It was finally lunchtime and our group followed the crowd down into the cafeteria located on the first floor of the school. As we were walking down the hallway I noticed a few students slow down to glance into the open door of the front office. I wondered what was piquing their interest so as I was stalled by the bottleneck to enter the cafeteria, I peered inside the office to have a look.
There were two men, an elderly black gentleman and, a younger white male, both dressed in suits, their long jackets slung over their arms. They were chatting with the Principal, Mr. Williams, whose face seemed very grave. He was handing them a disk, shaking his head quickly. The two men thanked the principal and moved to walk out into the hall, hesitating when they saw the mass of students making their way to the cafeteria. They eventually dove into the crowd just as we began moving again, and I could overhear them speaking to each other as we traveled the ten feet to the front entrance.
"We need to get back to the station and watch the video feed as soon as possible."
"Ah make Peterson do it, he loves that sort of stuff," the younger man said with a dismissive tone.
"Sometimes it's best to do your own research and investigation work, Johnson," the older man said. He had a deep, no-nonsense tone to his voice. They turned to walk out the front door, shrugging on their coats before they reached the exit. I watched them go, now even more curious as to why exactly they had come. The realization hit me after a minute and I glanced over at Casimir, who was walking beside me.
"Casimir did you...?"
"I heard," he said simply.
Of course he did, I thought. From what I could tell they were possibly policemen or detectives coming to investigate someone in the school; I wondered if it had to do with Mr. Burke. I was groaning internally at the thought of a possible video catching me and my homeroom teacher together the night of his disappearance. I knew the hall was full of people when he asked me to follow him, so there was no doubt at least one witness. I didn't recall what happened after the attack since I had been knocked out, but I was betting no one saw me leave.
As our group headed for our usual table in the corner, Azar was pulled away by the Madisons, insisting he come to chat with them. I noticed he didn't commit to sitting but instead leaned over the table to flirt with the girls as they nibbled on their food.
"And we lost one," Zola commented, watching Azar at Elizabeth's table. I glanced around, looking for Sunita, who I eventually found crowded at the two tables usually occupied by the elite students.
"And there is number two," I lamented waving at Sunita, who waved back sheepishly. She was surrounded by other girls who glared slightly at our table, turning Sunita's attention back to them. I mumbled under my breath as I sat down.
We all pulled out our lunches and began eating, Zola commenting on how cute it was that Casimir and I had matching meals. I settled in to eat, deciding to worry about the detectives and Mr. Burke later when I could talk to Casimir in private.
"Aw, it's like you're brother and sister," Zola teased. I made a face at her but scarfed down my sandwich, which was amazing. She noticed my enthusiasm. "Is it good?"
"So good and I don't even know what it is," I admitted.
"It's hummus with cucumbers, spinach, and a special ginger carrot salad," Casimir explained.
"Listen to you Mr. Ramsay," Zola said, a smirk on her face.
"It's Reynolds," Maya corrected, not understanding Zola's reference.
I smiled at Maayan, trying not to laugh. "It's a joke hun. Ramsay is a famous chef."
"Oooh," Maya commented, not totally understanding. They placed their head in their hands, leaning on the table to do so. When the table wobbled in its usual fashion Maya looked concerned. "This table is broken!"
"Yeah, we know," I said, pushing on it from my end.
Maya ducked down under the table and began testing the legs. "I can fix it!"
"What?" Zola asked with a bewildered look on her face. We all watched as Maayan took the wax paper from my sandwich and began folding it up into a square. They disappeared again for a moment before popping back up, pressing on the table as they stood.
"Fixed!" they called out cheerfully.
"Ah, old wobbly you're gone now," Zola joked. "Who will spill my sodas now?"
Maya stared at her for a moment, fearful, before realizing she was joking.
"Thank you, Maya," I said, trying to reassure them.
Azar wandered over, dropping his backpack on the ground. "Sup," he said, sitting in the chair in between myself and Maya.
"Making friends?" I asked sweetly, glancing at the popular girl's table.
"I guess," he responded with a shrug. "Is there seriously no place to smoke on this campus?"
"No," Casimir replied, giving him a look.
Zola made a disgusted face. "Ew, you smoke, say it ain't so?!"
I coughed nervously because I had given Azar a similar lecture when I first saw him smoking at the farmhouse. I told him he was going to get a lot of attitude from people here on Earth and he seemed indifferent.
"Sorry love," Azar replied simply, "I know it's a bad habit."
Zola gave him a look before turning her attention to me instead. "So Diana, are you all ready for the Harvest Festival this year? Does your Grandpa still need help with the booth?"
"I am so excited and yes, we would love for you and Sunita to come help," I replied with a smile. Each year during the festival we opened up the orchard for apple picking and there was always a large turnout. Last year I even set up a table to do face painting for the kids and got a great response. I was especially looking forward to the homemade apple cider my Grandpa would make.
"I've got my Hartmann Farms shirt all washed and ready!" Zola said with a smile. "Casimir, you're helping out too I assume."
"Oh yes, we've been making cider since I got here," he responded thoughtfully.
"Oh, a festival? I wanna go, can I help?" Maayan asked, chewing on their carrot stick.
"It's hard work," I admitted.
"Maya is stronger than we look!" they said with a flex of their muscles. I laughed since I had seen the fairy aim a bow and arrow without dropping a bead of sweat, so I was sure this was true.
"I'll ask Grandpa," I said, assuming he'd be fine with it.
Zola was lost in thought for a moment before pointing her fork at me. "Diana, I don't see why you don't try to be the Harvest Queen this year, you'll be too old soon!"
I scoffed loudly. "I'm already too old. I'm pretty sure it's eighteen and under."
Every year the festival crowned a girl to be the Harvest Queen and she would sit for pictures in a pretty dress and crown. I wasn't sure what the point of it was.
Zola waved her hand at my comment. "You're only nineteen, big deal. Actors who are twenty-five play teenagers on TV, why can't you pretend to be seventeen or something?"
"Ha-ha, no thanks. I like working at the orchard better. I would never abandon my friends to run around in a gown and pretend to be a queen," I said dryly.
"You'd be a pretty queen," Maya added and I shook my head.
I took another bite of my sandwich before I spoke again. "Thanks but not really. Plus, I'm pretty sure the queen is chosen by bribery and not actual votes like they make it seem. It's always kids whose parents are friends of the mayor."
Zola rolled her eyes at me. "You should have stopped at the 'never abandon my friends' part."
Azar and I laughed at her comment. I took a moment to imagine myself in a cheap bridesmaid dress with a crystal tiara on my head and it made me smirk. Usually, the girls who won were the more tan, athletic type with huge smiles.
"Oh man, can you imagine me as the Harvest Queen, with this dark hair and my crazy under-eyes? More like Queen of the Undead." I pulled on the dark bags under my eyes, sticking out my tongue as I did. Maayan giggled at my silly face.
"That's what I'm saying, shake up the system a little. Less blond, perky Elizabeth types. More gothic, dark queens like you Diana," Zola insisted.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Casimir shifting nervously. I wondered if all of this dark queen talk was making him uncomfortable, what with my ability to summon dark wraiths with my blood. Or maybe he was thinking about those detectives we saw earlier, I decided it was time for a change in topic.
"A real shakeup would be anyone who isn't a white girl honestly," I muttered. Thinking back on the long lineup of queens I could not recall a single woman of color who had won the crown.
"So true," Zola agreed with a firm nod, "but I'm not going to get on that topic because believe me, I have some words."
"Oh, I know."
"Is there some sort of dance or something at this Harvest Festival?" Azar asked. He was chewing on a piece of beef jerky, looking bored.
"Yeah, a dance by the bonfire at night," I responded. "Although most of the kids just like to hang out on the beach near the lake and have their own party. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, Madison asked me to go with her to the Harvest Dance and I was confused," he shrugged.
"Oh, that's the school dance," I realized.
"Madison? Which one?" Zola asked, amused.
"Both."
They work fast, I thought, eyeing the pair from over my shoulder.
"So, who are you going to give the rose to?" Zola smirked. Azar just stared at her blankly and I was sure had no clue as to what she was talking about.
Casimir looked over at the Fire Elemental to explain, "she's making a reference to a TV show."
"A-huh," Azar said.
"I'd rather see them fight it out, like a good T.V. wrestling match," Zola decided, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.
"My money is on Madison A. She just seems to want it more," I said with a small evil grin. I had seen the girls fight over a boy before, it was never pretty.
"Doesn't Madison B. take some sort of martial arts?" Casimir interjected.
"Who knows," Zola said with a shrug, she looked over at Azar with a sly smile. "Can you imagine the wacky hijinks you could get into trying to take them both to the dance at the same time?"
"What is this, a romantic comedy movie in the making?" I said with a small snicker.
"I'll start brainstorming titles."
We all laughed and continued eating. Just before the end of lunch, I excused myself to visit the restroom. As I left, Zola began explaining more of the Harvest Festival activities to Maayan. I was inside the stall when I heard a group of girls enter, giggling loudly. I groaned internally when I realized it was Elizabeth and some of her posse.
"Oh my gosh did you see her crawling under that table? What a weirdo," one of the Madisons said nastily. I perked up slightly, 'under the table' they couldn't be talking about Maayan, could they?
"She is just weird. Like so perky and bouncy. You just want to be like, okay, drop the act, no one believes it." The girls all laughed at this comment.
"Do you think her hair is even real?" Elizabeth said primly. She was always dissing other girls who were blonder or had nicer hair than her. "I bet it's extensions."
"I have extensions," Sara mumbled sadly.
Elizabeth let out a large huff. "Yes, but yours are not tacky and crazy long."
"Oh, maybe it is real and she's in some sort of religious cult that won't let her cut her hair," Madison B said. I was positive at that point that they were talking about Maya, and my blood began to boil.
"I can't believe Azar likes to hang out with her, it's tragic."
"Ugh, I know. I'm mad."
"Yeah, why is he sitting at that loser table with Massey and Horton."
"They are just the wooooorst."
"He just doesn't know any better, yet."
I felt my face flush red at the mention of mine and Zola's surnames, rage coursing through me. I could hear them snickering as they used the toilets, washed their hands, and traded makeup, all while continuing to talk about how hot they found Azar. I debated waiting until they left before exiting but another part of me wanted to know I had heard their nastiness.
I threw open the bathroom door and their chattering ceased. Glaring deeply, I stalked over to the sinks, using the only free one available. The girls all began snickering, apparently not ashamed that they had been caught talking trash. I felt my courage wane at that moment and when my eyes met Elizabeth in the mirror, she smiled slyly.
"Diana, a moment of your time please," she asked.
I turned to look at her, my hands still wet. "What?"
Elizabeth shooed her friends out of the bathroom and then returned to the application of her lipstick. I watched her entourage leave, confused.
"Okay then," I muttered, turning to reach for a paper towel.
"Is it true Casimir works and lives at your family farm?" Elizabeth asked sharply.
I felt my hackles rise at the mention of Casimir, I turned to look at the blond girl, who was watching me carefully in the mirror. "Yes he does, why do you-"
"Which is in Mandeville?" she pressed, cutting me off.
"Ah, yeah."
Elizabeth smiled. "And he's not your boyfriend or anything?"
My heart raced at the word 'boyfriend.' I threw my wadded-up paper towel in the trash, sighing slightly. "No. Why are you so interested in Casimir?"
Elizabeth turned around to face me, placing her lipstick back in her purse. "I like him."
I was stunned by her confession, my jaw dropping a little. "You... like... Casimir?"
"If you must know, he and I shared a moment," Elizabeth explained with a toss of her hair. "Last week I was roughly pushed down some stairs and he helped me up, even took the time to talk to me and help me to class." She smiled as she remembered and it was a curious, gentle expression. One I had never really seen on her face before. She snapped out of her daydream, her eyes narrowing as she looked at me. "And all the while he never once tried to look up my skirt, touch my chest, or hound me for my phone number."
"Is that so?" I said flatly.
"You know when you look past those big dorky glasses and sloppy haircut he really is quite cute."
I rolled my eyes at her, crossing my arms over my chest. "So, you like him because he didn't grope you basically?"
Elizabeth sniffed, moving closer to me with a glare on her face. "What I am trying to say is I find it refreshing, Diana, to be around a gentleman for once." She looked me up and down for a moment, in the way a girl does when she is judging everything about you. Her smile told me that she deemed me beneath her as she continued on with her speech. "What do you even care, it's not like you are dating each other or anything. I'll ask him out and if he turns me down then whatever, but boys never turn me down."
"How nice for you."
"Oh no, you can stop talking to me now sweetie," Elizabeth replied condescendingly as she exited the bathroom.
I stood there for a moment, still angry.
I hate her!
I stalked out of the bathroom, my face murderous as I returned to my lunch table. Everyone noticed my change of mood but I didn't have time to explain as the lunch bell rang and we had to return to class. Zola asked me what was wrong as we entered the classroom and I just leaned into her ear whispering 'Elizabeth'. That was all she needed to know at the moment. My friend glared over at the queen bee and nodded her head in solidarity.
I sat through the next few periods pondering if I had any right to be upset over Elizabeth's confession of love. Was she rude and condescending, yes, but I couldn't be mad at her for liking someone who was nice to her. She was right about one thing, it wasn't like Casimir and I were dating. Even though he was only on Earth because he had promised to protect me, that didn't mean he couldn't have some sort of life of his own. I never really thought about Casimir as a love interest, but as a person, he was nice, helpful, and even funny at times. I glanced down at Casimir's hands, resting on the desk, examining the small cuts I could see dotting his skin. I wondered what the story was behind those scars.
Casimir noticed me staring and whispered quietly in my ear. "Do you need to see my notes?"
I flushed, embarrassed from being caught, nodding dumbly as I glanced at my own paper, which was woefully blank.
By the time the final bell trilled I assured myself that even if Elizabeth did ask Casimir on a date, he would probably turn her down and part of me wanted to be there for that moment.
Azar leaned over Casimir, who was still packing up and grumbled softly. "Show me how to work these damn lockers or I might just break the stupid thing."
"Fine, fine," Casimir responded, standing up to follow Azar out into the hall. I watched Elizabeth eye Casimir greedily, quickly exiting the room herself. I was amazed she would strike so soon. Although it was a smart plan because if she waited I might poison Casimir against the idea. Zola had turned to talk to me, I'm sure, hoping to get the scoop on my drama.
"I've just gotta drop something off at my locker," I said, jumping up from my chair. "Be right back!"
"Diana?"
I was already out the door and in the hall, ducking between other kids to stop at my locker. Casimir was still standing with Azar, showing him how to work a combination lock when I saw Elizabeth approach. I opened my locker door to hide as I tried to listen in, pretending to organize my books.
"Casimir, can I speak with you for a moment?" she said. Through the crack of my locker door, I could see him scratch the back of his head, confused by her interruption.
"Ah sure," he replied.
They took a few steps away from Azar, which was luckily closer to me. My heart began beating wildly as I eavesdropped.
"I was wondering if you would like to go out with me this Saturday," Elizabeth said, not missing a beat.
"Oh, out?"
Elizabeth smiled at him as she explained. "Yes, there is a nightclub in town and they are doing a special twenty-one and under night this weekend. A small group of my friends are going and I would love to go with you, together."
I held my breath, looking back at the inside of my locker.
"Do you mean the Crescent Club?" Casimir asked.
"That's the one, you've heard of it?"
"Yeah, I've been wanting to check it out, it sounds like fun."
I could feel Elizabeth's excitement at his comment, my heart sank in response.
"So would you like to go?" she pressed, leaning closer.
"Sure, if it's okay with your friends, I'd love to," he said, nodding as he spoke.
"It's a date," she said coyly.
I stood there in shock as she exchanged phone numbers and told him she'd text him later. Once Elizabeth was gone I slammed my locker door shut. Casimir took notice and walked over to me.
"Ready to go home?"
I looked up at him, my face flush with anger. "Did you seriously accept her offer for a date?"
He looked at me in shock, glancing nervously down the hall. "Diana it's not..." he trailed off as Elizabeth passed by, surrounded by her small crowd of friends. The blond beauty smiled and waved as she passed.
"Text you later," she sang out, glancing at me briefly before leaning over to laugh with her lackeys.
I actually found myself growling as I turned to finish closing up my locker, I hated that I felt like she was getting away with something. I was angry at myself for getting so worked up. I turned sharply and began walking away only to be stopped short by Casimir, grabbing my arm.
"What the hey," I snapped, tugging my arm away as I turned back to him.
"Diana, it's not what it seems," Casimir said in a low whisper.
I glanced around the hallway, avoiding his intense gaze. "It seems like you'll have a very nice time on your date this weekend."
Zola, Maayan, and Azar were approaching us so I was happy to drop the subject although it seemed like Casimir had a few more things he would have liked to say. I told Zola I would text her later about what Elizabeth had done, not wanting to tell Maayan all the nasty things that were said about them.
It was outside the gates of the school when the detectives I had seen earlier in the day approached us.