Chapter 2: “Open Book”
* * Quote of the Chapter * *
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It hurts that you don't remember me,
but you still remember me...
-Devi-
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| Open Book |
***
There, in front of the Academy Gates, stood Jesy with bright, vibrant blue and purple dyed hair, but that wasn't what made Katherine stop.
It was Jesy's attire.
She wore a much too big mustard colored shirt that hung and exposed one of her pale shoulders, old tattered jeans, and worn out sneakers to match the color of her shirt.
Jesy quickly spun around with a little jump only to be faced with none other than the infamous Katherine Young, who was openly gapping at her.
Jesy continuously stared at the face before her, petrified.
Her heart's once fast rhythm turned to pounding, her ears making a ringing noise as she felt her heart trying to leap out of her rib cage.
It. Was. Suffocating.
She couldn't do anything else but look at the girl in front of her.
She had blonde hair, blue eyes, full lips covered in a matte pink nude lipstick, and lashes fully coated with mascara. She wore a periwinkle Gucci tracksuit with white stilletoes, a Louis Vuitton bag, and expensive looking jewelries.
Like a dear caught in the headlights, Jesy just stood there, frozen.
At her recognition of Katherine, she felt color draining from her face.
No. No. No. No. No.
Her legs shook from where she stood, dread creeping through her bloodstream faster and stronger every passing second.
Why, why did she have to be here? Katherine.
Jesy's eyes were threateningly close to bulging out of their sockets if she would even dare to blink.
Her voice was suddenly nonexistent.
Her throat closed, her head was spinning, and her eyes could only focus on Katherine.
What. The. Fuck.
Katherine looked for something, anything to confirm her conspiracy until her eyes landed on curved point of the girl's button nose.
No mole, no mole, Katherine, there's no mole.
Talk!
Swallowing the lump that Katherine now only noticed was at the back of her throat, she slightly tilted her head down to look at the watch strapped around her left wrist before looking back up at Jesy who still hadn't moved from her position.
"What on earth are you doing with your life dressed like that!?" Katherine exclaimed exasperatedly after 'checking' the time.
Why is she here!?
How is she here!?
What even is she doing here!?
And dressed like that!?
Jesy shut her eyes tight when Katherine opened her mouth again to yell at her but the words that left Katherine's lips only shocked the both of them even more.
Jesy peaked one eye open to a dumbfounded Katherine and opened her other eye before she began to look around for someone else that Katherine could've been talking to.
Maybe she was talking to another person?
Jesy did an full 360 but the area around them was empty, aside from the two of them standing in front of the gates.
"W-... What?" she managed to stutter out with a voice that was so quiet, so faint that you would not have been able to hear it if you were three more steps away from where Katherine stood.
"Do you want to go to the Alleys with me?" Katherine repeated her question.
"A-Alleys?"
Katherine's smile dropped slightly but gained her composure a second too late after Jesy noticed her change in expression. Did she not know what Alleys is?
Katherine laughed awkwardly, "Yeah, the Alleys. Didn't you ever hear of it?"
Jesy shook her head.
"It's kind of like... wait, have you ever been to Beverly Hills?"
Jesy shook her head again.
Katherine frowned. Alleys, its was understandable that she doesn't even know of it, but Beverly Hills? Surely, everyone like the Kingcess could've had it on the first few bullets of their to-go list.
"Well..." Katherine scratched her head, "It's just, let's say a bunch of alleys or well, streets with lots and lots of shops."
Jesy nodded as her lips unconsciously shifted into an o shape.
She looked around them to spot someone that could possibly be her savior but again, found no one.
Sighing internally, she turned to Katherine but nearly toppled backwards with the eager look plastered on Katherine's face.
But then, she remembered the question that still hung in the air.
Should Jesy go? She didn't want to heighten the risk of her being figured out but she missed her...
"Uh- uh... Sure?" Jessy had replied, with a gimance, "It's going to be so fun."
Suddenly a look of recognition crossed Katherine's face and Jesy's limbs went numb.
The ringing in her ears increased, her lips became cold and tingly, and her stomach was doing somersaults making her want to throw up.
She braced herself for her name to be shouted.
For Katherine to explode.
Any second now.
Three...
She unconsciously stopped breathing and was holding her breath. Her lungs burned from not recieving enough oxygen. They were begging for air, but somehow she couldn't find it in her to breathe.
She knows.
Two...
She remembers me. She found out. She knows who I a-
"You're the new girl, right?"
One...
"What!?" Jessy unexpectedly exclaimed.
Even Katherine was surprised with her sudden outburst.
Normally, if any other person who wasn't close to her had said that, she would have gone mad.
But what surprised her even more was when she laughed.
Laughed! She, Katherine Leigh Young, laughed!
Part of Jesy was happy that Katherine didn't recognize who she is-relieved, but part of her also felt a pinch on her chest-rather sad.
She doesn't remember. She... she doesn't remember me.
Through Katherine's laughter, Jessy had managed to ask, "Why are you laughing?"
Katherine took a huge breath, "Sorry. You just reminded me of someone," She chuckled.
Even Jesy found herself mirroring Katherine's grin, "Good to know."
Whoever it was, at least that person makes them happy with the laugh she just gave. But somehow, she still wished she reminded Katherine of her.
A smile pulled up in Katherine's face as she looked left and right of the area before taking hold of Jessy's wrist and pulling her towards a shiny black Tesla that has just pulled up in front of them.
Katherine pulled a timid and shaken Jesy inside before leaning over and shutting the door closed as the suited driver began driving
Jesy sat uncomfortably inside the expensive vehicle.
Her body was stiff and her mind seemed to have been disconnected from the rest of her body.
Her mouth refused to talk, her eyes barely even blink and eyes refuse to look away from her knees, even her lungs refuse to work for air,
There were dozens of questions running through her mind, all of which are void of answers.
Where were they going? What was she going to do? Should she talk? Will she remember? What can she say? Can she move?
Is she taking her to an abandoned hospital?
Jesy slapped herself mentally when the previous question passed her mind.
Katherine, seeming to realize how disoriented Jesy is, began making small talk to hopefully ease her a bit.
"So, what's your full name?"
Jesy swallowed the lump in her throat and mumbled out, "Jesy Addans."
"Well, Jesy Addens what brings you to the prestigious school of Haynes' Academy?" Katherine asks.
Jesy glances up at Katherine and then looks back down at her lap, "I-It's Addans," she stuttered, hoping to stir away from the topic.
A very non-noticeable blush crept up Katherine's face and tinted across her cheeks, "Right..."
It was quiet between them, the tension was so thick that you could visibly poke it with your finger even after Jesy's dainty little voice broke the silence, "Sorry."
Katherine, who was stiffly looking out the window, turned to Jesy, confused, "For what?"
Jesy's shoulders lifted to a small shrug, "Being awkward."
Katherine scoffed, "How could the Kingcess of New York be awkward?"
Jesy's brows furrowed as she continuously stared at her hands on her lap.
"Wait..." Katherin trailed off, "You are the Kingcess, right?"
Jesy debated whether to tell Katherine yes or no.
Would she take that opportunity to be another person?
Will claiming that she is someone that's high up in the status chart, make someone like Jesy fit in?
As the car stopped on a red light, Jesy spoke up, "No."
She could feel Katherine's stare, burning at the side of her head. Was it the right thing, telling her no? Maybe she should've said yes.
"You're lying," Katherine's cold and computing voice would've nearly sent shivers down Jesy's spine.
Jesy shook her head, hair bouncing from right to left, "I'm not," she said just as the car began moving again.
This time, Katherine was quiet. She was speechless.
How?
How could she do that?
Just a few seconds ago, she could read her but now, what happened?
It was like the open book that was Jesy shut itself suddenly, shuffled the pages, and then opened again.
Who is she?
Who is Jesy?
She could've sworn Jesy was lying. She could've sworn Jesy was bluffing when she said she wasn't the Kingcess. She could've sworn.
But there was something different with the way she said those two words.
"I'm not... not... not... not... not..."
Just who was she?
Could she be the Addens from Pennsylva-
"It's Addans... Addans... Addans..."
She couldn't.
Her last name was Addans. Not Addens.
Maybe she changed it because she didn't want to be found out?
Why was she already so complicated to solve? Nothing was adding up, and everything just keeps on decreasing down to information that's barely even there.
Either way, there's the bigger possibility out of everything else, and that was Jesy being the Kingcess.
And with the Kingcess attending their school, she wasn't sure how things would most likely end up.
But one thing was for sure.
Jesy Addans is a walking mystery red light that she should be cautious of...
But why..?