Chapter 129

"Holy crap!"

Hans's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. He had to bite his tongue to keep from cursing.

She's not going to wake him up-she's just going to pinch him awake?

The classroom had been filled with the drone of the teacher's lecture, punctuated by whispers and the faint sound of snoring. Hans's gasp cut through the noise, and every head in the room whipped toward the back door.

The teacher looked over too.

Everyone saw the same shocking sight: a beautiful girl, twisting Aaron's ear.

Jaws dropped.

Who was she? And what was she doing?

The teacher's mouth hung open. That was The Killer-the one who'd even dared to hit the principal. It was a nickname the teachers had given Aaron behind his back, likely coined by one with a fondness for fantasy novels. His first instinct was to ignore it, but seeing that it was a girl, he felt a pang of pity. He'd never seen Aaron hit a girl, but there was a first time for everything.

"Excuse me, miss, you..."

Before he could finish, the girl yanked Aaron's head up by his ear.

The Killer's eyes snapped open, a storm of fury brewing within them.

The teacher winced. Well, he'd done his best. The rest was out of his hands.

A sharp pain jolted Aaron awake. He opened his eyes, a familiar rage rising in him. How many times had he been beaten awake from a dead sleep just because that man was drunk? His entire demeanor darkened, his gaze locking onto the person attached to his ear.

A stunningly beautiful face came into view, her almond-shaped eyes practically shooting fire.

In an instant, the rage in Aaron's eyes vanished, replaced by pure, instinctual fear. When Marguerite got angry, no one in the family was safe. Theobald once told him that even their father was scared of her temper when she was little, and would buy her toys and snacks by the caseload to appease her.

The entire class held its breath, wanting to intervene but too afraid, their hearts pounding.

But in the next moment, they watched as the notoriously short-tempered school tyrant, instead of exploding, plastered a placating smile on his face.

The students and the teacher were shocked.

Thank God! She's his kryptonite!

Realizing that everyone was staring, Marguerite didn't want to disrupt the class any further. She let go of Aaron's ear, shot him a glare, and hissed, "Pay attention to the lesson!"

Aaron nodded his head like a bobblehead, his long bangs bouncing. Noticing Yellow was still asleep, he kicked his friend's chair.

Yellow shot up. "Is it lunchtime? Is it lunchtime?"

Aaron stared at him, mortified.

Yellow turned, saw Marguerite, and his eyes widened. He quickly wiped the corners of his eyes and mouth, trying to salvage some dignity.

Aaron's heart sank. Why was Marguerite here today? Oh, right. Theobald had said last night that they were coming to handle his transfer. She must have come with him.

He used to sleep in class to catch up on rest after working late shifts, and history was always the best for a nap. Although he hadn't worked last night, he'd tossed and turned for hours, even sitting up at one point to slap himself a few times over the incident with Mr. Spencer. So today, he just couldn't stay awake.

Marguerite must be so disappointed in him.

Someone in the class recognized her as the girl who had come looking for Aaron before. Whispers filled the room. Who was she to him?

Jordon Red, who had also been sleeping, was nudged awake by his deskmate to watch the show. A mocking smirk crossed his face.

"A girlfriend? The psycho's son actually has a girlfriend? Pathetic."

The teacher was curious but knew better than to ask. Clearing his throat, he said, "Alright, let's continue. Where were we?"

Silence.

The teacher's eye twitched. "Right,” he said, answering his own question. “We were

on poetry. 'O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou...""

Before he could finish, Jordon chimed in, "Probably sliding into Juliet's DMs!"

The whole class erupted in laughter.

The teacher was fuming, taking several deep breaths.

"I swear, teaching these kids is my punishment for some past sin."

It was another one of those days where he wanted to blow up the school.

Just then, he saw something truly astonishing. Aaron was sitting up straight, his textbook open. It was a miracle, But he figured it wouldn't last long.

Jordon saw it too and sneered. Hah, putting on an act? Let's see how long you can

keep it up.

To everyone's surprise, Aaron stayed awake for the rest of the class.

After the bell rang, the teacher rushed to the staff room to tell the other teachers

what had happened.