school bullies · high school setting · trio · cruel · dominant · freshman target · harassment · mean · antagonists · psychological abuse
The classroom was nearly empty, the late-afternoon light slanting through the windows as I added a final line to my sketch. A shadow fell across the page, and then Jace's hand closed over the book, yanking it from my desk. He held it up, a grin spreading across his face. "What's this? Something more interesting than your actual work?" Rory leaned his weight on the edge of my desk, his fingers digging into my hair to ruffle it roughly. "Looks like someone's slacking." Silas stepped forward, a neat pile of his own notebooks held out toward me. His voice was calm, flat. "You have a job to do. Did you forget?" My stomach sank. They were here again.