Bella:
When my eyes opened, the first thing I saw was the familiar scenery of the school in the sunset. The students who had taken the bus had arrived and were already unloading their luggage.
"What happened?" Hazel asked, causing me to look around to see everyone stretching as they blinked their eyes open.
The door to the van was opened, and mother peered inside. The moment I saw her face, memories of the memory wiping saga flooded back, and I held my head, taking a deep breath as I slowly recalled the rogue attack.
"How is everyone feeling?" Mother asked, and I glanced at Hazel, who was seated beside me.
"Weird. I feel like there's a glitch in my brain somewhere," I lied, and a smile formed on her lips.
"You must be tired from the long trip. Get down so that Fred's men can help you take your things to your room," she said, and I nodded before looking back at the triplets behind us.
'Our parents are diabolical,' Ryder mind-linked me, and I let out a sigh as I undid the seatbelt.
My body was freed, and I got down from the car. Hazel followed me, then the triplets. As soon as we were outside, we spotted Fae's father's convoy arriving at the school. She got out of the car at once, and her luggage was swiftly packed into the dorm without her sparing us a glance.
"I'm going to kill her one day, I know that," I said to the triplets, and they chuckled slightly.
Soon, the men took our things into the dorm, and we followed them slowly, making our way to the elevator.
"I won't lie, I feel kind of sleepy," I said, and everyone nodded as soon as the elevator opened on our floor.
We got out at once and made our way to our rooms. I tossed myself onto the bed the moment I got to my room and shut my eyes to sleep, but at that moment, the school siren blared, causing me to groan.
What's the difference between here and camp? I questioned myself as I grabbed the pillow and put it over my head. "Man, I would kill to get rid of sirens!" Hazel said, anger lacing her voice. "The day I graduate from this hell will be the best day of my life. Can't I have peace?" she questioned, and I took a deep breath, pulling the pillow off my head and tossing it to the ground.
I pushed my feet off the bed and hesitated before standing up. Hazel and I walked out of the door, where we met the triplets in the hallway. Soon, the porters were all over the hallway, knocking on the students' doors.
"The principal of the school would like to give you all a brief announcement in the general auditorium downstairs!" they said in front of every door.
We made our way to the elevator, and Ryder leaned against it.
"The devil works hard, but the management of this school? They work harder," he said, shutting his eyes as we all waited with gloomy faces for the elevator to reach the ground floor.
"We could have had this calling immediately after we got here. Why wait for us to get to our rooms to do this?" Kai groaned as soon as the door opened.
There, in the reception, stood my mother and Alpha Fred together.
The moment they spotted us, they forced smiles onto their faces.
"I don't know what she's up to, but she has to stop acting like that," Finn said, looking at me.
"Yeah, I'm with you. I think I preferred my mean mother, whom I could tell what she was up to, but now? You can never tell," I said, then we walked past them and into the auditorium.
As soon as we took our seats, mother walked into the room, making her way to the stage. She tapped the mic briefly. "Students!" she called out, causing the hall to go silent, then she flashed us a smile.
"I think it's getting overboard right now," Hazel said, and I sank into my seat.
"Talk about embarrassing, and I'm her daughter," I replied, shaking my head at the smile that made my stomach turn in disgust.
"We all know about the attack that took place at the camp last night. Apparently, the woods around the camp were raided by vampires, but luckily no student was hurt," she said, and we glanced at each other as I sat up in my chair.
I knew they said they wanted to wipe our memory, but seeing my mother say those words when a student had died made me wonder what kind of cold-blooded monster she was.
"The school has decided to take extra measures, and the gates will now be closed by seven in the evening." The auditorium erupted in a roar as she said this.
"Why not keep it totally shut and forbid us from leaving school?" Ryder said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.
This was absurd and almost stupid. Seven was too much, and besides, we weren't attacked by vampires, but mother would always be right.
"I know you don't like it, and it won't be easy for me either," she said, and I kept my gaze on her, watching her lie. "Of course, mother, how can it be easy for you to leave school by seven in the evening and climb into your husband's arms like we don't exist? Must be such a hard job," I said, and my friends let out a light chuckle. "She gets on my nerves, and I cannot wait to get the hell out of this place," I said, bringing my arms to my chest, crossing my hands.
"That will be all for now," she said, and we filed out of the room.
"Finally!" I exclaimed as we reached the door of the auditorium.
The lies we were fed in there were too much to bear, and I was glad it was over. As soon as we made our way out of the auditorium, I saw something that made my blood run cold...