Chapter 3

Zero stepped into the classroom, her textbook dangling lazily from one hand. The chaotic noise of thirty students instantly flatlined.

She ignored the wide eyes tracking her every move. She walked straight to the back row, toward the window. Her assigned seat.

Her desk-mate, Cody Boggs, a massive guy built like a linebacker, had his dirty sneakers propped up on Zero's chair, blocking her path.

Cody looked her up and down, a nasty sneer twisting his face. "Wow, the freak got a makeover. Move it, faggot. Don't get your cheap cologne on my shoes."

The entire class held their breath. A few kids in the front row snickered, waiting for Zero to stand in the aisle with her head bowed, just like she always did.

Zero didn't speak. She stood perfectly still, her dark eyes fixed on Cody. A slow, chilling smile crept onto her lips.

Before Cody could open his mouth to hurl another insult, Zero moved.

Her hand shot out like a striking snake. Her fingers clamped around Cody's thick ankle like a steel vise.

Cody's eyes widened. He tried to yank his leg back, but Zero's grip was immovable. A sharp pain shot up his shin as her fingers dug into his bone.

Zero's eyes hardened. She twisted her wrist and yanked upward with a vicious, calculated burst of kinetic force, using his own weight against him.

Cody lost his balance completely. He let out a terrified scream as his massive two-hundred-pound frame flipped backward over the desk.

CRASH.

He hit the floor with a sickening thud, his chair clattering away. The impact rattled the windows.

The girls in the front row shrieked, covering their mouths. Nobody could comprehend the physical strength required to flip a guy that size with one hand.

Cody was seeing stars. He gasped for air, his face turning purple with rage. He scrambled to get up, spitting curses. "I'm gonna kill you-"

Zero stepped forward. She raised her foot and brought her polished black shoe down hard on the center of Cody's chest, pinning him flat against the linoleum.

The air rushed out of Cody's lungs in a violent wheeze. The pressure on his sternum was agonizing. He stared up at Zero, and for the first time, raw terror flickered in his eyes.

Mr. Peterson, the history teacher, walked into the classroom, his lesson plan tucked under his arm. He stopped dead in his tracks, his jaw dropping at the violent scene in the back row. His binder slipped from his fingers, hitting the floor.

Zero heard the noise. She slowly turned her head to look at the teacher. She didn't lift her foot off Cody's chest. She just offered a lazy shrug.

"Mr. Peterson," Zero said, her voice smooth and entirely unbothered. "Cody tripped."

Mr. Peterson looked at Cody's agonizing face, his mind struggling to process the blatant violence. His authoritative instincts weakly flared. "Vance! Boggs!" Mr. Peterson stammered, pointing a shaking finger. "Both of you, my office, immediately after class!" But as he met Zero's dark, warning gaze, the teacher swallowed hard. The sheer, suffocating killing intent in those eyes made him instinctively backtrack. "...Just to understand the situation," he added weakly, fear paralyzing the rest of his vocal cords.

Zero casually removed her foot. She hooked her toe under the fallen chair, flipped it upright, and sat down. She opened her book as if she hadn't just assaulted someone.

Cody scrambled away, clutching his bruised chest. He practically crawled back to his seat, keeping his head down, terrified to even breathe in her direction.

Forty-five minutes later, the bell rang. Zero popped her earbuds in, shoved her hands in her pockets, and walked out of the classroom, heading for the cafeteria.

As she turned the corner on the second floor, a sickeningly sweet wave of expensive perfume hit her nose.

Three girls blocked the hallway. In the center stood Kenzie Locke, the head cheerleader and Maverick Thorne's most obsessive fan. She crossed her arms, glaring at Zero with pure venom.

One of Kenzie's minions sneered loudly. "Put on a suit and think you're not trash anymore? A freak is always a freak."

Zero stopped. She pulled out one earbud. Her eyes swept over the three girls, radiating pure, unfiltered annoyance at the delay.

Kenzie stepped right into Zero's personal space. She raised a hand, her long, red-painted acrylic nail pointing directly at Zero's nose. "Stay away from Maverick, you disgusting-"

Zero's hand blurred. She grabbed Kenzie's extended finger and bent it backward with a brutal, sickening snap.

Kenzie let out a blood-curdling shriek. Her knees gave out from the blinding pain, forcing her to drop into a humiliating, half-kneeling position on the floor just to stop her finger from breaking completely.

The two minions gasped, stepping forward to help.

Zero slowly turned her head. She shot them a look so lethal, so devoid of human empathy, that both girls froze. Their legs turned to jelly. They couldn't take a single step.

Zero leaned down, her face inches from Kenzie's ear.

"Point at me again," Zero whispered, her voice a dark, demonic rasp, "and I will break your hand."