As it turned out, Caroline decided to keep her secret. Elena supposed the blonde had no reason to crucify her, but she had no reason not to, either. Perhaps Caroline was just as lonely as she was. They hadn't gotten another chance to speak over the weekend, but she'd give her the number to the country home's telephone so that Elena could contact her from the campus phone.
The rest of the weekend went on without a hitch and with, unfortunately for her head, more drinking. It seemed like the only thing this group did was consume alcohol. They read sometimes, but Elena had never once seen a single one of them working on homework. How was she holed up in her room for most of the semester, slaving away on assignment after assignment, while they drank liquor by the bottle? It would be best if she kept away from them for a bit, for the sake of her grade and also her liver.
Plus, there was really only so much Damon Salvatore she could handle. John, too. Of course, that didn't account for class, as they were all present when she stepped in and took her seat on the couch. Last week they'd turned in their last Latin assignments and prepared to move back to their Greek studies.
However, Elena, Damon, nor anyone else—not that they mattered—anticipated that this change in topics would come with a little announcement.
"Good morning students, I hope everyone had a nice weekend full of rest and relaxation. Hopefully not too much reading, I'm looking at you, Gilbert."
She offered him a shrug, which prompted a chuckle. "Anyway," he continued. "We haven't forgotten about this year's competition, have we?" Elena sat up straighter. "I didn't think so. Well, as I've graded the first two month's assignments, I have our current standings!"
Should a teacher really order his students by intelligence? Probably not, but god was it titillating. Everyone leaned in a little bit closer as he began.
"Let's start with last place," he paused and looked around. "It was a tight race overall, so last place is not bad. Also, there's still plenty of time to catch up, if you so choose."
James held his hand up to his mouth while mouthing, "John," with an over-exaggerated inflection.
"Mr. John Mercury."
"Somebody has to do it, sir," John said with a salute.
"And in fourth place, we of course have Mr. James Mercury. In third, Mr. Marcus Wicklaw," he said, peering over his glasses at the notebook in his hand. He appeared surprised by his own notes, like they'd changed since he originally took them. Or perhaps, the thrill of a change of pace flitted over his features.
"And, Mr Damon Salvatore," A pause that held the pair on the edge of their seats, "I'm afraid you're going to have to try a little bit harder against your new competition, because Mr. Jeremy Gilbert has you beat by an entire point."
Sitting on her hands had proven to be a wise choice. Otherwise, she certainly would have put them in the air with a shout of success and pride, and perhaps a bit of gloating. Instead, she managed to not say anything at all, which was, of course, the more humble approach.
James and John whispered back and forth on the couch, Marcus read a book (he hadn't been paying attention since Dr. Bartlow started), and Damon grimaced if only slightly. From across the room, she could have sworn she saw the muscles in his jaw work as he grit his teeth.
"Great job though, Gilbert. It's been a pleasure to read your essays. I hope you continue to keep up the good work. Harmon's Great Minds would be lucky to have you."
She smiled, broad. "Thank you, sir. I will."
The rest of the glass went by painstakingly slowly. After the announcement, the tension hung palpably in the air. She could feel Damon's anger from across the room. She rushed out of class so fast, attempting her bi-weekly getaway, only to leave a few books behind. From down the hall, she could hear Damon speaking pointedly at Dr. Bartlow.
"It's not a good idea, and you know it, Julian," Damon's voice was low, but Elena could still hear it as she crept closer to the door with curiosity.
"I don't know what to tell you, Mr. Salvatore. Gilbert's work is phenomenal, and he's deserving of the clue and invitation. If you really want to win, you're going to have to pick up the pace," Dr. Bartlow replied.
"Gilbert cannot be allowed to win," Damon spoke, his tone aggressive. She'd have inched just a little bit closer to the room, but it wasn't worth the risk of being spotted. But man, did she want to see the look on Damon's face as he (for the second time, and yes she was counting) spoke to someone else about his hatred for Jeremy Gilbert.
Where did he get off talking about her to the professor like this? Sure she was a new student, but that didn't give him the right to speak on the subject of deserving. She had any right to the prize as he did, clearly more, as the grades showed.
Had the conversation ended? She pressed her ear to the way. Nothing. She jumped when Damon appeared in front of her, straightening herself out like she hadn't just been leaning against the bricks as close to the door frame as possible. "Just, uh, forgot some things. Didn't want to interrupt."
"Right. Generous of you," he said. "Just… stay out of my way, Gilbert." He began to walk in the other direction, toward the stairs.
"Or what?" she asked, but he kept walking without a response. "Don't be so afraid to lose, Salvatore! Could be good for you!" With that, she ducked back into the room to grab her books and head, of course, to her next class.
She really needed to stop ending these Greek classes with cutting words, when she would have to face him again in all of thirty minutes. Thankfully, Salvatore decided to skip their Lit class altogether, and she didn't have to see his face again for the rest of the day.
The semester so far had been fraught with conflict, but so far, none other than Caroline had figured her out. The clothes she'd borrowed from her brother and the touches of careful makeup had done the trick on most of the unsuspecting Harmon students.
After she dressed for that morning's classes, she spotted a folded piece of paper on the ground just inside her room, next to the door. Curious. She hadn't received anything like this before.
Perhaps it was something that had been slipped under everyone's door. It didn't have to be something so ominous. She tried to keep a positive attitude as she leaned over to pluck the paper up off the floor.
Upon unfolding it, she was met with an aggressive script that had nearly torn the page with its dark, rough strokes. It said:
I know what you're doing. You're not going to get away with it. Leave Harmon College. Or else.
She stood dumbstruck for a moment, staring down at the words. The paper was thin in her hands, but it held so much weight. What was she supposed to do about this? And even more importantly, who was threatening her? Could it be one of her classmates? Would Salvatore really stoop to threats? Was he that worried about losing to her? That thought alone made her grin.
Maybe she could show the note to Caroline, and she'd know how to help. It's not like she really had anyone else to rely on. She certainly couldn't go to anyone in her class about it, not without outing herself immediately. But Caroline, maybe she would have some insight.
Until the weekend, she would just have to tread carefully. Before leaving her dorm, she stuffed the letter into her desk drawer and reevaluated her disguise.
She wore gray trousers and a white button-up shirt with a dark green sweater atop it. Of course, she had a brimmed hat with her hair stuffed up inside it, and she'd applied a bit of makeup in an attempt to make her soft feminine features appear harder and more masculine. Looking at herself now, it didn't feel like enough. This one strike against her made it seem like the whole strategy could collapse in an instant.
Unfortunately, she had no choice but to carry on as per usual.
For the rest of the week, Elena didn't see Damon. It seemed as if he had vanished off the face of the earth. However, in that week, she received more threats to her door and even one stashed inside the desk she sat at in math class—which made her all the more suspicious of everyone around her.
But still, she couldn't do anything about it. She kept the stack of notes tucked into her desk drawer, but other than that there was no one to complain to or question without telling on herself. In times like these, she missed Jeremy even more. If only to have someone standing firmly on her side.
Focusing on anything else proved to be nearly impossible, though she managed to turn her attention to one thing that had been nagging at the back of her mind. Harmon's Great Minds. She knew very little about the society aside from its name and the fact that her father had spoken of it once or twice. It must have been a big deal for her father to know about it from a few states away.
But what more than that did she actually know? Truly very little. And it's not like she could ask anyone at this point, especially while holding the first-place spot. Certainly, Salvatore would get a kick out of that. You're competing for something you know nothing about.
After her classes that morning, of which trudged along without Damon's presence, she returned to the library. She'd been there multiple times since the start of the semester, and though she kept away from the Greek literature section, it began to feel like sort of a second home. There was a cozy spot on the second floor with tall bookshelves that touched the ceiling and large settees that one could curl up on. Of course, it was almost always empty. It didn't seem that many Harmon students fancied curling up with a book. She preferred it that way.
After a brief conversation with the librarian, Elena was given a list of titles and the sections they were located in. They were as follows:
A Brief History of Arthur Harmon & Harmon College
Who are Harmon's Greatest Minds?
The Essential Harmon, Vermont Travel Guide
And a few more. It took ages for her to find all of them, but after her frantic searching, she brought the books back to her cozy, quiet room and set them on the table next to the settee she planned to curl up on.
Upon cracking the first book, A Brief History of Arthur Harmon & Harmon College, Elena learned a few facts about the school she studied at. For example, that a wealthy man founded it with help from his wealthy father and other wealthy connections. For the first several years, they only taught people within their circle, and eventually, those connections grew and grew, and as more people heard about Harmon College, the more people wanted to attend. And of course, Arthur Harmon was more than happy to allow anyone (except women) in at a cost. Personally, she hoped Arthur Harmon turned in his grave at the idea of her studying in his precious institute.
It took her a few hours to get through the first book, and she honestly didn't learn anything all that shocking. Plus, there was no mention of any secret society at all. A waste of time.
The next book wasn't much of a book at all, but a journal. It had thin, damaged pages and a leather cover, and it definitely didn't look like something anyone at Harmon College should have been able to get their hands on. But there it was, in her lap, like it arrived by magic.
As she turned through the pages, she saw journal entries, sketches of buildings and people, and puzzles with keys that returned codes or clues. This was the Arthur Harmon's personal journal. What was it doing in the library? It didn't have any of the same markings that the other library books had, no identifying stamps or even a title. It must have been tucked between two books by mistake, or maybe the librarians didn't even know the piece of history they'd left on the shelf.
At first glance, the journal did give her a lot of vital information about the founding of Harmon's Great Minds. First and foremost, it explained how the society came to be. Apparently, it first started as a gathering for Harmon and a few of his friends. Because of Harmon's reputation, whispers grew about the illustrious group.
From there, the group slowly turned into a society, gathering those who cared to learn and rejecting those who only attended Harmon College because they could afford it. Over time, the group became more official. They met once per week in different locations. Oftentimes, Harmon would send out riddles or clues to the week's location, restricting access by intelligence alone.
Of course, the group's reputation grew from there. For a while, new members found the group by following the clues. However, by the time of Harmon's death, the group had stopped inviting new members, and a formal society was created in its place, managed by a committee of multiple great minds. Said committee would determine who to invite, and only those invited would receive the clues, riddles, and otherwise beginnings of wild goose chases.
If the idea excited her before, now it enthralled her. She'd loved reading her father's mystery novels as a kid and prided herself on being able to figure out the ending before the characters did.
After reading as many books about Harmon as she could get her hands on, she began to pick up around the room, placing the books she needed to return into a neat stack. Holding the journal in her hands, without any markings… it would be so easy to take it. She thumbed through it one more time, then slid it into her bag for safekeeping.