Page 5 of My Demon Teacher

“Ryan,” he says, and I bite back a smirk.

How’s that for a power move? I don’t even vaguely remember his name, but if he’s going to be an ass, I might as well save myself some time and be an ass first.

“Ah yeah. Ryan. That’s it. How are you?”

Ryan shrugs and puts his hands in his pockets.

“I’m great. Great. You? First day at Lockwood, right?”

“Yeah. I’m a late starter, I guess.”

In more than one way, but they don’t need to know that.

“Welcome to Lockwood, man. You’ll have a great time here. Right?” He checks with the other guys, and they all nod, smiling.

Why are they being so weird? Or is it just me who thinks they’re being creepy.

“What’s up with Mason, by the way? Is he coming back?”

My body tenses, but somehow, I manage to keep my composure. Maybe it’s because he deserved what he got.

“No idea. I don’t live with them anymore. No idea where he is.”

Ryan shrugs. “Oh well. Maybe he’s on vacation. He’ll turn up eventually.”

I very much doubt that.

“And if he doesn’t, no big loss, right?” His friends—are they lackeys?—chuckle, and despite what Mason put me through, I’m not sure I’d want friends who laugh at my absence.

“Right,” I say and glance at Jace. We start walking, but Ryan speaks up.

“Well…we’re here if you ever need anything.”

I stop and look at him.

“What’s that mean?”

I can interpret it a hundred different ways, and none of them are the kind way he’s trying to pass it off as.

“You said it yourself. You started late. If you need any academic help or anything else whatsoever…”

“Aren’t you in my class?”

Shit. I shouldn’t have said that. There’s no point getting aggressive. That will only draw more attention to me. And I don’t need that.

But Ryan doesn’t falter.

“Yeah. But we’re all friends here. All of us with different skills and backgrounds. We can all help each other.”

I bite my tongue and force myself to smile.

“Cool. Thanks. I’ll…I’ll keep that in mind if I ever need anything.”

I try to walk away again.

“You come from a line of eldritch witches, don’t you?”

I freeze. My entire body aches from how tense I instantly get and my heart races.