I do a happy-dance in my chair. Reperio are awesome.

The Lady picks up a garbage can and chucks the contents into the display. Scraps of paper, broken pencils, and paper clips settle to the bottom of the case.

After that, the garbage starts to move.

The scraps of paper form into little men with eraser-eyes. The broken pencils splinter into skirts for tiny ladies with wooden bodies and paper clip heads. They prowl the display floor, pounding on the glass, and swearing up a storm.

“Every demon has a name and classification. Who knows what these are?”

I raise my hand and answer before she calls on me. “They’re Reperio Minusculus, classification Possideo.”

The Lady adjusts the glasses on her nose. “Yes, they are Reperio Minusculus.” She steps over to her desk. “But I’m fairly certain they’re classification Insultus.” She opens up a thick leather-bound book from her desktop and flips through the pages. “No, you’re right. They’re Possideo. How about that?”

I roll my eyes. Unbelievable. Even ghoul biology teachers don’t know demon basics. Everyone acts like they’ll disappear if we ignore them.

Behind the glass, the little demons make lewd body gestures at our teacher. The Lady glances between them and me. “You fight evil souls in the Arena, don’t you?”

“Yup. Demons too after I’m done with the souls.” I point to the glass case. “Want to know the easiest way to kill Reperio?”

A soft gasp echoes around the room. The Lady’s eyes open wide. “No, no, no. We all love our demon allies.” She quickly steps back to the display case. “Let’s talk about something else, class. Ah, I know. I’ll explain how to feed, clothe, and entertain our little friends.”

Cissy whispers to me from across the aisle. “Look Myla, I know you used to keep notebooks on how to kill demons, but–”

“Oh, I still take tons of notes. And Walker sneaks me into Arena matches pretty regularly. I’ve seen other fighters go after Reperio and the easiest way to kill them is–”

“Myla Lewis!” The Lady stares at me, her large black eyes look ready to burst from her head. I scan the room. The other students look at me like I just announced my frozen head collection. “For the last time. Stop sharing kill strategies for our demon allies.”

My eyes glow with rage. Demon allies, my ass.

Cissy shoots me a desperate stare. “After school, Myla. The library? Remember?”

The library, right. If the Lady sends me to Principal’s office, I’ll be suspended for sure. Knowing my mother, that’ll mean no library trips for months. I need answers more than I need to make a point about demons. I bite my lips together, hard. “I understand, LDY-99.”