SAY MY NAME - [J. DESCAMPS]

SIX

"You must be right," I simply said, though I wasn't really convinced.

As the portal of Voltaire became to be seen, I spotted Michelle just in front of it, speaking with a girl named Marine. It's when she turned her head and noticed our presence that she excused herself to join us.

"Coucou," she greeted us with a smile. "How was your weekend ?"

"..Great ! How was yours ?" Simone said, an awkward smile plastered on her face.

I would be consumed with guilt too, if I was her.

Michelle sighed. "I spent my weekend working at the butcher shop, nothing new. What about you, Rose ?" she asked me and my lips parted in surprise.

I didn't expected her to make conversation with me —at least not more than five words in a day. She had become more suspicious about me (and about every girl in school to be completely honest), but only my name had come out, so I was her principal suspect. Even though she had tried to hide her dislike for me the past two weeks, it was obvious. Very obvious.
And it was all Descamps' fault.

Yet, a feeling of warmth filled my chest when she smiled at me. It seemed that she started to believe me a bit more.

"Oh, nothing special, I just went to the theatre with my parents on Friday night," I replied, almost shyly.

"Oh, really ? How was it ?"

I laughed nervously when flashes of that night came to my mind. "Well, it was kind of... boring ?"

I started to tell her about the play and all the shitty atmosphere that came with it, careful to not mention my encounter with Descamps and the weird man.

When I got home that night, finally tucked in my bed after a well earned shower, the words of that man were still running in my mind. His tone, his... smugness. He acted like he was invincible. He acted like an adult who knew had a strong influence on me and Descamps— teenagers.

And how he behaved when he noticed me, when Descamps had told him that we were friends... I didn't realised it in the moment, but that man was clearly implying... inappropriate things.

You don't want me to embarrass you in front of her, do you ? Or maybe she'd like that. She'll choose the one she prefers.

Besides, what did he meant by embarrassing Descamps ? I didn't knew him for very long, but I knew that he wasn't the kind to let himself be embarrassed. He was more likely the exact opposite.

I'll just ask him later.

Either way, this conversation wasn't over. I wouldn't let him smear my reputation one more second, even if it meant I'd have to make a deal with the devil himself for it.

As the girls and I walked into the courtyard, chatting about anything and everything, Michelle noticed something weird near the boys' bathroom.

"What is happening over there ?" she asked with a frown.

I looked towards the direction she was staring at, only to spot Descamps and Jean leaned against the wall, while Applebaum was allowed to enter the bathroom by Descamps himself, after he just handed something to Jean.

"Why are they acting like they're doing something forbidden ?" I asked and Michelle nodded.

"Because they must be," Simone muttered while looking at her nails.

"Right ? We should go see by—"

The bell's sound echoed across the whole courtyard. Michelle and I exchanged a puzzled look.