COBALT: The Red Phantom (Book One)

Chapter 16: Breaking Mirrors (Part 2/2)

          Everyone froze. Not even Phantom dared to laugh, and Káel's face was filled with speechless horror. He stepped forwards, about to run and check if his victim was alright, but Mr. Mudelin stopped him.

          "What is this?" he growled, poking the bouncy surface of the shield. "Do you think this is some sort of game? If I had hit you with a full forced attack you could have killed him!"

          Káel couldn't speak past the lump in his throat, watching Eris help Horus back up. Bright red blood was streaking down his hand as he held his nose. "I didn't-"

          "No excuses," Mr. Mudelin growled. "I don't care where you're from, I'll not have a student that endangers the lives of others for mere entertainment."

          "I'm sorry."

          "Would you have still said such an empty phrase if the attack took his head off?" Mr. Mudelin snapped, turning his attention to Horus. "Do you need a medic?"

          "I'm fine," he replied, still holding his nose to stop the blood.

          Mr. Mudelin sighed. "I'll get one anyways."

          "I'm sorry, it was a fluke, I'm bad at this!" Káel said, catching an irritated, yet acknowledging nod from Horus.

          "What did I say?" Mr. Mudelin boomed. "What use are your apologies? If you had put up the proper shield instead of trying to be funny with an advanced one, your poor humour never would have shown its face!" Mr. Mudelin dipped his voice to a heartless whisper, snatching up  Káel's wrist with the strength of an anaconda. "I don't care where you're from, but if you think endangering the lives of other students is a fair price for your jokes, then you can get out of my class."

          "You think I want to be here?" Káel spat, the freezing panic melting as something bubbled in his stomach.

          "Uh oh, let's calm down a bit," Phantom whispered, trying in vain to keep the red from rising past Káel's cheeks.

          "Pardon?" Mr. Mudelin growled, dipping down to float at his eye level. "Care to speak up?"

          "I said do you think I want to be here? Because I can assure you I don't. I don't want to be in this class, I don't want to be in this school. Hell! The last thing I want on this godforsaken hunk of rock is to be on it! Especially, in this dreary room, with pissy man that sounds like my old social teacher role playing some hot shot army general pretending to teach me!"

          "Káel," Phantom stepped between them, trying to cut the fuming teen's view of his speechless target.

          But Káel wasn't finished. 

          He passed right through Phantom, coming half a foots length from Mr. Mudelin's blackened coat. "I said I was sorry, I still would have said I was sorry if I'd blown his damn head off! But you know what I'm not sorry about? This."

          "Káel, calm down," Phantom cut in, greeted by a murderous scowl as Káel cleared his throat.

          "You are the single most pain-in-the-ass teacher I've had the pleasure of meeting, and I hope you have a full semester of migraines every time you see my face, because I'm not going anywhere! I couldn't if I tried!"

          Phantom cut in one last time, hardening his voice to catch the teen's attention. "Káel, stop it before you regret it."

          "You shut up as well!" Káel snapped, his voice reverberating through the room as he gave Phantom a raging death glare.