Chapter 61: Red Paint

Aina

Aina knew she was utterly, helplessly doomed the moment she stepped out of the medical ward. She’d be a fool if she thought otherwise.

Ever since she had been cleared to resume her classes, an oppressive, suffocating atmosphere had followed her through the grand stone corridors of Moonside Academy. When she walked down the hall, it felt as though the entire academy was actively avoiding her.

Students shrank back against the lockers, ducking their heads and whispering the juiciest of gossip behind their hands as she passed. She couldn’t put an exact finger on what was happening, but a thick, sickening knot of absolute dread coiled tightly in her stomach.

That was only made worse by the fact that she had stopped by the main administrative office earlier to ask Ms. Gable if Headmaster Roiner had returned from the capital.

And the answer was obvious. He hadn’t.

It had already been a full week, and Roiner was still nowhere to be found. Aina low-key felt like something terrifying was about to happen. She had zero decent protection. Molly was a complete sweetheart, a darling, really, but she was entirely useless when it came to actual physical protection.

The only person in this monstrous academy who possessed any real power to shield her was Roiner, and with him gone, Aina felt like she was about to be buried alive. She could feel it in her bones, she was going to die in this wretched academy by the hands of her hated mates, how ironic.

When she finally reached her assigned locker, Aina let out a heavy sigh, shifting her backpack over her good left shoulder. She pulled open the metal door to grab her books for morning class. The moment the locker door swung open, a quiet mechanism clicked.

Aina barely had time to blink before a massive, explosive spray of thick red paint launched straight out of her locker, jetting violently into her face.

The sticky, cold liquid hit her with crushing force. Aina gasped in shock, involuntarily coughing as some of the foul-tasting paint splattered straight into her mouth. She stood frozen in the crowded hallway, red liquid dripping off her chin, her nose, soaking and through her clothes.

knew it, Aina raged bitterly inside her head, her jaw clenching so hard her teeth ached. I knew this was going to happen!

Irritated beyond belief, she wiped her wet eyes with her left hand and looked around the corridor. Dozens of students were standing in a wide circle around her, their glowing phone screens held high, recording her every move with cruel, mocking smirks. She knew right then and there that this was officially going to be the absolute worst week of her entire life.

Slagging her locker shut with a loud, echoey BANG, Aina frantically pulled off her dark school blazer with her free left hand, using the dark fabric to violently scrub the thick red paint off her cheeks and neck.

"Funny, guys!" Aina shouted out loud, her boyish voice cracking with sheer, furious humiliation as she glared at the crowd. "This is really, really funny!"

I need to wash this off right now, she thought, turning on her heel and marching straight toward the nearest boys’ restroom.

She paused for a brief, miserable second outside the heavy wooden door, staring at the brass sign. How she utterly hated stepping into the men’s bathroom, but right now, she had no other choice. She pushed the door open, practically throwing herself at the row of sinks.

Aina reached out with her left hand and frantically cranked the brass taps.

Nothing happened.

Not a single drop of water trickled out. She rattled the handles furiously, her breath coming in fast, angry hitches. "What?!" she gasped, staring at the dry, rusting faucet. "Are you kidding me?!"

This is so beyond irritating! Aina yelled in her mind, her chest burning with frustration.

Determined to clean herself before her next class began, Aina decided to head straight for the outdoor courtyard. There were small stone taps out there used for the gardens, surely those would work. She needed to hurry up, because class was starting in minutes, and she knew the vicious academy teachers would kill her for being late.

She hurried down the side corridors, clutching her plaster-encased right arm protectively against her stomach. When she pushed open the grand double doors leading out into the stone courtyard, she froze.

The courtyard was completely, eerily deserted.

Aina blinked, her purple eyes scanning the empty stone benches and manicured hedges. It was deeply, unsettlingly weird. There was always someone bunking classes out here. Every single hour of the day, a handful of rebellious shifter students would be slacking off, lounging in the sun or chatting by the fountain. But right now... there wasn’t a single soul in sight.

Suppressing the rising panic in her gut, Aina rushed over to one of the small brass spigots sticking out from a stone pillar. She turned the valve, and to her immense relief, clear water came rushing out.

"Thank you moon Goddess," Aina muttered, splashing the cool liquid over her face, furiously scrubbing the red pigment off her skin and her hair. As she continued washing her cheeks, a deeply pungent, sickening odor suddenly hit her nose, rising straight from the running stream.

Aina paused, wiping water from her lips. Unthinkingly, she cupped a tiny bit of the liquid in her palm and took a small, cautious sip to test it.

The moment it hit her tongue, Aina violently gagged. It tasted like sewage water. It tasted utterly foul, a horrific, rancid flavor coating her throat.

"Gag!" Aina squeaked out, spitting the water out onto the grass and wiping her tongue with her sleeve, her stomach rolling in violent nausea. You are so unbelievably stupid, Aina! Why on earth would you taste that?!

She clutched her burning face, staring down in absolute terror as the clear stream running from the tap slowly turned a murky, foul brown. The water lines had been tampered with.