Corrupt (Devil's Night 1)

“The problem

with your generation,” the professor preached, sticking his hands into his pockets, “is a bloated sense of entitlement. You feel owed everything, and you want it now. Why suffer the sweet agony of watching a television series just to find out the big reveal you’ve waited years to discover when you can just wait for the entire series to appear on Netflix and watch all fifty episodes in three days, right?”

“Exactly!” a guy on the other side of the room blurted out. “Work smarter, not harder.”

Everyone laughed at the guy’s dig.

Bloated sense of entitlement? What?

“I’ve been dreaming about those lips,” Damon said low in my ear, bringing me back. “You know how to suck cock yet, Rika?”

I recoiled, my stomach rolling. But he pulled me back in.

He’s just messing with you. Ignore it.

“But working hard builds character,” the teacher continued to argue with the student. “You aren’t born with respect and reverence. You learn patience and value through struggle.”

I forced myself to listen, but then my breath caught in my throat when Damon’s hand gripped my hair at my scalp and held me tight and still.

“Because when I shove myself down your throat,” he whispered over my cheek, “you better know how to take it and love it.”

I jerked my head away from him, growling under my breath. Sick fuck.

“Nothing worth having comes easy,” a girl went on, backing up the professor’s argument.

“Exactly,” he agreed, pointing out his finger in excitement.

Jesus. I rubbed my hands over my face, unable to keep up. There was something I wanted to say, but I couldn’t remember what it was.

Dammit, what was the professor talking about?

I sighed and shook my head.

“Yes?” I heard the professor call out.

When no one said anything, and Will and Damon had gone still, I slowly raised my eyes, seeing Cain looking directly at me.

“Me?” I asked. I hadn’t said anything.

“You seem frustrated. Would you like to contribute to the discussion other than distract the class with your boyfriends?”

My heart sunk. Will laughed under his breath next me, but Damon remained quiet on my other side.

I could just imagine what everyone thought.

I shifted my eyes from left to right, trying to recall what the hell the teacher had been talking about, and then I remembered the first point that had popped in my head before Damon first whispered in my ear.

“You…” I took a deep breath and met the teacher’s eyes. “You talked about an ungrateful generation whose lives revolve around the technology yours gave us. I just don’t…” I paused. “I just don’t think that’s a useful perspective.”

“Clarify.”

I straightened in my seat, sitting forward, away from Damon’s touch.

“Well, it’s like taking your child to an auto lot to buy a car and being angry when they choose a car,” I explained. “I don’t think it’s right to get aggravated with the public for utilizing conveniences that are made available to them.”

He talked about my generation’s “bloated sense of entitlement,” but it went much deeper than that.

“But they don’t fully appreciate the convenience of it in their lives,” Professor Cain argued.