Never After (School for Good and Evil x Reader)

Chapter 48

The old lollipop room in Hansel's Haven was still made of lollipops, but they'd been blown up into thousands of rainbow-colored shards and pieced into new murals across the walls.

As students flurried in from the crowded hall, I sat on Professor Sheeks' old lollipop desk that had been slashed, scarred, beaten into lumps, and riddled with holes.

My outfit of choice was black on black on black—leather pants, midnight shirt, ebony coat with a popped collar that billowed out behind me when I walked in my leather combat boots. The finishing touch was a crown of spiky black thorns, set atop my head like a dark halo. It was an ensemble meant to inspire fear. Intimidation.

I studied the murals of myself, which showed me at my most powerful—slicing Beast's throat, choking Hester's demon, slashing through Harpies during the trial, and much more.

In every single one my eyes were green.

I inhaled, trying to collect my thoughts. I had two missions.

Weed out the spy.

Prepare these kids for the oncoming war.

I intended to see them both through.

I looked down at a class of almost forty Evers and Nevers in black-and-green uniforms crammed into seats—Beatrix, Reena, Chaddick, Nicholas, Mona, Arachne, Ravan, Vex, Millicent, Brone among them—all wearing the same putrid scowls.

"I see the Uglification lessons are being applied in other classes," I commented.

The glares grew icier.

Internally, I was panicking. I had no idea how to lead a group as large as this. I had no idea how to get them ready for an all-out war while trying to find whoever exactly was Good's mole.

But externally, I crossed my legs and leaned back on my hands. "Before we begin, I'd like to know what's been happening in my absence."

All the kids turned toward the window. I followed their eyes to the colossal scoreboard over the Blue Forest, listing the students in order of their scores. Glowing red lines divided the board into three sections: a top group, a middle group, and a bottom group. I couldn't read any of the names through the hazy green air, except for Hort's, firmly atop the rankings.

"This year is tracking year," growled Ravan, picking miserably at his shorn black hair. "Starting next week, we're split into dorms as Leaders, Henchmen, or Mogrifs, based on our rankings."

"Which means Evers like me have to excel at Evil or we'll end up poisonous toads!" Millicent carped. "This is entirely your fault!"

"And it's no better for Nevers either," Mona added. "We have twice as many people to compete against now that the whole school is Evil!"

"And even if you do end up a Leader, they get double the homework as everyone else," said Vex.

"And Henchmen have to follow their Leaders and do everything they say," fretted Reena.

"And Mogrifs have to go to class as animals!" said Beatrix. "And god forbid you fail three challenges in a row. Then you end up a plant!"

"What are you upset about? You're on track to be a Leader!" Kiko said, whirling to her. "I'm third to last in the whole school! Suppose I get turned into a tulip?" She burst into tears.

"I don't want to be a leader of Evil, you dimwit!" Beatrix hissed. "Once upon a time, I was almost Class Captain in the School for Good. And now I have to uglify and curse people and have henchmen?"

"Sounds like a typical day for you," I said.

Beatrix gasped.

"And Aric sends us to the Doom Room to be tortured for rules he's completely made up," Chaddick added. "He's punished every boy in school like ten times already."