a world without hope

03

Hallways felt endlessly congested to Hope. 

All she could imagine was her peers' reactions to her wrath when the perfect time came about. Vampires would become her henchmen and do her dirty work for her. Witches would be envious of her dominant magic source. Werewolves would kiss the ground she walked on, begging to become a hybrid. The world would soon answer to Hope Mikaelson, including her own absent family. She would finally be seen. If she had to dominate the world in exchange for someone to acknowledge her for the powerhouse she was, that is precisely what she would do. Pathetic people like Alyssa would pay for the pain she carelessly inflicted on others. Selfish people like Lizzie would be given a reason to complain. Ignorant people, which was most of the school, would know Hope as the very opposite of her name: despair. 

Hope Mikaelson wanted to give Alaric Saltzman another reason to write a pointless diary about how the daughter of his dead enemy came back to haunt him and watch him squirm under Hope's domain. She was going to make her father proud, and the ancestors infuriated. She couldn't expose herself prematurely, so playing the role of a studious member of the boarding school would have to last longer. A part of her subconscious, the side of her that is most like Hayley, told her to give school another try, that her life didn't have to unfold down a sinister path. It was a good thing that Hope rarely believed in second chances. 

Yet, here she was, face to face with the one girl that made Hope twist her immoral beliefs for: Josie Saltzman. Looking wounded, Josie inspected Hope's cold eyes after their accidental collision in the hallway. Hope could read the anger on her face, but could not collect any words to string together as an apology for last night's incident. The tribrid could not help but admire Josie's features, even when she looked upset.

"Are you going to move?" The brunette questioned Hope with blatant annoyance in her voice as if she had somewhere better to be. The both of them were supposed to be on the same path to class, but Josie was walking against the flow of traffic. Hope glimpsed over her shoulder in the direction Josie was heading towards. The somewhere she had to be was in the arms of Penelope. The she-devil wiggled her fingers, acknowledging the jealousy Hope was giving off. 

"She's all yours," Hope raised her voice to Penelope behind her and pivoted to the left of Josie. As she walked away, Josie didn't break eye contact with Hope until she was proximal to Penelope. Her attitude was like day and night; with Hope, it was awkward and displeasing, but with Penelope, Josie was giddy and smiled. 

Hope continued to her class, feeling conquered by team Posie. She took her usual seat that was diagonal and behind Josie's. The tardy bell rang, and Josie's seat remained empty for the first fifteen minutes of class. This was unusual behavior coming from the headmaster's daughter, and Hope was shocked to see Josie rebelling, even if it was something as little as missing class. Moments later amid the teacher lecturing, Josie quietly shuffled into the classroom. Knowing not to waste her breath over Alaric's star child, the teacher paused for a second and immediately continued the lesson after Josie took her seat. 

It wasn't difficult to notice Josie's flushed face and the bruised marks behind her ear, going down her neck. She released her flowy hair from her bun to rest against the side of her neck to cover up the results of the last heated minutes she spent with Penelope. Josie knew what was doing, especially with Hope being front row to her actions. Hope choked down any reaction, wincing in her mind at the image of Josie and Penelope sucking off each other's faces. 

A paper note appeared out of thin air and dropped downwards on the surface of Josie's desk. Being nosy, Hope reached out of her seat to extend as much as she could without being obvious to peer over Josie's shoulder. She could read what it said once Josie unfolded the note.