Victorie plus N

Chapter 17: Revealed

It's the afternoon after the night of the sleepover Ann had with the other girls. I waited in the library until I heard everyone leave. I was going to approach Ann after they had gone. I met Ann, who had saw off the others, on the grand staircase in front of the crest.

"V!" Ann cries, hugging me. I open my mouth but close it. Wait, what?! Why is she hugging me?

"Why weren't you at the sleepover? Lolita told me you didn't want to come?! Please say you're not mad at me!"

"Wait, didn't come?" I ask, "You didn't well, invite me!"

"What?! I did, I asked Lolita to...oh," she says as if coming to a realization.

"What?"

"I was going to tell you two days ago, but you were, well, I couldn't find you anywhere! And then I lost my phone and couldn't text you! So I called Lolita on the old-fashioned telephone in my room and told her to text you, and I gave her your number by the way, and she said she would. Are you sure you didn't get it?"

"I definitely didn't," I say, "I only found out yesterday when Lolita told me! She said something about you not inviting me."

"Oh no," Ann says, "I'm sorry Victorie, Lolita must have not texted you...on purpose."

Now, she sees it.

"Yeah."

"I didn't know she was like that," Ann says, truly disappointed. I think I can see tears forming in her eyes. "I was so wrong, I need to talk to her! That was not right. I'm sorry, it won't happen again!"

"No, it's okay, I'm just glad you're not, you know, giving me the cold shoulder or something."

"I would never, she says, "It was purely a mistake. Next time I'll ask one of the others. Once I find my phone I'll talk to her."

"Okay, great. Well, do you want to do something?"

"Sure, umm, how about we go to my room? I want to show you my earring tree my dad sent me from, umm, I think it was Paris?"

"Sounds good!" I smile.

So we head off to Ann's room.

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"So this is Teddy when he was 5, trying to carry a stack of 20 books!" Ann laughs. She's showing me a photo album of her and Teddy inside her room. I'm laughing my head off at their younger selves doing weird things in all the photos, while she tells me the even more hilarious stories behind them. "It was larger than him, and immediately he fell over!"

I laugh. "Really?"

"Yes," she chuckles, "Teddy was kind of overambitious when he was younger. He still is."

"Right."

Ann puts away the album.

"You know, you and Teddy are perfect for each other!" she says.

"What, no!"

"Yes! He's always looking at you and giving you those flowers!"

"Flowers?"

"Yes! You know, the flowers you get almost every week that are dropped off in front of your suite door?!" she asks.

"My suite door...What?! I thought those were from you!

"Why would you think they were from me?!"

"Because you were the one interested in my flower-arranging hobby! And they were so neatly arranged!"

"No, that was definitely Teddy! I saw him get the flowers and put them in front of your door. And get flower-arranging books and books about sending messages through flower bouquets! Teddy is strange, but he's not that strange! He did it for you!"

"Wait, seriously, but... I don't even like Teddy like that! What am I going to do Ann?!" I exclaim.

"Oh no, I don't know what to do. I guess just act... normal? Wow, I didn't know you didn't, well, know."

"It's okay, I'll just act normal. Thanks for telling me," I add.

"Uhuh."

She goes to get out another album, while I try to wrap my head around this. I had no idea Teddy liked me. I don't.

Well, I guess I'll just act normal. In this seemingly ab-normal world.