Freaks

29 • party's over

"Well, obviously it wasn't a false alarm," Cole replies. "And I do try to tell you thi—"

"You guys can save your weird, flirt-arguing for later," Cass cuts in. She doesn't get very far with whatever she was about to say.

"We're not—" I begin to say.

"It's not—" Cole objects.

"Whatever," Cass responds offhandedly. "And by the way, I've always suspected—since that time you came in at 2am. No offence, but you guys weren't exactly trying very hard to be conspicuous. Anyone could tell you were hiding something. It was really more a question of 'what' than if. It's why I went through with letting you guys find this place. I've been wondering what you'd do."

My eyebrows knit together. "Wait. So have all four of you been placing bets on what secret you think I've been hiding?"

"Well," Cass hesitates, "I wouldn't say placing bets..."

"Time," Cole warns.

"Right. Yes. My mother will be back soon, once she realises I'd made the rumour up," Cass says. "You guys should better leave if you want your secret to stay intact. I'll keep her occupied for as long as I can."

"Thank you so much, Cass," I respond gratefully. "We owe you one."

"Yeah, yeah," Cass replies, eyeing my file still in Cole's hand. "That and an explanation about whatever this is all about.

Cole and I exchange looks. Should we tell her?

Cass doesn't give us any clue on whether she actually wanted to know or not. She walks to the corner of the room, and picks up an abnormally large, gift-wrapped box that is almost half her size.

"And by the way," she adds, while she struggles to keep the box elevated, "if you guys were searching for anything, like... oh, I don't know, your files, let's say, just thought you should know that everything here is a fake front. The real stuff is behind the wall."

Cole's eyebrows furrow. "How are you sure?"

Cass's eyes flicker to his. She gives him a long, hard look. "I've been here before. Looking for files. Wouldn't exactly say I got my mother's permission for that either."

She hesitates.

"Well, that. And..." her hand slides across the wall, pushing a pad beside the light switch. Immediately, we hear the low, groaning sound of rumbling. Cole and I turn in astonishment to watch the wall of files completely slide away into the adjacent walls, revealing a whole other, much more detailed section to Morgana's office. "This."

Cole leans in closer to me, muttering, "Again: paranoid."

"Everything out here is just summary files," Cass continues. "They only contain the first 10 pages. The actual stuff, the one with all the real detail? It's all in there."

Cole hands me back my file, bottom side facing up. I flick to the last page. She is right. There is barely anything here. Just blank pages.

I look back up in time to see Cass closing the wall up again.

"Well. Goodbye." She readjusts the gift in her hand, sending us a nod of acknowledgment as she waddles towards the door. "This hallway is going to shut soon. I wouldn't spend too long if I were you."