Chapter 2

“Are you freaking blind?”

The blonde girl gets close to me. She sniffs the air around me.

“Chelsea, look. Director Nielsen said one of the transfer students today is the daughter of a human cleaner.”

She pokes at my T-shirt. “That’s you, right?”

“No, it‘s not.”

I get shoved hard. A passing girl catches me.

Brakes screech. A black SUV stops. A girl steps out — sharp-dressed, oversized sunglasses hiding half her face.

“Emily Nash. Transfer student.” She takes off her sunglasses. “My dad is the cousin of Council Chairman Nash.”

The blonde girl laughs. “There are only two transfer students today. What about your father?”

“He’s dead.”

“Oh. So you ARE the cleaner’s daughter.”

She steps closer.

“Know your place, lower-class.”

The laughter stings.

“We have class.” The girl who caught me earlier lowers her head. “Mrs. Weimar’s class doesn’t allow tardiness —”

The blonde girl shoves her. “Abigail. Human girl. No one asked you to speak.”

Abigail stumbles. Her textbooks hit the ground.

I crouch down to pick them up.

“You’re helping her?” The blonde girl grabs my wrist.

“First — I am not the cleaner’s daughter. Second — You know nothing about who I am. And third —”

—SLAP—

My face stings.

I lift my head and look into her eyes.

“You’ll regret messing with me.”

She laughs out loud. “You’ll regret coming to Silvermoon Academy, Moonbridge freak.”