Two Can Play At That Game

12.

Christmas day arrived, and there were no presents under the tree.

Considering Windsor didn't even have a place for a massive pine tree, Brooklyn decided that it didn't count.

In the dining hall, Brooklyn doodled with ketchup on her fork all over the plate. She was absentmindedly drawing swirls until she noticed that ketchup was a deep red, similar to the color of blood. 

Gabrielle, Carly, and Liv had decided to eat breakfast earlier than them, so it was just the other girls and Brooklyn at the table with a few other students littered across the room.

"This sucks," Elena suddenly whined, throwing her napkin onto her plate. Brooklyn watched in disgust as liquid from her plate seeped into the napkin.

Serena glanced up and rolled her eyes. She put her face in her palm and blew out a puff of air. "Well it's not like we can go anywhere," she reminded Elena.

Elena let out a huffy breath. "I know," she replied. "But are we really going to let X dictate us like this for the rest of our lives?"

"I highly doubt X is going to dictate us forever," Lacie snorted. "Just until he gets bored or something."

"So do we think X is a guy?" Serena wondered.

Lacie shook her head, red hair falling into her face. "X is obviously a girl. I mean, what guy is that smart?"

Brooklyn snickered, rolling her eyes. "X is pretty stupid, actually. I mean his only threat was to stay on campus and when Serena did, he just snitched to the cops. It's not that complex."

Lacie raised her brows. "I guess we should be thankful, then. If X is that stupid, which I highly doubt, then we should hope he keeps playing nice."

"Why do you think X is smart?" Serena asked, looking suspicious.

Lacie seemed to shrink back into her chair, a nervous expression on her face. "Brooke, didn't you try to track him down? And you couldn't because he was so good at covering up his tracks."

"Yeah, you're right," Brooklyn nodded. "Let's hope that they don't show us what they're really capable of."

But she spoke too soon. Later that day, the school had an event in the dining hall for the students that were on campus for the holidays.

The dining hall was completely decorated with red and green streamers. The chairs and tables were all pushed back against the wall, so the floorspace was clear.

Brooklyn had originally decided that whatever this event was, it was going to be lame. She showed up, her friends at her side, wearing a casual sweater dress and light makeup.

"What even is this?" Lacie whispered, at Brooklyn's side.

"You think I know?" Brooklyn whispered back. She crossed her arms over her chest and shivered.

Dean Fairbank was at the podium, looking older than ever. She had on a thin smile as she spoke to the Dean of Saint Julius, Dean Carlton. To Brooklyn's surprise, there were some guys from Saint Julius. But no Chris. Brooklyn had a vague memory of Chris telling her that he would be back in the city with his family for Christmas.

Elena looked all around the room. With each passing moment, her face turned more disgusted. "This is stupid," she murmured. "I say we go home, bust out the champagne, and watch Ryan Gosling movies."

Serena nodded. "I agree."

Brooklyn ignored their conversation and decided to focus on Dean Fairbank. Something about the Dean's pinched expression made Brooklyn curious.