~5 MONTHS BEFORE CURRENT TIME~

I wish I was nervous. I wasn't. I wish I was wringing my sweaty hands or fidgeting with the strings on my backpack. I wasn't. I belonged here. There was no reason to be nervous. The feeling of fitting in was overwhelming as I looked around the auditorium to the perfect rows of students seated in their immaculate uniforms.

I stood with my chin slightly up, shoulders pressed back and gave my full attention to Headmaster Moriens, a thin man with a monocle on his right eye. He paced slowly across the elevated stage at the front of the room, his eyes shifting and studying students as he made his annual speech.

I didn't pay attention to the words, but instead his reaction to the students. To a burly boy in the front row, he smiled. The girl on my left received a small wave. A tall girl in the very back received a frown, a clear distaste. I made a mental note to stay away from her.

As his eyes continued weaving their way through the crowd of kids in neatly pressed uniforms, I couldn't help but yearn for his attention but it seemed he was trying to look everywhere but me. A wave of panic went through me, did he know?

I shook my head to myself. There was no way he knew. All my paperwork had been reviewed multiple times by different counselors. The boy who had mysteriously died and opened up a spot in the school was well-buried far, far away from here.

But then again I had drawn too much attention to myself when I had taken the entrance exam and forgotten to not do my best. The drugs had thrown me off. I scolded myself once again for not expecting it. All I could do now was hope it would distract everyone enough that they wouldn't dig any deeper.

Besides, I was a king here, no one would dare to question me, right? I remembered the whispers that had started as soon as I stepped through the double doors of the main auditorium. Murmurs of "that's him" and "I heard he got a 98%, higher than King Enrique, himself" had made my head spin. I had barely made it through the hall.

I'd get used to it.

~CURRENT TIME~

I wink at a group of blonde girls as they pass me in a flurry of blushes and giggles. A "Hey, man" leaves my mouth almost automatically as I slap a junior on the back, he nods acknowledging me. Walking through the hallway, with my broad shoulders pushed back and my feet moving with a natural arrogance, I grin as I reach my locker and found Eli and Aoife.

It hadn't been hard to fit into my life here. When everyone expects you to be something, you just are it. I knew who I was, it wasn't anyone else's business. That was the whole reason I ran away. To start over.

A look of annoyance sits on Eli's face. His left hand rubs his forehead and his feet shuffle as if someone was about to burst into here and arrest him. A shine of sweat highlights his dark skin, making me roll my eyes. There was no one more dramatic than Eli.

"Relax, man," I say. "I made sure no one could trace it back to us."

I glance at Aoife who was buried in her sketchbook. Her regular black jeans and cropped red blouse make her look approachable. She isn't.

No one would approach her, rumors of her stabbing a man to death with a blood-red colored pencil had made sure as much. They were true but Aoife herself wasn't that bad. Unless someone got in between her and her art. A couple of years ago I would've laughed at how absurd it was but now I accepted it.

The hierarchy at Furcifer Akademia wasn't as complicated as other schools. There were four divisions, each represented by a different tower of the main castle. In order from most respected to least, there wereCorporis Elite, Sagacitas Elite, Corporis, and Sagacitas. The way I understood it, athletic elite, intelligent elite, athletic, and intelligent.

There was a running controversy that Sagacitas should be valued higher than Corporis but considering the current king of villains was Corporis, there was doubt anything would change.

Furcifer Akademia was a school for the worst of the worst. Most of the students had a crime list however only if murder was on it, would they be considered for the Elite.

I, obviously, am Corporis Elite. They don't know about the murder specifically but, they knew it had happened.

Aoife looks up for a second. "Mhmm. I mean it's Storm. Even if we do get caught, the worst case is we get detention. Most likely, we'll just get extra credit and that's if we get caught," she says, her Asian accent weaving through her English.

I grin. She was right. The professors adored me. I slap Eli's back. "Stop worrying, let's go enjoy the show," I say.

The overhead speaker buzzes deafeningly before a voice says, "Blaise Enrique. Blaise Enrique. Please make your way to the front office. You are in trouble." A cackle follows from who I assumed was Ixtab, Headmaster Moriens latest personal assistant.

Eli glances at me and whispers, "That'll be your name in a couple of minutes."

"Only if I get caught," I say with a wink.

A girl with long black hair rushes past me, bumping her shoulder on my chest. She looks up, her hazel eyes narrowing. I can't help but notice her eyes, hazel with specks of gold. She is stunning. Waves of confidence pour off her intimidatingly as recognition passes through her face followed by an expression of distaste.

"Sorry," I say immediately before realizing where I was. I swear every pair of eyes hallway turned to me.

She looks at me for a moment longer, her face practiced blank. Without a hint of an apology, she turns back and rushes towards the headmaster's office.

Blaise. I let the name bounce in my head before storing it in a safe spot. Interesting.

Aoife glances up at me, a curious look in her eyes. I don't apologize. Not at this school.

Eli gives me a look his eyes dancing with amusement.

"Stop it, both of you!" I exclaim.

"We didn't even do anything!" Eli says, his tone hinting otherwise. 

I shake my head, matching his smile, and say, "Well, we better get going, don't want to miss the show."

Aoife shakes her head. "One would think you'd become better at changing the subject after five months at the greatest villain academy but you, Storm Marelle never fail to surprise me," she says, her voice playful and a hint of a smile playing on her lips.

I shrug and walk towards my next class. 

Dee:

Heyyyyy! There's the first chapter of this book. I'm not sure exactly how I feel about it, so tell me what you think. It's a little shorter than usual but for this book, I've decided to do 1000 words each chapter so FUN!

Considering whether to add a prologue or not...so um yeah. 

Furcifer Akademia - [foor·SEE·fur A·kuh·DEE·mee·uh]

Aoife - [EE-fa]

*basic editing completed 4/30/2021