THIRTEEN
Leaving all together would arouse suspicion, so they sneaked out in pairs, hurrying along the main road. The town welcomed them in no time, and they wandered about until they spotted the hovel October was supposed to be in.
Knox led the group inside the damp-smelled dump. They nervously glanced around, since nobody was to be seen behind the counter, then they heard a swish and jerked their heads to the right. Neil was the one with enough nerve to peek beyond the frame of a door connecting the hall to another room, and heaved a sigh of relief, smiling.
October was curled up on a ratty couch, a leg bent under her, and was leafing through a book, her glasses slid on her nose, a stick in her messy bun, while thoughtfully pattering a pencil against her mouth. She raised her stare upon hearing footsteps and blinked, taken aback.
"Guys!" she uttered, beaming. "That's unexpected. What brings you here?"
They all greeted her, then she clearly noticed the missing one. A bit of color drained from her cheeks as she jerked up.
"Charlie" she exhaled, bringing a hand to her neck. It was not a question.
"He's okay" Knox reassured her, lifting his palms as if to hearten her. "He's… In detention."
Her eyes went wide, while Knox gave a sort of contrite smile. He was sorry for his best friend: his own guilt aside, a woman like her would probably be disappointed with such a childish and potentially humiliating thing but, at the same time, he was pleased with her heartfelt reaction. It seemed she really cared about Charlie, and that was enough for him. That consequently meant she was aware of his mate's reckless nature and could accept it. And, in the end, Charlie would get his head straight: it remained to be seen whether October would wait for him or not.
"Detention? How? Why?"
Pitts let out a bitter snicker thinking about Hager, which only resulted in her confused look.
"Okay, wait" she resolved. "I'll go get some tea for you. Make yourself at home."
Some minutes later, they were all sprawled here and there, sipping the hot drink.
"So what happened?" she asked, and Knox proceeded to update her, lowering his stare the more he got into details, especially when concerning himself.
Here we go again, she thought. In trouble for something he didn't do. He had got a punishment to cover Knox's escapade. She shook her head, smiling.
"I'm sorry, Tobie. It's my fault."
"It's not. I don't blame you for a kiss on the forehead, and I can totally understand Charlie's actions. Why should you feel sorry for your teacher's wrong ideas and methods?"
They all sheepishly smiled, feeling her on their side.
"However, what does that have to do with me?"
The boys looked at each other.
"We thought it could be a good idea for him to be surprised when he gets out of there" Neil explained.
"Yeah, like… You, in his room" Knox added, blushing a bit.
Cameron coughed an our, but nobody paid attention to him.
"Nothing indecent, you know, just to cheer him up" was Meeks' quick and embarrassed contribution, as he preemptively hit Pitts' shin. "And we could help you sneak in."
"If you agree, of course" Todd completed the picture, his voice barely audible.
An emotional smile blossomed on October's lips. There it was a wonderful example of friendship, she thought, proudly standing up.
"Say no more. Let's go."
The way back to the academy was much more fun. October was a really pleasant lady, and the Poets confirmed their first impression about her: she was nice and enjoyable, but tough and groovy as well. They hadn't got that far when they asked her to officially join the Society, an offer she gladly accepted, touched. She found time to ask about the Hi-Fi system, the play and the puffy nose, to tease Cameron about his standoffish attitude towards her and to find out about Todd's recent birthday.
"Really? Happy birthday then. Did you throw a party?"
"No" Todd answered, keeping his gaze on the pavement.
"Well, we should make up for it then. What about roistering together to celebrate?"
The suggestion led to an immediate surge of cheers from all the group but Todd, who tried to dissuade them to no avail.
"I'm in" Neil approved. "What's on your mind, Tobie? Some music and booze in the cave?"
October tapped her mouth with a finger in a thoughtful way.
"Actually, we could be more comfortable in the guesthouse. I will talk to my hostess, but I think there will be no problem. I'll take care of everything, just make sure you bring yourselves. What do you think?"
"I'd marry you if you weren't hanging out with Nuwanda already" Pitts joked, causing a collective laugh.
"Yeah, you can marry all of us. Or adopt us, at least" Meeks suggested.
"Works for me" Neil endorsed, raising two fingers.
October giggled, shaking her head.
"Don't make me feel that old, guys."
"Nah, adopt as a sister!" Knox clarified.
October let the boys fantasize about such a scenario and turned her attention to Todd.
"You're the only one who can decide about this party thing, dearest. What do you think? You can say no if you don't feel like it."
She had a sweet smile for him, and Todd blushed.
"You don't have to feel forced to…"
"Nonsense. Just tell me if you like the idea."
Todd lowered his stare.
"I-it's more than I could imagine. Thank you October, I-I'd love to."
She beamed and gently hit his shoulder with hers.
"Not at all, dearie."
When they reached the campus, the sun had already set. It wasn't creepy at all; quite the contrary, the whole Gothic Revival building had an almost nostalgic splendor, with its mullioned windows, its crenelated tower and the cloisters, bathed in the violet crepuscular light. October stared in amazement for a while, as a strong emotion filled her chest. Welton. She still couldn't believe she was really there.
"What now?" she then asked, reluctantly tearing her eyes away from the academy.
Hidden behind some trees in the distance with her, the Poets looked at each other in bafflement. None of them had plotted the plan in great detail, so they found themselves racking their brains to devise the next step.
"The roof?" Cameron tried, getting some dirty looks.
"You want a lady to climb?!"
"What kind of gentleman are you?!"
October chuckled.
"The kitchen" Neil offered.
"Best option" Knox approved.
"Yeah, but everybody will see her" Meeks objected.
"She's the furthest thing from a manlike figure" Pitts pointed out.
"It was a compliment" Meeks explained to October, who giggled in response.
Silently, Todd put off his coat and motioned towards the girl. She turned her back to him, helping in wearing it. Spinning her around again, the shy boy fastened the frogs and pulled the hood on her head, partially covering her face.
"Perfect!" they all agreed.
The group headed towards the side of the building, where the kitchen entrance was. Some of them pulled the hood on as well, just to better blend.
They nonchalantly filed zigzagging among the counters and greeting the staff who, clearly used to the students' mischief, conveniently ignored them; Knox snatched a slice of toast from a tray and gestured to one of the commis to keep it secret: the latter watched the line and frowned upon spotting a pair of flats peeping out from below one of the coats. He shook his head and kept on cutting vegetables.
The way along the corridor was more difficult. They arranged themselves around her figure so as to conceal her as much as they could and moved faster, praying no teacher was around. When they hit their target, they practically threw themselves in Charlie and Cameron's room, their hearts hammering.
"Jesus, I swear that took ten years off my life…"
"It's the diciest stuff we've done so far, guys."
"Yeah, I can't believe we did it!"
October got comfort on the bed placed on the messiest side of the room and mindlessly caressed the pillow, getting the feeling she could somehow perceive Charlie's scent. Glancing around, she spotted the poem for her on the wall, pinned close to the pillow – hence to Charlie's eyes: a warm and sweet feeling flooded her lungs and she couldn't help but sigh in contentment. Diverting her attention at last, she giggled observing the chatty phalanx of pubescence in a quiet expectation.
"And just where am I supposed to sleep, prithee?"
"We have a very comfortable floor, haven't we, Meeks?"
"On the floor? You want me to sleep on the floor?!"
"What about our room? Todd and I could share a bed, you wouldn't be on the floor."
"Calm down, folks. I'll tell the nurse I feel bad because of the blow and spend the night in the infirmary. You can sleep in my room with Stick, Cameron."
"Okay" Neil drew their attention, addressing October. "We'll bring you something to eat and stay here with you, if you want."
"Or lend you a book, if you prefer" Meeks offered.
"We don't want to bother you" Todd added.
"Hager's detentions usually last till about ten, so there's still a couple of hours to spend waiting" Knox explained.
"I'm not hungry, guys, thank you. I won't be staying all night long, Richard, you will be able to get back before the crack of dawn. And I'd be glad to have you all here rather than a book, and believe me when I say I love books" she stated with a kind smile. Each of them felt a surge of pure joy upon hearing those words, and they definitely knew once and for all she was part of them.
They spent most of the time laughing at her school memories and telling her about the best shenanigans carried out during their years at Welton. Their bond grew stronger by the hour; the boys fussed over her decision to go back to her place alone by night, but she reassured them she was perfectly capable to take care of herself, and she gave her word she would wait for the sun to emerge at least – not to mention that Charlie would most certainly insist on going with her anyway. Eventually, they left with the promise to catch up at the party. She gave Pitts and Meeks a high five, playfully flicked Cameron's forehead, hugged Knox and Neil – the first reacted a bit stiffly, the latter threw his arms around her enthusiastically – and kissed Todd on a cheek, making him blush furiously. They would never say it out loud, but she was the best thing Charlie had chosen for himself.
A/N: The academy description is based on the one you can find on Sah Archipedia website about St. Andrew's School - the real building they shot the movie in.