CHAPTER SEVENTY
NADIA
Where she goes, we go!
It was supposed to have gone under the radar, but it seems nothing ever goes under the radar at All High College, especially when it involves me.
After Marcus sneezed and came back to life, I knew from that moment that my life was never going to remain the same. I had done something incredible, something I didn’t fully understand myself. But what I hadn’t anticipated was the tidal wave of attention my heroics would fetch.
The aftermath of the incident spread like wildfire throughout the school. Students were buzzing with excitement, gossiping and speculating about how I had managed to bring Marcus back. Teachers shared knowing glances, and even some of the staff members whispered nervously in corners. My name became the word on everyone’s lips; it was as if I had achieved something truly monumental…something no one else had ever dared.
I could barely take a step without someone staring at me or calling my name. “Hey, Nadia!” “Did you do that?” “Can you do it again?” Questions filled the air around me, like a constant, echoing hum. Authority figures looked less friendly, while my peers seemed torn between awe and disbelief. Even Alicia, Marcus’s girlfriend, who had bullied me relentlessly, approached me after class that day, her eyes glistening with gratitude.
Her voice trembled as she struggled to contain her emotions. “I’m sorry about the things I said about you in the past. I judged and treated you unfairly. I’m sorry, Nadia”
“It’s okay, Alicia,” I said to her. “I wasn’t affected by the way you or the others treated me,” I added, but even I knew that was the biggest lie I had ever told.
“Can we be friends?” she asked.
“Friends?” I asked as if the word sounded strange. “Um…okay, friends,” I said. I wasn’t sure I meant it, but I didn’t want her to think I bore any grudge against her.
“Thank you, Nadia. Can I hug you?”
“Yeah,” I said, totally unprepared for the sudden shift in our dynamic. Who would have thought that a day would come when Alicia, my tormentor, would show me kindness?
However, if I thought everyone would forget about what I had done the next day, I was sorely mistaken. I rode my bicycle into the school building the next morning, but the moment I arrived, a deafening shout of “Nadia!” rent the air. The sound was so overwhelming that I considered turning around and riding back home, but my wolf would have none of that.
“We deserve this,” she whispered inside my mind, and I couldn’t help but feel a flutter of pride at her words. Maybe I did deserve recognition, even if it felt bizarre.
Just before I reached my classroom, a teacher approached me, a stern expression on her face. “The principal wants you at his office. You must come with me at once,” she said, her tone leaving little room for argument. My heart sank. I knew instinctively that I was in trouble.
As we walked down the hall, I mentally prepared myself for whatever awaited me. What could the principal want? When we finally arrived at Mr. Bernard’s office, I hesitated for a second before stepping inside.
“Sit down,” he commanded, his piercing gaze locking onto me. I nodded and took a seat, my palms clammy against the cool surface of the desk.
“Who are you?” he asked suddenly, and I felt as though I had been thrown off a cliff.
“I… I don’t understand what you mean, sir,” I stammered.
“I heard of what you did yesterday,” he said. “No one has ever brought another back to life.” He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper as he continued. “What dark magic did you use?”
“Dark magic?” I replied, bewildered. “I didn’t use any dark magic. I just wanted to help! I didn’t know how it happened.”
His expression shifted from curiosity to frustration, and I felt a chill run down my spine. “Then how did you do it?”
“I don’t know, sir,” I repeated my heart racing. “I don’t. I just wanted to help.”
He scrutinized me for a moment before sitting back in his chair, looking defeated. “Get out of my office.”
I stood there for a moment, stunned. I knew I had been summoned for an important reason, and yet I felt completely disregarded. Just what were they afraid of?
That day in class was the moment of reckoning. The door swung open, and Mr. Bernard walked in, his presence commanding immediate attention. “Nadia!” he called out, and gasps murmured through the room like a ripple through the water.
“I’m afraid I have an announcement,” he said, his voice low enough to invoke curiosity, yet firm enough to silence the chatter around him. My heart plummeted as I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. Something was amiss.
“Nadia Burke has been suspended from the college,” he declared, the words slicing through the air like a knife. “She’s being accused of practicing dark magic, and she is a danger to other students.”
I felt as if the floor had dropped from beneath me. Shock washed over my face, and I could hear gasps echoing throughout the classroom. It was as if my heart had stopped; everyone’s eyes shifted between me and the principal, disbelief etched across their faces.
“No! This is unfair!” I protested, a rising tide of panic fueling my words. “I didn’t do anything wrong!”
“Quiet!” Mr. Bernard snapped, irritation bubbling over. “You’ll only complicate things further with your antics.”
But I could feel anger swelling within me. The room was alive with discontent now. Whispers exploded into conversations, as students glanced at me in shock and disbelief.
Someone from behind shouted, “That’s ridiculous! She didn’t do anything wrong!”
Another voice joined in. “Yeah! She saved Marcus! How can you do this to her?”
I was still reeling from the proclamation, my mind racing. “How can this be happening?”
“I’ll leave,” I said to him. But then something unexpected happened.
One by one, my classmates began to stand up, mirroring my actions of gathering their bags. The energy in the room shifted, and chants began to emerge louder by the second. “Where Nadia goes, we go!” they shouted in unison.
“Stop it! Stop this nonsense!” Mr. Bernard yelled, trying to regain control, but their voices only grew louder, filling the room with a passionate resolution.
I felt overwhelmed and lost. Was I worth standing up for? Did they care? I glanced around, seeing familiar faces, some of whom had never paid me any attention, now rallying behind me.
“Fine! She stays!” Mr. Bernard barked, throwing his hands up in exasperation. He glanced at me one last time, his frustration plain in his expression, and suddenly stormed out of the room.
As the door slammed shut, a roaring cheer erupted from my classmates. The relief washed over me like a balm. I was no longer alone; there were people who cared enough to back me up.
“Thank you! Thank you, all of you!” I called out, trying to quell the heightened excitement. My voice barely reached their ears over the chants, but the gratitude surging through me felt genuine.
The atmosphere sparkled with a new kind of energy. They believed in me. I couldn’t help but think of how things had shifted overnight. Unlike the bullying I had endured, this felt like a different kind of recognition.
As the excitement began to settle, I took a moment to breathe. “What do I do now?” The question lingered in my mind. I had acted on instinct, not knowing the consequences that would follow. But now, I was faced with the inevitable reality of what I had done. I was no longer just Nadia, the quiet girl in the background; now, I was the girl who raised someone from the dead.
“It seems you have become the new superstar of the college; the poster girl everyone wants to be associated with,” someone whispered to me, almost as if he was mocking me. I turned to look at him, but there was no hint of familiarity in his face.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“Ohh… Someone sent to torment you. What do you think?”