Chapter 2

I looked at the phone lying smashed on the ground, and my face went cold.

When I was little, my parents were busy expanding the company, so they left me with a nanny. To save herself the trouble, she fed me only one meal a day. I ended up badly malnourished, and it left me with a chronic stomach condition.

Afterward my parents had that nanny put away for abuse, and hired a nutritionist to nurse me back to health.

My stomach hadn't given me any trouble for a long time.

Maybe I'd eaten something bad at school today, or maybe it was standing at attention all day, but my stomach had been off since morning.

It felt like a knife, the pain slowly spreading through my whole abdomen.

Afraid something would go seriously wrong if I held out any longer, I forced down my anger. "I'm not joking with you. I've had stomach surgery. If you don't let me go to the hospital and something happens, not one of you will be able to answer for it."

The advisor thought I was threatening her. She planted her hands on her hips, unimpressed. "Trying to scare me? Let me tell you, no student of mine gets to play deserter. It's just a stomachache. I've never heard of anyone dying from a stomachache. Class is almost over. Deal with it yourself."

"And if your personal problems interrupt training for the rest of the students again, you can go run fifty laps around the field."

She clearly wasn't going to budge. I glanced at my watch. Fifteen minutes until we were dismissed.

There was no leaving now. I'd hold on a little longer, and the second class ended I wouldn't stay a moment more.

Only when I obediently shut my mouth did May look satisfied and order everyone back into formation.

With the drill instructor gone, she threw her weight around.

One moment we were marching in step, the next we were dropping into a squat.

The pain twisted my face. My body had stopped obeying me, and every movement sent a stab straight through me.

May had planted herself right behind me. When she saw me lag half a beat, she sneered and drove her foot hard into the back of my knee.

"Useless! You can't even lift a leg. What are you ever going to be good for?"

I was barely staying upright as it was. The kick sent me crashing to the ground, and everything went black for a second.

When I didn't get up, May nudged me with her foot. "Get up. Don't play dead on me."

I really couldn't take it anymore, so I just gave up and lay there.

Five minutes until dismissal. I figured there was nothing she could really do to me.

Seeing that I refused to get up, May jabbed a finger at me and smiled coldly. "Fine. Not getting up, is that it? You just wait."

With that, she snatched the bubble tea out of Michelle's hand and hurled it at my face, lid and all.

The spot it hit stung fiercely, and my head and face were drenched in bubble tea. Furious, I pushed myself up. "What is wrong with you?"

May folded her arms and barked at me. "Since there's nothing wrong with you, get up right now. Slack off again and it's another half hour of drills."

I glared at her, my face blank.

May, was it?

Fine. I've got her memorized.

If I don't pay this back, my name isn't Stella Mason.