Sisters in arms

chapter 5

I was still a little shocked when we arrived back at school, millions of questions running through my head. But there was one that stood out, that I kept coming back to; why hadn't Ivy raised the alarm after I had left?

When I got back to the copter I had spent the whole night with my nails dug into the armrest, waiting to hear the shrill ringing of alarm bells, but they never came. Friends and not-so-much-friends (*cough* Adean and his gang *cough*) went for their exam and came back, people fell asleep and woke back up, conversations started and finished, I think Katherine poked me a few times as well, to try and get my attention, but that didn't work, in fact, I don’t remember anything that I saw or heard on that copter ride because I was so out of it. The first clear memory after the meeting with Ivy is stepping off of the copter shaking my head, trying to clear it of the incomprehensible gabble of questions that were crowding my brain. I turned to Katherine and Sophie who were heading in the direction of the den (a secret room off the library that I had found when I had been exploring in the first few years after I had arrived at the school) they looked at me with questioning expressions when they saw me still standing on the helipad, a confused expression on my face.

“I’ll catch up with you later” I said as I forced a weak smile. They turned and, though it seemed a bit reluctantly, walked away, into the building that loomed ahead of me. Me, being the rebel I am, I span on the balls of my feet and took off in the opposite direction, towards the forest that ringed the grounds of the school. My feet pounded against the dark earth, my boots sending clumps of moss, rotting bark and showers of gold and crimson leaves flying through the air. I ran, leaving all of my confusion and worry behind me as I sprinted in the dappled light of the trees. By the time I reached the waterfall that I often went to when I needed to think, I was tired and panting. The calming babble of the water sunk into my mind and began to sort out my thoughts. I fell down to the ground my back up against a tree my weariness finally taking over. The adrenaline that my worry had provided had faded away leaving me with very little energy to even think. My eyelids drooped as my mind sank into nothingness.

My eyes snapped open as an owl hooted in the distance. While I had been out the sun had sank below the horizon and I took a minute to marvel at the bright stars that dotted the Stygian black sky above me. Once I was done with my little reflection time (oh god, I was turning into a sissy!) I pushed myself into a standing position and began to wander through the trees and back to the school. The air hummed with the calls of the creatures of the forest and rustle of the wind in the trees. I shivered (oh, come on! What is up with me and being a sissy!) as the crisp breeze rushed past me and rubbed my arm trying to warm them up.

My boots crunched on the frosty grass as I walked, the layer of ice that covered the leaves cracking under my weight. My sight grew clearer as I stepped into the clearing around the school, the canopy of the trees no longer blocking the little light the stars and moon provided. I sped up my pace as I climbed the stone steps of the building and pushed open the heavy oak door, shutting it gently behind me. The school at night was weird and just a little bit freaky, the stairs creaked as I climbed them, the old wood bending beneath my weight. I trudged down the corridor towards the dorm I shared with Katherine, Sophie and Lexie (yeah it was unusual for girls from different years to share rooms but when Sophie and Lexie had arrived at the school Sophie had been so young that she couldn't sleep without her sister, so Madame Duprez had put them in the same dorm and it had stayed that way) The room was quiet as I opened the door and stepped in, sneaking my way across to my bed.

“Where the hell were you?” I span round and saw Lexie sitting up on her bed, her arms crossed, glaring at me. “Well?"

“Um . . .” I searched my mind for a suitable response to give to the older girl. “The truth.” Oh, why did she have to know me so well! I sighed.

“Thinking” I simply stated.

“Where?” She replied, her glare still boring into me

“The woods.” I admitted, I didn't usually tell people about the woods, they were the place I went when I needed to think, to get away from the rush of school, I kind of felt like I was betraying myself by giving it away, but Lexie was one of my best friends and I knew I could trust her not to tell the teachers that I had been in the woods.

"Why?" she lent forward, her glare having been replaced with an expression of concern.

"I had to think," I replied warily, "I don't really know if I want to stay here, I know this will probably sound weird to you, but . . . I don't know whether I want to be a criminal, it's just whenever I do something against the law I get this little voice in the back of my head, shouting at me, and, get this, it sounds like madame Duprez, which is how I know I'm going totally bonkers."

"I know what you mean."

" I know, I'm . . . wait, what?"

"I know what you mean. I've often thought about running away, I would do if it wasn't for Sophie."

"But why? You're the best student at the school." I asked.

" It's kind of a long story, but I'll tell you. Sophie was too young too remember but I can see it in my mind as clear as day. My mum didn't want to be a criminal, she started stealing when she was a child because her family was poor and they didn't have enough money to feed them selves. She swore to her self that when she was older she would stop stealing, but, once your in, it's very hard to get back out. My dad was different, he got into stealing because he was a greedy bastard. All he wanted was money, he didn't really care about me and Sophie. He was the most selfish person I've ever met and I, well, I hated him. There was this one time when i was going down stairs to get some water and I heard my parents arguing. It was about my dad's thievery. My mum was shouting about how if he kept stealing stuff than it ruin Sophie and my lives. 'I never wanted to be a criminal, and I certainly don't want this life for my children, but if you keep acting like this than they will have this life, they will have. no. choice!' she said and she kept going on about it until my dad, he hit her; slapped her right across the face. I can still remember the sound that reached my ears. My mum had a red mark on her face the next and when Sophie asked about it she said that she had tripped, though i did see her eyes dart towards my dad first." Lexie explained, brushing her hair out of her eyes.  

"Wow, I never would have thought . . ."

"yeah, well, I'm pretty good at hiding it." Lexie sighed.

When I thought about it I could see that she didn't really want to be there, I'd heard from some of the older kids that she never listened in class, they had put in down to the fact that she was so good that she didn't need to because she knew everything already and it made her even cooler, she also never did anything that wasn't compolasry. She only did what she had to; but I never would have guessed that she didn't want to be a criminal.

"Don't you ever tell anyone though." Lexie threatened, glaring at me before breaking into a huge smile." You don't know how great it feels to have told someone about that! it's like a huge weight off my chest!" I smiled back at her. "I'll see you in the morning" she finished before lying back down and closing her eyes. I walked over to my own bed and climbed in.

Well, that was a confusing day.