Home > Legacy (Night School #2)(26)

Legacy (Night School #2)(26)
Author: C.J. Daugherty

Suddenly the night felt empty and quiet; she took a deep calming breath of the cool air and for the first time noticed the stars, like silver frosting on the dark sky.

She was glad Sylvain hadn’t said anything, hadn’t made things worse. For a second, she thought about saying something to him about that night. About maybe forgiving him for the bad things and remembering only the good. About being friends.

But she didn’t.

And as they walked back towards the school building in awkward silence, she thought about the things she should say. The things Carter would want her to say.

I really appreciate your help, Sylvain. But we can’t ever do it again. Carter wouldn’t understand and he really doesn’t want me hanging out with you. Or speaking to you. Or breathing the same air as you.

But, instead, all she said was, ‘Thanks for helping me.’

As he held the door for her his eyes were as blue and enigmatic as the smooth surface of a lake. And all he said was, ‘You’re welcome.’

The next morning, despite the late night, Allie woke before her alarm went off and couldn’t get back to sleep. Giving up on rest, she sat up slowly, feeling the new aches in her muscles.

Everything hurt.

With a groan, she climbed out of bed and draped a towel over her shoulder before trudging down the silent hallway. The bathroom was mostly empty, although she could hear water running in one of the showers.

The last cubicle in the row was her favourite – it seemed bigger than the others, and lighter. Setting her slippers on the teak bench, she hung her robe on a polished brass hook set into a wall tiled in cream-coloured stone. The long, hot shower loosened her knotted muscles, and by the time she padded out of the cubicle she felt like herself again, but she was no longer alone. Another girl, swathed in a white Cimmeria robe identical to Allie’s, stood at a sink.

To give them both privacy, Allie chose a sink well away from her. But as she studied herself in the mirror and scrubbed up a toothy foam the girl spoke.

‘Excuse me. Are you Allie?’ The accent was French. The voice light, musical.

‘Yes?’

The girl moved closer. She was tiny, Allie saw now. Barely five feet tall, and delicate, with enormous brown eyes and ludicrously lush lashes. She looked strangely familiar but Allie couldn’t place her.

‘I thought so.’ The girl seemed pleased. ‘I’ve heard so much about you from Sylvain. I am Nicole.’

Allie had never heard of her – Sylvain had never mentioned her.

‘Oh yeah … I mean …’ she said through the toothpaste. ‘Of course. It’s nice to meet you.’

Nicole blinked up at her. ‘He talked about you so much over the summer term in his letters – I feel that I know you.’

She even blinks prettily, Allie thought.

She wasn’t sure what was happening here. Was Nicole Sylvain’s girlfriend? One he forgot to mention? And even if she was, what did that matter?

She really needed to rinse her mouth.

‘Last night, he told me was going to check on you after training.’ Nicole seemed completely unaware the Allie was drooling foam. ‘He could see you were upset. Did he find you?’

Colour crept into Allie’s cheeks. Night School. That’s where I saw her. And that means she saw me totally fail.

‘Yes. He did find me.’

‘And he helped you.’ Nicole said it as if there was no question anything else could have happened.

‘He was very helpful,’ Allie said stiffly. Then she turned around and spat out the toothpaste.

After rinsing her mouth, she turned to gather her things, but when she looked up Nicole was still watching her.

Her giggle was musical, like water trickling in a stream. ‘I am sorry to bother you without … warning.’ She wrinkled her pert nose. ‘It is just nice to know who you are.’

‘And it’s great to meet you at last,’ Allie said with false enthusiasm as she hurried out the door. ‘After hearing so much about you from Sylvain.’

‘Who is Nicole and why is she so pretty and French?’ Allie cast a sideways glance at Rachel.

‘Ooh. Sylvain’s off-and-on girlfriend. Very sophisticated, annoyingly gorgeous,’ Rachel said. ‘Why?’

‘Are they off now?’ Allie asked. ‘Or on?’

Rachel arched one questioning eyebrow. ‘Off … I think. But who knows with those two? Why?’

They were walking down the hall between classes. Allie longed to tell her everything that had happened last night, but she knew full well that, not only could she not mention it, but Rachel really wouldn’t want to hear about it anyway. She hated that suddenly she couldn’t tell her best friend everything. It felt uncomfortable – like an unspoken lie.

‘Oh it’s nothing, really.’ Allie shrugged. ‘She just talked to me in the bathroom this morning. Freaked me out.’

‘I hate being talked to in the bathroom,’ Rachel commiserated as she dodged a crowd of giggling girls. ‘What did she say?’

‘Just that Sylvain told her all about me. It wasn’t weird or anything. It was just … weird.’

‘I understand completely,’ Rachel said, shaking her head and staring at Allie as if she were mad.

‘I know,’ Allie sighed. ‘It doesn’t make sense. It’s nothing. I have a more important question.’

‘Hit me.’

‘What’s the story with this Zoe creature?’

   
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