Mr. Samuel sat leisurely at his desk as he compiled attendance sheets, enjoying the serene and calming silence.
The past few days had been incredibly hectic for him- scheduling classes, writing reports and counselling students. It had been a stressful run and the dean sighed in exhaustion.
Shutting his laptop, he relaxed into his office chair and shut his eyes. Though he wasn't one for sleeping on job the dean felt like he deserved a break. After all, the work day was almost over.
Time for some much-needed slee-
"Bowers!"
The doors to the dean's office banged open, revealing a seething Luka. Startled and slightly annoyed, Mr. Samuel shot him a glare.
"What in the world, Luka? You can't just barge into my office like that!"
"The deal is off," Luka snarled, ignoring the older man's complaint. "I'm not doing this shit anymore."
"Wait, what? Why?"
"Because of that bitch!"
Standing up, Mr. Samuel tried to calm the raging boy. "Luka, calm down. What happened? Stop yelling and explain to me."
Huffing, the younger male clenched his jaw. "I did as you said; I went to her fucking club meeting. She was giving me attitude and when I called her out, that wench slapped me."
Mr. Samuel's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "She what?"
"You heard right, Bowers," Luka hissed. "Your model student assaulted me."
He made air quotes at the last part and Mr. Samuel sighed in disbelief. "That doesn't sound like Keisha. She'd never hurt a fly. Are you sure you didn't do anything to provoke her?"
Luka pursed his lips, his mind going back to the moments before the slap. He had called her stupid, made fun of her club and threatened her. "No."
Mr. Samuel raised a questioning brow, folding his arms across his chest. "Luka?"
"I didn't do anything!" he defended angrily. "I should've known you'd side with her. She's your bitch after all."
Mr. Samuel frowned, triggered by his words. "Don't speak like that about her, Luka. Have some respect! And I'm not siding with anybody but being logical. Knowing the both of you it's more likely that you provoked her reaction."
"Fuck you," Luka spat, narrowing his eyes at the dean. "I'm over this."
Storming towards the door, he turned to give the dean a final warning. "And for the record, tell your little pet to watch her back. She barked up the wrong tree."
"Luka, wai- "
Mr. Samuel couldn't get his word in as Luka had slammed the door shut. Collapsing in his chair, he let out a stressed sigh.
He'd paired Keisha and Luka together in hopes of killing two birds with a single stone, but now he'd made a mess of things. Luka no longer wanted to stop his expulsion and Keisha was about to be maimed by the former.
The dean ran his fingers through his brown locks frustratedly.
Knowing Luka, he wasn't going to let Keisha go. The pureblood was an arrogant devil who as much as Mr. Samuel tried to deny it, was feared by all. And rightfully so.
Crossing him was as good as signing a death warrant and the only reason the dean wasn't on his hitlist was because the Supreme Assembly had assigned him to be Luka's guardian.
A task he wasn't very successful at, Mr. Samuel thought.
If Luka got expelled not only would he be punished by the Supreme Assembly, his guardian would also be stripped of all honorary titles and roles.
Mr. Samuel didn't want to lose the privileges he'd worked for centuries to get and return to a life of mediocrity. He wanted to ascend higher in the ranks and join the Court of Lords and eventually, the Supreme Assembly. That could never happen if Luka got expelled.
The dean had to come up with a plan and do it quickly.
But first, he had to reach out to Keisha. Protecting his students was his top priority. He wasn't about to let her get hurt because she put an idiot in his place.
Mr. Samuel burst into a chuckle, finding the idea of Keisha slapping Luka quite amusing. He'd never taken her to be the violent type but once again, she'd surprised him. As much as Luka got on his nerves, he could never dream of touching the elusive Prince of Hell, much less hitting him. Yet this tiny human girl hit him on their first encounter.
She must have balls of steel.
Leaning back into his chair, the dean stroked his chin in thought. He'd hoped Luka would be inspired by Keisha's resilience and grit, but instead he'd sparked a war. But to be honest, he didn't regret his actions.
In a way, Keisha did show her unrelenting spirit by standing up to Luka, something the latter was not used to. And while defying the pureblood was not advisable, Mr. Samuel felt that was exactly what he needed.
Luka was so used to rebelling against authority and getting his way. He was entitled and arrogant, with little care for the consequences of his actions. Perhaps it was time the unruly vampire got humbled with a taste of his own medicine.
A sly smirk spread across Mr. Samuel's face as he rocked his chair back and forth.
The Prince of Hell was going to meet the end of his reign and her name was Keisha Brown.
-
"So, nobody showed up?"
Steph asked disbelievingly as Keisha nodded sadly. The two girls were currently at the campus square grabbing a late lunch together. They sat in a secluded booth at a mostly empty café, eating their apple pies and milkshakes.
"I'm so sorry, Keisha. I would've come if I'd known."
"It's okay," Keisha sighed. "You weren't around and even if you were, I doubt school clubs are your thing."
"They're not. But if I'm helping out a friend then I can manage."
"Thanks, Steph. I appreciate it."
Steph offered her friend a reassuring smile to which the other female reciprocated. Sipping her milkshake, the college junior spoke.
"So, what are you going to do now, Keish?"
Pausing to think, the freshman placed a finger on her chin. "I don't really know. Since nobody joined the club, I think I might just give up."
"Give up? You can't just quit. You worked hard for this, sharing fliers and shit. Quitting isn't an option."
"But there's no point, Steph," Keisha explained. "I can't be in a club all by myself."
"I say we try again. Except this time, I'll help. You know I'm pretty popular around here, I'm sure I can get some of my friends to come."
"Really?" Keisha perked up in excitement.
"Yeah. I'll even post on my socials too. That way the entire campus will know about it."
Touched by her friend's kindness, Keisha gushed appreciatively. "Thank you so much, Steph! You're literally the best roomie ever!"
"No biggie, Keish. You can thank me by cleaning up my half of the room."
Both girls laughed at that, returning to the meals before them. They ate in a comfortable silence and when they were done, Steph signaled the waiter.
"We're ready to pay," she said as the boy reached them, his tall figure looming over them. Keisha silently wondered if it was a Henderickson thing for all the male staff and students to be tall as she'd hardly come across any short boys in the school.
Adjusting his glasses, the boy smiled politely. "Sure thing. I'll be back with your bill shortly."
Walking off, it took quite a few minutes for the boy to return. He bowed his head apologetically upon arrival. "Sorry about that. I was asked to deliver this message to one of you."
Turning to Keisha, the boy handed her a note. "This is for you."
"Me?" Keisha asked in bewilderment. "From who?"
"They asked for anonymity, unfortunately. Sorry," the boy said, handing them the bill. "You can pay at the counter."
They thanked the server as he left, promising to tip him well. Turning to her friend, Steph peered curiously at the neatly folded note.
"Are you going to open that?"
"I don't know. I wonder who sent it."
"Probably a secret admirer," Steph cooed, wriggling her brows at her friend. "I told you that you'd be a hit with boys!"
Rolling her eyes at her friend's antics, Keisha gingerly opened the note. She scanned through it, reading the neat handwriting inside.
'Be careful where you walk,
Watch closely where you step.
For danger lurks around those
Who dare to step on a tiger's neck.
You've been warned, little girl.'
Keisha furrowed her brows in confusion. What did this even mean? Was she being threatened?
"Is everything alright?" Steph asked in concern, noticing her friend's expression. "What did it say?"
Handing the note to her, Steph gasped as she read it. "What the hell? Who is this asshole?"
"I don't know," Keisha replied, worried. "It could be Addison."
Steph frowned. "That brat you told me about? It seems like I need to have a chat with this bitch."
"I doubt it's her though. The tone of the message doesn't really sound like something she'd write. Plus, we let her have the window seat so she has no motive to do this."
"So, if it isn't her then who? Do you have any other enemies?"
Looking down at the note, Keisha racked her brain. Who could've sent this to her? She'd generally kept to herself so far, so who had a bone to pick with her? Other than Addison, she didn't remember having any altercations with anybody. The only other person she got in a fight with was that asshole from the club meeting.
That's when it hit her.
"That jerk!" Keisha shouted. "He did this!"
"Who?" Steph asked. "What jerk?"
"Some asshole who showed up for the meeting yesterday. He tried to harass me so I slapped him."
"Wait, I thought nobody came?"
"He is a nobody, Steph. A perverted, stupid nobody!"
"How do you know it's him?"
"The language," the freshman explained. "He literally kept calling me little girl like a weirdo. That's what he called me in the note too."
"Sounds like a dick," Steph cursed. "What's his name?"
Keisha realized she didn't know the boy's name so she shook her head. "I never asked. But he's definitely not in my year."
Tapping her foot, Keisha scoffed in irritation. Did that asshole really think he could intimidate her? After all he did to her, he actually had the nerve to pull a stunt like this? Her assessment of him was right after all; he was nothing but a spineless bully.
Unfortunately for him though, she was not going to take it. Not anymore.
Never again was she going to let anybody bully or oppress her. She was so done with being the victim. This time, she was going to fight back and she was going to win.
Clenching her jaw, Keisha angrily ripped the note to shreds. Bring it on, asshole.