Chapter 160: _ Time For The Interview
~Heidi’s Point Of View~
The hallway feels longer than usual. It’s like it’s stretching itself just to mock her.
Heidi walks out of Master Corvin’s office with her shoulders squared and her pulse still thudding in her ears. Her heart feels like a trapped bird inside her chest, wings beating against ribs that ache from the earlier fight. Her palms sting, her knuckles are still scraped, and her skin is bruised, purple, and raw even though they are starting to heal. None of that hurts as much as the silence that follows her out the door. The kind of silence that buzzes right before whispers bloom.
Fine. She won the fight. If Sierra and her royal court of plastic-faced minions wanted a taste of the dirt they shove others into, they got the full-course meal. Heidi’s not even sorry for that part. It was satisfying. Necessary. Righteous even.
But the aftermath? That’s the part she isn’t ready for.
Her wolf growls lazily in her head. "We should’ve broken more bones. They’d have learned faster."
Heidi presses her tongue against the inside of her cheek, biting back the sigh that trembles at her lips. Yeah, sure, she thinks. Because nothing says ’innocent student’ like going full wolf and ripping out designer hair extensions in front of Master Corvin.
Her boots click against the tiled floor, echoing down the corridor. The scent of disinfectant, paper, and lavender air freshener swirls around her. Every corner of this stupid academy smells fake. The air’s too clean, and too perfumed—like they’re trying to cover the rot underneath. And she bets there’s a whole world of rot to be hidden.
She pushes open the door that leads out into the main quad, thinking about how shameful she felt for half stripping fellow girls.
"What? Shameful? Girl, be for real. You went easy on them! I was counting bones, and you stopped before I got to ten." Her wolf hisses.
"Yeah, because I’m trying not to get expelled, genius," Heidi mutters under her breath, keeping her gaze down as she pushes through a group of whispering sophomores.
The whispers are not even subtle. Laughter bubbles like poison behind palms. Snide comments flutter through the air like leaves caught in the wind.
"That’s her, right?"
"The newbie who went feral."
"Heard she filmed herself for some guy."
"Trash. Doesn’t deserve to be in our prestigious school."
Heidi keeps her chin up, jaw tight, ignoring the stares that follow her like heat. Her wolf snarls again, voice rich with contempt.
"They bark from afar because they fear our bite. Let them."
Easy for the wolf to say. She doesn’t have to deal with this circus. Heidi’s the one walking through it with torn clothes, messy hair thanks to the scuffle, and blood still dried along her jawline. She probably looks exactly how they want her to look: guilty. Wild. The outsider who never belonged.
Fine. Let them think it. She’s too tired to care.
She turns down the path leading to the dorms, crossing under the shade of the courtyard oaks. The air outside tastes different. At least, they’re freer, but her stomach’s still knotted. She can’t stop hearing Sierra’s last words before leaving the office.
"Enjoy your last days here, Moon Blessed. We’ll make sure you regret ever breathing our air."
Yeah. Because clearly, expulsion wasn’t dramatic enough, they had to season it with threats too. She isn’t even sure how expulsion works in the werewolf world. Would they banish her to some forest to live with wild animals? She’s heard the concept of "rogue wolves."
Would she become one of those?
Heidi exhales, rubbing the back of her neck. You’ll survive this, she tells herself. You’ve survived worse.
But then, from the corner of her eye, she catches a familiar head of short bulbous hair and bangs sprinting toward her.
"Heidi!"
She turns just in time to see Val sprinting across the lawn, her hair bouncing wildly as she waves her arms. Behind her trail several familiar faces of Helena, Jia, and Andre, along with a few of the other Moon Blessed who survived the labyrinth. She also spots the boy with the severed leg that seems to be rejuvenating but just like Junie’s, growing quite slowly. He’s being held by his two friends whom Heidi admires for their loyalty in pushing him through the portal back at the Labyrinth.
The sight of them reminds her of Junie, and she makes a mental note to start working towards getting Junie out of that nightmare right after she solves this new mess she’s gotten herself into.
Val collides into her, panting. "Where the hell have you been? I woke up and you were gone! We’ve been looking all over!"
Heidi opens her mouth, then closes it again. There’s no easy way to explain, Oh, I was busy rearranging Sierra’s face.
"I had to see Master Corvin," she says finally.
"About what?" Helena asks, frowning. The girl’s long braid swings as she folds her arms.
Before Heidi can answer, Jia holds up a finger, her silver earrings catching the sunlight. "Forget that. The overhead just announced the interviews for the labyrinth survivors. We have to be at the official building in..." she checks her watch, "five minutes."
"Five?" Val groans. "You’re kidding."
Heidi blinks. "You mean like... all of us?"
That question sounds dumb especially since they were informed of the interview the moment they served from the labyrinth. It’s just... with all that’s happened, the shame Heidi feels, she doesn’t think being in the spotlight will do her any good at the moment.
Perhaps, she needs to forget about her hope of acquiring the Top Year One Girl’s title.
"Yeah, all fourteen," Helena says, stepping forward. Her long braid swings over her shoulder as she talks. "They said the footage will be used for the official report and maybe even broadcast to the higher councils. You know, the usual propaganda about how the school shapes brave wolves or whatever."
Val groans. "So basically another PR stunt."
But Jia’s still excited. "Hey, we survived. We deserve the recognition, right?"