Chapter 3

“Yo! Max, what’s the commotion about?” Damien asked as soon as he stepped into school. That morning, Max had left him because he was too slow in dressing up.

“Dude, are you just coming?” Max answered with a question.

“That’s none of your business, man. Just answer the question.”

“Why are you asking me? Why not go check it out yourself?”

“C’mon, man, you know my identity in this school. I’m like a demi-god. I can’t be too inquisitive. Whatever I want always gets to me.”

“Well, Mr. Demi-God, obviously a demi-goddess has arrived at school. You know the new girl I said was gonna start today? Well, she is here, and people are gathered to admire her beauty.”

Damien’s eyes lit up, and he smiled mischievously.

“Dude, don’t even think about that. She is a no-go area for you. You know you suck at relationships. Girls only come to you for your money and parents’ connection,” Max advised.

“That’s nunya business. If I want her, I will get her. You know no girl can reject me. I’ve got the brains, the money, and the looks.”

“Dude, you’re a guy. You aren’t beautiful; you are handsome.”

“Whatever.”

***

Cassandra drove into the school premises in her red sports car, which immediately attracted the attention of the students. They all trooped to the parking lot to stare at the owner of the car. As soon as she stepped out, she heard wows, oohs, ahhs, and compliments to her beauty.

“Oh my! She is a walking beauty.”

“Her eyes are overwhelming!”

“She is the next beauty queen.”

“Her beauty is more captivating than Candice’s.”

Just then, a girl walked through the middle of the crowd.

“Now, what do we have here? A new girl. You are truly beautiful, but you look like a low standard. Well, I am here to give you the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join my clique. We are the classiest, the most beautiful, the richest, and the hottest babes in school. So it would be good for you to join us. What do you say?”

“I’m sorry, but I think I'll pass,” was Cassandra’s smooth response.

Candice looked like she would blow up.

“Excuse you… what did you just say?”

“I’m sure I made myself clear when I said it. I will pass. I don’t need a clique. I’m fine on my own.”

With that, she walked away amidst the students’ oohs and ahhs.

***

Candice was boiling with rage. Not only had she been embarrassed by that little dolly face, but she had been humiliated in front of the whole school, including Damien, who was standing a few meters away. The other students made it worse with their comments:

“Omg, Candice just got dumped.”

“Hashtag downfall of a school goddess.”

“A new and hot babe has arrived; Candice should move aside.”

She gave a long stare at Cassandra and stomped away, her clique trailing behind her. As if the humiliation at school wasn’t enough, she opened her social media account only to find that some dude had posted her embarrassing moment online, and it had gone viral. She sat down, reading the degrading comments, with great hatred burning in her heart.

“Cassandra, I’m gonna come for you. Keep that in mind,” she made a promise in her mind.

***

Miss Spencer came into the class that day to formally introduce Cassandra, and Damien watched with a grin on his face.

“Okay, I present to you Miss Cassandra. She got transferred to our school yesterday. She’s gonna tell us a little about herself. Okay, Miss Cassandra,” she said, turning to address her. “The floor is all yours; tell us something about yourself.”

The teen looked uninterested at first, then, after what seemed like forever to Damien, she said, “I’m Cassandra Torres. I’m anti-social.” With that, she walked over to a seat at the back.

The whole class was stunned; they stared at her like she had descended from an alien spaceship. Miss Spencer was the first to recover, and her only comment was, “Ohhh. I guess that’s all. You all should treat her nicely.” With that, she stepped out of the classroom.

Damien turned around to at least catch a glimpse of Cassandra, only to find himself staring into her eyes. She was seated directly behind him, and he found himself lost in her gaze.

“Uhh, what do you want? Why are you staring at me?” she asked almost immediately, and for a moment, Damien was at a loss for words. That never happened, as he always had something to say.

“Um-um, I-I thought someone called me from the back. Yeah, from the back.”

Cassandra took one long stare at him, then turned her face away and looked at the current teacher who came into the classroom.

***

“Man, that chick got you all tongue-tied,” Max said as soon as they stepped out of the class.

“What do you mean? I can never get tongue-tied.”

“Uh-huh. Then can you explain this to me? ‘Um-um, I-I thought someone called me from the back.’ Can you?” he mimicked.

“Dude, don’t do that again. I wasn’t tongue-tied, I was just…”

“You were just what… huh? You have fallen for her.”

“C’mon, man, don’t say stuff like that. You know me. I never fall; I’m always standing. And besides, she is not my type.”

“Doesn’t seem so to me. Time’s gonna tell.”

***

“Here we go. A dumb introduction,” that was Cassandra’s exact thought immediately when the teacher stood her in front of the entire class. When she did her ‘introduction,’ they all seemed stunned. Well, what more did they want to hear? That was her longest introduction.

As soon as she passed Damien’s seat, she smelled a unique and quite familiar scent. And when the dude turned to stare at her, despite his lame excuse, she felt calm inside. Her usually disturbed and growling wolf was at peace.

‘He is one of us. But then he doesn’t seem like one. There is something about him,’ she thought.