Chapter Seven: Work
A/N: Thanks for le reviews and stuff. Also, thanks for reading.
Onto the chapter!
It's the next day and you never actually do it.
That is, confront Katherine. You'd say that you just never got around to it but in truth the you think more and more about it the more you have no idea why the hell either of you had been surprised in the first place. It wasn't like anything was telling you you weren't related so finding out that you actually are isn't big news. Heck, you've spent eighteen years with only a brother and, in the bigger scheme of things you've convinced yourself, it doesn't matter.
You rub your eyes and try to soothe that small ach in your head that's slowly been thrumming in your temples.
"Hey!" a voice startles you, "Quit daydreaming, Gilbert, lest you burn down my entire kitchen!"
Only briefly do you look to the woman yelling before focusing back on the grill in front of you. You flip over a grilled cheese sandwich and wince. Oh shit, Elena, that's got to be the fifth one.
The uneasy frown on your face must have alerted the middle aged woman because she stalks over with that permanent scowl on her face as she sees the burnt bread.
"That must be the tenth time you burnt something black!"
Fifth, you correct mentally and just as the thought comes she pries the spatula from your hand and you step back.
"Go and be a nuisance in the dish section. Hopefully you know hot from cold so it'll be difficult for you to burn anything."
You hold in your remark and go to the other room where the sinks are. Today after breakfast and sitting in your cell a guard came in telling you that you'd finally been assigned to work somewhere. You'd been relieved that you can go out and stretch your legs but much to your horror that stretching would be done in a kitchen. Now that you think about it, this decision was probably influenced by that small surveyed you had filled out hence arrival of Port Hill where you jokingly wrote cooking as a hobby. Not that there was anything wrong with cooking… just that if by cooking they meant microwave noodles and mac & cheese then the answer for you would be a yes. Maybe. You still wince at that time you somehow set your noodles on fire in the microwave.
"Don't worry, she'll grow on you," the only other person in the room says and you almost do a double take. Caroline arches a brow but her lips lift in amusement.
"Herma," she says.
Your brows furrow because the fact that the blonde is even talking to you throws you off, "Who?"
Her blue sleeves are rolled up and she has her hands in the bubbly pool of water in the sink so she jerks her head out the door indicating the woman, "The lady in charge."
You look back to the door as if you can see Herma from here and you turn back to her, forehead creased, "Really?"
Because you can't picture the woman becoming relatable in any way, shape or form.
"No," Caroline chuckles, "I'm kidding. But I guess you get used to all the shouting… eventually."
A half-hearted laugh escapes you but you're still trying to figure out why she's talking to you. She offers a small grin and turns back to hosing some pots. You're a bit dumbfounded to be honest because other than the time she and Rebekah thought you were Katherine she's never actually spoken to you. Least of all sound so freaking friendly.
"Don't just stand there, help me out," she motions you over shaking you out of your thoughts and you do as your asked.
Wouldn't want Queen Herma yelling at me again, you think.
"Not to sound like a dumbass but what are we supposed to be doing?"
"Oh right," Caroline wipes her gloved hands on her apron. "Everyone cooking, cleaning or serving puts all the dishes in that conveyer belt, then we stack everything on these trays, soak them in the sink and put them through the dishwasher before placing the trays on the drying racks."
She points to each equipment that's strategically been lined up.
"And after they're dry we put them in the back in their shelves and stuff."
You nod, "Okay, that I can do."
"Great," she points to a shelf in the corner, "Just grab some gloves. I'll arrange them so they can go into the dishwasher. You grab the stuff off the conveyer."
After a couple trays of dishes the silence gets to you, and not because it's uncomfortable, the exact opposite actually, and you're confused.
"So…" you speak making the blonde turn to you, "What is this?"
She looks at the dish in your hand and opens her mouth to tell you but you shake your head.
"Not this, Caroline. I mean why are you being so nice? Like we're friends or something?" you ask. Sure, people who work together talk but she's so casual about it. As if ignoring you every time she and Rebekah came into your cell hasn't been the regular thing when it comes to you. "Is it because Katherine's not here?"
Katherine works somewhere else.
"No," but she makes a small face and chuckles, "Well, maybe. I don't know. But I do know that Katherine doesn't hate you."
You raise a brow. That's hard to believe.
"And Rebekah's not much into talking to new people."
"And you?"
She shrugs, "Sorry but didn't really get to it, to be honest. But doesn't mean we can't be friends now."
"Friends?" you say skeptically.
"We could get to know each other," she smiles at you and much to your surprise it's genuine, "I noticed Bonnie showing you around but everyone should have more than just one friend."
You force a corner of your lips lift into a small grin just to return her blindingly bright smile.
Caroline pushes a tray of dishes into the dishwasher and pulls the lever to close the door and turns it on.
"So I'm sure you know your way around here now."
You go back to your work and shrug, "Basically. I mean, most of the time we're stuck in our cells right? There's not much to do there."
"You can always play cards. I can never beat Kat—" she stops, figuring that not having someone to play against is part of your dilemma.
"Did she tell you about yesterday?" you ask, bluntly. Maybe if you can't talk to Katherine, Caroline can.
"Yesterday?"
"We ended up in the same room. She walked out of the drive."
"After confirming that you're twins," she grins, "Wasn't that obvious?"
Okay, yeah pretty much. "But why is she… so hard to talk to. It's not like I did anything to her."
"I don't know," she glances at you. "Where are you from, Elena?"
You blink at the random question, "Mystic Falls, why?"
"Never heard of it," she says. "And I'm sure Kat hasn't either. I don't know why she's not friendlier to you. Give her time, maybe. I mean you're both stuck in one confined space."
You return her shrug.
"Eventually," a voice behind you makes you turn, "I'm sure you two will get along eventually."
"Isobel, what're you doing here?" Caroline asks and you think that that sounds at least a tiny bit like a snarl.
"Just making sure everyone is doing what they should be doing." The elder woman's lips spreads into a smile as she turns to you, "So Elena."
You shiver under her gaze. This is the first time you officially meet her and the first time she's talking to you and she's giving you such an unnerving vibe. You have no idea why she's talking to you but you half expect her to ask something about Katherine and half expect to ask what you refused to answer when Bonnie asked, but she doesn't do either.
"Gilbert, am I right? From Mystic Falls. Can I ask what your parents' names were?"
You frown, instinctually wary of one of two women who you know holds a lot of power within these walls, "Why?"
"I know a few Gilberts. Maybe I know them."
"We can't do our work if you're in our way, you know," Caroline interjects and moves to stand beside you. Her movements remind you that your hands should be busy because that conveyer doesn't look anywhere close to stopping.
"Gilberts," Isobel taps her chin, having ignored the blonde, "I know a Horatio Gilbert. Jackson Gilbert. Melanie. Sarah. Or maybe... Grayson and Miranda?"
The way her lashes flutter and her eyes lock with yours tells you she's expecting the exact reaction that you give. Which is surprise. It crawls all over your face and she grins when she sees it. Again, you shiver.
"Gilbert, Forbes!" Herma comes in, pausing for a second at Isobel, "Take out the trash, both of you."
You turn to Caroline who sighs, half annoyed and half something else. She eyes you to follow her and you do, sparing a look over your shoulder at Isobel who's still smiling despite the interruption.
The piles of trash bags are on a cart and it takes the both of you to push it.
With Caroline shoulder to shoulder you notice how tense she is as you go out the backdoor.
"I don't like her," she mutters to you and you understand that she's talking about Isobel.
"Really? I had the impression that you were on her side," you say honestly, indicating the two divides of Block D. "Especially with Katherine and all."
She turns to you as you stop in front of the dumpster outside and before she speaks she studies you, "I don't know if I should be telling you this but Isobel isn't someone you should ever want to deal with. For her or against her."
You blink at the similar words Bonnie had told you as Caroline tosses a garbage bag into the dumpster. But you're confused, aren't she, Katherine and Rebekah on Isobel's nice list?
"It's better if you never get on her radar, at all," she says, taking the bag you hand to her and tosses it.
"I think that's a bit too late now."
She replies with a tight smile because you're right. Isobel has you on her radar if her questions are any indication.
"Talk about repeating history."
"What are you talking about?"
Caroline bites her lips as she picks up another bag, "Elena, do you know your birth parents?"
You pause for a second and look at her, "No." Does Katherine? You want to add in but she's already talking again.
"I was already in here when Katherine came. Isobel had no interest in her whatsoever until a couple months later. She claimed she felt connected to her."
You frown, "Isobel?"
"Isobel. And now she's got Kat convinced that…" she trails off.
"That?" you encourage. She can't just say stuff and stop halfway.
She shakes her head, looking like she's going to regret saying what she's saying, "That she knows her real parents. Your real parents."
Your lips part slightly and you blink, "Wait. Does she?"
Caroline places her fingers over her mouth, "I shouldn't have said anything."
"But if she knows..." you say, stopping in thought.
Isobel had somehow known Grayson and Miranda Gilbert. You can't imagine that the world is so small that she'd know your birth parents too. But maybe… Caroline's words register in your head slow enough that the blonde is suddenly stepping forward.
"Elena, you have no idea what that woman is capable of. She's crazy. And you shouldn't trust anything she says, least of all her claim to know your parents."
"Katherine trusts her."
"Trust? No," she shakes her head.
"But then…" you trail off. Caroline had said Isobel had Katherine thinking she knew. Why would she think that if she didn't trust her? Maybe the same reason why I'm doubting Caroline's words on not trusting Isobel either. At least not on this topic. After all, she had called the Gilbert's specifically by name. And what other reason would she have to take some kind of interest in you? It isn't like you have something to offer to her. At least for Katherine you could imagine Isobel wanting her on her side because of who the Pierces' are.
But then again if she wanted the Pierces' to know her or if it was just about money wouldn't going against Katherine make more sense?
Bonnie had made it seem like Katherine and Isobel were thick as thieves but according to Caroline that isn't the case, at least not for Katherine. If all this was true then really, what reason would Isobel have to be lying about knowing who your parents are?
"So who are they?" you ask through your thoughts.
"Isobel refuses to tell her outright. She leaves hints in exchange for favours," Caroline's face scrunched up, "Her own twisted little game."
The contempt in her voice tells you there's a lot behind those words.
"Really? You little twits think this is the right time to fucking gossip?" Herma appears at the doorway and glares at you both. "Get the fuck back in here! I'm separating you two. Forbes, in the kitchen! Gilbert, get to those dishes!"
You turn to Caroline who offers you a small smile before taking the empty cart and walking back in. You follow behind and walk back to the dishwashing section where someone else is taking the pots from the conveyer belt so that they won't stack up.
You don't like Isobel, and not just because of what others have to say about her. She makes you feel uneasy, her whole demeanor screams sketchy to you but there's no denying that she has to know who your parents are. Anything other than that doesn't make sense.
You frown at your thoughts as you pull on some new gloves and get back to work.