"I swear, if Venable gives me detention one more time, I'm going to rip her hair out," Queenie growled, dropping into the seat next to Mallory. "She doesn't even have a good reason."
"What was it this time?" Zoe asked sympathetically.
Queenie rolled her eyes. "Apparently my skirt is too short."
"What the fuck?" Misty scowled. "Madison's skirt barely covers her ass, and she never gets detention."
"Yeah, that's because Daddy Darling paid for half the school to be renovated," said Queenie, crossing her arms.
"Fuck that," Misty said, taking a violent bite of bread. She has such a nice mouth, Cordelia thought, before forcing herself to look away. What if Misty noticed her staring? How was she meant to explain herself?
"Right?" Queenie replied. "So unfair. I mean, just because I'm not a rich, white, blonde girl – no offense, Coco – doesn't mean I'm in the wrong. I mean we're all here for basically the same reason, anyway, they may as well treat us the same."
"But that's no fun for them," Mallory pointed out.
Queenie sighed. "Good point." She took a sip of soup, and pulled a face. "The hell is this?"
"Hot bin juice," Misty said. "With a side of stale bread." Cordelia laughed. Misty always made her laugh.
Nan sighed, stirring the soup moodily. "I can't wait for break."
"Oh my god, same," Coco groaned. "I can't wait to eat actual food again, I'm going to go insane if I have to eat like this much longer."
"Missing your caviar?" Queenie teased.
Coco grinned, and rolled her eyes. "For your information, I think caviar is disgusting. I just want something that doesn't taste like… well, like hot bin juice, Misty, you said it best."
For a few minutes, the group fell silent, all of them choking down the soup which looked (and tasted) like dishwater. Or, as Misty had said (very accurately, Cordelia thought) hot bin juice.
Coco broke the silence, throwing down her spoon and staring at the group excitedly. "Oh! Did I tell you!"
"No, Coco, what?" Zoe asked, looking a bit alarmed at Coco's sudden exuberance.
"Mrs Mead. She's leaving."
Cordelia still didn't know who Mrs Mead was – the ballet teacher, maybe – but she smiled anyway, because that was what Misty was doing.
Zoe dropped her slice of bread. "What?"
"Oh, finally," Queenie said, grinning. "I've been waiting for the bitch to drop dead for like three years now."
"Yeah, apparently her husband's sick or something?"
"She has a husband?" Nan asked, tilting her head.
"The poor man," Misty muttered, shaking her head. Cordelia grinned at her.
"Anyway, I don't exactly know," Coco shrugged. "But maybe I'll actually get a good ballet teacher for once. It would be nice to learn how to pirouette without being told why I should worship Satan."
"Nah, Robichaux is too cheap to hire anyone who's actually good at teaching," said Queenie. "Maybe she'll get Augustus to do it."
Misty snorted loudly, and everyone looked at her. "I just got a visual of Mr Augustus prancin' around in a tutu."
Nan laughed. "Ew, I don't want to imagine that."
"You're awful quiet, Mallory," Zoe said sympathetically. "Tough day?"
Mallory shook her head. "Oh, no. I'm fine. Just thinking." Out of everyone in the group, Cordelia knew Mallory the least. They didn't have many classes together – only Math, but Queenie and Coco were in that class too, so Cordelia didn't exactly get the chance to talk to her. She was very quiet, and seemed kind. Plus, Misty liked her, which was good enough for Cordelia.
"About what?" Nan asked.
"Stuff."
Queenie scoffed. "No shit."
Mallory shrugged. "I'm just tired. I forgot about the history project and stayed up late finishing it. I'm worried I didn't talk enough about the societal impact."
"Wait, what history project?" Misty asked, her blue eyes going wide. They're like pools of liquid sapphire, Cordelia thought dreamily, before internally cringing at her own sappiness. What the hell, Cordelia? Pools of liquid sapphire? Just say the ocean! Idiot. God, Cordelia hated herself.
"The one about Napoleon Bonaparte? You know, the French military guy?" Mallory said.
Misty slammed a hand against her forehead. "Oh, fuck, I forgot about the history project." She jumped to her feet, and slung her satchel over her shoulder.
"Where are you going?" Cordelia asked, not wanting Misty to leave.
"Library," Misty said, quickly wiping her hands on a napkin. Tossing it down, she met Cordelia's eyes – not for the first time, Cordelia realised she had been staring. "Cordelia, come with? I need your brain to get through this."
"Sure," Cordelia said, jumping at the chance to spend more time with Misty. "I'll come."
"You haven't finished your lunch," Zoe pointed out.
Cordelia shrugged. "I'm not hungry anyway." She was hungry, but the soup tasted how Cordelia imagined an old man's sweaty fungus toe would taste. She wasn't missing out on much.
"You sure?"
She nodded, smiling at Zoe, who had quickly proven herself to be the Mom of the group. She was always making sure everyone was okay. Cordelia was grateful – she needed a friend like that. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go."
Misty grinned at her, and the two of them walked out of the noisy lunchroom. Cordelia could still taste the horrible soup, and subtly breathed into her hand to test her breath – it wasn't great.
"Did you actually forget about the history project?" she asked Misty, who didn't seem to be walking to the library.
"No," Misty admitted. "I just wanted to hang out with you."
Cordelia laughed. "What if I wanted to finish my lunch?"
"Are you jokin'?" Misty scoffed. "You were lookin' at that soup like it was a pile of dog shit."
Cordelia shrugged. "I mean, it tasted like a pile of dog shit."
"How do you know what a pile of dog shit tastes like?" Misty teased.
Cordelia laughed, and scrunched up her nose. "It tasted how I imagine dog shit would taste!"
"I wouldn't be surprised if that was one of the main ingredients," Misty said.
"Oh, it would explain so much!" Cordelia said, laughing. "I don't think the cooks have ever actually cooked before."
"They definitely haven't."
Misty smelt like rosemary and soil, Cordelia noticed. It was a nice combination, and somehow matched Misty's personality. I'm such a creep, Cordelia thought. What would my mother say? She didn't want to think about her mother, and forced out a laugh, hoping Misty wouldn't notice how fake it sounded. "Surely it can't be that hard to make soup. Surely."
"Apparently it is," Misty said, looking at Cordelia curiously. She had definitely noticed the fake laugh. Cordelia hoped she wouldn't point it out.
"Where are we going?" Cordelia asked, wanting to change the subject. She had realised for the first time that they were wandering aimlessly through the school. Misty didn't seem to have a direction in mind.
"Oh. I dunno," Misty said, shrugging. "Thought we could just walk around."
"Sounds good." Cordelia would have been happy if Misty suggested they scrub the bathroom floor with their toothbrushes.
A voice from behind them made Cordelia jump. "Why aren't the two of you in the dining room?" Ms Venable's voice was loud in the otherwise quiet hallway, and Cordelia really did not want to face the etiquette teacher. She didn't think she's meet someone she hated as much as her mother, but Ms Venable was working her way up the list.
"Oh!" Misty said, looking sideways at Cordelia. "We already ate."
Cordelia nodded, wracking her brains for a believable excuse. "Yeah, uh, we were just going to the library." Why did you have to sound so stupid, Cordelia? 'Uh, we're just going to the library'? Give me a break, you sack of shit. It was Fiona's voice again, and Cordelia closed her eyes, trying not to let her mother in.
"Don't lie to me," Ms Venable sneered. Cordelia fidgeted nervously. "The library is the other way."
"Oh," Misty said, and glanced at Cordelia. "Well, why does it matter? Ma'am?"
"Students are not permitted to be in the corridors during meals."
"Stupid rule to me," Misty said under her breath. Unfortunately, Ms Venable's ears seemed to be as sharp as a bat's.
"I beg your pardon, Miss Day?"
Misty looked stricken. "Nothing, Ms Venable," she mumbled.
Ms Venable pointed one finger at them in warning. "I'm not afraid to give you both another month of detention."
"Sorry, Ms Venable," Misty said.
Venable glared at them, before stalking off. Misty made a rude gesture at the etiquette teacher's retreating back.
Cordelia grinned at her friend. "What a bitch," she whispered. Misty nodded in agreement. Unfortunately, her whisper hadn't been quiet enough.
"What did you just say, Miss Goode?" Ms Venable asked, turning around and glaring.
"Nothing!" she said quickly. Shit, shit, shit. "I, um, it wasn't about you."
"I heard you," Ms Venable said, narrowing her eyes. "How dare you insult a teacher? Have you no respect?"
Misty's jaw tightened. "Not for you." Cordelia would have laughed if she wasn't scared of being murdered by Ms Venable.
Ms Venable's face grew several shades redder. "When will you learn, girls, that there are consequences to your actions?" She grabbed them both by the elbow, and began dragging them down the hallway.
"Ow!" Cordelia protested.
"Let's see what Miss Robichaux thinks, shall we?"
"Ms Venable, we're real sorry," Misty said unconvincingly.
"Yeah, don't bother Miss Robichaux," Cordelia agreed. She was silently willing Misty not to say anything else – she knew that it would only make the situation worse.
"Bother her?" Ms Venable asked. "I doubt the knowledge that her students are misbehaving counts as bothering her. In my opinion, students are merely cockroaches that should be squashed."
"I can walk," Misty snapped, yanking her arm from Ms Venable's grip.
Ms Venable raised her eyebrows. "Are you quite sure about that, Miss Day? The floor isn't made of mud."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Cordelia asked defensively, not liking what Ms Venable was insinuating.
"It means, Miss Goode, that you had better learn to butt out of things that don't involve you."
Cordelia scowled. Ms Venable was one of the most unpleasant people Cordelia had ever met, apart from her mother of course. "Misty's my friend. Of course it involves me."
"Delia, it's okay," Misty said, putting a hand on Cordelia's forearm.
Cordelia felt the butterflies in her stomach make their presence known. She smiled at Misty in what she hoped was a reassuring way. "No. It's not okay."
"Miss Day, I must admit your loyalty to your friends surprises me," Ms Venable said, looking at them. Misty quickly took her hand off of Cordelia's arm, and Cordelia tried not to look disappointed. "I would have thought your only loyalty was to the pigs that raised you."
"Excuse the shit outta me?" Misty asked loudly.
Ms Venable went red. Cordelia was sure that the teacher wanted to throttle them both. She probably would have if she didn't want to keep her job. "I beg your pardon?" she hissed.
"Don't you ever call my family pigs again," Misty said, her voice trembling. "You're the only pig I know, and you know what? That's an insult to pigs."
Ms Venable looked affronted. "How dare you?"
"How dare you?" Cordelia asked, crossing her arms. They were already in trouble – she might as well defend her friend.
Ms Venable dragged them both into Miss Robichaux's office, her nails digging uncomfortably into their arms. They burst through the door, and Miss Robichaux tried to ignore them. "Miss Robichaux, I am at my wit's end with these two. Not only were they breaking school rules, but they were blatantly disrespectful. Detention has not proven useful in remedying their behaviour."
Miss Robichaux sighed, and looked up from her papers. "Is that so?"
"Yes."
"Girls, wait outside while I talk to Ms Venable." The headmistress looked at Cordelia and Misty as if they were nothing but bugs – maybe that was all they were to her.
Cordelia and Misty glanced at each other.
"Now!" Miss Robichaux yelled.
They didn't need to be told again. Scrambling for the door, they sat cross legged in the hallway, their shoulders only centimetres apart. Despite what had happened, Cordelia bit back a smile.
"Sorry I got you into trouble again," Misty mumbled guiltily, looking down at her hands.
Cordelia shook her head. "Sorry for making it worse."
"You didn't make it worse."
"Yeah, I did."
Misty shrugged sheepishly, not denying it. "Well, thanks for defendin' me, anywho. You didn't have to do that."
"Yes I did!" Cordelia protested. "She was being a hag."
Misty let out a laugh. "I can't believe you called her a bitch."
Cordelia grinned. "I can't believe you called her a pig!"
They both giggled at the memory, before falling silent.
"We are gonna get one hell of a lashin'," said Misty solemnly.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Once Robichaux is involved, shit gets serious."
"Oh," Cordelia said nervously. "How serious?"
Misty grimaced. "I've seen girls not able to sit down for a week."
"Oh," Cordelia said, looking down at her hands, which were still bruised from when Ms Venable had smacked them with her cane.
"It's all part of the 'treatment'," Misty said, making air quotes and scowling. "After all, we're all sick in the head, accordin' to them."
"Surely there's other ways to 'treat' us." Cordelia thought the school's whole system was stupid. If the school was meant to help them get better, why weren't there psychiatrists, or even classes about what was supposedly 'wrong' about them? Cordelia didn't see how ignoring and sometimes beating the problem was supposed to heal her. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to be healed.
Misty shrugged. "Apparently corporal punishment is the only effective one."
"I just don't understand," Cordelia sighed. "Why work in a school, if you hate kids?"
"Where else are they gonna get kids to beat up?"
"Yeah, good point."
The door opened. Cordelia realised how close she and Misty were sitting, and quickly moved to the side – Misty gave her a strange look.
"You may come back in," Miss Robichaux called.
Ms Venable gave them both a cold glare, before striding off down the corridor, her heels clicking on the cold wooden floor. The girls walked slowly into the office, neither one of them wanting to be there.
"According to Miss Venable, this isn't the first time the two of you have caused trouble together. I think we need to do something about that; don't you?"
"Yes, Miss Robichaux," Cordelia mumbled. Misty shot her a sideways glance, and Cordelia looked at the floor.
"Miss Goode. I am moving you out of all classes you share with Miss Day." Cordelia looked up, her stomach dropping, and opened her mouth to say something, but Miss Robichaux waved her words away. "As you are new, and have obviously been corrupted by Miss Day, I won't give you any further punishment. However, if you misbehave again, the consequences will be far more severe."
At least she wouldn't get beaten, but she would rather that than be separated from Misty. She was the only thing Cordelia liked about her classes – she didn't think she could survive the school without her. "Miss Robichaux, I-"
Miss Robichaux held up a finger, and Cordelia fell silent. "I won't hear a word of it. Miss Day, I have spoken to you before about your behaviour, and nothing seems to get through to you. I have decided that the only thing to do is to increase your treatment to three times a week instead of once."
Misty inhaled, and Cordelia wondered what kind of 'treatment' she was undertaking. Cordelia hadn't been treated yet – true, she had only been at the school for two weeks, but she had thought something would have happened by now. She wasn't complaining – from Misty's reaction, the treatment was far from enjoyable.
"Miss Robichaux," Misty croaked, and licked her lips. It sounded as if her throat was dry. "I'm real sorry, I won't do it again. Please-"
"Miss Day, I have given you many opportunities to improve your behaviour, and you have taken none of them. You will not involve Miss Goode in your rule breaking any further, do you understand me?"
Misty looked at the ground. "Yes, Miss Robichaux."
"Good. If I see the two of you talking again, there will be consequences."
"What about our Saturday detentions?" Cordelia blurted out. She hoped they would at least still have detention together – she wanted to laugh at the irony. It was the first time Cordelia had ever wanted to get detention.
"Your detentions will continue until the end of the month. I will talk to Miss Snow about your situation. Now, get out of my office."
Misty stood up and charged out of the office. Cordelia glanced at Miss Robichaux, who had already gone back to whatever she was working on, as though she had forgotten they were there. Cordelia sighed, and followed Misty.
"Misty –" she began, running to catch up. She grabbed Misty's hands, and the girl stopped walking, and stared at Cordelia. "Misty, I-"
Misty shook her head. "Cordelia, I don't want you to get hurt."
"No, it's – "
"You're better off stayin' away," Misty said, tearing her hands from Cordelia's. She walked quickly down the hallway. Cordelia found herself hoping that Misty would turn back for a second glance, but she didn't look back. Everything's getting worse and worse, Cordelia thought, willing her tears not to fall.
Hot damn, Cordelia's got it bad for Misty. And vice-versa, of course, but these guys are angsty idiots so they're not going to admit their feelings for a while, lol. This isn't a slow burn, though, don't worry. I don't have the patience to write one of those.
Sorry this chapter took a while, I've had pretty bad writer's block when it comes to this story. I don't know the characters well enough yet and I guess I'm hesitant that I'm portraying them the wrong way – please tell me if I am, and if you have any tips they would be much appreciated.
Chapter title comes from 'Gold and Braid' by Stevie Nicks.