“Teacher’s pet,” the other one spat.
“Bitch. ”
“He’s gone. I saw him walk back to his truck. ”
“Maybe he can’t stand the sight of you. ”
“I know I can’t. ”
“You stink too much. ” Isabella’s fingers curled into my shoulders, shoving down. “You need a wash. ”
I had to fight smarter. How could I survive on this rock if I couldn’t even fight a couple of Initiates?
I let their voices dull in my head, focusing only on how I was going to get out of this. Spidergirl was squatting in front of me now, and she looked off balance. It was the chance I’d been waiting for.
I’d been trying to push her away, but now I pulled her closer instead. My arms crisscrossed in front of her neck as I slid my hands beneath her collar and yanked. A basic choke…Thank you, Priti.
I rolled backward, pulling her with me, on top of me. My head was in the breakers, but I had her. The sky was a dull gray overhead, the sun gone for the day. I was freezing, but I pushed all those thoughts to a distant spot in the back of my mind. I jerked my elbows out, tightening her collar. She began to gag.
“What are you girls about?” It was Ronan.
Finally.
Isabella popped to her feet. “Tracer Ronan. ”
Her friend had been trying to pull away from me, and the moment I let her go, she flew backward, flopping into the shallow waves.
I skittered away like a crab, and as I did, I spotted my bit of kelp. It was a mauled tangle of brownish green bobbing limply in the shallow water, but I grabbed it anyway, just as it was about to be washed away by a wave. I raised it over my head like a trophy. “I was getting this. Kelp. This is edible. ” The words came out rapid fire. I was sure I sounded like a madwoman.
He looked at me for a moment. His expression was hard to read, but I thought I saw strains of worry, anger, exasperation, and just the slightest bit of amusement. His gaze went to the other two. “And you? What did you find while you were mucking about in the breakers?”
Isabella was silent, her face a total blank as she returned Ronan’s stare. It was her innocent look, and I couldn’t help but let out a puff of a laugh at the sight of it.
“Nothing?” He checked his watch. “It’s been over an hour and you’ve nothing to show for it?”
“No,” Izzy said quietly.
He looked to Spidergirl. “You, too, Aubrey?”
So that was her name. Rather than looking at Ronan, she was glaring at Isabella, staring daggers. I noticed how she was soaked while Izzy was mostly dry. Clearly this hadn’t been Aubrey’s idea.
“Fine,” Ronan said. “You have fifteen minutes left in class. There are tiny fish swimming in schools. See there. ” He pointed. “Just past the break. You won’t return to the dorm until you catch one and bring it to me. ”
Isabella shrieked, her silent innocent act gone. “We have to get in the water?”
“You seem adept at getting wet,” he said. “You figure it out. ”
Aubrey stabbed a finger in my direction. “Why doesn’t she have to get a fish?”
“Acari Drew has her kelp. You, however, must retrieve a fish. Now. Unless you wish me to make it two. ”
He headed back up the beach, and I followed. It wasn’t like we were walking together, just walking in the same direction. He called instructions to the other girls, telling them to wrap it up, to bring their finds to him at the truck, but I stayed silent. I dared not thank him. The exchange with Izzy and Aubrey could’ve easily been interpreted as him playing favorites, and I didn’t know which would be more dangerous—for him to have a teacher’s pet, or for me to be labeled as one.
Though he ignored me, he slowed until we were nearly side by side. He’d seen my kelp—did that mean class was done for me? When his Range Rover came into view, I gritted my chattering teeth and said, “S-so, does this mean I can go?”
He gave a steely nod, and I peeled off in the other direction, but then he surprised me by calling out, “Wait. Annelise. ”
I stopped, peering at him. It was almost completely dark now, and I tried to make sense of his expression in the twilight. Was I about to get it? Would he tear into me about needing to come to my aid? Had he changed his mind—would he make me return to the beach to gather my own fish after all?