The head boy

Part 33 - Ironic destination

"Another trip?" I ask.

"Believe me Miss Abberline, I share your astonishment, who would have thought that such an elitist school actually encouraged idleness by offering free trips across the world to its students when they should be working so hard their brains should not be able to take more," Tom sighs from his desk.

That's not exactly what I'm thinking right now...

"Iceland, that's where we're headed this time," Lin interjects, shaking her head at Tom. She might be one of the most serious students in PAAZ but she never says no to a bit of fun.

"Iceland?" I think out loud and then my eyes fall on Antarctica man, what an ironic destination for him.

"It will be in March and we've already booked everything, hotels, plane tickets but we're missing activities to do there, parents have been complaining about the trip in Japan, they said it was lacking an educational purpose," William explains. He's standing next to Tom who's busy muttering under his breath while working on something.

"Why Iceland though?" Not that I'm complaining but there are so many countries, I wonder what makes them choose this one.

"We were supposed to go to Canada but-" William tries to reply before Tom cuts him off.

"Too overrated and crowded and unoriginal,"

Once again Lin brings out the truth as she says: "DELV is going to Canada," judge Lin, always neutral, always rooting for the truth and logic in everything.

I see, if DELV is in Canada then Sebastian is in Canada and something tells me that Tom didn't want to see him there, "but it's a large country, what made you think that we would cross paths?"

"An intuition," Tom hisses through gritted teeth, "they somehow manage to follow us everywhere, it's almost like somebody's been giving them information, that's why we'll let everybody think we're still going to Canada for as long as we can afford it."

A spy? This already came up a while ago, but who could possibly have enough time to do that? Personally I spend way too much time working or studying or handling a living block of ice, I'm freaking innocent!

***

Weeks go by and I have this feeling that I haven't slept, eaten or laughed in a long long time. We've been busy organising different stuff for the trip and I'm so exhausted I don't even think I remember my own name. Charlotte? No, that's my aunt. Marylou? Ugh, that's my sister.

"You're here to work, Miss Abberline, not to sleep," Tom echoes from his desk.

"I don't know what keeps her up at night because from what I've heard it's definitely not you," Lin chuckles from her couch and Tom daggers her with icicle eyes, sharp as a knife.

"Anyway, be there on time this afternoon,"

This afternoon? "This afternoon?" See how I can think one thing and then speak it out?

That's not really impressive...

"We're meeting investors. Try to keep up, Miss Abberline," Tom glares at me.

Right, it completely slipped my mind.

I'm guessing that all these trips cost a real fortune and we need a constant input of money to keep this school on track.

I noticed how Tom didn't even hesitate to incorporate me into this, I think he learnt his lesson. He was right though, he learns fast. Good boy.

***

"These people we're meeting, some might be either conceited or ruthless or megalomaniacal, sometimes the three at the same time. I want you all to be extremely careful with what you say, with your sentence formulations," He's not looking at me but I know that Tom is indirectly addressing me.