Meant for each other?

-34-

A worried Taylor appears in the door of Karlie's English class. It's quarter past eleven and she hasn't heard from the girl all day. Eventhough they'd parted on good terms last night, she never knew quite what the tall girl would do next.

She surveys the sea of bobbing heads and tries to pick out Karlie's swinging accent amongst the clipped British ones. It's obvious she's not there.

"Miss Hall?" She coughs to affect the attention of the new teacher. It's not hard as the fore mentioned woman almost falls over in her haste to reach Taylor.

With one hand smoothing her skirt surreptitiously, she smiles in a sickly manner. "Is everything okay, Miss Swift?"

Taylor rolls her eyes internally. The woman in front of her is as desperate as drug addicts on a come down. "Has Karlie shown up?"

"No."

The blonde is about to reply when a hand shoots up from the middle of a group of studious students. "Miss Swift?" A girl with long hair that Taylor doesn't recognise says.

"Yes?"

"I was getting my things for this lesson; I left them in my room, when I heard a bang in the girls quarters. Karlie was there when I went to check- it's not pretty."

Adrenaline releases itself into Taylor's bloodstream. She's thought her lover is finally calming down but it seems she's managed to get into more trouble.

"Chloe, step out with Miss Swift. I'll see you around," she then addresses Taylor. The blonde just shrugs and holds the door open for the student.

Standing in front of her, Chloe is the model student. Her attire is neat: a dogshound skirt with a maroon blouse and neat brogues. Her long hair is as shiny as the smooth surface of a lake on a hot day.

"Where was this- Chloe?"

"About 10 minutes ago I was fetching my binder from my room- 018- when I heard this noise," she starts explaining in a level tone. Her eyes hold a pitiful look. "I went to look because it sounded bad. If someone was hurt and i hadn't helped them I'd feel awful! And Karlie was standing in the middle of it. No one else was around."

Taylor gulps. All she wants to do is get her lover out of trouble but by the sounds of things, Karlie is making her mission incredibly hard.

"What do you mean by it?" She asks.

Looking at her impeccable manicure for a minute before meeting Taylor's pond like eyes, she seems to struggle with describing the scene. "I don't know. It looked like there'd been an explosion. The window was shattered. It was a mess." Wiping a forced tear from her eye, the small girl in front of Taylor smirks internally. There's a reason she's doing Drama.

"Go and see your guidance counsellor," Taylor instructs her gently.

Nodding, her icy eyes not meeting Taylor's, Chloe runs off, adding a sniffle for extra effect.

Now it's time for Taylor to find Karlie.

On her way, Taylor stops at her best friends office. Luckily Lily doesn't have a meeting as Taylor explains what she's been told. Both of the women are surprised. Everything seems to have gone downhill rapidly- a spiral like the ones you see in books of optical illusions.

Arriving on the first floor of the girls quarter, Taylor is stopped short. When the girl from Karlie's English had described it, she didn't picture a blown out window and a carpet that's been burnt so badly it will have to be replaced. It's severe: and out of character for the girl who's been showing much more maturity.