181 Days of Madeline Jesty

Chapter 16: Accusations

I could already imagine Jane's sinister smile behind the door. The odds were in favor of her, after all. She and her minions were probably curious where Mickey was going and found out Mickey followed me. When the restroom door was locked, they might have inferred that both of us had or were doing something suspicious and most likely prohibited. This was an all-girls school, and a huge number of students who got suspended were caught kissing inside classrooms and restrooms.

To be fair, I would give them credit for taking advantage of the circumstance . . . but not for ruining my moment.

"Is there someone here?" asked Sister Antonia, knocking on the door continuously. Her high pitch reminded me of clowns in horror movies.

"There is someone there, Aunt—Sister. We saw them."

That bitch! I almost screamed in my mind as I gritted my teeth. Jane was so eager to destroy me—I knew that. She might have thought the perfect chance had come, but I wouldn't let her feel the slightest victory over me, not even in my dying days.

"Yes, Sister," I replied. I breathed in before opening the door and greeting them with a smile and a bow. "Pleasant afternoon, Sister Antonia. Greetings, fellow handmaids."

These robotic, forced greetings were made up by Sister Antonia last year after a mass dedicated for our patron saint. The rule was to say Pleasant afternoon to nuns and Greetings, fellow handmaids to students accompanying them. I could remember how Steph and I greeted each other all the time for a week with "greetings, fellow handmaid" and then hysterically laugh about it. But when Sister Antonia sent a group of freshmen who did not take her rules seriously to a three-day retreat at a sanctuary near their convent with their parents, the jokes about the greetings stopped. I wouldn't dare waste three days anywhere near them.

We didn't use them all the time, of course—only when we needed to pass by nuns. Now I hated that I had to use Greetings, fellow handmaids formally for the first time in front of Jane and her minions.

To be honest, I was expecting Jane wearing a sinister smile. I was shocked to see her seething with rage, her hands clenched in a fist. She must really like Mickey that much, I thought. Either that or she loves to hate me.

"I heard from these beautiful students that you're with someone here," Sister Antonia began, her fake awkwardly straight white teeth showing. "You have a restroom in your building, and I think there are enough restrooms in your building to use. What's the sense of being here?"

"Well, you see, Sister, my friend is—" But before I could even say the word constipated, a loud farting sound could be heard from one of the cubicles. I faked a smile. "Having a hard time to fart, Sister." In my head, I thought, Good job, Mickey. Very timely.

"Why not in your—" Mickey was able to produce another fart-like sound, which made Sister Antonia's brows cross before continuing, "Restroom?"

"She's a new student, Sister. You know how new students struggle during the first weeks. I am one of her friends in class—"

"Liar!" Jane shouted. "Mickey followed you there! You were the first to get there!"

I wanted to reply what her proof was, but that would only imply we were hiding something, thus contributing to her accusations. So instead, I replied, "I had to check and make sure that the restroom is empty, Jane. The poor new student will be embarrassed to see people checking up on her. Oh, you pitiful soul." And to Sister Antonia, I added, "I mean, sorry, Sister Antonia. I know Jane's your niece, but she could at least be empathetic to the struggles of our new students."

Jane and her minions widely opened their mouths in shock, their chins shaking in disbelief. Margaux even subtly raised her middle finger and made sure I noticed. How I loved seeing them angry at times like this; it was a sign I was winning.