Page 28 of Lessons in Cruelty

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Rooke asks as he sits on the edge of the desk, his hands clasped and dangling between his thighs.

I could tell him what had just happened.

I should.

What Kai just did was aggressive, and violent, and…confusing as fuck.

Then there’s the way Professor Rooke is staring at me. With this kind of fascination.

I guess he finds people interesting. Why else would he teach a class like this? But it makes me uneasy, because I don’t know if he sent Kai out of the room so I could be more open with him…or so that he could be alone with me.

If it’s true and I’m not just losing my mind, it kinda takes the sting out of what just happened.

This man? Interested in me?

Besides, I’m not about to get Kai into trouble until I get a handle on this situation. If he’s mad because I left Agony Hollow, then he’s pathetic. I had no control over that.

He must be having problems at home.

I remember all the times he’d arrive at the creek with bruises on his arms or legs. Those first few months, I never asked him about it. We were there to play and have fun and forget about the bad things, not wallow in them. He didn’t offer up anything, either—just as willing to play pretend the whole afternoon long.

That eventually changed.

Everything changed.

If it’s not shit at home that’s bugging him, then all I can think is that after being in Hillside for years, and with me technically a Riversider, he’s finally bought into all that elitist bullshit this place is so notorious for.

Kai’s simply decided I’m not worthy of being here, and he’s going to make my life a living hell.

“You look shaken,” Professor Rooke prompts.

“The curse strikes again,” I shrug, holding up my hands and smiling ruefully. “I’ll have to go to that crystal lady’s shop in town and get some smudge sticks or something.”

My professor doesn’t laugh. He doesn’t even smile. But I guess he dismisses whatever concerns he had about what he did or didn’t see, because he changes the subject.

“Did you have questions about the coursework?”

I shake my head. “Nope. Pretty self-explanatory.”

“Then you understand how to complete your Activity Log?”

I open my mouth, trying to figure out how to word my response, and his eyes drop to my lips. It’s so brief, I might have imagined it, had I not felt a sudden tingle on my skin.

“Like, I guess, I just don’t know how…petty I should be?”

“Petty,” he repeats woodenly.

“Like…” I groan softly. “I know you’re probably going to say that’s part of defining cruelty or whatever, but is a bird pooping on my car being cruel?”

There’s a glimmer in his brown eyes when he shrugs. “I don’t know. Is it?”

I give a slow nod. “Okay. So…I’m gonna have to figure it out as I go along, that kind of thing?”

“Now you’re getting it,” he says. “Google it if you get stuck. That’s how your generation handles the tough stuff, right?”

I blink at him. “Um…I’m picking up some vibes here.”

“Or maybe you’re just too sensitive.”