Stars Aligned

Chapter 13

It was Friday when Nicole burst into my room. I didn't attend class that day, so I was buried underneath my covers with earbuds shoved into my earlobes as Semisonic blast on my phone, drowning out the world. "Get up," she grabbed my phone and threw it at the wall. "We're gonna figure out what the fuck is the matter with you." I sat on my bed crosslegged feeling extremely baffled. "That was...my phone." I mumbled quietly. I took in Nicole's appearance: she looked fit and healthy, her pale face flushed and her cheeks gave her a girlish hue which seemed to contradict her bad-ass personality. She stood across the room as she furrowed her brows and pursed her lips. "I'm gonna fix you whether you like it or not," Nicole turned towards my dresser and began digging through the clothes in my drawers. "I swear, it's like you're dead." "I feel dead," I mumbled as I looked down at my pale hands. I used to be tanner, my summers in Geneva were primarily spent at Lac Léman, where I used to lie by the shore and tan with my best friends as we would spray Sun-In to the tips of our hair as my father would canoe the lake with my mother. Now, I was pasty and bony, my collarbones peeped tremendously through my skin. I looked at Nicole and she had picked out an after-school outfit for me. It was cute, something I would jump at the first chance to wear before, but looking at it now, only brought me to sigh. On a wooden hanger was an oversized cream cardigan paired with an olive scoop-neck tee. She threw a pair of dark washed jeans at me. "Put 'em on," She ordered, "That is if you still fit in them. God, you're so skinny. Do you eat, my man?" "Just some protein bars," I mumbled once again as I was buttoning the jeans. I felt uncomfortable standing in front of Nicole wearing jeans and a bra. As I was dressed into the shirt and cardigan, I heard Nicole object at my latest lifestyle choices. "Nope...no...uh-uh. I'm getting you out of here." Then, Nicole dragged me to the bathroom Yallannie and I shared. Out of the basket underneath the sink, she pulled out my curling iron which I haven't used in a long time. "Got any heat protectant?" she asked. From the cabinet behind the mirror, I handed her my black bottle of Tresemmé. She grabbed a brush from the counter and ordered me to turn around. As she brushed and detangled the tiny knots in my hair, I felt the corners of my mouth twitch into a little smile. I haven't smiled in a while. "Thank you—" I tried raising my voice from a quiet mumble. "Thank you for taking care of me." "We're friends, aren't we? Just keep your head up or I'll burn your ear." After Nicole curled the tips of my long hair, she decided to do my makeup. She concealed the purple circles underneath my eyes and swept a coral pink blusher on the apples of my cheeks. She sharpened my pencil eyeliner and warmed it with my blowdryer. I furrowed my eyebrows at her action. "It's to help it glide smoothly. Now, hold still!" She dragged the pencil across my lash line on both eyes and then followed it by applying mascara onto my eyelashes. She wiggled the wand from root to tip and smiled when she finally finished. I looked at the reflection in the mirror; she looked beautiful compared to the usual mess I have grown used to seeing. I smiled and straightened my posture. "C'mon, let's go get some food." Nicole patted me on the shoulder. I turned and hugged her with my entire might. Walking into the Dining Hall was a struggle, but passing by my usual table and noticing the bewildered expressions plastered on my friends' faces, was even harder. Nicole led me to a table away from her friends. It was at the end of the Dining Hall, where all the lonely 1st years sit and the dumpsters reside. Nicole and I grabbed dinner at the line and capturing the aroma of the food literally made me weak in the knees. I grabbed a meatball parm on a hero with a side of steamed broccoli. Sitting down at our isolated table, I bit into the sandwich and a moan escaped from my lips. I got embarrassed and glanced around, hoping no one heard my moment of debauchery. Nicole smirked and said, "Let out those long hostage emotions." "Fis is sew gewd." I spoke with my mouth full. Nicole heard how ridiculous I sounded and burst out laughing. I laughed with her for old time's sake. After the laughter died down, she asked me, "So, what's the deal? You anorexic or something?" That sounded a little ignorant but I ignored the comment. "None at all. I just—" I looked at my table with the usual group of people I used to sit with; Yallannie, Laura, Polina, and Juan, although, I noticed that Arya wasn't there. "Have you ever felt like an outsider?" I looked into Nicole's blue eyes. "Have you ever felt that the people you love sneak around and ignore you?" "Sometimes, I'll say, if not all the time." Nicole rose her glass of sparkling water as if for a toast. After taking a sip of her water, she leaned in, her head millimeters from the wooden table. "Do you think Sebastian is cheating on you, is that why you're in Gloomyville?" "Gods, no!" I exclaimed. "We broke up months ago." I mumbled as I looked down at my half-eaten sandwich. "What?" Nicole screeched. She is behind on the times. "Why did that idiot never tell me?" I laughed at her commentary. "No, I just—it's complicated. What happe—" "Did he mess up or did you do something?" "You see," I continued, "he literally ra—" "Do you love the guy or not?" Nicole interrupted again. "Let me explain. That's exactly what I tried to—" "Is there another guy or something?" "Nicole, shut up! Let me fucking explain!" I snapped. She sat back in her seat, her eyes wide with my outburst. I told her everything. I told her about our evening in the Training Grounds and how it was almost as if he was erased from my memory. I told her how torn I was with those two boys and how I feel like there's some sort of history between them. "So, you didn't eat for a month because of some guys?" Nicole pondered. "Let me finish." I continued. I explained how absolutely weird it is that I almost never see Lannie or Laura around me anymore. "It's as if they're avoiding me. The last time we all hung out—it was as if they spoke in codes only they understood." "That's awfully suspicious," Nicole commented. "I don't know what to do. We sleep in the same room together, have the same classes together, but it's like I have a stranger in my room." "You need to get to the bottom of this. I don't wanna see no more of this.." she moved her hand up and down in front of me to represent my being, "Suzy Sad-Face." She looked into the distance of the room and then jumped in her seat. "Ooh! I know exactly what to do. You said that you think they're sneaking around you, right?" I nodded. "Well," she continued, "You could just follow them." "What? They'll know." I said. "Not if you sneak." "Gods, I'm so out of that. I haven't snuck around in a long time." "Desperate times call for desperate measures." Nicole rose her glass to the air again. I rolled my eyes and clinked my lemonade glass with hers. "Three cheers to self improvement." "Amen," I said and finished my drink. Later that evening, I was laying in bed reading the Hemingway novel. I was already dressed; black sweatpants and a black hoodie, along with black warm boots. Yallannie came through the door and shut it quietly behind her. When she saw me, she smiled and gave me a bashful "hey." I pressed my lips together and continued with my book. I didn't read, my eyes remained on the pages and periodically I flipped the page to continue with the illusion of me reading. Yallannie was shuffling about the room, from my peripheral vision I saw her grab a purse and change her shoes. Then, with a glance my direction, she ran out the room and I heard the click of the door. 5...4...3...2...1... I got up from the bed and pulled my hair into a bun. I waited a few more seconds and breathed in and out before I swung the door open and slammed it behind me. In the hallway, I saw the back of Lannie's head from the crowded hall of girls getting ready to go out. Thank the gods for her height.We passed the Common Room and once she stepped behind the iron doors, I looked out the window to see what direction she headed. On the steps, I saw Samuel's head with the many Libras surrounding, waiting to go out. Then, Lannie and Samuel started down the steps. That was my cue to head outside. The sky was already black and spying from a distance didn't help. I saw them turn right towards the direction of the fountain and I followed them. I maintained my distance, up until they looked incredibly tiny. I pranced on my toes, avoiding to step on any objects that could make a noise and blow my cover. The snow already melted so there was little chance that I could slip and fall and cause a scene. As I reached the fountain, I noticed that they both headed towards the Humanities Building. What in the gods names are they doing there?I followed and waited for them to go inside. Through the glass doors, I saw them head up the escalator to the second floor. I went inside quietly, letting the weight of the door press against my hands so it wouldn't close with a bang! I skipped steps up the escalator and once on the second floor, I noticed that every room was dark. I turned down the hall to begin checking the rooms when I heard a sneeze come from upstairs. "Gods, Samuel! Why are you so loud?" Lannnie's voice sneered. "What? It's not like there's anyone here. And a 'bless you' wouldn't hurt, either." Their voices disappeared and I slowly started to head up the third floor. As I reached the top of the escalator, I crouched down in case someone was standing in the hall. It was all clear. The hall was dark, except for one room. The room was all the way at the end of the hall and was dimly lit, the light barely making a pathway outside the room. I knew the room, it was Moonley's. I inched closer and closer, my breaths became jagged and short. My heart pounded against my chest and I tried not to breathe so loud. Then, I heard an array of different voices. Standing right by his room, I listened closely. "...she was in the Dining Hall today." Yallannie's voice. "...looked nice, too. Curled her hair and everything." Laura."...was with some chick. I don't know her; brown hair, blue eyes, stick-thin, around Natalie's height." Samuel. "Who, Nicole?" That was Sebastian. "Victor, she can't be seen. Arya will attack again, I know it." Laura protested.They were all there. It was some sort of secret meeting, about me. I continued to listen. "Victor, can you make her feel sick or dizzy enough to stay in the room?" Yallannie asked. "That, I will not do." Moonley's voice echoed. "The objective is to keep her alive." "And safe." Sebastian added. "She shouldn't even be here if he poses that much of a threat to her." Samuel stated. "Why can't she go to Geneva?" "It will cause an obvious infliction that we cannot afford. He will know that we have been protecting her and therefore kill not only her, but all of you! Do you want that?" Moonley yelled. "Why can't we tell her already?" Sebastian spoke. "You can't ever tell Natalie. No one except this group can know." Moonley snarled.I've had enough listening to this. I should just burst into the room and expose myself, admitting that I have heard everything that they just said. It made me feel better—knowing that my friends aren't ignoring me because of something ridiculous. I ran down the hall and down the escalator. Carefully opening and closing the front glass door of the building, I ran to the fountain. I had my phone in my pocket. Turning the service on for the first time in a month, I called Nicole. "Are you home? Well, do I have some intel or what?"