Zoe sat in her last class and tried to pay attention, but the whole spirit thing and promise of free hours after the class let out made her antsy and unfocused.
Plus, half the stuff the professor was droning on about were things she had learned at her orientation here, the first year.
She tried to keep her eyes focused on something, but they simply kept going to the room's large window, which was cracked to let slight breeze in. Several girls around her still fanned themselves with sheets of notebook paper.
She couldn't stop thinking about the newspaper. She had lied to Cordelia and the professor when she said she was leaving class early to help Kyle.
She was actually going to see if she could find that morning's paper.
When she looked out the school's front windows, she saw it lying at the head of the walkway. Her mood wasn't brightened by the constant feeling of being watched as she stepped into the sunlight.
It only went away once she had gotten the newspaper and back inside.
She got to the staff table and quickly ripped off the plastic wrapping. She flipped to the obituaries as new students filled the dining hall.
She knew what she was looking for, but wouldn't admit it to herself. She peered down the list as several older people and the occasional middle-aged wife or tragic child showed up. Her assumption wasn't confirmed.
She heard Queenie say something and looked up. "Uh, yeah. Totally." she replied absentmindedly. She discarded the paper and tried to seem present. She simply smiled and nodded when spoken to.
She realized she wasn't very good at hiding her worries when Cordelia held her back to talk.
She brought herself back to the present, looking at the clock above the professor's head. Only fifteen minutes before the end of the first school day.
She still had the newspaper in her knapsack, as if what she was looking for was going to show up. Like it was in invisible ink.
The loud grandfather clock finally clanged, letting the professor and students know the day was over.
The classroom filled with hushed and excited chatter as the girls discussed what they were going to do before dinner.
In her daze, Zoe had forgotten to put her school supplies in her bag. Several girls passed her as she gathered her books and pencils. She felt a tap on her shoulder and looked up. Rebekah looked back at her.
"Oh, hey Rebekah. How are you?" she grabbed her bag and put in on her shoulder.
"Good." Rebekah stared down at her nails. "Um...that's good." Zoe replied, not sure what to say since Rebekah seemed uninterested.
"Do you need anything?" Zoe asked, figuring the girl might have come to her as a student, not a classmate.
"Is there anything fun to do here? Like, in the house?" Rebekah put a stick of chewing gum in her mouth and offered Zoe a piece. She politely declined.
"Well, there's the art room. You can draw or sculpt in there. There's a T.V. slash activity room that has boardgames. The backyard has a big gazebo that you can relax on. There's even a swing set." she saw Rebekah roll her eyes. "There's a smoking porch, but you have to be eighteen to go there. But, it's not like anyone really notices or even checks, so…" she looked to see if Rebekah was listening. "And you're free to help the kitchen staff if that's your sort of thing. We usually just liked to hang out in our rooms or the den until dinner was ready." She finished and gripped the bag's strap.
Rebekah nodded and looked around the room. She turned back to Zoe. "Who's 'we'?" she asked.
"Uh, me and Queenie." Zoe hesitated saying the other three names, in fear of having to explain all of the past year drama and witch antics in general. She figured Rebekah had already heard a watered down version of it anyway.
"Just you two?" Rebekah popped her gum. Zoe gulped and wrapped her fingers tightly around a ballpoint pen.
"Um, yeah. Guess that's why we're on the staff now." she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. Rebekah's green eyes wouldn't leave her own.
"I really need to go, Rebekah. Staff stuff." she put the pen back into her bag "But if you need anything else, I'm sure Queenie or Cordelia could help you." she gave a small smile and wave, brushing against Rebekah's shoulder as she walked out of the room.
She got to the dining hall and looked around for Kyle. She saw him folding napkins near the fireplace.
"Hey." she walked up behind him and gave a small hug. He froze a little.
"Zoe, I don't think this is appropriate during school hours." he retorted in a stern tone.
She grimaced and let go. "Okay, but school's over." she jerked her head towards the direction of the clock on the mantle. He looked at it and just nodded.
"Well, even so, I'm still in uniform, so." he continued to fold. Zoe sighed and plopped her bag down next to a chair across from him.
"Okay, whatever." she sat down and reached into the bag for her legal pad and a pen. She placed them on the table and Kyle paused.
"And what is that for, exactly?" He pointed to the pad of paper. "And how is it going to help me get ready for the first dinner, an annual Robichaux tradition."
Zoe rolled her eyes and popped the pen's cap off. "God, you're no fun when you work. I swear, everyday you get more and more like that old creep, Spalding." she placed the cap between her teeth and flipped over to a clean sheet of paper. She noticed Kyle had stopped moving.
She looked up and saw him seemingly stare off into space. She looked at his hands and noticed one hand was wrapped so tightly around a napkin that his knuckles had turned white.
"Kyle!" she shouted, trying to draw him from the haze. He looked down at his hands and quickly let go, the white cloth now a crumpled heap.
"I'm sorry, I just-" he looked at Zoe and chuckled "-got lost in a thought, I guess." she nodded in response.
"Uh," he started, slowly getting back to the napkins "-what's the notebook for?" he smiled wider. She smiled a little.
"I don't really wanna pry, but…" she looked around the room for any other staff "I, kinda need you to tell me the Madison story again." she tapped against the paper with her nails.
"Zoe, we've been over this." he sighed and walked over to a new basket of napkins, bringing them back over with him.
"I know, I know, and you've been so patient and kind about it, but-" she placed her hand on his. He smiled at her. "But what?" he made a seemingly exhausted expression.
"I just…" Zoe struggled to find the right words to say, not wanting to tip Kyle off to her suspicion of him "Wanted to take a few notes this time. For official Robichaux records." she lied.
Kyle was on the staff but she knew he didn't have much of an idea about what the witches on staff did. He knew they were witches, like the rest of the cleaning and cooking staff, but was pretty much kept in the dark about what they did as staff members. Again, so was the cleaning and cooking staff. So she hoped he would think listing the last whereabouts of a missing student was official business and just the norm.
She wrote 'Madison Montgomery' in big letters at the top of the page and looked back up at him.
"So, if you don't mind, since you were the last person to see her-" she stared down at the napkins, still afraid he'd catch her in a lie "-could you please tell me exactly what happened. Before she hopped out the window and onto a bus, I mean." She chewed on the cap, which she had placed back on the bottom of the pen.
Kyle sighed and continued to fold. "Well, I was in you and Madison's room, waiting for 'The Seven Wonders' test to be over." She looked at his face and noted that he wasn't looking at her "When I heard some yelling coming from downstairs." He paused and looked at her "This was after you had…" his voice cracked a little "You know." He frowned, but picked up another cloth. She nodded.
"I recognized Myrtle and Madison's voices, so I figured Madison was in some kind of trouble. For what, I'm not sure." she had been tapping her pen but slowed down when he said that last part. His voice had wavered. She picked up the pace and wrote a note down. She had her arms positioned so that Kyle couldn't see what she was writing.
"After that, I heard someone running upstairs. Madison came into the room in a rage and started throwing things into a duffel bag." he said. Zoe's mind instantly flashed to the drawers full of expensive, designer clothes. Barely anything of Madison's had been missing.
"She screamed about how she knew she was the Supreme and Myrtle wouldn't crown her only because she was playing favorites with Ms. Cordelia. She grabbed some things from the bathroom, zipped up her bag, then quickly said goodbye to me. After that, she climbed out the window and down the oak tree." Kyle took a stack of folded napkins and started placing them on one of the tables. Zoe turned to face him, pen and paper in hand. "And that's all she said to you? She didn't try to convince you to come with her or anything?" she asked, knowing Madison still had feelings for him when they had last seen each other. He stood still for a moment, as if he was thinking hard.
"Nope. Just a quick goodbye." he continued around the table. Zoe moved her eyes so she could get a better look at him. He looked like he was hiding something.
He wouldn't make eye contact with her when he was finishing the story and was a little frantic in his movements. This was one of those times she wished witches had the ability to read minds.
She had shared the thought/curiosity with Cordelia before, who simply replied "If you watch people close enough, you can usually tell what they're thinking." and that was all she said on the matter. So that's what Zoe was doing. She wrote down a few more notes.
"So that's it?" Zoe asked Kyle as he started on another pile of unfolded clothes "That's all you remember happening?" she pressed the pen cap against her thumb. He nodded his head "Yeah, that's it. At least in terms of what I saw." he started to fold more quickly.
"Are you sure that's all you remember happening?" she knew she was pressing her luck by trying to give him the third degree, but she was still so curious about exactly had happened to Madison.
He paused and looked at her. "Yes, Zoe. That's it." he curtly said. She was surprised by his tone and it took her a minute to recover and write another note.
"Can I see what you wrote?" he asked in a calmer voice. She quickly placed her hands over the paper and shook her head. "Sorry, only main staff is allowed to look at records." She grabbed the pad and stuffed it back into the bag. She got up and gave Kyle a small peck on the cheek. "See you at dinner." she whispered before leaving. Kyle gave a small smile.
She climbed the stairs to her room, opting to take a nap before dinnertime. She had a lot to think about that night.