All the girls were standing by their respective desks, anxiously waiting for their teacher to arrive. Yvette was especially nervous and made no attempt to hide it. She was terrified at the idea another teacher would walk into the classroom meaning they would never get to see Fräulein von Bernburg again. Manuela needed her. At that point, Yvette felt like she needed her as well. She would know what to do; she would find a way to help. Except if she chose not to come back. Except…
"Stop fidgeting!" her neighbour's harsh command suddenly made her jump.
Yvette turned to her, unsettled. Why was Beckendorf sitting next to her anyway? This was Manuela's place. Her desk. No one was allowed here except her. She was about to say so but the remark died in her throat at the sound of the door opening. A silent gasp went through the room, followed by a collective sigh of relief as Fräulein von Bernburg's face appeared in the doorway. As beautiful and poised as ever in a white fitted blouse and a long black skirt, she walked to her desk in swift, ample strides, nodding slightly towards the girls who were gazing at her, fully enraptured. For a fleeting second, her eyes ventured to Manuela's former place. It was barely noticeable, but Yvette caught how she bashfully lowered her eyes almost immediately, as if ashamed to have let herself believe Manuela could be there. It broke the girl's heart and she held her breath, eager to hear what the teacher would say.
"Hello young ladies, and welcome back," she finally greeted, a pale smile pulling her lips only slightly upwards. "I hope you had a pleasant and relaxing summer and are disposed to begin this last year studiously."
The girls all nodded vigorously and the lesson started. From the outside, it almost looked as if everything was perfectly normal. Almost.
/
"Kleist, what is it? If you have something to tell me, I suggest you do it before I die of old age," Elisabeth said without looking up from the sheet she was writing on.
She could sense the girl hovering uncertainly around her desk and although she felt guilty for the sharpness of her tone, she was in no mood to assume the role of attentive teacher today. Maybe she would never be in the mood for it ever again, as a matter of fact.
"I am sorry to disturb you but I think I ought to tell you something about Manuela…" the blonde girl began.
"There is nothing to say about Manuela," she spat, suddenly slapping her pencil down on the wooden desk. "Manuela is gone."
Yvette shivered under the icy stare and studied the teacher's stance. She was cold and distant. She had never seen her like that. Deciding to stand her ground anyway, she suddenly reached for Manuela's letter and held it out in front of her.
"I received this from her," she declared, secretly hoping it would alleviate the woman's foul mood.
As expected, it instantly did and Fräulein von Bernburg's severe scowl turned into a look of genuine bewilderment. With wide, almost frightened eyes, she got up from behind her desk and came to stand right in front of Yvette, reaching out hesitatingly.
"May I?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"Of course," Yvette complied and pushed the letter into her hand.
Elisabeth carefully unfolded the piece of paper and could not contain her tears as she caught the first glimpse of Manuela's handwriting. Pressing her fingers to her lips, she began to read the letter and Yvette slightly turned away, destitute in front of the woman's obvious agony. As she stole a quick glance her way, she noticed the expression on her face turn into sheer confusion as the words seemed to register. Ah yes… Maybe she should have explained…
"What is the meaning of all this?" the teacher suddenly demanded, brandishing the letter accusingly at Yvette.
"This is not what you think it is, Fräulein von Bernburg," Yvette babbled. "Manuela did not really mean anything that is written here. I was surprised at first too; shocked even. She used a code. Here, let me show you."
Yvette came at the woman's side and pointed a finger at Ilse's various annotations patiently, then at the sentence she had come up with. Elisabeth remained silent for an agonisingly long moment, and for some reason, Yvette started to grow nervous. She did not seem convinced. What if she did not believe her? Or worse; what if they had been… wrong?
"A code?" she simply enunciated after what seemed like an eternity. Her face was unreadable.
"Y-yes… Ilse showed it to her a while ago. We're almost convinced that she…" Yvette's febrile explanation was interrupted as she noticed the proud beam quickly spreading on the other woman's face. It made her smile instantly as well, although she was not sure what was actually so amusing.
"Of course she would use a code. Of course," Fräulein von Bernburg said, half-laughing, half-crying while she pressed the letter to her heart.
Yvette did not dare to mention that Manuela had made mistakes in her code, as Ilse probably would have and she chuckled affectionately.
"Yes, she did."
"I thought I would never hear from her again. I knew I was not supposed to write to her… but still, I did, and she never replied," the teacher admitted, eyes suddenly sad again.
"Her aunt must be filtering her mail very strictly. I must have written around forty letters, and I'm sure she only received very few of them," Yvette assured.
"I can't imagine what she must be going through," the teacher murmured and Yvette could only nod, the sole prospect making her brow furrow in concern.
"But we have a way to communicate with her now. And we will help her get away from this place."
"We will…" Fräulein von Bernburg said resolutely, her hold still firm on the letter. "We absolutely must."
