Picking Up Dora

+ Medora

"Don't act like you matter," the tall friend sneered. She tapped a sharp pink nail against the plastic edge of my desk. "A Lyke brother wouldn't look twice at an oversized Omega. They like actual women. You just take up space."

I looked down at her pink nail.

I actually agreed with her completely. She was stating basic, undeniable facts. The Lyke brothers were built from sharp edges and mountain ice. I was just the disposable peace treaty my father dragged up the mountain. 

I didn't want them to look at me. I didn't want to matter to them. Mattering to monsters usually got you dragged into the woods. I just wanted to memorise the textbook on Luna etiquette, pass the classes, and survive the long year. I wanted to go home, even if home was a different kind of cage.

I didn't argue. I just gave her a slow, blank nod.

The vanilla girl scoffed loudly. She hated the quiet compliance. She wanted me to cry or yell so she could play the victim. She grabbed the open plastic water bottle sitting on the desk next to her. She flipped it completely upside down directly over my head without a single second of hesitation.

Freezing water crashed over my scalp. It soaked instantly into the collar of my dark winter coat. The cold liquid dripped off my nose and landed directly on my blue, ink-stained hands.

"Oops," the vanilla girl mocked. Her voice dripped with fake innocence. "Guess you needed a bath."

A loud, sharp bell rang through the ceiling speakers. The final dismissal.

The timing was absolutely perfect for them. The girls didn't even wait to see my reaction. They dropped the empty plastic bottle onto my wet lap and completely forgot I existed. The rumor of the Alpha waiting outside erased everything else from their brains. They practically trampled each other rushing toward the main double doors. They wanted to see the monster in person.

The classroom emptied out in less than a minute. The heavy wooden doors clicked shut.

I sat in the total silence. The water dripped off my chin and hit the plastic seat with soft, rhythmic taps.

I wasn't bothered by the water. It dried eventually. The bullies were just noisy gnats buzzing around my head. I survived my sister throwing heavy glass hairbrushes at my face for a decade. A little cold water was absolutely nothing. It didn't even register as a threat.

The real terror was waiting out on the campus grounds.

A Lyke brother was here. The rumor was a confirmed fact. My chest went tight again. My lungs refused to pull a full breath of air. I needed to get entirely away from this building before they spotted me. I couldn't let anyone see me with one of them. I couldn't let Kaz's brothers drag me back to that mountain in front of a massive audience. If the school found out I belonged to Ironholt, the bullying would escalate into pure violence.

I reached into my wet coat pocket and pulled out my phone. My fingers shook against the glass screen. I opened my messages and typed a quick, frantic text to the gray-haired driver.

Pick me up at the back service exit. By the cafeteria dumpsters. Please hurry.

I hit send. The delivery receipt chimed instantly. I didn't wait for his reply.

I stood up. My wet clothes clung tightly to my heavy thighs. The cold air conditioning blasted down from the ceiling vents, turning the water to pure ice against my skin. I shivered, ignoring the chill. I grabbed my canvas backpack and slung it over one wide shoulder.

The back service exit was on the opposite side of the campus. I had to cross the main central corridor to get there. It was risky. Walking out the front doors was pure suicide.

I pushed the classroom door open. I slipped out into the empty side hallway. My heavy boots squeaked loudly on the linoleum because of the spilt water. I winced at every single step. I tried to walk strictly on the edges of my soles to stay quiet. I kept my head down and moved fast.

I reached the intersection of the main corridor. The noise hit me before I even turned the corner.

It sounded exactly like a riot. A massive wall of high-pitched screams and frantic chatter echoed off the high brick walls. The entire student body was crammed into the central spine of the building. They were completely blocking my path to the cafeteria.

I pressed my back against the cold wall and peeked carefully around the corner.

Hundreds of students lined the edges of the wide hallway. Girls were standing on their tiptoes. Some were climbing up onto the wooden benches to get a better view. They held their phones up high, recording the space in the middle. They were screaming like they were watching a famous musician walk a red carpet.

I needed to find a gap. I just needed to slip through the back row of the crowd and reach the doors at the far end of the hall. I pulled my wet hair over my face to hide my features. I hunched my wide shoulders down as far as they could go. I took a slow, deep breath and stepped right into the crushing sea of students.

I kept my head down. I stared at the backs of their clean shoes. I wedged my thick body between a row of lockers and a tight group of tall Beta boys. I moved an inch at a time. I held my breath. Nobody looked at me. Nobody shoved me away. Everyone was entirely focused on the front entrance of the school.

The screaming doubled in volume. 

The heavy glass entrance doors slammed open. A gust of freezing wind rushed straight down the corridor, carrying the sharp scent of pine and raw power.

The sea of students parted. They fell back against the lockers while the centre of the hallway cleared out completely. A wide, empty path opened right down the middle of the school.

I stopped moving. I was stuck directly behind a tall girl with a heavy backpack. I looked over her shoulder right into the massive empty space.

He walked straight down the centre of the hall.

He wore a dark grey Henley and thick black jeans. He ignored the girls throwing themselves into his line of sight. He walked past the phones, recording his face without a single glance.

He was scanning the edges of the hallway. He was actively hunting.

My lungs completely stopped working. The wet coat was a massive lead blanket dragging me down into the floorboards.

He didn't look at the Beta's daughter standing in the very front row. He walked right past her perfect hair and her expensive clothes. He kept his eyes locked on the back of the dense crowd.

His head snapped to the right.

His eyes found me.

They cut directly through the hundred bodies standing between us. He didn't hesitate. He didn't second-guess the massive, wet Omega hiding behind the lockers. He just locked on. His jaw tightened. He flashed me a harmless and warm smile.

He changed direction. His heavy boots turned straight toward my exact spot.

I froze entirely. The panic shut down my brain completely. My wet, blue-stained fingers lost their grip on the canvas strap of my backpack.

I stopped breathing. My boots glued themselves to the linoleum.

I whispered to the empty air in front of my face.

"It's Kenzo."