Bully Me Once: Invern Elite Prep School, #1

By Moira Barretti

I don't belong here.

That's my first thought when I enter the Invern Elite Prep.

Unfortunately, the hottest boy in school, Cole Arretti, thinks the same, and he seems to be determined to make my life as miserable as possible.

And that's not all. He's the son of a ruthless mafia boss, so having him as my enemy is a very dangerous game to play.

But I'm not very good at staying put.

I'll fight back.

I'll bring Cole to his knees.

No matter what it takes.


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This is the first installment in the Invern Elite Prep School series. It is not intended for readers under eighteen years of age and ends with a cliffhanger.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Moira Barretti
• Release date: Jun 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201562533

Book preview

Chapter 1

INVERN ELITE PREP SCHOOL.

I eyed the large building with distrust as my father pulled over in the parking lot.

Ever since I’d found out that I’d have to attend a fancy private school, I hated the idea of it. And the most annoying thing was that I couldn’t find much info about it at all.

The school’s website didn’t offer much, and a lot of the info seemed to be outdated, and, of course, they claimed all their students ended up going to college, which was basically what every prep school I’d checked out said.

The building looked like a huge mansion or a museum, with ornamented facade, statues, and a fountain in front of the entrance.

I let out a small sigh.

Maybe I’d have liked it here if I were a freshman, but I was a senior, so my brief passing through this school probably wasn’t going to help me much with getting into college, but apparently, this was the only school around here willing to accept new students.

We’re here, Ava, my dad said, as he and my mom turned around so they could look at me in the back seat.

Since I hadn’t said anything or gotten out of the car, they probably believed I was too lost in my thoughts to notice. It hadn’t been a long drive and I could’ve walked, but my parents had insisted it was right on their way to the bank.

I was pretty sure that they still saw me as their little girl who needed protection, or maybe they were worried I’d end up going somewhere else instead.

Do I really have to do this? I asked, leaning forward.

My mom tucked a strand of her dark brown hair behind her ear, her dark brown eyes filled with compassion.

We’ve talked about this, she said.

I know, but I’m eighteen. Maybe there’s a different way for me to graduate. How am I even going to catch up? This school is nothing like mine.

If only we hadn’t had to move.

I’d been happy in our town. My old public school wasn’t anything special, but I’d had friends there, and here I didn’t know anyone.

Why couldn’t my dad have waited just one more year to open a bar here? The business hadn’t been so bad, had it?

Or maybe I just hadn’t been paying enough attention. My parents had assured me that they’d had no choice, and now we were here.

Don’t worry about anything. The teachers will help you. The school wouldn’t have accepted you if they didn’t believe you could graduate here just like everyone else. My mom gave me a small smile.

Yeah, actually, I wanted to ask you something. I narrowed my eyes at my parents. How can we afford all this? I thought we were struggling.

I’d seen the fee on one of the papers my parents had been given, and my head had started to hurt. Every time I asked my mom and dad about it, they found a way to distract me, divert the conversation to something else, or we got interrupted.

But now we were trapped in this car, so unless they wanted to run out of it, I didn’t think they could find a way to avoid my question.

There will always be money for your education, honey, my dad said, but his green eyes briefly shifted to my mom.

We have a savings account for you, my mom said. It was supposed to wait for college, but we’ll find a way. Her shoulders were tense, or maybe I was just imagining it.

I really hoped they hadn’t pulled some strings or done something not so legal to get me in here.

Right. I glanced back at the school.

I could do this.

I could survive.

It was just a school, and my senior year would pass in a flash.

Besides, if I had to catch up and pass some additional exams, then I’d be too busy to even think about anything else.

I’m sure you’ll love it here, my mom said. The principal told me all sorts of wonderful things about it.

Okay. I’m going. I grabbed my bag and slid it onto my shoulder.

Do you know where you need to go first? It’s right down the hallway and— my mom said.

Yeah, I know. I gave her a small smile. Wish me luck.

I pushed the door open and got out of the car. After I gave my parents a small wave, I made my way across the parking lot, steeling myself for what was coming.

It couldn’t be that bad, could it?

I was sure no one was even going to notice I existed. I was just like any other girl with dark brown eyes and long, dark brown hair. It shouldn’t be all that hard for me to blend in.

Hell, maybe I could even make some friends. Hopefully, not everyone had their own little groups that were so tight they didn’t let anyone else in.

But as I approached the entrance, my fingers tightened around the strap of my bag.

When I’d found out that we wouldn’t have to wear uniforms, I’d been thrilled, but as I passed by a few students, I suddenly wished I’d picked something else to wear.

My dark blue jeans, checkered shirt, leather jacket, and old sneakers couldn’t be more out of place.

Maybe these people didn’t wear uniforms, but it was almost as if they were. And there I thought they wouldn’t fit the stereotype.

Expensive, brand new clothes.

Newest phones.

Branded watches, bags, and shoes.

Even those who’d opted for a more casual look still seemed as if they’d picked their clothes right out of a fashion magazine.

Oh shit.

But maybe what they were wearing didn’t define them, and this wasn’t going to be like in one of those movies where the rich kids looked down on and made fun of anyone who wasn’t like them. Surely, not everyone was the same.

When I stepped through the door, I felt like a deer caught in the headlights.

Everyone’s gazes turned to me, and the looks on their faces were not friendly at all. Why did I have a sensation they’d already made up their minds about me long before they actually saw me?

I was new in town and in this school. I’d expected no one would know anything about me, but what if somehow they did?

Had they been talking about me?

If they were like a small community, and the principal or one of the professors had mentioned me in hopes it would make things easier for me, then maybe they’d already researched me.

Okay, that would be weird. Why would they even care?

Unless the school rarely accepted seniors, especially those who hadn’t attended a private school before, and they were wondering how the hell I’d even gotten in.

I took a deep breath, doing my best to ignore the stares.

It would stop eventually. I was a new face here, so they were curious, and maybe my anxiety about my first day here was making me feel as if they were all judging my every step.

It was going to be fine. They’d lose interest in me and I’d just be another student.

But as I made my way down the hallway, there was only one thought in my mind.

I don’t belong here.

Chapter 2

AFTER I WAS DONE WITH the administrative part—the principal seemed really nice, and my mentor who was supposed to help me adjust was okay too—I had to find my way to class.

But even though the principal had explained how to find the right hallway more than once, this building was still unfamiliar to me. I supposed I shouldn’t have refused my mentor’s offer to walk me to class, but I really didn’t want any more attention on me.

As I was looking right and left, trying to find my way, I bumped into someone.

Sorry, I— I looked up from the paper I was holding and found myself staring straight into a pair of angry blue eyes.

Watch it! the most handsome guy I’d ever seen said, and then he cocked his head as he regarded me from head to toe.

Well, damn.

Maybe there was finally something interesting in this school.

His short black hair was just the right amount of messy—definitely the kind of carefree look that totally took ages to arrange—and his black T-shirt and dark blue jeans perfectly fit his lean and strong body.

Add an expensive-looking leather jacket and black boots, and I thought he’d come here straight from a fashion shoot, or maybe from the red carpet where he’d been promoting his latest movie.

Yeah, he was beyond hot.

You’re the new girl, he said, loudly enough for the whole hallway to hear him, and then his lips quirked up.

Well, great.

If anyone hadn’t been aware of that fact, now I was sure they were.

Um, yeah, I’m A— I didn’t get to finish the sentence because he grabbed me by the shoulders.

My back slammed against the wall, and the guy placed his hands on each side of my head, trapping me.

What the fuck?

My heart was thudding loudly in my chest as he leaned in, his face only inches away from mine.

You don’t belong here, Ava, he said, and the way he spat out my name made me flinch.

He knew exactly who I was, which meant he’d come prepared. For a few moments, I was too shocked and stunned to do anything.

He was right.

I probably didn’t belong here at all, but what difference did it make to him?

Why do you care? I managed to choke out, my voice not as steady as I wanted it to be.

Look at you. Do you think you’re one of us now? Huh? His gaze dropped to my chest and then to my bag. He caught my bag and ripped it out of my grasp.

My bag fell to the floor, some of my things spilling out of it, my phone among them.

He stepped away from me, and I took in a shuddery breath. But then he picked up my phone and laughed.

Did you steal this from a museum? He waved with my phone, and the group that had gathered around us snickered.

I pressed my lips into a tight line.

Hey, Cole, one of the guys from the group said. Can you even take a selfie with that thing?

Cole made a show of inspecting my phone. It doesn’t have a front camera.

Really? The other guy laughed.

Give that back to me, I said, trying to snatch my phone out of his hand. If you want to take selfies, use your own fucking phone.

He lifted it above his head so I couldn’t reach it. What if something happened to it? Would you cry? Or would you tell whoever you fucked to get you in here to buy you a new one?

What? I gaped at him.

This had to be a nightmare because what Cole was saying didn’t make any sense.

Oh, come on. Nobody gets to attend the Invern Elite Prep just like that, especially not a senior. And if I’m not wrong, your father had to take on a loan so he could open a bar here and start over. You didn’t get a scholarship, so who’s paying for all this?

That’s none of your fucking business. I finally managed to snatch my phone out of his hand.

Seriously, what the fuck was wrong with this guy?

Had he done research on me? But he was wrong about the loan, wasn’t he? My dad didn’t really discuss his business with me. And how the hell had Cole found that out?

Rich guy.

Right.

Paying an investigator was nothing to him.

But why would he do that? Just to entertain his friends? It seemed so damn stupid.

Or was he showing off and trying to prove he could find out just about anything about anyone?

If you think we’re going to let you pretend you’re one of us, you’re wrong. You’ll never graduate here, Cole said, lowering his voice. Leave and never come back. Find some other school. If you don’t, very bad things will happen to you. You’ll regret ever setting foot in here. Do you understand?

I just stared at him as he gave me a warning look.

What the fuck did he think? That he owned the school and could decide who could attend and who couldn’t?

Why did he even care?

Or was he just trying to appear as some big bad wolf in front of the new girl who didn’t know any better?

I supposed I should’ve been investigating the students here or something, but how could I have known who they were? Besides, stalking them on social media just to try to find some dirt on them seemed silly and a waste of time.

But there was something about the way Cole was looking at me.

Something sinister.

The show he’d mounted just seemed to be a cover. I didn’t think that it bothered him where my money had come from.

There was something else, but I had no clue what it was.

He turned away from me as if I was the most insignificant thing that had ever existed, and his friends trailed after him. The rest of the students were watching me with wary eyes.

Maybe Cole’s intention was to make everyone suspicious of me. It would be hard to make friends if they thought I’d done something weird to get in here.

But hell, I was suspicious about how I’d gotten in here too, so maybe they were all onto something.

I trusted my parents, though. They wouldn’t lie to me.

I couldn’t let Cole rattle me.

Except, he’d done just that.

It took me a few moments to realize my bag was still on the floor and that I had to get to class. All the things I should’ve said to him flew right through my mind, but it was too little, too late.

I stuffed my things and my phone into my bag and stormed down the hallway.

Maybe I’d find someone normal in this school too. Not everyone was like Cole and his little gang.

But when I looked at the few students who seemed more interested in learning than in what clothes they were wearing, they averted their gazes from me.

No one wanted to get the new-girl disease.

Right.

Mumbling under my breath about the silliness