Page 65 of Vexatious Queen

“Everyone out and close the door behind you.”

There was no second-guessing or hesitation from them. They were gone in ten seconds flat. Turning us around so that my back was to the door, I dropped my arms and waited for Camden to make his move.

He jerked away and straightened his school hoodie before spinning around to glare at me. Camden had the rough edge that only developed after living each day like it could be your last. It was the look of survival and pain.

“Don’t even think about it.” I readied myself to grab him, my muscles tense and shaking slightly from the burst of adrenaline.

“I’m going to kill him,” Camden snarled.

“Shut the fuck up,” I snarled.

He narrowed his eyes, seeming confused that I was talking to him like a regular guy, rather than a teacher.

“You’re taking his side?” Camden pointed at the door. “You just let him walk out of here without even telling him to go to the office. What the hell is that?”

“I’m not taking his side. I need to know what happened, and I can’t let you go after him and hurt him.”

Camden paced away a few steps and turned to look at me. His nostrils flared, and his hands curled into fists.

“If you want my help, then you need to tell me who he is and what he did.”

“Just let me handle it,” Camden said.

Instead of playing defense, I went full offense and grabbed Camden by the front of his hoodie. I marched him backward until he was pressed up against the wall.

“What the hell, man?”

“Look at me.” I waited until he did before lowering my voice to continue. “I’m not supposed to tell you this. Hell, I’m not supposed to tell anyone, but the dean has a watchlist. Students who—if they continue to fuck up or pose a threat to anyone on campus—will be shipped out. And I’m not talking expulsion. No, they are taken to a place worse than a boot camp, a place so secret that no one knows what happens once they go there.”

Camden made a disgusted face.

“That’s all bullshit, you’re just trying to scare me.”

“I wish I was,” I said, shaking my head before releasing Camden. “I thought the same thing until I took this position and was handed the list. You are flagged. If anyone other than me had walked in and seen that fight, then we wouldn’t be having this discussion. You’d be in the office today and waking up tomorrow in some cell. I have no idea what they do to those kids.”

Camden blinked and crossed his arms.

“You’re serious?”

His voice had lost the edge.

“Yes, I am, and considering you went to sleep and woke up here…you of all people should understand what they are capable of. So, no, I’m not taking that guy’s side. I care about what happens to you. What I want is to make sure that you get through these four years and graduate. I want you to do what you want with your life and not get stuck in some purgatory hellscape or worse dead.”

Taking a deep breath, I stepped back and watched him closely. His entire demeanor shifted, and I finally relaxed. Sitting down on the edge of a desk, I let him think it over.

“Why do you care,” he finally asked.

“What do you mean? Why wouldn’t I?”

Camden looked like every pissed off teen I’d ever seen, including myself.

“Man…you’re leaving. Four months and you’re gone. Why the hell do you give a shit about what happens to me? To any of us? You think we haven’t figured out who you are? One of the Kings, gods who have ruled here since freshman year. You have power, money, and you’re a total playboy who gets all the girls. You live the dream life. So don’t try and make me think that you give any of us a second thought the moment you walk out that door.”

I snorted and pinched the bridge of my nose. Apparently, my reputation was still intact, fucking ironic.

“Yes, it would certainly look like that from the outside.”

Staring up at the ceiling, I debated what to say to Camden to get him to understand that other people’s lives were not always what they seemed. It was as if I’d stepped right back into the cliché I’d stepped out of a year ago.