Just Like Fire | J. Saltzman - Legacies [2]

T W O

The halls smell like bad cologne and rotting flesh. The teenage girl grimaces as she walks down the row of lockers with a small backpack hanging off of her shoulders. It bounces against her body with every step, her hair brushing against her neck. With her new hair cut, every strand that moves makes a shiver run down her spine.

"Excuse me," she calls out to a girl standing at a locker. The girl looks up. "Where is the principal's office?"

"New, huh?" The girl asks with a smile. "It's right down here. Take a left and you can't miss it. I think there's some sort of new teacher in there now, but I'm sure it'll be done soon."

"Thanks," she replies as she walks past the girl, following the instructions.

Just as she steps up to the closed door of the office, it opens to reveal a woman with wide blue eyes—similar enough to her's that she pauses. "Oh, sorry," she says as the woman stares. "I was just looking for the principal's office—"

"Stella?"

She rolls her eyes at the voice. Glancing behind the woman, Stella Hale groans at Alaric standing at the desk. "Seriously? Did it have to be you?"

Alaric sighs. "Well, as always, so great to hear your voice."

"Stella..." The woman breathes as she runs her eyes down the girl's body.

Stella frowns. "Yeah. That's me."

"Ms. Marshall, why don't you get prepared for the day?" Alaric asks. "Stella? Why don't you come in?"

She grimaces as the woman walks out of the office, continuing the glance back at her. Stella takes a seat in front of Alaric's desk as he closes the door. "So, got the headmaster boot, huh?" Stella asks as she looks up with a small grin. "That's gotta suck."

'What are you doing here?" Alaric asks as he frowns. "Actually, not my first question: how are you healed?"

"I don't know." She shrugs, her fingers wrapping around the straps of her bag. They tighten around the fabric, her knuckles turning white. "All I know is that about a week ago, my mom woke me up, said I healed on my own. Don't worry, we had a little talk about all those secrets you decided to keep from me." She leans back in the chair and crosses her arms. "But now I'm here. For school."

Alaric shakes his head. "Here? Why not the Salvatore School?"

Stella's shoulders slump. "My parents had a condition for coming back without them. I don't go to your school. Which, to be honest, is fine. I guess they just didn't want me with..." She looks back up at Alaric. "Well, you know. They're trying to figure the whole thing out, so you can keep floundering with the Malivore thing."

Sinking into his chair, he runs a hand over his beard. "Do you remember anything? Your brother said they just found Landon sprawled across the floor."

"No," Stella replies. "I don't remember much. It's a bit of a blur, seeing as how I was dying." Alaric grimaces as Stella rolls her shoulder. "Just that the big pit decided to combust."

As he lets out a sigh, Alaric leans forward. "So now, you want to continue school here."

"Absolutely!" Stella raises a fist into the air with mock enthusiasm. "Go Wildcats, right?"

"Timberwolves."

"I'll get it some time," Stella sighs. "Do you have a music room?"

"Stella, why are you really here?" Alaric asks.

She glances down. "I told you why." She purses her lips as she looks up at him through her eyelashes.

"You know I have two girls," he says. "I know when someone is keeping something from me."