A Mystery At Ravenscroft

Gossip Girls

Madilyn

September 20th, 2021

I descend the grand staircase, covered in a red velvet-colored carpet, to meet everyone in the common room. Elegant yellow and Veridian green marks swirl on the carpet, with flowers in between. Yasmina and Gabriella take photos at the bottom of the staircase; Yasmina giggles loudly, and Gabriella kneels on the floor taking her picture. I walk by them awkwardly, without them even looking up at me, and enter the common room.

Pulling back the drapes covering the entrance, I spot Viv and Cassandra already talking with drinks in their hands. The room reminds me of a sanctuary in a church, but with big glassy chandeliers everywhere. Big green bush-like greenery hangs in between them with fairy lights strewn about. There is a bar on the far right side of the room, where Frankie the bartender makes our drinks. Fancy tables with white cloths over them and brown chairs are sprinkled around the room, but everyone usually stands up to speak to their friends. There are so many people here, including one of the new guys, Samuel, talking to Jasper and Elliot. I look over and see Quentin and Julian out on the terrace talking, probably enjoying the place's beautiful view.

The guys all look dapper in their elegant suits that fit them nicely and their wristwatches, which they act like are their prized possessions. While some of the guys goof around and talk about something liquor-related, some of the other girls look my way. I turn to see some girls at the end of the bar staring at me with a frown—lifting their clutches to cover their mouths—probably gossiping. Do they really think I can't tell what they're doing? I specifically see the main one riling up that group, and it's Claudia Delafontaine. Claudia thinks that they are better than everyone else here because their parents are world-renowned surgeons. So they have a lot of money—so much money that their family probably doesn't pay any taxes and doesn't get in trouble for it. But you've got to admit, they are pretty. They have on a Viridian green dress with chunky heels, and their hair is long and flowy down their back.

One thing that I do love about being here is that everyone (well, at least almost everyone) is pretty accepting. Yasmina Pham-Landon is one of the only queer girls here, and Claudia has they/them pronouns. Everyone is very inclusive and respectful towards everyone's sexuality and gender identity. That's what really made my decision to join Viridian—the inclusivity is remarkable. After gawking at Claudia's outfit, I walk over to the bar where Frankie is waiting patiently for someone's next order.

"Hey, what can I get you tonight Madilyn?" Frankie asks politely.

"I'll just get a club soda tonight, thank you," I say with a small smile on my face.

"One club soda, coming right up," he says.

I sit on one of the stools at the counter by the bar waiting for my drink. I look down and open up my purse, looking for my phone. As I have it in my hand, it lights up, with the time 11:15 staring back at me. My phone unlocks just from me looking at it, and I casually scroll through Instagram to pass the time. As I'm looking through photos, Frankie slides my glass across the counter. I mouth "thank you" to him as I find my way towards Viv and Cassandra. I walk all the way towards the back of the room where they are to join them.

"Yes, he was very cute I have to admit," Viv was saying to Cassandra while pushing her hair behind her ear.

"Mads is like so freaking lucky; like how did she get one of the new guys? Is she practicing witchcraft because-"

"What about practicing witchcraft?" I ask while approaching Cassandra with one eyebrow raised. "What did I miss?"

"Oh please with the dramatics Mads," Cassandra says slapping my arm, "We're just talking about you getting one of the hottest guys here. The one from Amsterdam, pretty nice, isn't it?" She asks staring at me with a look I can't quite place.

"Well, I'm glad she got away from that creep, Winston," Viv says while looking at Cass and me. "He gave me really bad vibes; his aura was not clean."

"Amen to that one," I say with a big sigh. "Actually, do you think he got eliminated? Because I haven't seen him tonight."

Viv and Cassandra look at each other, and we can tell we all agree.

"He probably did Mads," Cassandra finally says, waving her drink around in her hand as she speaks. "You know as well as we do that he didn't like to follow the rules, and he was just flat out creepy. I wouldn't be surprised if he did something that was against the rules and finally got in trouble for it; a lot of money can get you but so far here."

"Especially the whole, I wanna have your kids thing, super inappropriate," Viv interrupts. I nod my head in agreement, then take a sip of the club soda. I don't really like it that much, but I can't be driving if I'm under the influence.

After talking for a while, it is now 12:50 AM, and it is well past time for me to be back home without getting yelled at. I say goodbye to Viv and Cassandra and go to put my glass on the counter by the bar. I'm about to leave when someone calls my name.

"Hey Mads," Claudia says looking my way.

I turn around and look at them with a small smile on my face.

"Hey," I say, not sure what to say next. They walk over to me and smile.

"Hey girl, I just wanted to let you know that I wasn't talking about you with the girls earlier. I actually-"

"I didn't say that you did," I interrupt because I didn't want to hear any lies from them. I start to turn away before they grab my arm.

"Please," they say with a look of desperation on their face. " I can explain."

I look at them and nod, and waited to see what they had to say.

"When we first got in the common room from our dates, I was talking with Georgina and Priscilla. I saw the look you gave us, one that read I know you guys are talking about me. But I promise we weren't," They say apologetically.

"Okay, so why are you telling me this then?" I ask because frankly, I have got to be on my way home. " Why take the time to explain?"

Claudia looks around to make sure no one is listening and leans in closer to my ear.

"We were talking about.... well...we were talking about Ken." They say, looking up at me, their voice shaking. "I think..... we think, that we know what might have happened to her."

They pull back and just stare at me. I don't know what to say to them because we weren't allowed to say anything about anyone who was eliminated. I'm at a loss for finding words when they say, "Come to my house tomorrow, alone, and we'll talk about it."

I nod slowly, becoming increasingly afraid because now that makes two of us who think something completely wrong has happened to Ken. Maybe I can finally tell someone about the note I received under my chair in the Foyer-- or can I? They already suspect me of what little I've done with the search for Ken and if I do any more.... I'll end up like her.. whatever that may be.