Page 8 of Tear of Destiny

The bell rings for the next period, and she quickly stalks off.

“What a nasty bitch,” Kate mutters.

I’m surprised at her harsh words. She doesn’t normally talk like that. But she’s right. I glance after Max, who’s walking away down the corridor. I have to sit near her in biology. What I want to do is take her aside and give her a piece of my mind. I have a few things to say to her, but I know this is not the right time. I look nervously at my fingers. Thankfully, the flames are gone.

So I pull myself together, go to class with Kate, and sit in my usual spot. Max is only two seats away from me. When she sees that I’m back, her forehead creases, but then she decides to ignore me. That’s fine with me. And when Ms. Warren begins the class, I’m grateful for once for her breakneck pace. At least I’ll have something to focus on and distract myself with.

At the end of class, Max quickly gets up and disappears with Lucia down the corridor so swiftly that I lose sight of her. I don’t see her again until history, but she arrives so late that I don’t have a chance to talk to her. My mood begins to sink, and thelooks and whispers of my classmates don’t help either. It’s no wonder I can’t focus on the class. I just jot down the occasional note, hoping Mr. Brian will resort to his usual strategy of largely ignoring me. I don’t even know which topic he’s currently discussing.

The bell rings, and this time I jump up immediately. I’m determined to speak to Max. She can’t dodge me forever. And I need to talk to Ayden too the next chance I get.

I stuff my things in my bag, glancing repeatedly at Max, who’s talking calmly with Lucia as if nothing is wrong. And as I pick up my bag, about to go and confront her, Mr. Brian calls out to me.

“Miss Franklin, do you have a moment?”

His voice shocks me to the core. I look around in surprise, and for a moment, I think I must have misheard him. Ever since I broke into his house and found Great Aunt Frida’s painting that he’d stolen, he avoids me and never says a word to me. Why does he want to talk to me now? I expect the worst, and I see Max flash me a smug smile as she leaves the classroom.

I take a deep breath and step up to the lectern. He’s sitting behind it, his hands folded, looking at me keenly. His intense gaze makes me uncomfortable. I picture the scene in his house again. And then, I remember Charles’ last words: “Watch… out… for him.” Did he mean Mr. Brian? To say I have a bad feeling would be an understatement. So I approach the situation cautiously and wait to hear what he has to say.

He narrows his eyes and says, “So, you’re back with us. We were all very worried when you disappeared. Some of the teachers were afraid that all the challenges here at school may have become too much for you. I mean, it’s not easy for people who didn’t grow up in the Tempes world.”

I shake my head slowly and try to seem nonchalant. “I’m sorry I caused such a stir. I had a fight with my… ex-boyfriend and needed some time out. So I went to stay with a friend. I nowrealize that it was a stupid thing to do. I should have let people know where I was,” I reel off. I still hate having to tell this lie.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” Mr. Brian replies, raising his eyebrows. “But I’m also relieved. I’m sure the breakup is hard on you, but I was anticipating something much worse as the reason for your disappearance. I mean, there was Charles’ death, and I heard that he was dating your mother. It can’t have been easy when you found out he was a traitor.”

His eyes drill into me, and although he’s speaking calmly and choosing his words carefully to appear concerned, I can still hear the barbs in them. He wants answers. And it’s not hard to imagine which ones.

“Charles was just using my mother, and in the end, he got what he deserved. He was a danger to us all, and I just hope they find out what information he may have leaked to the Noctu.”

Mr. Brian keeps giving me the same penetrating look, but then he nods slowly. “We should have kept a closer eye on him. Me especially. We used to be friends after all. But as time goes by, you grow apart and start disagreeing over petty things.” Mr. Brian sighs. Then his eyes flash, and his voice becomes a nuance sharper. “I’m glad to hear that you never considered him a confidant. It would have made his death that much harder on you.”

I know what he’s fishing for, and I quickly shake my head. “No, I never did. My mother liked him, so I was polite to him, but I’m past the age where I need to get along well with my mother’s partner.”

“That’s good to hear,” he mutters. “Still, it’s conceivable that he might have said something to you in the last few weeks that in retrospect seems strange. It’s very important that you pass on any information like that.”

Yeah, preferably to you, I feel like saying, but I just nod and say with an earnest expression, “Sure, I will. But I don’t thinkthere was anything. I didn’t really take in much of what Charles said. He liked to reminisce and told us a lot of anecdotes about Frida, and he was especially sentimental when he visited us at home – in her old house. He liked to wander around looking at everything. I guess everyone has their foibles.”

Mr. Brian seems to swallow this because he can only assume from what I just said that I wasn’t aware Charles was snooping. That’s what I want him to think. He gives a satisfied nod and smiles.

“Well, that’s alright then. I mainly wanted to know how you’re doing. We’ve had our differences, but I’m still concerned when one of my students is not doing well or stops coming to class.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that.”

He dismisses me with a nod, and I leave the classroom with a pounding heart. I hope Mr. Brian believes me and assumes I see Charles as nothing more than a traitor. But I can’t help wondering what he’s afraid of. What does he think Charles might have told me? I’m reminded again of Charles’s final words – the warning and the words ‘two trees,’ which he whispered to me at the end. I need to follow up on that. But first, I need to get my life back on track.

Chapter 5

The rest of the morning drags out interminably, and I’m not really able to focus on my classes. As Kate and I make our way to the cafeteria for lunch, I still feel my classmates’ eyes on me, but it doesn’t intimidate me. It just makes me angry. I clench my fists and hope to find Max in the cafeteria. When we arrive, I quickly glance around, and sure enough, I spot her sitting at a table. She’s talking to Lucia and two other girls, but I don’t hesitate to interrupt their conversation.

“Do you have a moment?” I ask her.

Max slowly looks up and groans quietly. “I figured you’d show up at some point. But I honestly don’t know what there is to talk about. We’ve already said everything there is to say, don’t you think?” She gives me a bored look and pushes her salad around her plate with a fork.

“You’ve said plenty. But I haven’t, and I intend to rectify that. So either you come with me, or we clear this up here in the middle of the cafeteria where everyone can hear us.”

Max raises her eyebrows, shakes her head, and stands up. “You’re really something, you know that? So aggressive.” She gives the other girls a knowing look and then follows me out intothe corridor.

I’m boiling with rage and can hardly contain myself. So it’s no wonder when the words burst out of me as soon as we’re through the door. “How could you do something like that? Are you out of your mind?! You told me you never considered me a friend, but still… I mean, how sick do you have to be to do something like that?! You spend the night in my boyfriend’s room and sneak into his bed, just so you can provoke a fight between us in the hope of breaking us up. Honestly, what the hell is wrong with you?!”

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