KESTER.

Every noise in the ss faded.

I didn''t hear theughter.

I didn''t hear the chairs creaking.

I didn''t hear my own heartbeat.

Just that one sentence. Echoing over and over and over in

my skull.

My fist crushed the pencil in my hand, and I snapped it in two like was a twig.

I stood up slowly. I don''t even remember doing it.

One second, I was staring at my desk, and the next, I was marching straight toward the back of the ss.

I heard someone call my name. Maybe. I couldn''t tell. I didn''t care.

Troy was grinning like he''d won something.

He didn''t even get the chance to blink before I grabbed him by the cor and mmed his face into the desk.

I didn''t feel anything. Just this heat. Boiling really bad. Rushing through my arms. Through my head.

"Take it back!" I screamed. "SAY IT AGAIN!"

He tried to push me off, but I was already hitting his face repeatedly on the desk.

Everyone gasped, scrambling out of their seats. This was new to them. I had never fought or got violent before.

I didn''t stop.

He shouted once, but I didn''t hear it properly.

I hit him again.

And again.

And again.

I tackled him out of his chair. I heard screams. Desks banged, and chairs scraped as people jumped out of the wa look at anything.

dn''t stop to

My fists moved faster than my thoughts. I didn''t know what I was doing. I didn''t care what I was doing. I just needed him to shut up. I needed to stop the rage. I needed to hit something. Someone.

My mother is NOT a whore!" I roared, spit flying from my mouth. I hit his jaw. His nose. Something cracked. Blood sprayed. I kept going. "TAKE IT BACK!"

I couldn''t stop.

I didn''t even want to stop.

His blood sshed on my sleeves, on my knuckles, on my face. His lends tried to pull me off him, but I swung an elbow and heard one of them yelp. They backed way.

"Kester! STOP!" Miss Lorelle shouted, rushing into the ss. She grabbed my arms, but I didn''t stop. Something was buzzing in my body. I didn''t even feel like me anymore. It was like

finally

chokike all the pain I''d been

choking on for yemething else was

in me. Like I had been waiting for

this

I threw Miss Lorelle off without even realizing it. I heard her stumble, maybe fall.

"Help! Someone get the seniors!" she shouted. She

panicking. "ET THE SENIORS!"

for someone to

Troy''s face was a mess. It was red and swollen. He was choking on hown blood. I think 1 knocked out a tooth, but I didn''t care. I wasn''t even there anymore. I was somewhere else. I was back at home. I was watching my mum cry again. Watching my dad m the door. Watching myself crash into the closet like a scared little chicken.

Maybe that scared little chicken, was dead.

Or maybe it stopped being scared.

I wanted to hurt him the way I couldn''t hurt Dad.

Three older students stormed in. They already had their wolves. So, they were supposedly strong. Two of them held me by both arms Tike I was some wild animal.

I thrashed.

Another one tried to pull me by the waist.

They were stronger than me-but it still took all of them.

"Kester! That''s enough!" one barked in a deep voice.

"He said he said- I tried to exin, but my voice cracked. It sounded like I was crying,

I was still kicking, my legs iling in the air, my fists trying to punch whatever they could reach.

but

1

wasn''t. Or maybe I was.

Troy was on the floor. Covered in blood. His friends were crying. Some girls had

already run

pale.

out

of

the ss. The teacher looked

Everyone looked at me like I was the monster here.

I looked down at my hands.

They were red.

So red,

And shaking.

I didn''t know what just happened.

And still, under all that noise, I only heard one thing: