Thankfully, Mrs. Kyer returned, and the Hoity Hags plastered on their fake smiles and pretended to assist me. Not having the energy or desire to cause a scene, I accepted their outstretched hands. One day, one day...none of this will matter, and I will be far away from here. Far away from the dragons I fear and the abuse I am forced to endure. Humans can't treat other humans as badly as I am treated here, can they? Surely, there is safety and a place for me to belong out there because I certainly don't belong here. I am no dragon.

Waiting for the other girls to shower and dress, I stayed outside the locker room talking to Mrs. Kyer, since I knew that I was going to have to find a way to earn enough credits to pass this course. She knows my physical limitations and has agreed to allow me to write papers about each test that I fail. I am grateful that the teachers respect me enough to allow me to make an extra effort to graduate. I need to be done with classes and the Naga Tribe. I quickly excused myself to go shower. 

As I was showering, I felt a bit dizzy, so I rested my forehead on the cool tiles and let the water wash over me. Thoughts flooded my mind: How am I still alive after all that has happened to me? Should I have died when my parents did? Did I die, but somehow was reborn? Why would fate grant me a second life if it is as horrible as this one? Why, why am I still here?

I sighed as I finished my shower. I will likely never know the answers unless fate wills it.

"At a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. To realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation. You can control your destiny, but not your fate. Destiny allows you to turn left or right, but fate is a one-way street. We all have a choice as to whether or not we fulfill our destiny, but our fates are sealed."

-Paulo Coelho

Maybe I can alter my destiny, and this final year of high school won't be as bad as it started. But am I fated to always suffer and never be enough?

I had two classes before lunch, and they went by quickly. So far, I am not in any classes with The Trio, and I am immensely thankful for that. I get in line and load my food onto my tray. As I was exiting the line, Jessica flipped my tray, spilling its contents all over my dres. She says, "Could you be any more of a klutz?" I sigh as I turn to leave. "That's right, little mouse. Scurry off like the vermin that you are!" she taunts.

She's right. I am nothing more than a filthy, useless rat. I rushed to the restroom in an effort to try and remove the spaghetti sauce from my dress. I stripped it off and began scrubbing it. "Avery, I am sorry," Trisha said as she entered the restroom. Trisha is a sophomore whom I tutored when she was a freshman. She is from a middle-class family in the tribe. 

"I wish that this year were over already so I could leave."

Her big brown eyes met mine in the mirror. "You will still keep in touch with me, right?" she asked.

"Of course, I will," I lied, not knowing if I would be able to or not. All I know is that I want to, as she is the closest thing I have to a friend.

"I have some spare clothes in my locker. I will be right back," she says as she hurries off while I use the hand dryer to dry my still-stained dress. I don't want to use my pay for clothes, but if this is any indication of how this year will go, I will need to go shopping. 

As I was examining my busted lip in the mirror, the Hags walked in. I quickly rushed inside a stall and locked myself in. I curled up on the toilet seat, hoping beyond hope to remain hidden. I could hear them at the sinks chatting, as I heard plastic containers hitting the counters. I could tell that they must be plastering on more makeup to hide their ugly hearts. I had grown up around these vile and disgusting girls. No amount of makeup or gallons of perfume could mask their stench. I had to stuff my dress into my mouth to prevent myself from gagging at the putrid combinations of their perfumes. If any of them become queen, they will kill off the species with their fragrances alone. Serves them right if any of the Trio are dumb enough to mark them as a mate.

While I am hiding, I overhear them talking about the Trio's Grand Ceremony, which is quickly approaching. The Hags plan to seduce the Trio into picking them as Chosen mates if they aren't their Fated ones. They go on and on about what they plan to wear, and go into detail about what they plan to do for the guys. I feel my cheeks heat up at the mere mention of a blow job. I would never do that to any of the Trio, not that they would want me to either, but the thought of having a guy be at my mercy like that is very appealing. Maybe, when I can finally escape the land of dragons, I will find a nice human boy who will let me.

Thankfully, the Hags leave before I hear Trisha come in and whisper for me. I come out of my hiding place, and she gives me a T-shirt and a jean skirt to wear. They are a little big because she has boobs and is fairly curvy. I wish that I had a body like hers. Hell, I wish that I looked like any of the girls here. If I could have average beauty, I would sell my soul to the devil himself, but knowing my luck, the devil would be a dragon. I laugh at myself. That is about as likely as me being the princess that my mother used to sing about. 

After I braided my hair and thanked Trisha, we went our separate ways. We can't be seen together, or else she will become a target too. I remember last year when Heidi saw me tutoring Trisha. A few days afterward, Heidi and the Hags took Trisha to the mall to shop. They told Trisha that they knew a boy who liked h, er and he was going to meet her later at a dance club nearby. The Hags said how they would help Trisha pick out the perfect outfit, too. Later that night, the Hags dropped Trisha off at the club. She waited for an hour before she went inside. They had dropped her off at this seedy BDSM club. I only know what BDSM is because Trisha explained it to me as we researched it. Trisha was lucky that no man assaulted her that night, and that's why I made sure to keep our friendship hidden. 

I walk into my next class, which is honors chemistry, and quickly take my seat. The Trio is in this class, so I keep my head down until Mr. Chen says, "Cassius, Avery is your new lab partner, and I expect great things from you both this year." Fuck, could this year get any worse?

Cassius takes a seat beside me. He leans in close to whisper, "You had better get me straight A's when you do my homework. Also, you will let me copy off you. If you don't, I will do more than give you a fat lip." I nod as I hear the other girls whine about not being paired with any of the Trio, especially Cassius. I would gladly trade with any of them if that were an option. Graduation Day can't come soon enough!

Cassius

My professors must hate me, because out of all of the students that I could be paired with, Mr. Chen chose Avery. Thanks to my parents, I see her enough at home, and now I have to put up with her here at school, too. She never belonged here, and she won't just disappear. My brothers and I don't need her because we are capable of caring for ourselves and this kingdom. 

Sometimes, I think that my parents assigned her to us just to torture me. In their ignorance, they assumed that her quiet nature would rub off on my brothers and me. All being around her does is infuriate me. She is so frail, meek, and plain. She doesn't deserve to be in the dragon world. I wish she would disappear to the human world from where she came. No doubt, they would reject her, too. Perhaps that's why she was an orphan in the first place; even her own kind didn't want her. When I am king, no outsider will be accepted into our tribe unless they pass whatever task I assign. My parents were fools to unconditionally accept humans. Humans nearly hunted dragons to extinction at one point. That is why we put up the barrier. No human is allowed through unless accompanied by a dragon, yet Avery somehow managed to. If there was a crack in the barrier, I could understand how Avery is here. However, there was no such crack, because my brothers and I checked, even after a patrol verified that the barrier was fully intact. 

Mr. Chen handed out our course list, and I let out a frustrated groan as I read over it. Unfortunately, it looks like there are a lot of joint lab activities. I need to find a way to ditch them and leave Avery alone to complete them. I will not work side-by-side with her. Just looking at her makes me want to grab a handful of her hair and bang her head on the table. My dragon, Asher, would love nothing more than to burn her to a crisp. Such things are against the laws within our tribe, but once she's old enough to leave here, all bets are off. Then I can hunt her down like the scared little rabbit she is. 

"Umm, Cassius, I need your thumbprint for this project," she timidly says in her mousey little voice that makes me want to squish her like a bug.

I snarl as I bite into my thumb. She wants a thumbprint; I will give her one in blood. I watch her gag as I put my bloody thumbprint onto the slide. On the inside, I laughed at her grossed-out reaction, but this further proves that she doesn't belong in our world. This world is grotesque, gruesome, and bathed in blood. If she can't handle a few drops of blood on a slide, there is no way that she could handle a war. Wars are commonplace here because there are species always thinking that they can defeat dragons, ever since the humans got lucky during the Middle Ages. When she rushed over to a nearby trash can to vomit, I turned to the class and winked. Mr. Chen gave her a restroom pass and approached me. He leaned down to whisper, "You might be our future king, but you have not earned that title yet. I suggest you learn how to treat your subjects." I nod, but internally, I roll my eyes. This old fart knows nothing about governing. My brothers and I were groomed for this since the day we were born. 

With Avery gone, I could relax and joke with my friends. I had four girls begging to be my partner, and if I had any other teacher than crabby Mr. Chen, I could have my choice of prime pussy, as Clint does. Perhaps I should start distancing myself from Jessica and explore until I can scent out my mate. If I didn't need this elective to graduate, I would drop the class.  I know that Avery will make sure that I pass, because if she doesn't, I will make her pay. Since my passing grade is secured, I can use my free time to explore every girl in this school until I find my mate. 

Avery

My day just keeps getting worse. I hate Mondays! I am unsure how I can avoid Cassius, but I need to find a way. I understand why Mr. Chen paired us, because Cassius needs to pass this class to graduate. I am a diligent student and I excel at science, which makes me the perfect lab partner for anyone struggling to pass. To my horror, the person struggling to pass just happens to be Cassius. Since his dragon is so powerful and influential, let's see if it can help him pass. 

Unlike many students, I like most of the teachers here, but Mr. Chen is different; I like him the most. He is a nice older man and is friends with my adoptive parents. He, like them, rarely lets his dragon out. I am still afraid of him, but not as much as I am of my classmates, especially The Trio and the Hoity Hags. I wish there were a way to rewind time. I would gladly go back to when I was three and prevent my parents from leaving our house that day. Then I would never have accidentally wandered into the dragon realm. To this day, I still don't know how I was able to. Supposedly, there is a magical barrier preventing unknowing humans from trespassing. 

Alone with my thoughts, my anxiety near crippling levels, I spent the remainder of Mr. Chen's class in the restroom. I did not want to see Cassius again or hear what the other students whispered about me. I just wanted to hide until this day was over, but I could not. I left the safety of the bathroom stall and hurriedly walked to my next class. It is a literature course. Miss Alman, a petite, obese woman with gray hair and horn-rimmed glasses, assigns us seats. 

Without saying a word, Conner slams his book down beside me. Startled, I nearly jumped out of my seat while he chuckled. "Settle down, class. You are each now seated beside not just your writing partner for this term, but your co-star, as well. Each pair is responsible for writing and performing their own play. If you refuse to perform, you will fail this course, and for many of you, that means that you will not graduate. So I suggest that you all take this assignment very seriously," she said.

I put my head down on my desk. The world must hate me. First, my parents were killed, and I was raised in an orphanage in the human world. Then, because even human kids hate me, I ran and ended up being adopted by dragons. Now, I am stuck having to work with my dragon tormentors, or else I can never leave this place. Fuck my luck! The world hates me!