“Ahem!” The principal cleared his throat. “Mr. And Mrs. Ames will be here soon so can we all please just stay calm until they get here?” 

“Principal Mason, Elle, and I were completely calm until the old woman over there began scolding Elle for no reason. I mean, she didn’t even do anything. Rachel began slandering Elle for no reason, and I just politely taught her how to keep her mouth shut.” Sophia did not seem to see the strange look on the principal’s and Maria’s faces. I mean, the girl beat Rachel’s face in until she lost a few teeth.

“I see…” The principal rubbed the spot between his brow. I am so glad I am going into business. Being a principal or a teacher would make me age way too fast.

“Principal Mason! I want an explanation on why my daughter's face was smashed in!” A woman wearing a grey business suit with a skirt rushed into the room. She did not look happy at all. I can understand why, though since her daughter had just been beaten up.

If it was my kid, I would want to press charges and have the kid who touched my child arrested. But I highly doubt this will be happening anytime soon. I mean, the culprit was smiling away as if none of this had anything to do with her.

Following behind, the woman, similarly wearing a grey suit, rushed into the room. Unlike his wife, who had red hair, he had dark brown hair. Both looked very tired as if they had just worked many hours. In a way, I felt bad for them. Their daughter was being used as a gun while the person who instigated this entire mess was sitting there, acting as if she was a victim as well.

“Miss Ames, you should ask Maria there since she was the one who instigated your daughter to find trouble with me. If she had not done such a thing then Sophia would not have stepped forward to protect me. But I can say while I can not dish out much punishment myself I can at least revoke her living expenses for the year for what has happened to your daughter.” I had to use this chance to piss Maria off as much as possible.

“You! What did I do!? You can’t slander me! I never asked Rachel to find you! Plus, she only said a few things. There was no reason to beat her up!” Maria really liked to play the innocent bystander to the end.

“So, saying I sold my body to old men and calling me a slut is just a few things? Not only did she say such things but she even yelled it loud enough for everyone around us to hear. I can sue the both of you for slander.” I really wonder where she got off, thinking she was going to be let off so easily. “For one, in order for her to even know such things, she would have had to seen me. Second, if she did not see me, she would have had to get that information from somewhere else. I ran into Rachel just yesterday at a store in the business district. We had a nice little chat. From the time I saw her to the time I arrived at home, only enough time for travel had passed by.

“So tell me, when did I have time to go out with old men and sell my body? If anyone had such time it would have been you who stormed into my room last night around dinner time, quite a few hours later. Isn’t this a case of the pot calling the kettle black? If you had not done it yourself, how would you know if I had done it before?” After I finished speaking, Sophia gave me a thumbs-up while I shook my head. 

Mrs. Ames looked at me then at Maria who seemed to reflexively flinch. She basically gave herself away. Mrs. Ames took a deep breath before she began to speak. “I can see that there is more going on here than meets the eye. But first things first. My daughter was beaten up to the point that she has lost three teeth. This is something I can just let slide.”

“Mrs. Ames, Mr. Ames.” Sophia’s brother began. “Let’s do things like this. I will pay all her medical bills as well as any reconstruction surgery she needs. This includes replacing her missing teeth. I will also toss in three million as compensation. My sister is a bit hot-headed and was only protecting her friend. I think when someone starts calling people sluts and bitches left and right, a few fists deserve to be thrown. If this works I can sign a check here and now for the compensation and give you my business card to contact me for the rest.”

“Sir, if I may ask who you are?” Mr. Ames stepped forward and asked. He seemed to be a little wary of Sophia’s brother.

“Ah, right, I have yet to introduce myself. My name is Nicholas Blackwood. My sister is Sophia Blackwood.” Nicholas replied respectfully. While he was being very kind in his manner of speaking, I could tell instinctively I should not get on this man’s bad side. 

“Blackwood… Are you Harvey Blackwood’s son?” Mr. Ames asked with a shaky voice. From what I could tell, there seemed to be fear in his eyes.

“Yes, that’s right. He’s my father. If I am not wrong your family has some dealings with a few of our companies.” Nicholas’s voice lowered as he completed his sentence it was said in a way that could be perceived as a threat.

From the sweat building up on Mr. Ames’s forehead, my guess is correct. If I am correct, those companies Nicholas spoke of are not legal entities. I am not unfamiliar with such things.

“Then we will agree to your terms. I will be sure to also make sure my daughter understands that slandering those around her is something she should not do. I will also speak to her about choosing her friends wisely. Not to be used as a gun by people with scheming minds.” Mr. Ames’s gaze fell on Maria, causing her to take a step back.

Maria’s eyes began to water up as she bit her lower lip, trying to look pitiful. “I never did anything…”

“Maria, he only said people. He never mentioned you by name. But since you wish to step forward and announce your involvement, this is just great.” I smiled and turned to the principal, “Can you suspend Maria Thatcher for causing this entire thing? I think a week will be good. She should also apologize publicly for using Rachel as a means to slander me.”

“Noelle! How can you even suggest such a thing!? You are slandering your sister!” Linda yelled out. It seemed she could no longer hold it in.

“I am sorry, but my father died when I was three, and only had a single child with my mother, who died when I was seven. I have no blood relations with a freeloader like her. Also Linda, you have to remember a few things. You need to keep your family in check and not disgrace my household. A daughter who uses filthy tricks and slanders people is not good for my Alastor house. Do remember who is feeding you and be a good dog and SIT.”

 

“How dare you! I may not be your real mother but I am still an elder!” Linda shrieked at the top of her lungs.

“An elder does not blame someone as soon as they walk through the door telling them to kneel and apologize! I am sure you have watched Cinderella. I have both a wicked step-mother and a wicked step-sister. Hell, I even have a wicked step-brother as well. I will be sure to tell Father about this when I get home.” I loved seeing her burst out in anger. I keep pushing her more and more. I do wonder when she will reach her breaking point where the kid tricks end and the adult tricks begin.

Anyway, they were only the start of my games today. I still had one more person I had to deal with. David Folson was supposed to run into me today after school. When I first met him in my past life we had bumped into each other at the school gate. I had no idea who he was but his smile had captivated me from the start. He transfered into our school the next day but was not in my class. He was in Maria’s class. A few days later, we would meet again, and he would start to chase after me until I finally said yes.

But I wonder now if he would even be willing to do what he did last time when he saw the new me. I do not wish to toot my own horn, but I am much more beautiful than Maria. Of course, I will not use my feminine wiles to catch his attention either. 

“Miss Alastor is correct, Mrs. Thatcher. If you wish to gain respect, you must first earn it. But it seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. In Miss Alastor’s words, an evil step-mother can only give birth to more evil. Maria, from this moment on, I want you to stay far from my daughter or else. I will also be doing an investigation. If it turns out that you have something to do with my daughter’s current situation, I will be sure to send you a lawyer's letter.” Mrs. Ames was not happy, but I was. 

I was really happy. After all, I just took out one of Maria’s best allies. Rachel bullied me to the point that many would think of suicide in my past life. But I preserved and graduated to gain my freedom. But now, that loaded gun would become her enemy. It is pretty easy to say a few words here and there that will cause her to turn on Maria. I really wonder just how she will deal with it.

 I will slowly make Maria’s school life worse and worse so she can experience all the pain and anguish I went through. I will make her come to me and beg to let her off. If she is lucky, maybe I will even use her as a gofer.

“Mr. Blackwood, my wife and I will take our leave. We need to take our daughter to the hospital and file a proper report. Principal, don’t worry, we will not mention the things that happened in school. Just please watch out for my daughter when she returns.” Mr. Ames was a good father. He was willing to do what he could for his daughter and would not allow her to be used. It’s funny how a single misstep can cause one's downfall. And Maria’s downfall was just beginning.

“Since that is the case, we will end things here. As per Miss Alastor’s suggestion, Maria Thatcher will be suspended from school for a week and will need to apologize publicly to her for causing this incident.” I raised an eyebrow and looked at the principal in surprise. I had only said that in passing I never thought it would actually happen. I couldn’t help but look over at Sophia, who gave me a bright smile and a thumbs up, and only then did I realize that she probably got her brother to say something. It was really nice having a friend who was a demon in disguise.

Mr. and Mrs. Ames left, leaving Sophia and her brother, along with the principal, Linda, and Maria. And myself, of course. It was only now that things began to sink in for Maria.

“What!? Why should I apologize!? Why am I being suspended!? I never did anything!” Maria tried to plead her case. The tears in her eyes were starting to well up. I wonder how long it has been since she had had such a setback like this. Ah. This feeling inside me that is slowly welling up. It’s pure ecstasy! Her face. Her panicked expression. The way her whole body is trembling. I love it all!

“Principal Mason, I do not think it is fair to put the full blame on my daughter! She has nothing to do with this. It’s Rachel’s fault for running her mouth not Maria’s! Maria can not control what other people say! Plus there is no proof that Maria instigated any of this!” Linda’s face was bright red with anger. She really had no control over her emotions.

“Hmm? But I have proof right here.” I raised my hand, which had a pen in it and clicked the button at the top. Slowly, today's events echoed through the room.

- - -

“Look at this bitch. She still dares to come to school. I heard you were selling your body to greasy old men.”

 “Oh! Rachel Black Panty. What brings you here? You wish to lie on the floor again? What’s this about old greasy men? Did you sleep with your father or something?”

“You! I was talking about you! You slut!”

 “Sister, you shouldn’t change the subject. There are witnesses. I really wish I could protect you, but…”

- - -

“As you can tell this was recorded before Sophia acted. The sounds of the food court are clear as well. As you can hear at the end there Maria had to open her mouth and push the issue even more which resulted in pushing Rachel to continue slandering me. If she had not spoken at that time then things would not have escalated as they did. This just proves that miss pure over there is blacker than the deepest abyss. Using people who consider her a friend and then not protecting them when they are in trouble. Linda I hope you can understand that your daughter is far from innocent. Oh right, I accidentally sent this to Mrs. Ames just now as well.” Yes, these are the expressions I wanted the most. They wish to dig my eyeballs out!

Maria lost it and jumped at me while screaming: “BITCH!”

Before Maria could even touch me, I raised my foot and kicked her back, making her fall on top of Linda. “Ahh!” Both of them fell to the floor where they belonged.

“Good dogs don’t bite the hand that feeds them. Bad dogs get punished. You dared to attack me, so don’t expect me to stand here and take it.” I looked at the two disheveled women on the floor.

“Maria! Maria, are you okay!?” Linda cried out in a panic before turning and glaring at me. “How dare you kick your sister! I will tell your father about this when I get home!”

“Tell him! What can he do to me? Plus, she is not my sister! I share no blood with any of you. If it was not for Father adopting me, I would have never have met any of you! Hell, I probably would have had a better life! So don’t give me your fake bullshit. Get the hell out of here!” I was getting sick of looking at these two. If they keep pushing me, I am afraid I will end up doing more than just kicking them. If I did that, what would I do about my plans to play?

“Mrs. Thatcher please take your daughter and go home. I am adding another week of suspension for attacking Miss Alastor. If this behavior continues I will have no choice but to expel her.” Principal Mason had firm eyes. He was not joking around when he said he would expel Maria. To get expelled from this school would mean death to her time in the upper-class social circle.

Although I do kinda hate the fact that the only reason he is siding with me is because of Sophia and her brother. I was basically using them as my backing. I needed to be able to be my own backing.

“We will see what happens when you get home!” Linda climbed to her feet and helped Maria up. After giving me one final glare, she walked out of the office as quickly as she could. The woman was scheming. I am sure she will make a bigger move soon. I know they won’t try to kill me yet since I have yet to sign the papers.

If they wish to get the company from me they would need me to sign the documents to do it. But to make it look like an accident, they won’t target me until I am much older, just like they did in my past life, or else they would get nothing.

“Since things are done here I will be leaving as well.” Sophia’s brother, who had been watching the show this entire time, walked over to me and placed his hand on my head. “Take care of my sister. She can be a little troublesome some times but she is a good girl. I hope you can continue being friends with her.”

“Of course. Sophia and I get along well. I am lucky that she wishes to be friends with me. I should also thank you as well. Things would not have gone as smoothly without you here.” I gave Nicholas a smile, only for Sophia to suddenly jump into between us.

“Stop! Brother don’t look at her smile. You will fall for her and I can’t have that. You are not good enough for my Elle!” Sophia’s serious looked of worry was truly amusing. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Sophia, let’s go back to class. I don’t date my friends’ brothers anyway. It ruins friendships.” I pulled Sophia with me as I waved at the principal and walked out of the room with her. I think something Sophia said had broken her brother since he was frozen in place, as if the world was coming to an end.

- - -

For the past two days, Billy Harris has had something on his mind. The image of a silver-haired girl with a smile that was too addicting was taking over all his thoughts. 

He had never thought that the silver-haired girl would turn out to be so beautiful. He was now regretting all his past acts of bullying that he had done to the girl. Since he had seen her smile, he had been in a trance. He wished he could speak to her but feared being told off the moment he opened his mouth. Her beautiful red eyes that glimmered like rubies to the cute fanged grin she had when she smiled. The way she squinted when she smiled even added to her allure. He had never felt like this before in his entire life.

“Should I bully her again so she can kick me and smile at me again?” Billy had zero experience in terms of love. He had spent most of this time fooling around and spending his father’s money to care about a serious relationship. 

All he knew was that he had gone home last night and laid in his bed until the early hours of the morning, thinking about that smile.

“What if I become her lacky… If I bully her she will get mad, but if I become her lacky…” Billy was completely in his own world not realizing her was speaking out loud and many people were giving him strange looks.

- - -

  “Mom, what do I do now? I got suspended because of that bitch! People will look down on me when I return. You know how much reputation is important at that school!” Maria had tears in her eyes. She had been living the high life this entire time, but now she was going to be looked down on because she was suspended. It might not seem like anything big in other schools, but in a school for kids from high society, it showed your inability. Only kids with little to no backing would get suspended.

“I will call your father as soon as we get home. I will not allow that bitch to get away with this. Why would you get suspended for something that someone else did? If the little slut had just shut her mouth and behaved as normal none of this would have happened. I have no idea what has gotten into her but she has been throwing the fact that we are living off her money in our faces non stop. It’s like she is possessed!” Linda did not understand it. How does a person suddenly wake up one morning and change so much? No matter how much she thought about it, it made no sense.

“We can’t just let her keep getting away with this. We need to do something to make her suffer. I will not be able to lift my head up anymore if she doesn’t at least suffer ten times worse than I am now!”

Linda patted her daughter’s hand. She did not wish for her daughter to suffer. “I will think of something. Just don’t mention it to your father. We can only do this ourselves. But I am sure he will at least yell at her tonight.”

“Alright… I will leave it to you then.” Maria finally smiled. She really wondered what he mother would do to cause Noelle to suffer. 

- - -

I sat at my desk with my head propped up in my right hand while the other was holding the bottle of milk that had suddenly appeared on my desk when I had gotten back from the principal’s office. “Sophia, does milk just magically teleport on to someones desk?”

“No. But I wouldn’t drink it. What if someone spiked it with some kind of weird drug? One of Maria’s lackeys might try to get revenge for her.” Sophia made sense. It was not a good idea to drink things that I had no idea where they came from.

What made things even stranger was I kept feeling someone was looking at me. While this was something that I was used to, the gaze this time was a bit too intense. I looked up to see Billy Harris quickly turning around, looking towards the front of the class. The strange sensation disappeared at the same time. I couldn’t help but wrinkle my nose. If my guess is not wrong, then the idiot a few seats in front of me, was the one who left the milk. For what purpose, I do not know. But I am sure it was nothing good. 

I set aside the milk and got my books out since the teacher had arrived.

The rest of my day was quite peaceful. Although I am surprised that Ryan never showed up to try to fight me. Not that it would matter. I think after a knife almost took his life last time, he was pretty scared of me now. So he would need balls of steel to actually come find trouble for me.

I walked out of school as per norm. I had to do my first run-in with the scumbag David, which I had to hand it to Maria for instigating Rachel since she was now going to miss two weeks of time trying to bring the dick head to her side. At any rate, I will not let him off, even if he is nice to me this time around.

I had just reached the gate with Sophia at my side when a familiar figure appeared in front of me, walking straight into me as if I was not even there. Well, not straight into me, but into my foot. Since I was still standing and he was now on the ground. “I’m sorry, are you okay?” I asked nicely, doing my best not to laugh at him.

“Why didn’t you watch where you were going!? If Elle didn’t dodge she would have been the one to fall!” Sophia was getting the situation mixed up. After all, he would not have fallen either if I had not tripped him on purpose, but I will not mention that.

“I’m fine. Are you okay?” David dusted himself off as he got up and looked up at me before freezing. He just stared at me in a daze, which made me feel a chill run down my spine. A very disgusting chill. It even made my stomach turn.

“I’m fine. Be careful next time.” I waved him off before turning to leave. I had no reason to talk to him.

“Wait! What’s your name!?” David reached out to grab me only for the demon at my side to grab his wrist and glare at him. 

“Don’t touch Elle. Or else I will make sure you disappear by morning.” Sophia’s eyes were a little scary. 

“Sorry! I didn’t mean anything about it I was just in a rush to stop you. My name is David Folson I will be transferring into this school starting tomorrow. I am just finishing up the paper work now.”

“Then we will not hold you up. Have a nice day.” I promptly hooked my arm with Sophia’s and walked off, but not before Sophia got a chance to stick her tongue out at the idiot. I did hear him call out once more, but I ignored it. No point in talking to someone I hate. I didn’t want to deal with the idiot, but it was beneficial for him to take a liking to me. 

But how great would it feel to see his face when he realizes it was me who brought his family down, leading him to live the life of a beggar? Just thinking about it makes me smile.

But now that meeting that idiot was over with, it was time for me to head home. But not before I stopped off at a butcher’s shop. After tasting blood today, I realized one thing. I really need to drink some. And the only blood I know I can use is pig’s blood. 

It’s not like I can go to a blood bank and go: hey can I get some AB positive, I really like the flavor. I would instantly get arrested. Not exactly what I am aiming for. But if I can get a bit of blood from the butcher, then I can at least take a sip and calm my cravings. But now that I think about it, I will need to get a mini fridge as well for my room. One with a lock. 

After getting into the car, I hesitated for a minute before deciding it would be better to just wait. While I want some kind of blood, I can just get it from the meat in the fridge. But the mini fridge and pig’s blood will be what I get tomorrow after school. 

The reason I am not doing it tonight is because I already know what awaits me when I get home.

- - -

In a hospital room for VIPs, a girl with a swollen mouth filled with cotton balls. Luckily for Rachel, only a few teeth were knocked out, but her broken nose and swollen eyes made her look as if she had been hit by a truck. It seemed Sophia did not know the meaning of holding back.

Next to her was Mrs. Ames, who was currently listening to the audio recording she had received from a number she did not recognize. “This… That little bitch! She really did instigate everything!”

Mrs. Ames did not like how Noelle had spoken to her daughter but her daughter had started the altercation. It was Maria’s voice that angered her to no end. She never thought a young girl like Maria could be so scheming. She used her daughter like a gun, and her daughter seemed more than happy to pull the trigger.

“Honey?” Mr. Ames walked in with some food and looked at his wife, who was staring at her phone as if it was her worst enemy.

“Listen to this. After you hear it, we will decide what we want to do.” Mrs. Ames looked at her daughter and sighed. She realized she had been too soft on her daughter. Her daughter needed to be taught that she could not go around running her mouth like she did. She also needed to learn not to trust people’s words so easily and fall into traps.

After Mr. Ames heard the recording, his brow furrowed. “Save the recording. After we investigate more we will take it to the police and see what they can do about the situation.”

“We will do things as you say.” Mrs. Ames nodded. She knew this was all they could at this time.

- - -

I reached out and turned the knob of the front door, which this time was far from being locked. When I walked in, I could hear people talking in the sitting room. It was a room that was mainly used for relaxing and reading. There was no TV in there. There were a few bookshelves and a record player that had many classical music vinyls lined up on the shelves underneath it. But the main things were the fireplace and seating to give a more relaxed feel to the room.

I have only ever been in there in the past years since my mother’s death to clean it while everyone else used it as their playroom.

I was kind of glad they were in there and not waiting for me since it would give me a chance to ignore them and just head to my room. Or at least I had hoped anyway.

“Noelle Alastor, stop right there!” I turned to see my good-for-nothing father walking over to me. The anger in his eyes was as clear as day. 

I sighed and turned to him. Since there was no escape I might as well fight it out. “What? Did your wife and kid come home and complain that they were treated unfairly? That Maria was suspended because of me? I hope they twisted the truth all over the place. Because I really want to know how you plan to deal with me.”