Chapter 41

Ruby

As I glumly enter the front doors of the school the next morning, all of the students in the entryway lift their heads to stare; but they’re not staring at me.

They’re staring at Edith.

Perfect Edith, in her perfect uniform, with her perfect hair and perfect smile. Within minutes, Miss Perfect is surrounded by curious students who are complimenting her hair, asking what her perfume scent is, and asking where she’s from. Aside from Nancy, I never had such treatment on my day of transfer. And now, even Nancy won’t talk to me.

With my head hanging low, I leave Edith with her new gaggle of friends and walk over to my locker. Nancy is already at her locker, but when she sees me coming she slams it with a “Hmph” and struts off.

“Hey Ruby,” Edith says, walking up to me while I rifle through my locker for my textbooks.

I stop what I’m doing, pause for a moment as I try to collect myself before I have another blow up, and turn toward her with a fake smile on my face.

“Yes, Edith?”

She holds out a piece of paper for me to read. “I think you’re supposed to be my navigator today.”

I rip the paper out of Edith’s hands and read it. She’s right: somehow I did get assigned as her navigator. I wonder if Alice or the Queen had anything to do with this. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is some new scheme to embarrass me.

“Is that okay, Ruby?” Edith says, cocking her head to one side as she looks at me with her sultry upturned eyes.

“Uh… yeah,” I answer. “It’s just…”

She continues to look at me, her gaze never wavering.

“Well, navigators are supposed to give transfer students a gift. I didn’t know until just now that I’m supposed to be your navigator, so…”

“Oh, don’t be silly!” Edith says with a smile. She points up to the top shelf of my locker. “I can see the gift right there!”

I follow her finger with my eyes to the top shelf of my locker. There’s a small wrapped box sitting there, but I definitely didn’t put it there. Did Atwood or someone else arrange the gift?

“You got me,” I say with a smile, grabbing the box off the shelf and handing it to her. “I did get you something after all. I was just… messing around.” It’s a lie, but she seems to believe it. She takes the box out of my hand and rips open the wrapping paper excitedly.

Edith opens the box. Her smile drops as she stares at its contents. I have no clue what’s in there, but suddenly I’m regretting giving it to her nonetheless.

“Why… Why would you give me this?” Edith asks. She reaches into the box and pulls out…

A thong.

A pink, lacy thong.

“Edith, I didn’t-”

“No,” she says, tears welling up in her eyes as she shoves the thong back into the box and hands it to me. “I get it. If you didn’t want to be my friend, you could have just said that.”

“I really didn’t-”

Before I can finish, Edith runs off crying.

The other nearby students stare at me in disbelief, whispering amongst themselves.

“I didn’t put that in there!” I yell at them, throwing the box to the floor. A few girls who are standing nearby yelp and run off in fear. “Why are you running from me?! I’m not scary!” I yell again, throwing my textbooks to the floor now out of rage and causing more students to scatter.

“Miss Jones.”

I turn around to find Mrs. Acker standing behind me with her arms folded, tapping her foot on the marble floor. She doesn’t even need to say anything, because I know what’s next.

“Yes, I know. Headmaster’s office,” I say, walking past her and heading toward the stairs. Maybe the headmaster will at least listen to me.

As soon as I arrive outside the headmaster’s office, the door swings open before I can even knock. He must have been expecting me.

Edith is sitting inside on one of the cushioned chairs, crying with her face in her hands. I hesitantly approach, only to stop in my tracks when I see Atwood standing near the fireplace looking extremely disappointed. Did he teleport here already?

Atwood silently shakes his head at me as I pass. The headmaster returns to his desk and gestures for me to sit in the chair beside Edith.

“You know, Ruby,” the headmaster says, “I would think that you of all people would have treated Miss Edith with kindness and respect on her first day of transfer after how poorly you were treated on your own first day.”

“But headmaster, I didn’t put that… thong in there,” I say, gripping my skirt in my clenched fists.

Edith lifts her head from her hands to look at me. Oddly enough, although she’s been crying, her eyes don’t look red at all and there are no tears on her cheeks.

“Why would you tell me that you got me a gift, then?” she says with a pathetic whimper, quivering her lower lip theatrically.

Before I can answer, Atwood steps in.

“Ruby, no one has access to your locker except for you and myself,” he says. “And I certainly wouldn’t have put such a vile gift in there.”

“I would never accuse you of that,” I answer quietly, looking down at the floor as tears well up in my eyes. “What if someone else somehow broke in there?”

The headmaster sighs. “And who, exactly, do you think would purposely break into your locker to plant an inappropriate gift for Edith, hmm? You’re not suggesting that Miss Donna has returned from her aunt’s home in London to sabotage you?”

“No!” I answer, standing from my chair suddenly. “It has to be someone else. Someone like… Beck!”

“Beck Smith?” the headmaster says with a wry chuckle. “Lovely Beck Smith, the young lady who filled in for you when you suddenly ran off right in the middle of your play? The young lady who you attacked at Miss Nancy’s sleepover on Saturday?!”

For the first time, the headmaster actually looks angry. His round, usually benign face has turned red with rage and he pounds his fist on the desk, making me jump. He closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths to calm himself before speaking again.

“Atwood, while I admire your initiative to integrate hybrids into the Lycan academy, I don’t believe it is in the school’s best interests for Miss Jones to continue attending classes here.”

“No!” I say, turning to Atwood and grabbing his shirt desperately. “No, please, I didn’t do it! I didn’t put the thong in my locker! You have to believe me!”

Atwood says nothing, just stares down at his shirt balled up in my fist. When I slowly remove my hand, he calmly smooths down the bunched up fabric before wrapping his arm around my shoulders. I look up at him with tears in my eyes, expecting him to comfort me, to tell me that he believes me and that I can keep going to school here.

“I agree, headmaster,” he says.

In the blink of an eye, we’re standing in Atwood’s study. I look around incredulously, then back to him. He’s already moved away from me and is sitting down at his desk with his head in his hands.

“Atwood,” I say, but he simply raises his hand to stop me, without so much as looking at me.

“Go to your room,” he says quietly.

“But I swear I didn’t-”

“Go.”

An involuntary whimper escapes my throat. I turn on my heel before the tears start to flow and head for the door, but stop as my hand rests on the doorknob. I look over my shoulder to see that Atwood is still sitting with his head in his hands, not looking at me.

“Why won’t you listen to me?” I say.

He doesn’t answer.