“What happened to Abigail?” I stumbled as I was unceremoniously yanked into an empty classroom the next morning. The sunlight filtered through the windows, as well as the sun. The beam went straight into my eyes, and I immediately pulled away. The hand on my wrist slipped away, with a scattering of apologies.

When I focused on who had kidnapped me, I found Nia looking at me. Her bright red jacket covered her uniform and drowned most her form. The color matched the beads in her braids, and contrasted against her dark skin. It was impossible to look her in the eye.

“I don’t know. She was like that after school yesterday.” My mumbled mess shouldn’t have been understood, but we’d been friends for so long she could translate anything I said.

Her eyebrows skyrocketed, “She didn’t tell you?”

“No. She didn’t tell you?”

“I tried to ask her.” Her teeth caught and chewed her bottom lip. “She kept joking around. Said she fell and got into a fight with the floor. The floor won.”

It was exactly the kind of thing I’d expected from her, “Entre broma y broma, la verdad se asoma.”

“Yeah, exactly.” She gave one nod, hooped earrings bobbing along with her. It made me almost reach up to my own piercings. I’m surprised they’d yet to close up. I couldn’t remember the last time I wore any.

Forcing myself to look at her, I translated, “Between a joke and a joke, is the truth.”

“So she…really did fall?”

“Pushed, maybe?” I couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to harm Abigail. Her reaction hadn’t been that of one being targeted, either. It was almost like nothing had happened at all. She’d managed to ignore me entirely, as though I wasn’t her best friend, frozen in horror at the sight of her.

Even Nia looked unsure, “Whatever happened…it did look like someone did it to her.”

“If that’s true, do you think they’ll hurt her again?” I’d yet to see her this morning. Was the swelling worse? How bad were the rest of her wounds? Had she been able to clean her uniform fully?

Thoughts clouded my head, but there were no answers, “Where did you run into her?”

“She was heading towards the Headmaster’s office.” She placed her hands on my shoulder, keeping me in place. Unlike me, her hands were always steady. It almost made me calm down, knowing she was stable. “Cinder, if she didn’t answer you yesterday, I doubt she’ll answer you now.”

“It’s ok. I don’t mind. I just want to be with her.” Nia pressed her lips together, eyes flickering up as the door opened and other students started to trickle inside. It was almost time for classes to start.

We didn’t have time, “If you get anything out of her, you’re telling me in English.”

“Promise.” I slipped away from her and darted out the classroom. The halls were crowded now, a sea of uniforms and unrecognizable faces. The Headmaster’s office was in the middle of campus, between the high school and middle school buildings. If I ran, I could make it and not be late to class.

Ignoring all else, I went down the halls and into the courtyard. Students milled about, gathered in various spots. Boys were kicking soccer balls to each in the fields, and the only reason I noticed was because it veered off course and right below my feet. With a hop, skip, and jump, I managed to avoid landing flat on my face.

“Sorry about that!” When I turned I found myself looking up at a boy. By the position of his hands, he’d darted out to stop me from falling. Now they hovered anxiously in front of him. When our eyes met, he offered a half smile. Blond hair, blue eyes, pale skin. He looked like most the boys going to Aster Academy.

“It’s fine.” I pushed the ball back to him, and turned away. His face and features already being discarded from memory. I didn’t have time for things to stop me. Maybe it wouldn’t matter if I saw her now or later, but in my head it was important. A proof of my conviction.

I skidded to a stop in front of the building. My head craned up, looking at the large arched windows on the second floor. For the past few years I’ve gone to this school, I’ve never entered this building. I’ve never had a reason to. It made no sense Abigail needed to come here either.

With another deep breath, I opened the doors. The room that greeted me was large. The floor was made of tiles that made a decorative plant design. The walls were a soft crème, with two doors on either side. At the end of the room was a reception desk. A woman sat, head craned down towards her boxy computer.

“Excuse me,” I started, and the woman turned to me. Her eyes were a little red, like she’d been looking too long and too close to the screen. She pushed aside her brown hair and squinted at me as if she couldn’t quite believe I was there.

“Can I help you?” The faux politeness dripped from her voice, so lathered on.

My own voice mirrored the tone, “I was looking for my friend. Her name was Abigail Rose?”

The receptionist only stared at me. The silence filled the place to the brim. I tried my best to focus, eyes flickering towards the space behind her. There were stairs that lead upwards. It split halfway so one set of stairs went left and the other right. Above them was a large circular window of stained glass. It made the room turn into a haze of reds and blues.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“You’re the first student that’s shown up today.” That couldn’t have been right. Nia wouldn’t have lied to me. My eyebrows knitted together and I took stock of her. She was already returning to her computer screen. There wasn’t any gate on either side of the desk, meaning I could easily move past her and towards the stairs.

It was a split second decision, but I ran past her. She jerked to her feet, her shouts rang after me. I ignored them as I bounded up the stairs to the second floor. I glanced between the left and right, before deciding it didn’t matter.

“What are you doing!” As I turned sharply to the left, I caught a glance of her. She hadn’t moved from her desk, only stood. Her eyes pierced into me, teeth gritted so hard they might have turned to dust. She was a stark contrast against the empty room around her.

My feet came to a halt at the top of stairs. I took a moment to catch my breath. Sweat was starting to collect on my forehead, even in the mild temperature. The bell rang, as I wiped at my face. It reverberated through the building, as thick as a heartbeat. I lingered, listening to it denote the start of first period. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been late for class.

With no one chasing me, and seeing how I was late regardless, I let myself walk leisurely down the halls. It consisted of walls lined with doors, all firmly shut. It wasn’t until I reached the door at the end, where I found one cracked open. I glanced back down, over the railing. The woman was still there, still staring at me. From here, I couldn’t see her expression. I doubted it was warm.

“…Are you aware of the conditions?”

I redirected my attention back towards the door. Carefully, I peered through the cracks. Inside, I caught a glimpse of black hair, shiny as ever, and Abigail sitting in a plush chair. There was a man speaking to her, and I could only assume it was the Headmaster.

“Of course. I’ll do anything.” My eyebrows knitted together, wondering why the receptionist had told me no one else was here. As if this was such a private affair, there was a need to lie about it. “I just have one question. How many tries will it take?”

I didn’t know what they were talking about. Despite that, my heartrate started to pick up. A prickling sensation ghosted through my neck, arms, fingers. A warning begging me to leave. Even if I did, I couldn’t leave Abigail. If something was wrong, it would affect her the most.

It would probably result in some kind of punishment if I barged in, but I didn’t see any other choice. My hands landed on the door, but before I could push it open, a hand landed on top of mine. I jerked, back hitting body. The door slid open, revealing me to Abigail and the headmaster.

I’d never seen him before, and I was surprised at his age. He was in his thirties or forties, maybe, with thick hair and equally thick glasses on his face. As Abigail jumped to her feet, he merely watched me. I worked my jaw, trying to find my voice to defend myself, only for the person behind me to talk.

“She was listening in.” I stumbled forward as the boy walked in front of me, wearing the academy uniform. His face was almost a replica of the headmaster. I assumed he must have been his son.

“I was looking for you.” I ignored both of them, reaching out for her. Her lip was still swollen and the bruises on her arms had turned a heavy purple. She stared at me, her fingers twitching away from mine. A rock fell into my stomach, and I tried to search for words. “After yesterday, I was so worried about you—”

She turned her gaze away from me, “You shouldn’t be here.”

“I—I know that.” The boy had joined the Headmaster. The prickling sensation returned, so severe to the point it was near painful. I tried to keep my eyes on Abigail. “I just wanted to check up on you before class.”

Maybe I should have apologized for barging in. But the words didn’t occur to me. I kept trailing my eyes down her face, all the questions from the other day thick in my head. The smile she planted on her face was broken by the still painful swell of her lip.

“You’ve always worried too much.” She fell back into the plush chair, hair falling around her. “I seem fine, right? If it wasn’t for these bruises you wouldn’t have noticed a thing.”

She was acting fine. It made the situation even more surreal then it already was. “Even so we…we should go.”

Something was wrong. Again, nothing else came out. The boy shifted and my gaze darted back to him. He’d leaned against the large window that looked out towards the courtyard. His father stayed in the seat. They were so quiet. It was like they were watching a show.

“She’s right. You shouldn’t be any later to class.” The headmaster pulled out a sheet from a drawer and wrote his signature on it with a long, cursive, scrawl. He pushed the paper towards her, and Abigail folded it in half and pocketed it.

“Thanks for talking to me.” She hooked her arm with mine and gave a little wave.

Before she could take me away, the headmaster shook his head, “Can your friend stay behind? I think we need to talk about her little bout of eavesdropping.”

For a moment I thought she’d refused. Her smile was plastic now, repainted nails dug into the tender skin where my elbow bent. I wanted her to refuse, as my heart was loud enough to create a steady buzz in my ears. But no such thing happened. After a moment, her hand slipped away, leaving behind crescent moons. “Of course, Headmaster Gnight. I’ll see you at lunch, ok?”

When she left, she shut the door behind her. The room became suffocating, like she took all the air with her. I lingered where I stood, rubbing at the marks left behind on my arm. There was little reason to contemplate why I was here.

“I’m sorry for eavesdropping. I was worried about my friend.” My voice wasn’t as solid as I’d wished it to be. Still, I kept my gaze directly on him. The headmaster only inclined his head towards the chair. After a moment of hesitation, I slipped into the seat Abigail had just been in.

It was still warm. Although not uncomfortable, it only added to my spinning thoughts. I’d wanted to walk with Abigail. The entire reason I’d rushed here was so we could talk, but instead I was once more pulled away from her. The prick of nails had eased away, my skin clearing out the indentations. For her to hold me that tightly, there must have been something severe enough for even her to fear.

Headmaster Gnight folded his hands on top of the table, and my eyes darted to the boy behind him. He wasn’t looking at me. Instead his gaze stayed on the window and that beyond it. At this point, there were no students left, but I knew if I kept looking I’d see Abigail crossing the courtyard to get to class.

“Cinder Chávez.” My back straightened as he spoke my full name unprompted. When my eyes returned to him, a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “Is Abigail Rose so important to you that you’d be willing to get in trouble for her?”

“Of course.” The words came easy. He didn’t react to this, but for a second I thought I’d caught his son’s attention. But when I looked back at him, he was still turned away.

“I see.” He took out a slip of paper, the same one he gave to Abigail. His signature graced the paper, along with my name on top. “Regardless, let’s not make it a habit to do this. I’m sure your friend wouldn’t care to have someone listening in on her.”

It was true. Despite knowing so, my heart leapt into my throat in want of protest. He slipped the paper over to me, and I toyed with it for a moment, “I know her. I know she won’t mind so…Sorry again.”

With the slip safely in my hands, I stood and headed towards the door. When I slipped through, I heard the boy murmur something to the headmaster. My eyes only caught them for a second before the door slipped shut behind me.