Subject Me To Life [Book One] ✔️ *EDITING*

Chapter Forty-Two

*Not edited* Not proofread*

Chapter 42– Not as easy as you think:

"What the fuck is going on?" I voice aloud.

Mister Johansson clears his throat and gestures to one of the four seats that are positioned in front of his desk. "Sit down please, Kody." His tone is indifferent. He doesn't speak with his usual happiness, nor does he sound angry. He's offering a small smile though, almost comfortingly.

I hesitate, but once I make eye contact with Jace, who's sitting on the cushioned chair closest to the windows to my right, I move forward until I'm opposite the seat beside him, ignoring the glaring girl to my left, though all I want to do is kick her chair backwards. "Sit down, kid," Jace nudges my leg. I glance at him at the corner of my eye briefly before sitting.

"So, I assume you know why you're here?" Mister Johansson asks. I could take a guess, but I don't. I just raise an eyebrow and wait for him to speed things along. "Gabriella claims—."

"Claims!" The man that is sat on the other side of Gabrielle suddenly snaps. "My daughter doesn't claim anything. Have you seen her neck? She's got proof! That thing attacked her!"

        I turn to Jace with furrowed eyebrows and point a finger to my chest. He looks at me for a split second, seeing that my focus is on him, before he goes back to glaring at the stranger. His jaw is set tightly and I think I can hear his teeth grinding together.

        "Mister Chase, if you could please calm down," Mister Johansson tries to diffuse the situation. It doesn't work.

"No, I won't calm down. My daughter was assaulted in your school by one of your students, and you're doing nothing about it! I want her expelled."

        Jace's hand finds the tips of my hair as the brown strands fall over the back of the chair, playing with the ends as he twists them around his fingers and tugs on them gently. I don't tell him to stop, nor do I bother to move away like I want to, knowing he's trying to distract himself from breaking the shouting man's neck as he talks about me in a tone Jace doesn't seem to like. While he's always so easy going with me, with other people he can lose his temper really quickly; especially if I'm involved.

        Mister Johansson looks uncomfortable, like he doesn't know what to say to either of the men in the room. "That's why we're here, Mister Chase, to get to the bottom of what happened so I can issue an appropriate punishment for Kody."

        "She strangled me, that's what happened!" Gabrielle exclaims in a squeaky voice. From the corner of my eye, I can see the discolouration of skin around her neck, her hair pulled up in a high ponytail to draw more attention the mark, most likely for sympathy that she will definitely not be getting from anyone in this room, aside from the man beside her.

        Mister Johansson ignores her and looks at me instead. He pauses for a beat before he begins to speak. "Kody, Gabriella has brought to my attention that you attacked her yesterday before the beginning of first lesson, is that true?"

        "Of course it's true—."

        "Will you shut up and let the fucking man speak?" Jace snaps at Gabrielle's dad.

        "Excuse me? I will not have you speak to me like that," he barks back. I clench my fists at the way he talks to Jace and have to stop myself from getting up and separating his jaw. My leg begins to bounce in rapid movements.

        "Okay, if you two can't be civil, I'm going to have to ask you both to leave," Mister Johansson speaks sternly, apparently having enough of the constant bickering and interruptions. "Kody, did you or did you not attack Gabriella?"