The morning went by in a blur. I listened, I did my work and then it was time for lunch. I hadn't had much time to be in a bad mood and overthink everything which was good, but as soon as that bell signaled free time, my brain went into overdrive, almost as if it wanted to catch up on the few hours I had off from my self deprecating thoughts.
I went to look for Lily, but on the way I bumped into someone else.
"Sorry!" I exclaimed before I could look and see who it was. When I worked it out, I smiled. "Oh, Violet, hey."
"Hey," she said, " I was actually looking for you. I wanted to talk about Klaus."
My smile dropped. I could think of a million and one things she could say. She could very easily come out with something like: "He's flattered, but he doesn't like you like that" or "yeah you dreamt the whole thing and need to leave my brother alone."
But instead she said: "He told me what happened." And that didn't do much to calm me either.
"Oh," I replied, unsure what else to say than that.
"I mean," Violet said, "he didn't tell me as such. But I found out, by asking the right questions." She sighed before continuing. "I know my brother well enough to conclude that he's stupid. Extremely smart, but also very stupid. So I don't even need to ask to know that he's probably messed this up somehow. Have you spoken to him?"
I shook my head. "I haven't really seen him. And when I did, it seemed like he wasn't really up for talking."
"Please try if you get the chance. He means well but... I don't know. I think he's scared he's messed things up with you."
"Really?" I asked quietly.
Violet nodded. "Anyway, I better get to lunch before I starve to death. I hope you two have the chance to talk things out."
I said goodbye to her and then stood for a moment in the now empty corridor. I knew that Lily was probably waiting for me somewhere but, at the same time, I knew that I should probably try and find Klaus. I decided to kill two birds with one stone and headed to the canteen.
When I got there, my eyes instantly went to the table Klaus generally sat at, but it was empty. Lily was at our usual table and I beelined for her, hoping she wouldn't mind me not staying with her for too long.
"Isadora!" she called, "come and see this!"
I hurried over and looked at what she was showing me. It was a picture she had drawn and, of course, it was of one of our classmates as a mythical creature. I shouldn't have been surprised.
"Again?" I said.
Lily nodded furiously. "I was in bed last night and I realised that I hadn't done a mermaid yet. Me! The one who's obsessed with sea creatures, hadn't done a mermaid!"
"Crazy," I commented.
"So I jumped out of bed and I just let my mind run wild and... voila! A mermaid version of Violet."
"Amazing," I said, taking a closer look at it, "but I can't stay, sorry. I don't suppose you know where Klaus might be, do you?"
Lily raised her eyebrows and smirked at me. "Finally making your move, huh?"
"No," I replied, in a way that instantly made me sound like I was lying, "I just need to talk to him."
"Sure," she said, winking, "you need to talk to him."
I pushed her shoulder lightly. "You're no help, you know that right?"
Lily just smiled back at me. "And yet you love me anyway."
