Depraved Boys by Daniel Sofia

Author:Daniel, Sofia
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-02-14T00:00:00+00:00

The absence of biting cold in the building did nothing to warm me. My joints felt stiff as I lowered myself into the infirmary seat, and I wrapped my arms around my chest, trying to preserve some body heat. I needed a pile of blankets and a pile of naked kings.

Miss Claymore was the first to arrive, wearing a thick fleece dressing gown that reached her ankles. Long, black hair hung down to her shoulders in a way that made me think I’d seen her like this before. I shook off those thoughts and focussed on the deputy headmistress’s stricken expression.

“Miss Evergreen, what’s happened?”

“Someone hit me over the head in Mrs. Benazir’s office and moved me out of the academy.”

Her eyes widened. “When? I found her passed out and was there all afternoon and in the evening.”

“It happened just after she fell.”

She placed a hand over her mouth. “You were early to our meeting?”

“I—” My numb hands dropped to my lap. “I thought I’d been on time.”

“Alright. Did you see who attacked you?”

I shook my head. Whoever hit me from behind hadn’t even made their presence known. “I woke up in a cave on the mountainside.”

“Where?”

“B-beneath a blasted oak a few miles away from the school.”

Miss Claymore’s face dropped, and she lowered herself into the seat next to mine. Her dark eyes darted in all directions, as though she was making rapid-fire calculations. “In which direction?”

“South.”

“Are you sure?”

My stomach tightened. Had I said something wrong? Or was there something significant about a tree blasted in half by lightning. “Why?”

She shook her head.

Before I could press for details, Mr. Blunt arrived with a tray laden with steaming mugs of tea and a plate of sticky buns. “In case you need warming up, Miss.”

“Thank you.” My fingers were so numb, and my hands shook so much, I could barely wrap them around the mug.

“Here.” Miss Claymore picked up the mug and held it to my lips.

I took several sips until the warmth of the tea radiated through my insides, but no matter how much I drank, my bones remained frozen to the marrow.

After half an hour, feeling returned to my fingers, and I could drink the second mug without help. Miss Claymore sat at my side, her hawk-like eyes monitoring my every move.

Mr. Blunt also brought heavy, fleece blankets, and Miss Claymore wrapped them around my legs and shoulders. Within five minutes, trapped heat radiated back into my body, causing every nerve ending to tingle painfully.

The police arrived about an hour later, and I gulped hard. Would they have taken so long if I’d been stuck halfway up the mountain? A male and female officer asked a bunch of questions about what had happened, then they took my statement and asked me to hand over my uniform for forensic evidence.

“Willow,” said the female officer. “Can you think of anyone who might want to hurt you?”

I nodded. “B-Bianca Byrd, a—”

“She’s one of the classmates you identified from the assault by the pond,” she said.

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