Heterodox (BOOK 2)

Chapter 4

~Vesper~

Today's Lesson: Be content with a cup of coffee no matter how tired you are. Not three cups; not even two.

Otherwise, you'll be like me; hyper, irritable and... full-stressed bladdered. I was tired okay? I'm not used to coffee. I normally drink tea. But I was so tired and really need to make it through today.

To apologise to them.

But right now, I have a four hour urea baby along the way that I need to abort. Good thing this kind is legal.

I never thought I would love that glorious bell so much. Like an angel's harp, it finally sounds through the hall and I am finally free.

Hurriedly submitting my artwork to Ms King and rush to my locker to dump my books. Too much weight will hold me back.

"Hey."

I give him a quick glance and shut my locker. "Hey Talon."

"I have to tell you something."

"Me too but we can talk at lunch. I'm a bit occupied right now."

"It can't wait."

"It will have to."

He looks back and then turns to me a bit flustered. "Isn't the cafeteria that way? Like North-westish?" he asks pointing behind us.

My bladder feels like it's going to burst. I quicken my pace knowing that if I don't arrive in less than seven minutes, I'll have to search the lost and found for a size ten. So I say cryptically hoping he understands, "The bathroom is this way."

Thankfully he understands and we continue to dodge through the growing crowd of students going to the cafeteria. In this crowd, I encounter MB.

He gives us a confused look but when Talon mouths it to him, he joins us in our journey.

"Need to tell you something," he says.

"That will have to wait too."

"It can't."

I grit my teeth. "It will."

MB looks over my head at Talon for help but he just shrugs. When I want to pee, I don't care if you're the king of Timbuktu. Everything will wait until I take a leak.

"I want to apologise."

I look at him with shock and confusion smeared on my face as I ducked under someone's flailing arm. "What for?"

"For Friday night. I'm sorry."

"Me too, Vesper," Talon admits as he slides between a pair of loud girls. "We shouldn't have given up on you."

I'll be honest; I was rolling and writhing in guilt for the whole weekend about what I'd said. I was actually starting to believe what I'd said. Why in the world should we let The Frame win? A bunch of puppies with barks louder than their bite?!

You don't know that, Vesper my brain chides.

I'm about to say my own apology until I am stunned to see Circe sitting on top of one of the lockers stringing some glass beads. God alone knows how she got up there.
She takes one look at us and inquires lazily, " Are we doing the apologizing thing?"

How did she know?

She jumps down and suddenly hugs me. Then with apologies in her eyes, she steps away from me with her arms still wrapped around my neck. "I'm sorry," she whispers softly.