(Her View)

Scritch. “So as we can see while the borders of Fleur are very distinct on our maps, geographically it can become hard to separate our territory from those beyond….”

The lecturer seemed interested in her content which could not be said for her pupils, especially a certain espionage agent.

Maybe if they talked more about the foreign territories in more detail there’d be something of note but as it stands these lessons are about as entertaining as Grandpa Ed.

It didn’t help that the girl was not able to participate in any sort of intellectual curiosity or debate that would make her stand out.

The boy next to her was gawking once again. His hands constantly smoothed out his already flat clump of brown locks practically dripping in some sort of lubricant. He had already asked several questions about whether she needed a pencil, help understanding, aid in taking notes, etc.

He’s rather bothersome for an idiot.

Unfortunately for him, all he had proved was that his strengths were not history and did not lie in his appearance.

She thought his lack of tact might be helpful though. She had been looking for an opportunity to depart from the lessons. Having what she considered more important things to do, the class was becoming increasingly difficult to leave. This was because faking sickness often required someone to take her back to the dorms or caused a great deal of attention to be put on her.

Every time she so much as coughed, people were practically on the edge of their seats hoping to be able to use her leaving to their advantage. She needed someone who would be easy to deal with and did not have much ability to question her.

One other factor was that it needed to be a person with as little of a social skill as possible. If the information that she had left earlier than planned reached Aslow D. and therefore “Oswald” things could become a bit more troublesome. It seemed this greaseball with no acquaintances and little credibility fit the categories seamlessly.

Chester something or other was the perfect match. Since he wanted to help her so bad she would gladly take his offer.

Under the cover of her disguise, she began to shake her hand as she wrote. Pretending to steady it with the other hand she discreetly made sure it tumbled on the floor. This disruption almost made the boy look giddy as he reached over and whispered,

“No need to worry, I will retrieve that for you.”

She could see his nasty smirk stretch across his wide face as she gave him a polite smile and nodded in appreciation.

This might be enough to catch other students' attention, but the real challenge is getting out.

Seeing her shaky state she heard a few classmates begin to whisper. One girl a few rows up was even audible to Constance.

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“I understand she has… special circumstances but it still feels unreasonable for her to be causing disturbances so frequently.”

She couldn’t disagree with these remarks. She also felt annoyed that she was only allowed to stand apart when it was to maintain a weak countenance for Constance. It would all be over with quicker if her plan succeeded today.

Clutching her head suddenly she felt the eyes burning into her more furiously. As if buried under their weight she rubbed her temples and forced out a few large tears.

By this time Chester had reemerged from under the table and produced the pencil with a proud expression. This soon turned to dismay as she quickly turned in what looked like an attempt to hide her tears.

“Are you alright? If you’d like anything at all I’d happily oblige.”

If she could have she would have smiled at how easy he was to manage but instead she whipped back around with watery eyes and a pitiful face. Still holding her head and wincing in “pain” she scanned his face carefully before she made her next move.

“I apologize, I seem to have developed a slight chill.” She offered a delicate smile and continued her act.

As if on cue, the boy raised his hand. He exaggerated her condition although little was needed to build off her original base. She claimed to be completely fine but the show of losing her strength said otherwise. Thanks to this, the instructor reluctantly let the sleazeball Chester accompany her to her dorm.

According to Grandpa Ed, Constance’s file required that she be sent to her dorm instead of the school doctor. The guise of being very selective with her treatment was certainly beneficial today.

As she walked she was made painfully aware of the greasy guy next to her by his constant fussing and pandering to her non-existent needs.

“Should we take a break now? I could always carry you if needed, no reason to be ashamed if you’d like to sit down somewhere.

Her counterfeit smile dropped slightly in the absence of others.

“I may be ill, but It isn’t as if I have no wits about me, sir Chester. If you truly find no issue in carrying me, I hope you will be prepared to take responsibility for my ruined reputation afterhand. The price won’t be a small sum either.”

Her face further contorted to reveal a sullen expression that accentuated Constance's naturally pale skin and sunken eyes. Approaching the boy’s bony nape, one shaky finger traced across his neck like a dagger before retracting. He took a few steps back and looked at her in panicked horror.

Too harsh? I suppose I’ll have to reign it back in to keep his mouth shut.

“You- I, what….” he stumbled trying to make sense of her sudden change.

She giggled harmlessly and returned to a more “normal” appropriate weak smile.

“I was only joking so no need to react so much. If you don’t mind, however, I’d like to walk the rest of the way…. alone.” She paused in her walk and glanced at him sideways and was pleased to see his expression had hardly softened at all. He was deeply confused and uneasy about her presence.

“I’ll bid you goodbye then so recover soon.” With that, he practically disappeared which made her almost disappointed but all well that ends well.

Immediately after he departed from sight, she changed her direction and began to proceed toward the records room. While the plan was not to meet until much later, she had her reasons for arriving in advance.

Admittedly she was not too happy about the additional message originally. She soon realized it was an opportunity to find out additional information about two missing in-action students. While Grandpa Ed was extremely annoying in the way he toyed with them he was right about one thing.

All information is important, even the smallest detail.

Hopefully, the cousin of Constance’s record could shed some light on how to retain her cover right under Belladonna’s nose. This would be especially difficult since it would already be odd she had not written to her in so long. Besides that, the case of the truant Oliver might just make more sense after reviewing the administrative files on his lack of attendance.

Each student file was available to look at in the records room. She had already scoped out the scene and the general information was easy to access. Although the room was rarely frequented by anyone in particular, it was still best to be cautious. The more detailed content was only revealed after getting past a lock on the wood floor-to-ceiling filing cabinet drawers. Labeled A-Z for last names the almost 100 files per drawer meant she was confident two files wouldn’t be missed.

Her lock-picking skills were certainly nothing to scoff at and the drawers soon revealed themselves to her. She reviewed some of the information of interest starting with Belladonna. To her disappointment, the cousin's file only disclosed her average grades excellent attendance, and somewhat quiet nature.

The notes about her did confirm that she sent out letters diligently to her parents and Constance, which meant she was still a good lead to get in touch with. Perhaps meeting Belladona could guide the girl toward Constance's family situation and the head of Winthrop’s real reason for hiding her death. The file could still be helpful if she analyzed it hard enough anyway. Since they were so close, it would be easy to catch a slip-up if she mentioned anyone who had previously been on bad terms with Constance.

Now for Oswald. Just as she glanced down at the attendance records hurried footsteps became discernable outside. They were approaching the door quickly and she sprung forward shutting the cabinets to look untouched. Gingerly the files were folded and then tucked into a meager pocket hidden in the lining of her underskirt.

Wearing these extra pieces could be helpful after all. If only they were comfortable as well as concealing.

Her eyes darted around for a place to duck into. The footsteps became increasingly louder mimicking the pounding of her chest. The doorknob began to turn and the hinge creaked, cautioning her of what was to come…