Surviving Year One (Grim Reaper Academy 1)

“Can’t hurt to try.”

“Can’t hurt you, I don’t know what to say about me.”

I took a quick shower, washed my hair, and let it dry on its own, then applied just a tiny bit of makeup to cover the dark circles under my eyes. Klaus waited for me patiently. Part of me wanted him to just fuck off and leave me alone. He hadn’t given a shit last night, when Lorna was throwing food at me and the whole dining hall was laughing, so how could I believe that he cared about me now? Another part of me, though, didn’t want to go to breakfast alone. God knew what was waiting for me.

I actually looked nice in the black and red uniform. It was comprised of a red shirt, a black skirt that was too short for my t

aste, and a light black blazer. Thank God it didn’t come with a tie. I hated those things! A pair of red, opaque tights and black leather ankle boots completed the outfit, but even though most of my skin was covered, I still felt exposed. I reached into the suitcase I hadn’t yet unpacked and pulled out my old wristbands. I slipped them under the sleeves before grabbing my scythe and following Klaus out the door. He stopped me before I even walked over the threshold.

“Where do you think you’re taking that? Do you see me carrying my scythe?”

“Err… no? But I thought… I thought it’s like a magic wand. Like we’re supposed to have it with us all the time.”

Klaus laughed. “Show me your schedule.” I gave him the piece of paper, and he pointed at the tiny icons printed in front of some of the classes listed. “See? That’s a scythe. It means you have to bring it because you’ll need it in class. If you don’t see this, then leave it in your room. They can’t have students walking around with scythes all the time. They’re dangerous weapons, after all.”

“Oh.” Well, thank God for Klaus! I would have made a fool of myself at breakfast, and that was the last thing I needed.

We arrived in the hall, and I was relieved to see breakfast was an open buffet. I piled my plate high with eggs, bacon, tomatoes, and some pancakes, then sat down at the MDC table, next to Klaus. So far, so good. The VDC guys weren’t yet giving signs that they’d noticed me. I sighed in relief and dug into my food. Since I hadn’t eaten the night before, I was starving.

Klaus introduced me to some of his friends, and I was ready to say that the Merciful Death guys and girls weren’t half bad, when a girl, Selina (she was a seraph), screamed at the top of her lungs, pointed at me, then stumbled backwards and almost fell off the bench.

“Spit that out! Oh my God, spit it out!”

I didn’t understand what was happening. She’d attracted everyone’s attention, and now all the students at the table were making disgusted noises, grabbing their plates, and moving away. Some were laughing.

“Mila…”

Before Klaus could say anything, I looked down at my food, and pure terror took over me. My breakfast was crawling with cockroaches. Live cockroaches, this time. I spat out what I had in my mouth and looked at the mess in complete shock. I didn’t know what to do, how to react. I was the only one left at the MDC table. Even Klaus had jumped over the bench and taken a couple of steps back.

I turned to look over at the VDC table. They were all laughing with tears, especially Sariel, Paz, and GC. Lorna looked mighty proud of herself. Damn mages.

“Mila…”

“It’s okay, Klaus. I was done anyway.”

I stood up and walked out of the hall, holding my head as high as I could, trying not to make a run for it, as I had the night before.

Now the MDC doesn’t want me around. Not after I let a bunch of cockroaches loose all over their table. Fine. I can eat alone in my room. Little did I know… They weren’t going to allow that, either.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Day one, semester one. Yesterday didn’t count. Klaus helped me identify where my classes were, and we had the first one together. History. Not History per se, but the history of death. Mrs. Morgan, our history professor, announced semester one would be all about famous Grim Reapers that revolutionized the field. From Gilgamesh – who was, apparently, a fay, – to the snake lady Medusa, infamous mage Nicolas Flamel, vampire Nostradamus, and more recent figures, one of them still practicing today, – a certain Valentine Morningstar. I thought he was either an angel or a demon, at first, but Klaus told me he was a nephilim. The child of an archangel and a human woman. Fascinating! So, hybrids were a thing! Dwelling between the human world and the supernatural world, they were usually claimed by the latter.

The History class went smoothly, but unfortunately, the rest of the day wasn’t going to be as easy. Klaus wasn’t in my next class, Mythology, but instead, GC and Paz were. At least, there was no sign of Sariel. For now. No sign of Pandora, either, although the other redhead with wavy hair and long legs, whom I later learned was named Kitty and was a succubus, strolled through the door hand in hand with GC. Sammy, the dark-skinned angel was hot on their heels, and when GC made to sit down, the two girls fought over who sat next to him. I rolled my eyes and buried my head in my Mythology book. For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why girls were so crazy about GC. He was obviously only interested in fucking them, then sending them on their way. Were they stupid, or something? To let some guy use them and treat them like that? Anyway, it was none of my business.

It was going to become my business.

Because GC, exasperated with their bickering, left them there and came to sit next to me. Something twisted in my stomach. I still felt a bit sick after having, probably, eaten some live cockroaches, and now, with GC sitting so close to me, I felt like I could throw up right in his lap. I swallowed hard.

“Is this seat taken, normie?” He snickered. “Of course not. Who’d want to sit next to the girl who’d just had cockroaches for breakfast?”

“Who put Lorna up to it? Sariel?”

He shrugged, disinterested. “I have no idea, and I don’t care either. I have more interesting things to occupy my mind with.”

I looked up at him. God, he was gorgeous! His hair was of a soft shade of yellow today, and his eyes were as blue as the sky. Even though some of his features seemed to shift every couple of minutes, like he was some sort of chameleon, GC Apis was unmistakable. Those perfect cheekbones, that strong jaw, the two dimples he made when he laughed, those soft lips… I bit the inside of my cheek and looked away. There was no way I was letting myself be charmed by his looks! He was a jerk and a manwhore. Even though he pretended not to care about the bullying, he was in cahoots with the others. He never took my side and was always the first to laugh his head off at my misery. I returned to my book. The professor was late, and I was starting to count the minutes.

“So, normie, whatcha doin’ later?” He turned his full attention to me, giving me one of his best smiles. “Tell you what. I’ll make you a one-time offer, because I feel like you’re in need. And I’m a nice guy like that.” He winked, and I groaned. Was there any way I could make him stop talking? Was there any way anyone could make him stop talking?! “I’ll act as your protector today. Your bodyguard.”