The Definition of Insanity | 𝐿𝒶𝒹𝓎 𝐿𝑒𝓈𝓈𝑜

Twenty-One

Allegra didn't show up to History the next morning. Nobody commented on it, but I wondered if yesterday was to do with her absence. 

Don't get me wrong, I was satisfied that Allegra had gotten what she deserved for nearly killing me, but for some reason, the whole thing was still bugging me. I scowled to myself. I couldn't let my conscience get to me like that. Allegra had been harassing me for months out of jealousy. I shouldn't feel bad for her. Maybe my mother was right, and I was going soft.

When I arrived at our next class with Lady Lesso, I scanned the room of students arriving, and Allegra still hadn't shown up. I walked in, heading to the back to join Gideon and Sage, which seemed to be the new thing with us now. Maybe I'd hang out with these two next year, after the second-years had left. 

I leant my sword against the side of my desk, getting my notebook out and I looked up to see my girlfriend walking in. We made eye-contact and she smiled. I attempted a small smile back, but I couldn't get the image of her covered in Allegra's blood yesterday out of of my head. 

She however, didn't seem at all stressed or disconcerted as she started the lesson. In fact, she looked happy and completely relaxed, as if nothing had happened. She didn't even seem to show any concern at the fact that I'd nearly died yesterday. 

I reminded myself that we were surrounded by students, so she couldn't say or do anything that might get people asking questions. 

Unfortunately after about twenty minutes though, Sage had picked up on my mood. 'Hey, what's wrong?' She whispered, leaning over slightly. 

'Nothing, I'm fine.' I muttered, shaking my head. Honestly though, I just wanted to skip the rest of my classes today and go back to bed. It was seriously tempting. 

I frowned to myself. Maybe I was overreacting. So what, Allegra finally got what was coming to her after she'd been repeatedly giving me hell, and she'd went too far yesterday. After yesterday, she was my enemy. 

I watched Lesso as she randomly called on students, asking questions and so on. She seemed to be acting totally audacious, as if she'd done something amazing and as captivated as I always was by her, I was a little sickened by her attitude. This was a different side to her, one that I didn't like; it scared me a little bit. I knew she was evil, she had a vindictive and bitchy side, but this seemed different. More extreme. 

Eventually class was over, and I gathered up my things, about to leave when Lesso called my name. I turned. 

'Are you okay to stay back a minute, Katherine?' She asked. 'I need to talk to you.' 

I nodded. Sage winked and told me she and Gideon would wait for me outside before they left. 

I leaned against a desk, keeping some distance. 

'How are you doing?' Lesso asked. 'You seem quiet today.' 

'Yeah well, nearly dying is going to do that.' I laughed. 

'Well I hope you'll be pleased to know she won't be bothering you again, I dealt with her.' She grinned. 

'Yeah.' My smile faded. 

'Are you sure you're okay?' She narrowed her eyes. 'You are really quiet and not yourself.' 

'Yeah, I'm fine.' I nodded. 

'I've just realised this is the first proper conversation we've had since... the other night.' She said, referring to our wondrous date night. 'Do you want to talk about that?' 

'What about it?' I asked, happy to move on to other topics. 'It was lovely. I'm really glad it happened.' 

'Me too.' She smirked. 'I was hoping I could take you out on another date night sometime.' 

'Yeah, I'd like that.' I nodded. 'Can we talk about this another time? I think my friends are waiting for me.' 

'Yeah of course.' She walked over. 'I'll see you later, my love.' She leaned in to kiss me, but I flinched, moving away. 

'What's wrong?' She raised an eyebrow. 

'Nothing. Just tired and cranky, I guess.' I shrugged. 'See you later.' I nodded once, leaving, and nearly crashed into Sage who was leaning against the wall next to the door. 

We all walked to lunch together and I could feel Gideon and Sage constantly glancing at each other but I ignored them. 

We soon arrived at the dining hall and we got food before joining the usual group. They all greeted me enthusiastically. The group seemed to be locked in a debate about dealing with irritating princes when Hester suddenly started cackling, pointing somewhere behind me. 'Look.' 

I looked around, and my stomach turned over when I saw Allegra entering the hall; she looked awful. There were multiple contusions on her face and she had dark circles under her eyes like she hadn't slept. Her usually shiny dark blue hair was now dull and flat. There were various cuts, bruises and welts along her arms, and a couple of fingernails were missing. 

I felt nauseous. 

The group started laughing and sneering at Allegra's obvious discomfort. She went and sat on the other end of the hall, alone. 

The group soon moved onto their previous topic, and I attempted to join in the conversation.

'Katherine, you're not eating again.' Beatrix frowned. 

'I'm not hungry.' I shook my head, pushing my food away. 

'What's wrong?' Dot asked. 'This is the third time now, you didn't eat anything at dinner yesterday, you skipped breakfast this morning, and now you're not eating again. Something's definitely up.' 

'I don't want to talk about it.' I said harshly. I suddenly spotted Lesso, who'd walked in. She was looking over at us. I stood up. 'I'm going to go and get ready for my next class.' I said flatly before anyone could question me further and walked straight out. 

Whatever this was, I seriously needed to get over it. I thought to myself, as I headed up to my dorm. It was probably just a twist of guilty conscience.