Legends of Mirandis Academy

Chapter 10: Ends Justifying Means

"Kelam."

The boy yelped and shut his locker, revealing a stone-faced Iridia leaning against the locker beside his. He held his chest as he panted, which felt a bit over dramatic in Iridia's eyes. "Bloody— why did you do that?"

It was Monday morning, but the weekend had not eased the tension created the previous Friday. If anything, watching Brielle deliberately put herself in the line of fire—or rather, paint—had strengthened Iridia's resolve. She had started down a path. She would see it to the end.

"I have a question." She often spoke so matter-of-factly that it came off rather unnerving—not that anyone had the guts to inform her of that. "Your dad's a lawyer, right?"

"Yes...?" Everyone knew this, of course. Iridia especially knew this, considering that their parents were acquaintances, but she needed a conversation starter. She was very lacking in the conversation starter department.

"Good. I have a question for you." She shifted until she was standing straight again, though her right side was still weighted by the mallet on her belt. "How would one go about suing someone for defamation?"

"What?" he said, confused. "I don't know."

Iridia raised a tired eyebrow. She had her eyes on his nose, slightly above her eye level, to try and project faux confidence. "You do."

"And what if I do?" He still looked at her like she was a ghost, eyes wide and shocked. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"It's a legal question, not a drug deal. How do you do it?"

He stuttered at first, then got into a heinously boring explanation. Iridia wished he would just write it down for her so the conversation could end. "And, may I ask," he said, "why this information is of sudden value to you?"

"You're not stupid. You know very well why." The bell had yet to ring (and wouldn't for at least five more minutes; she had needed to be very punctual to guarantee this conversation with him), and they were still alone in the hall. Not that she didn't double and triple check. "I already told Brielle, but—" she hated this part, "okay, I'm not the one who started any of this, first of all. I didn't say anything about it, but I saw everything. That night." She blinked. He blinked. "At the party."

Like Brielle, his brows stayed raised and his jaw dropped. Unlike Brielle, however, he did not quickly compose himself. "No, you didn't."

"Do I look like I'm joking to you?" She stared at him blankly. "Ever?"

"No, I checked, no one was watching. I—"

She held up one finger, effectively stopping him. "One, you were drunk—" she held up a second, "two, you had a lot else on your mind—" one more, "three, I'm good at being invisible."

"So you saw what happened in the kitchen?"

"And upstairs. Not in the room, that would have been really weird." Telling it a second time was a bit easier. She was effectively being apathetic as usual, not nervous. "If there's bits you don't remember before getting into the room, trust me, I do. It's genuinely burned into my mind."

He finally closed his eyes, now shaking his head. "I remember a fair amount, but she said she remembered nothing. Nothing."

Iridia scoffed. "I'm surprised either of you remember anything." She brought herself back to being more serious, but she tried to show sympathy as well. She didn't know the intricacies of people, but she'd certainly never been in a situation even remotely similar. "I just thought you should know that someone saw it. Brielle wants me to be her alibi, so you have to work with it too."