Clentine:
"That is right. Sobody had to say it," Ian remarked, showing he stood with .
The look on the crusaders’ faces was worth watching.
"We are sorry, co again?" Ms. Lenora stepped ahead, gesturing for Mr. Rick and Miss Rue to stand back since it was a matter concerning her squad mate.
"I said we are not going back into the North," I repeated loudly, making sure they heard .
She stared at in silence before clearing her throat and looking away with a smile that revealed her disbelief and disappointnt toward everyone present.
"I expected you to be the last one to be scared of the North," she replied, choosing her words very carefully.
The way Ms. Lenora responded felt like her attempt to provoke my ego into surrendering to them again.
"No, she is not the only one. We will not go either," the Red Squad replied in unison.
I did not even need to speak with them privately. They were already standing with .
"Really? What about the others? Are you all scared too?" Mr. Rick questioned, trying to provoke them.
"Yeah, we are not going back," the black Squadmates yelled, and then the three ringleaders turned to Oriana.
We did not expect much from her, but she was still one person.
"I do not want to go either."
She shocked us when she instantly jumped off the stool and shook her head.
There seed to be a small spark of hope in her eyes, and for a mont I thought all the ssy things she had done were because she had been scared of the North.
Now that she had been given a chance not to return, she was trying to seize it quickly.
"And I think it is the right thing to do. There is another part of the North and it is very scary," Oriana began to explain when Mr. Rick pointed at her to silence her.
"Do you think it is a ga? Do you think we are sending you there because we want to have fun with teenagers? It is because the North is a dangerous place. If you do not go and slay those monsters, they will eventually return here and take over the mainland," Mr. Rick yelled, repeating the sa warning about how frightening it would be once the monsters broke loose.
"But there are towers that are securing us," Renee from my Squad replied, giving a nod to let know my squad stood with .
"And who went there to secure them? You did. Because you have been fighting these monsters, those towers remain secured. Do you not think the monsters with a brain can figure out a way to take those towers down?" Ms. Lenora yelled.
Her reasoning sounded sensible, but it did not change the question of why they kept sending teenagers.
Why not prepare a large army, train them, give them weapons and send them into the North?
"Having a brain, you an like my father did?" I stepped forward, bringing up my father. The three ringleaders went silent.
"Oh, please do not act like you do not know. That whisperer, he was my father. How did he end up in the North with so much power?" I yelled.
My veins throbbed in my temples every ti I thought about my father having so many abilities in that place.
"Did you not know he was going to be sent to the North? All criminals are sent to the North," Ms. Lenora snapped quickly, trying to settle the rumors.
"Really? How did he end up having powers?" I shouted again.
I noticed everyone looking at each other because it was terrifying to realize criminals were being sent there and gaining powers.
Why were they being sent there, given a chance to turn into monsters, and then kill the rest of the population?
"We told you that anyone who stays in the North too long starts to twist," Mr. Rick hissed, as if he were reminding a child of sothing obvious.
"I can attest to that," Oriana inserted quickly, the first chance she had to justify herself.
Her voice was soft, timid, rehearsed.
"Really?" I fired back. "If you already know that, why send the worst criminals there? You’re the ones filling the North with monsters."
The words left my mouth before I could second-guess them, and the first person to stand up and applaud was Ian.
He pushed away from the window, clapping loudly. Haiden joined him. Then Troy.
Yorick. One by one, nearly everyone rose except Oriana and Joshua.
"You all are being ridiculous," Ms. Lenora snapped. "You’re pointing fingers at us without any understanding of how this academy works." Her voice cracked as she stomped her foot, fists balled at her sides.
For the first ti, she completely lost her composure.
"No," Haiden cut in, steady and calm. "Clentine’s right. Why flood the North with criminals just for us to go back and clean it up? Why not build prisons? Why not deal with them here? It feels like a ga to you."
The room shifted. I watched their faces, saw their postures slump. Only Miss Rue seed unaffected, if anything, she looked relieved.
A faint smile ghosted across her lips. She was here for justice, and watching us stand our ground seed to breathe life into her.
"Well, we’re dismissing this," Mr. Rick barked. "We aren’t paid enough to sit here and entertain your accusations."
"Of course," Yorick muttered. "Money. That’s all it is to you."
Ms. Lenora and Mr. Rick exchanged a sharp, alard look, one that made even Yorick blink in confusion.
"Enough," Ms. Lenora snapped. "We’re done tolerating insults. Speculate all you want, but you will go back to the North, willingly or dragged. And if any of you lay a hand on each other again, the punishnt will be severe."
Her voice shook. Her eyes locked onto like she wanted them to burn through my skull.
"No," I said, stepping forward. "We’re not leaving until we speak to the headmaster."
Her stare sharpened. Every ti I spoke, their expressions shifted into sothing murderous like my voice itself was a threat.
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