Breed of Envy (The Breed Chronicles, #02) (40 page)

Features she’d spent an hour yelling at me about, because I hadn’t told her. And then she’d yelled at Linc for not telling her. She didn’t seem bothered by my demoness, just that I hadn’t told her about it and that she’d had to hear it from everyone else.

I tried to laugh, because I knew she meant well, but it didn’t make me feel any better. I was used to mostly being shunned by everyone. Or I had been, until I’d gotten here. I wasn’t exactly a social butterfly or anything, but neither was I a complete hermit. I talked to people. Kind of.

Sighing, I glanced up at the clock on the back wall. Still twenty minutes until class. “I’m gonna head up. I need to talk to Mr. Sheldon before class,” I lied, ignoring the small tinge of guilt. Linc started to push up from his seat, but I just shook my head. “Sit. Enjoy my breakfast.”

“Will do,” he said, and proved it by shoving a piece of bacon into his mouth and making
mmm
sounds.

I rolled my eyes and silently wondered where the food went. He always ate tons—including some of my food if I wasn’t fast enough to hide it.

I picked my tablet up from the table and waved as I turned to leave. A P3 almost ran into me. They glanced up, realized who they’d run into, then coughed ‘freak’ under their breath. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Rachel. She sent me a smile, waved, and laughed to her friends.

Clenching my jaw to keep from saying anything, I walked out of the café court and headed to the stairs to burn off the sudden surge of rage.

I knew I probably shouldn’t let it get to me. Maybe I was a freak. I did have demon DNA, so that did make me part demon. But I hadn’t asked for those things; I hadn’t been given a choice. Though I probably would have, I admitted silently, if it meant I’d be a little faster, a little better at being a hunter. I would have, if it meant getting The Demon a little sooner. Greene had recruited me. Though, like Linc, if I’d heard about the CGE, I would have begged and cheated—I would’ve done anything I could to join.

Honestly, I didn’t particularly like the idea of having demon DNA…but it had saved my life, hadn’t it? And if Greene and the CGE scientists found a way to cure vampirism or something, then that potentially meant saving even more lives.

So how was that a bad thing?

As for being a teacher’s pet… Well, I hadn’t asked for that, either. I didn’t ask for special treatment from anyone. But wasn’t I earning it? Hadn’t I, repeatedly, proved that I belonged here?

It wasn’t like I sat by and did nothing. I studied. A lot. Maybe I had a bit of an advantage because of the memory thing, but it wasn’t like I was cheating. It wasn’t like it made all of my classes easier. It helped with Demonology, sure, but I still had to put the work in, especially on reports and in my other classes. I still locked myself in my room, studied for hours on end. I didn’t slack off or fool around or not take it seriously, despite what Brian The Jerk seemed to think.

I wished I could have believed Tasha and her suggestion that they were jealous of me, but I really couldn’t. What was there to be jealous of? I got in trouble, like the others. I had feuds with people. I had the
pleasure
of having my blood and DNA poked at. None of those things were exactly worthy of envy.

And if anyone wanted those things, well, they were free to take them. I could live without the fights, the appointments with Doc.

The only thing I was as confused as Rachel about was Linc, because even I didn’t know what he saw in me. I was moody at the best of times, and a wreck at the worst. I had…issues. Lots and lots of issues.

“Hey, Jade.”

I looked up when I heard Mr. Sheldon’s voice. He stepped off the elevator, turned toward me. I looked around and frowned. I didn’t even realize I’d gotten to the fifth floor. “Hi,” I said. “Is the room open?”

“Shouldn’t you be having breakfast?”

I forced a smile. “Yeah, I did.” I’d had at least one piece of bacon. Maybe? “Linc and Tasha are still eating, so I figured I’d just read until class started.”

“It’s the last day of class, Jade. You don’t have to read anything. I think we both know you’ve passed Demonology already.”

“Well, until the grades are posted, I’m pretending I don’t know. Besides, a little extra studying never hurt anyone.”

“You’re a good student. You don’t need to study as much as you do. Every assignment has been turned in and graded. Even your report on the new hybrid demon was exceptional—one of the best I’ve seen, to be honest. Well thought out, well researched. You’d do well as a scientist.”

I didn’t cringe, but it was a close call. Scientist was too close to doctor, and I had no desire to be a doctor.

Mr. Sheldon laughed. “I know that look. My point is, I can’t give you any extra credit.” He winked at me. “There really isn’t anything above an A+, I’m afraid.”

“I know.” My tone went quiet. “I just want to study for a while.”

He studied me briefly, and then nodded softly, like he realized I wanted to do this for other reasons beyond studying. “Then come on in,” he said, motioning for me to follow.

“Thanks.”

He unlocked the Demonology door and held it open for me to go inside. I took my seat at the back of the room, then turned my tablet on. When it booted up, I opened my Demonology text and started to read. I’d already read everything and was halfway through my reread, so I just started where I’d left off.

I’d barely had a chance to read a single page before I heard my name. I glanced up, thinking it must’ve been Mr. Sheldon, but his head was down.
Okay, so maybe I just
thought
I heard my name.
Shrugging, I went back to reading. I heard my name again a few seconds later, but Mr. Sheldon’s head was still down. By the fourth time, I was just about to cart myself off to Doc for hearing voices in my head. Mr. Sheldon’s head was still down, but he was fighting a grin. His gaze darted to me, then back down. Silence lasted another five seconds, then he looked up and started laughing his head off.

“Sorry,” he said. “It’s one of the new features I discovered a few months back. I’ve been waiting to test it on somebody, and since you were here…”

“What, the blackboard comes with a crazy-making feature?”

Still chuckling, he shook his head. He pressed a button and then I heard my name again. It’d been really low the first times I heard it, so it‘d sounded like a whisper. But now that he turned the volume up, I could hear hints of a mechanical sound in it.

“That’s creepy,” I decided, “but kind of cool.”

“They all have cameras installed, in case we need to leave during class.” He held up his own tablet that displayed the classroom. Eyes still on the screen, I waved my hand and watched myself wave on his tablet. Mr. Sheldon leaned back in his chair. “You know, I never had aspirations of being a spy as a kid, but if this kind of technology had been around back then…”

“Don’t tell Linc. Then he’ll really say you’re cheating.”

That just made him grin. “Great, isn’t it? I’ve been waiting to use it all Phase but never had a chance. Now that it’s the last day…I won’t feel guilty for interrupting anyone.” He shrugged. “Time to liven things up. You look like you could use a good laugh, so don’t say anything, okay? It’ll be our little secret.”

I smiled. Mr. Sheldon had always been my favorite teacher, but the fact that he was willing to scare a bunch of Prospects to cheer me up made me like him even more. I should’ve felt guilty, but I didn’t. “I won’t say anything.” No way would I ruin a chance to freak Linc out—or help someone else do it.

The door opened a few minutes later and Prospects started piling in. Linc and Tasha were among the first few. A couple of the other Prospects glanced at me and rolled their eyes while others did the cough thing to (poorly) hide their insults. For a few minutes, I’d forgotten I’d come to class early to escape that. My almost-good mood plummeted again.

“Did you have something to say to me, Mr. Reynolds?” Mr. Sheldon asked, his tone, as usual, was mild.

Eric Reynolds had been one of the fake-cough people. He looked up quickly, shook his head, and looked away again. “No, sir,” he said, his gaze now landing on me. He glared.

Mr. Sheldon looked my way and raised his eyebrows. When I just shrugged, he gave me a small nod.

Since it was the last day, Mr. Sheldon just told us all to pick a chapter and read silently.

Not more than ten minutes passed before Mr. Sheldon said, “I need to step out for a few minutes. Keep reading,” grabbed his tablet, and left.

I fought to keep my face expressionless, because I assumed he was going to try to freak everyone else out, like he’d done to me when I first came in.

But the door hadn’t been shut thirty seconds before I didn’t have to fight a grin anymore—instead, I had to fight a frown.

At least three chairs scraped against the floor as the kids nearest to me turned in their seats. At the front of the room, Eric did the same thing. He glared my way. He rose from his seat and then sat on the edge of his desk. One foot was on the ground, so he swung the other. He had a nasty smile on his face. “So, what’s it like, Jade?” he asked, his tone conversational. “Being part demon?”

C
HAPTER 21

Forcing my head down, I kept my eyes on my tablet and one hand under the desk, balled into a fist.

“Well?” Eric said when I didn’t answer.

I looked up only long enough to roll my eyes.

Linc pushed up from his seat. “What’s your problem, Eric?”

“Don’t,” I whispered to Linc. “He’s not worth it.”

“My problem? Besides being stuck in the same class with a demon? Nothing.”

Linc didn’t move any closer to him, but he laughed. “Really? Because from what I remember, when Director Greene mentioned the genetic treatments, you were one the first people raising his hand, volunteering. Now, all of a sudden, you’ve got a problem with it?”

Eric’s cheeks went red. “That was before.”

“Before what, exactly?”

“Before your girlfriend started talking to demons and going around attacking people for no reason.”

“Oh, please. For no reason?” I said, focusing on the attacking bit and not the demon-talking thing. “Rachel’s been in my face any chance she gets, running her mouth because Felecia got herself kicked out.”

“You mean before you got her kicked out.”

Linc’s arms started to shake. “You were there when Director Greene talked about what happened. Felecia ran off after vampires and Jade nearly got killed because of it.”

Eric sneered. “Yeah, or so he says. But he’s been soft on her since she joined. She probably ran off herself and got attacked, and then blamed Felecia for it to cover her own ass. She’s his little pet project or something, letting her join without the probationary period that
everyone
had to go through, letting her finish her Phase in only a few months.” He pushed off his desk, slamming it away from him so it slid across the floor with an awful screech. “She’s always been off,” he said, looking at Linc. “She’s got those extra appointments with Doc that no one else gets. And now we know why. Because she’s a demon!”

“Let me stop you right there, Mr. Reynolds.” It was Greene’s voice.

Eric and everyone else whipped around in their seats, expecting to see Greene standing there, but he wasn’t. It was almost a minute before he stepped in the classroom with Mr. Sheldon behind him. Both of them looked angry. I’d seen Greene mad before, so that didn’t really surprise me, but I’d never seen Mr. Sheldon look so…formidable before. He was always easy-going and wearing a smile, even when he was serious. He had an unlimited supply of patience. Or he had. Now it looked like he’d run out of it.

Greene stood in front of Mr. Sheldon’s desk. He eyed Eric, then the rest of the room. He didn’t speak until everyone was back in their seat. “Miss Hall wasn’t given anything, nor has she been given preferential treatment. Was she allowed to join without a probationary period? Yes, she was. My reasons for that are my own and I won’t explain them to you as, honestly, they’re none of your business, Mr. Reynolds, nor anyone else’s. Was Miss Hall allowed to finish her first Phase early? Again, yes, she was, but she earned it. She did an entire Phase worth of work in less than half the time. Every report, every assignment. All of it. And she volunteered to do it.”

Eric rolled his eyes again and made a snort sound. “Yeah, but she had an unfair advantage.”

Greene raised one eyebrow, and keeping his tone mild, said, “Oh? And what, may I ask, was her advantage?”

“Her memory! She remembers everything and doesn’t even need to study.”

“Bullshit!” Linc said, jumping to his feet again. “Sorry, Director Greene, but that’s what it is.”

“Thank you for that assessment, Mr. Stone, but I think it would be better if Miss Hall responded.” Greene looked to me. “Is what Mr. Reynolds believes true? During your time here, have you never studied?”

I shook my head. “No. I study,” I said quietly.

“Thank you. Now, a question for the rest of you. How much time, would you all say, do you study in any given week? Five hours? Ten?”

Mostly everyone gave a reluctant nod. There were a few, like Eric, who only continued to glare.