
Theo puts an arm around my shoulders, “Dont worry about it, it’s probably nothing,”
The grand hall is exactly like it sounds, grand. It’s a mix between an old castle and a fancy hotel function room. With large stone walls and huge chandeliers, I could imagine a fancy ball happening here. Chairs are set out in rows, all facing a podium. Theo leads us to a row of seats at the front and positions me between himself and Luke. Marcus, Cole and Damien take the seats directly behind us. Loud chatter echoes around the room as it fills up. Movement to the left of the podium catches my attention, and blue eyes stare at me. It’s Mr Collins. He’s partially hidden in shadow behind a curtain so I don’t think the other students have noticed him yet. I see his lips move, he’s talking to someone but I can’t hear anything from this distance. His eyes never leave mine though, not until another figure moves to his side. Then he looks from me to the woman at his side, leaning down and taking her lips in a passionate kiss. It’s Clarrisa The sight hits me like a punch to the gut. Anger ignites within me, boiling the blood in my veins and I jump to my feet on instinct. There’s a barely audible shriek of fear as the curtain is ripped from its rail and wraps tightly around Clarrisa.
“Josie, what’s wrong?” Theo’s voice breaks through my angry haze and he takes my hand, pulling me back down to my chair just as quickly as I’d left it.
“That fucking asshole,” Luke mutters and nods towards Mr Collins as he unwraps the curtain from Clarrisa. “Stay calm, babe. I don’t think anyone else noticed you did anything,” Theo whispers.
“I need to get out of here,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Breathe,” Theo whispers, squeezing my hand in his. Luke takes my other hand and I take a shaky breath.
“What’s happening to me?” I ask them..
“It’s just your powers coming in. It’s completely normal for them to flare up as an emotional response. Especially if one of your bonds purposely kisses another woman in front of you,” Luke explains, his tone becoming bitter when he mentions Mr Collins.
“But…” I begin to protest that Mr Collins isn’t my bond but Theo cuts me off.
“Let’s just get through this and talk about this later,” he nods towards the podium steps where Mr Collins is
about to start the assembly. Maybe I’ll set fire to his pants ith my mind whilst he’s addressing the whole acadenly.
