The week had gone by in a flash, and so far Cordelia didn't mind the academy, much to her surprise. She certainly didn't love it, but she didn't hate it either, which she took as a good sign. She had instantly fit in with Zoe's little friend group, and was immensely grateful that she wasn't alone in the corner crying all the time (which is what she had been expecting would happen).

She didn't mind her classes, though there were a few that she absolutely hated – Etiquette in particular. For some reason, Ms Venable just seemed to loathe Cordelia. At least she shared the class with Misty – that made it much more bearable.

"Psst," said someone from behind her.

Cordelia turned around and saw Misty, her eyes sparkling cheekily. She threw something at Cordelia, who caught it easily. Unfolding the note, Cordelia clapped a hand over her mouth so as not to giggle. Misty had drawn a caricature of the Etiquette teacher, with an oversized head, tiny body, large yelling mouth, and fire for hair. Misty wasn't the best artist, but somehow she had managed to capture Ms Venable perfectly.

Apparently she hadn't concealed her laughter well enough. "Miss Goode, may I ask what is so funny about proper dining etiquette?"

Cordelia's stomach dropped. She looked down at her desk, wishing for the ground to open up. "Nothing, Ms Venable," she mumbled.

"So I'm sure that the piece of paper in your hand is only part of your note taking?" Ms Venable asked, looking down her nose at Cordelia.

"Yes, Ms Venable," Cordelia said, hoping that Ms Venable wouldn't ask to see the paper.

"Then you won't mind if I take a look."

Cordelia began to sweat. Shit, she thought. "No, Ms Venable."

Ms Venable stalked across the classroom, and snatched the paper from Cordelia's hand. Her face slowly went red. "How dare you disrespect me this way?" she hissed. "Give me your hand."

"Ms Venable, I-" Cordelia began, not really knowing what she was going to say.

"Give me your hand, Miss Goode, or I'll have you sent straight to Miss Robichaux."

Misty jumped to her feet, her chair screeching against the floorboards. "Ms Venable, it was me who drew that. My fault. Don't punish Cordelia, she ain't got nothing to do with it."

"Misty, it's okay, you-" Cordelia began to say, not wanting Misty to take the fall. She had been the one careless enough to let Ms Venable see it – it wasn't Misty's fault she was so useless.

"Hush now, Delia," Misty said gently, before addressing the teacher bravely. "Ms Venable, I drew that picture, and I passed it on to Cordelia. It ain't her fault, please don't punish her."

"You're in luck, Miss Goode. Take a seat," Ms Venable snapped. Cordelia didn't need to be told twice.

"I'm real sorry, Ms Venable, it won't happen again," Misty said anxiously. Cordelia felt terrible.

"Yes, you're right about that," said Ms Venable, with a nasty smile on her face. "Hand, Miss Day."

Misty grimaced, and extended her left hand.

Ms Venable shook her head, still smirking. "Oh, I don't think so, Miss Day. Give me your right hand."

Misty frowned. "But how am I supposed to write?"

"Well, you should have thought about that before you disrespected me, shouldn't you?"

"No, don't!" Cordelia said. She couldn't remember choosing to speak – it was as if her voice box had acted of its own accord. She just couldn't bear the thought of Misty being in pain. The rest of the class watched what was happening with keen interest, and Cordelia could feel her face turning into a tomato.

"I beg your pardon, Miss Goode?" Ms Venable snapped, glaring at Cordelia with a ferocity only Fiona could beat.

Cordelia gulped. Her throat was dry. "I said don't, Ms Venable. Misty didn't draw it, I did, she's just trying to make sure I don't get in trouble."

Misty immediately starting protesting this. "No, that ain't true! Cordelia, don't-"

"Regardless of whether or not it is true, you have both been utterly disrespectful. One of you drew this – I don't know who, but it doesn't matter – and one of you, if not both of you, lied to my face. Miss Goode, if I were you, I wouldn't have spoken up, because now the two of you will get ten strokes of the cane each, as well as a month of Saturday detentions."

Cordelia's jaw dropped. Such an extreme punishment, over a little drawing? Ms Venable had to be out of her mind. She knew the school was strict – but was this really the normal punishment for such a small misdemeanour? How would she be punished if she committed a larger crime? She wasn't particularly keen on finding out.

"A month?" Misty said, aghast.

"Yes, Miss Day, a month – unless you would prefer two?" Ms Venable said, tilting her head.

Misty shook her head. "No, Ms Venable. Sorry, Ms Venable."

"Hands, please, ladies."

They stuck out their hands, not daring to look at each other.

0o0o

The second they stepped out of the classroom, Misty turned to Cordelia. "I can't believe you did that."

"I can't believe YOU did that," said Cordelia – why had Misty been so willing to take the blame? Why hadn't she just let Cordelia take the punishment, as she had been willing to do? It would have saved her a lot of pain.

They smiled at each other.

Cordelia felt the familiar flutter of butterflies in her chest. "Boy, do I hate Ms Venable," she said, flexing her hand. Ms Venable had hit them each over the knuckles ten times with her cane, and Cordelia's hand was already beginning to bruise. She wasn't used to being caned – she had never caused much trouble at school before. Fiona was another story, of course, but her mother preferred using her bare hands to cause pain. She always told Cordelia that it made the punishment more personal.

"Miss Robichaux is worse," said Misty, pulling a face.

"Really?" asked Cordelia, tilting her head to the side.

Misty laughed. "Yeah. Just you wait, you'll find out pretty quick."

Cordelia shrugged. "Well, for now I hate Ms Venable more."

"You know, you kinda look like her," said Misty, staring thoughtfully at Cordelia's face.

The butterflies in Cordelia's chest began to flutter again. "I sure hope not."

"Even though she's a real bitch, you gotta admit she's pretty."

"Yeah, I guess her face is okay," said Cordelia uncertainly. "But her personality is what makes her ugly."

"You've got a point," Misty agreed.

There was a brief pause in their conversation. Cordelia wasn't sure how to break the pause, not wanting to say the wrong thing, which is why she was glad when Misty spoke up.

"Well, library detention ain't too bad, all things considered. Miss Snow's cool."

"Is she the librarian?" Cordelia asked. She hadn't been to the library yet, though she had been meaning to – books always made her feel at home.

"Yeah," said Misty, nodding. "She's nice. Doesn't care if your books are overdue so long as you can prove you're reading em'."

"Huh."

"Anyway, it'll be fun," Misty said, smiling one of those brilliant smiles that Cordelia loved so much. "We'll get to hang out."

Cordelia smiled. "I'm looking forward to it." Misty looked at her for a beat too long, her eyes intense. Cordelia felt as though Misty was looking straight through her, as if she was staring straight into Cordelia's soul and absorbing all her secrets. Beginning to feel awkward under the blonde's intense gaze, Cordelia cleared her throat. "Anyway, I have to go to piano."

Misty let out a slow whistle. "Boy, that's gonna be real fun with your sore hand."

"Yeah, I can't wait," Cordelia said sarcastically. "Well, I'll see you at dinner, Misty."

"Bye, Cordelia," Misty said, waving once before walking away.

Cordelia watched her leave, wishing that she didn't feel as attracted to Misty as she did. She didn't even know if Misty liked her in that way – she probably didn't, who was Cordelia kidding? She had no way of knowing if Misty was attracted to other women. She certainly wasn't going to ask. Besides, she and Mabel weren't officially over, though Cordelia thought they probably were. She hadn't seen the other girl since Fiona had caught them in bed together. She had, of course, immediately told Mabel's parents of what they had been doing together – she was sure that Mabel's parents had been intentionally keeping Mabel from seeing Cordelia. She hadn't even gotten to say goodbye, though she had written a letter, which she had asked Spalding to mail for her. Knowing him, he'd probably stuck it under his pillow or something.

I don't need to drag Misty into all my problems, she thought, fidgeting with the strap of her satchel. She doesn't want to deal with me. Yes, it was far better to ignore her little crush on Misty than to become hopeful that it would go somewhere. Cordelia knew that it was never going to happen, dream as she might.

When Cordelia arrived at the music room, her brain was still spiralling. She barely heard anything the teacher said to them, and when Ms Nicks tapped her on the shoulder, she got a fright and jumped. "Jeepers, Cordelia, didn't you get any sleep?" asked Ms Nicks, shaking her head in amusement. "You look like you stayed up half the night."

"Sorry, Ms Nicks. I was just daydreaming," Cordelia said, feeling a bit embarrassed that she had been caught.

"That's all right, I can understand that. Now, would you like to tell me what happened to your hand?"

Cordelia glanced at her knuckles, before pulling her sleeve down to conceal the already-purple bruises. "My fault. Ms Venable caught Misty and I passing notes."

"Misty Day?" Ms Nicks asked. Cordelia nodded. "She's a lovely girl. I've never taught her, though. And don't tell Ms Venable I said this, but I think that punishment's a bit extreme."

"Definitely," Cordelia agreed. "We got a month's worth of detention, as well."

Ms Nicks frowned. "All that over a little note?"

"Well, not a note so much as a rude caricature," Cordelia admitted, not really wanting to meet Ms Nicks' eye. She felt very awkward.

"Oh," said Ms Nicks. To Cordelia's surprise, she laughed. "Well, I suppose next time you'll just have to be more careful. And it's lucky we're doing theory today – I know I wouldn't want to be playing piano with a hand like that."

Ms Nicks gave Cordelia one last friendly smile, before drifting across the classroom. Cordelia shook her head, hoping to clear it of thoughts. It didn't work. Letting out a sigh, Cordelia returned to her theory work – it was very boring, but she didn't mind. Piano was, so far, her favourite class, partly due to how friendly Ms Nicks was. It was a small class, too, with only seven other students, and Cordelia was grateful for the peaceful classroom. It made it much easier to daydream.

Hi! I would just like to say thank you so much to everyone who's read this, it means a lot.

The title comes from Fleetwood Mac's song 'Gypsy'.