Crimson

Chapter 23: The Second Night

"Rough night?" Asked Simone.

You looked up from your breakfast to see her blue eyes peering at you. Anxiety panged at your chest for no reason.

"Do I really look that tired?" You asked.

"Yeah."

"Thanks."

Simone took a long sip of her orange juice.

"It's not easy being on the night patrol." She told you, setting her glass down. "Sure we get to sleep in a little extra, but it's not easy. Not even worth the eye candy if you ask me."

"Why are you on the night patrol then?" You asked her.

"I'm head of second years, and I like to be good at what I do." Simone answered. "But it's not entirely my choice either."

"I wish we had more toast options." Said Theodore with a furrowed brow. The literal red head stood idly by your table, without a plate, studying his piece of toast. It looked rather burnt.

"There's a shortcut to the kitchens down the east corridor," you told him.

Eleanor suddenly arrived at your table and stood next to Theodore. For some reason, you felt apprehension curdle in your gut. Something wasn't right.

"What's gotten into you?" Asked Eleanor.

You stared at him for a second.

"Nothing."

The boy pushed up his glasses, raised an eyebrow at Simone and sat down beside her.

"Night patrol: does things to people." Simone said without looking up from her eggs.

"Yeah, I have a rough idea of where it is," said Theo, "but it's not worth the walk."

"Wake up earlier." Said Simone.

"I'm up the same time as you," said Theodore.

"Why don't you sit down?" You asked him. Theo took a big bite of his toast.

"Can't," he said with his mouth full. "Duty calls. Stay out of trouble now."

"He's telling us..." Simone remarked, shaking her head. Theo walked away to sit elsewhere for the morning.

"Wait what were you saying about not having a choice?" You asked Simone.

"I didn't tell you?" She said. "I'm at this school because I'm in an agreement with Lady Petrikov."

You could hardly remember what she even looked like. Unlike Sylabil who you'd seen every day, the head of the day class rarely made an appearance. In fact, the only time you'd seen her was at night.

"What kind of agreement?" Eleanor asked over his empty plate.

"Nothing too important," she told him. "But that's why I work the train trolley every fall. I do a lot of work here no one knows about."

"Hm."

You thought back to the girl with the jet black hair that served you on the train a few weeks ago. That was Simone.

It occurred to you how little you actually knew about your friends, despite how close you felt to them.

"How do the night students get to school?" Asked Eleanor.

Simone took another swig of her drink.

"Most of them live here full time as far as I'm aware." She replied.

"Eleanor," you said, "Where did you go last night?"

You almost forgot. But Eleanor hadn't.

"I was just about to tell you," he said, drumming his fingers on the table. "Cadere took me to his office."