The Mysterious Benedict Society Meets the Mysterious Miss F

Chapter 16

When Constance entered the gym, she was fairly disappointed. It looked like a standard school gym, with a giant basketball court and bleachers filled with Foxfire prodigies. She noticed Bex but not her brothers sitting next to an older student.

As Constance walked towards them, she thought the girl looked very familiar. The older student had her dark hair cut choppy around her shoulders. She looked to be around 17 or so. Her skin had a beautiful hint of gold to it, as if kissed by the sun itself. Her sparkling eyes seemed to frown at Constance.

What's her problem? Constance wondered, trying to decide whether to go sit with Bex and her glaring friend, or to go sit with strangers she didn't know. But no matter how much the older girl stared, sitting with her and Bex was much better than playing the role of new kid again.

So with a confident defiance in her step, Constance made her way over to Bex, ignoring the strange looks other students were giving her way. When she finally climbed up the risers (why did Bex choose to sit on the top bench?), Constance sat next to Diznee triplet. "Hi Bex."

"Oh, hi Constance!" Bex said, giving her a smile. She turned back to the older girl. "Sayla, this is my friend Constance. Constance, Sayla." She said, looking as if she expected them to shake hands.

"Hi... Sayla." Constance said cautiously, wondering why the girl from the candy shop was trying to cover up her obviously-still-existent-glare.

"Constance... I think we've met." Sayla said with a surprisingly genuine smile that Constance didn't expect at all. "I do hope you care that we've been introduced before."

The hint of sarcasm was subtle but there. Constance felt her face redden in shame when she remembered how exactly she had met Sayla. It was when Sophie took her and Kate to the Sayla's Sweetshop in Atlantis. Constance had barely given Sayla, the Chief Chocolatier's silly daughter, who apparently hired odd people for odd positions, a single thought.

"Yes we have met..." Then Constance remembered how rude she had been to her. "Um... about that... you see, I didn't mean-"

"Oh, don't worry about it." Sayla said, waving her hand as if dismissing the untold apology. "You looked really excited and Bex said this is the first time you've been in the Lost Cities, so I understand. How did you like the shop? Zack told me the two girls you walked in with were climbing up the candy wall..."

Constance was stunned at Sayla's sudden change of heart. She was caught so off guard that it took a minute for her to process the last thing Sayla said. "Wait. Kate was climbing up the candy wall?" She could easily imagine Kate climbing through sweets. She'd seen Kate using her resourcefulness on many occasions.

"Both girls were." Sayla shrugged.

"Sophie was?!" Now that took a bit more of imagination. Sophie seemed so put together, so experienced. When Constance had talked to the other members of the Mysterious Benedict Society, they had told her their point of view of the events at Atlantis.

"Oh yes, that was definitely Sophie." Sayla answered confidently.

"Okay... I guess Kate wasn't lying then." Constance mumbled.

"Oh, that's the coach calling!" Sayla said, grabbing her bag and standing up. "I've got to go. Nice to officially meet you Constance." And then she was gone, hurrying down the bleaches as an adult gestured for the older kids to follow her outside.

"Who's Kate?" Bex asked after Sayla left. Constance was surprised she didn't know- until she realized she had never told Bex about the Mysterious Benedict Society.

"Kate?" Constance laughed, a real, genuine, non-sarcastic laugh. "Kate is... well, I guess I'll have to start from the beginning." She began to tell Bex about her adventures with the Mysterious Benedict Society. Her heart warmed when she thought of her best friends and how they came to be. Her smile widened when she talked about how Mr. Benedict finally got cured of his narcolepsy. The first time he laughed, a real, hearty, long laugh was Constance's favorite memory. It was the memory that could cheer her up when feeling down. The memory made her smile inside and out. That memory was the happiest she had ever felt.

"There's no way all that happened to you!" Bex exclaimed when Constance was done. "There's just no way!" She repeated, shaking her head in disbelief and curiosity.

"What, you think I could make all that up?" Constance asked, raising an eyebrow, a smirk hinting in her face.

"No... I suppose not." Bex said, still bewildered. "Thats crazy, Constance. The Ten Men! Mr. Curtain! Thats... thats amazing."

"Amazing?" Constance asked, taken aback. Of course her friends and adoptive father were all amazing. But the overall experience... not so much. "How was that amazing?"

"Oh, well getting chased around by Ten Men doesn't sound amazing. I guess... just the fact that you've already done so much in your life is pretty awesome. The most interesting thing that happened around here was the Great Gulun Incident." Bex sighed, admiration dancing in her periwinkle eyes.

"Oh..." Constance wasn't sure what to say to that. She didn't know how to approach the... compliment? She was just doing what needed to be done. And she didn't really have a choice, did she?

Luckily, Constance was saved from an answer as a teacher came up to them. "What are you girls still doing here? You were supposed to be outside 30 minutes ago! Class is almost over now." Startling enough, Constance and Bex were the only students left on the bleachers.

"Okay, we'll head out now." Bex said.

"We've only got a few minutes left anyway, so just go to lunch. But if this happens again, it'll be detention." The teacher said sternly.

"Yes, Coach Rohanna." Bex said hurriedly, grabbing Constance and the two of them quickly exited the gym.