Hidden Series 09.5 - Hidden Monster by Nicole Colville

of how I'm feeling right now. Very tetchy. But I'm always ill-tempered and irritable, so… “Fuck!” My mother’s fragile, antique Louis the XIV bureau cracks under the force of my fists merging with the delicate wood. I stare blankly at the table top then slam my fists into it again, watching them split the bureau in half. When I pull my hands from the splintered fragments of wood, I half growl, half sigh seeing the cuts on my knuckles. Those will sting. Yes. Very tetchy today. Obviously I need to burn off some excess stress and aggression in the gym. I glance quickly at my wristwatch; I have time for an hour pummelling the punching bag before I have to return to the ballroom and supervise the final arrangements for tonight. An hour’s worth of beating the shit out of something will help relieve a little tension—not much—but it will be enough to get me through the two hours Mother has set aside to discuss the final details with the prick she’s hired to organise tonight’s Halloween masquerade ball. The fastidious bastard has taken too much of my precious time up already with his unending ideas and meticulous preparations. I swear, if I don’t punch something soon, the next thing my fists come into contact with will be his cocky-looking, pretentious face. It would give me such pleasure to see that too-white smile slapped from his face. I’m being careful where I go in my parents’—no, my mansion today. There's so many people rushing about and God help them if they accidently come acro