Sciamachy - CH. 7, p.1

"Our outer face can hide several other faces that we have inside." - Munia Khan

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"Where were you last night? I didn't hear you coming in, "Veronica mumbled, when we sat down at one of the tables in the so-called Cafeteria. While my plate only withheld a home for some scrambled egg and a toast, Veronica's was filled with everything the Hotel offered as food. She always had a special kind of eating; she ate as if eating properly was going out of style. She crammed chunks in fast, consuming a meal that had been taken hours to prepare in a matter of a couple of minutes. Then, she would go on and fill up another plate, though most hadn't even finished their first.

"Nowhere special. I talked with Hannah but that's all," I responded and stuffed some scrambled egg in my mouth.

"Wait what? Why would you talk to that one?" Veronica shrieked and my some of my scrambled fell from my fork. "You shouldn't judge someone if you don't know the full story," I murmured and finished my plate. I heard her sighing.

"And that's your problem Melea. You always see the good in people. She's a slutty bitch."

"Enough," I responded, stood up to bring my plate to the kitchen. Veronica followed me, though here plate wasn't finished.

"I know you want to believe in all the good in the world," she replied, and a sad smile appeared on her face, "that's a gift, but one day it'll be your downfall."

I didn't reply. I didn't have to. I didn't want to start an argument, or even a fight. She was a great friend. She'd always been. But in some moments, she hadn't had any empathy.

And that could be her downfall one day.

We gave one of the kitchen employees our plate and he smiled gratefully, then went out the dining room. Some students had just finished breakfast like us, and walked either in front or behind us through the open door, while others were entering, yawning.

"What are we doing today though?", Veronica asked me, "I don't know. Could be anything that has to do with Plants and repetitive questions."

She chuckled.

"I just know we're supposed to be down at 8:30 am for some kind of meeting," I added. We were out of the room and on our way down.

"Oh really? I thought that we...," Veronica commenced an answer but was interrupted by Sofia's "There you are!"

She was one of the students who were entering the dining room, but she followed us as we were walking out of it.

"Where were you? I thought we would all eat breakfast together but this morning you were gone," Veronica greeted her. We stopped near a big, half open window and I heard shouting echoing down the courtyard.

"I was downstairs with Kara and some others," her voice lowered and she looked at me, "Taylor's in a fight."

"Huh?"

I raised an eyebrow and Veronica's face reflected the confusion I felt, "he's fighting with some guy from another school that also stays here. No one knows him," she mumbled and walked towards the window. She opened it further and gestured us to look down, "see for yourself."

Veronica and I walked towards the window that was now widely opened. The screams were now louder, the air became colder. I felt that behind me, more students came and pushed us away from the window to see for themselves what happened down at the courtyard.

Taylor and some blonde guy stood near the back door, and only looked at each other for some seconds. There was a stillness on both sides. If hatred would be visible, the air would've been full of it. Then suddenly a movement from the guys side, with much emotions behind them. Taylor's wrist was buried in the guy's face who shouted at him and then punched him right in the stomach. I looked away as I imagined the sound of the wrist buried in his stomach. Taylor smashed him as if he meant to put him down into the very earth and the blonde guy did the same. More students came up behind us, and some pushed their elbow aggressively in my sides. I looked back down and saw that some students standing around them watching and shook my head. Hypocrites.

"Let's go down there," I said and looked at Sofia and Veronica. Sofia nodded but Veronica shook her head.

"Are you insane? If we get involved we could get suspended for this! "she replied. "Veronica, we have to help them! They're going to kill each other! " I hissed, and saw that Veronica was still not convinced by my words.

„What in the world? ", one of our teachers broke off the students around Taylor and the other guy and put the two apart.

„What is wrong with the two of you? And with all of you? All of you, go I give each and every one of you detention! ", the students down at the courtyard groaned and went into the hotel again. I felt that some of the elbows that were buried in my sides loosened themselves, until they were gone forever. The crowd up here resolved itself too.

„Melea, it's 8:20AM, we should go down, " Veronica mumbled and Sofia nodded in agreement.

„Don't worry about me, just go. I'll come in a few minutes, " I murmured and still looked down to the courtyard, „Are you sure? " Sofia asked carefully, „Yes, don't worry I'll be fine, " I answered.

The two nodded and walked down with the majority of the other students. I still stood at the window, and watched the two as the teacher screamed at them, took both of them on their shoulders and dragged them into the Hotel. While screaming, I realized that Taylor barely listened. He had this specific kind of face he put on when he pretended to be interested, but wasn't actually comprehending anything that was said to him. He had this look on his face now.

I closed the window, and realized with looking at the massive clock across the room that I was already 8 Minutes late. I took two stairs at once when I ran down and was out of breath when I arrived at the lobby. Already from the stairs, I saw that it wasn't our regular teacher standing near the reception. It was Mrs. Van Doge. Oh god. She would kill me for this.

„Miss Aldridge, "she said in a high pitch voice when I stood in front of her, out of breath from running down two floors, „just 10 minutes late. "

„I am really sorry, I wasn't watching the time," I replied and looked down, „Well as you might can tell, the meeting is over, " she gestured around her, to empathise my late arrival.

„ I am very sorry. It won't happen again, " I said confidently and was about to turn around to go upstairs again, but she wouldn't let me.

„Oh no, it won't. Because I'll send you to Mrs. Jenkins right now. "

„What?", I startled "I am very sorry, but I really didn't intend to... "

„ I don't care what you intended to do. We will leave at 12 pm for our excursion. Now please find Mrs. Jenkins, " she interrupted my apology and crossed her arms in defence. I cursed this woman in my head, but put on a fake smile and replied with a, „Of course Miss. It won't happen again. "

„I'm sure of that. "

I turned around and groaned, then I walked up the stairs to find Mrs. Jenkins in our usual meeting room. Near the stairs I saw a fair-haired lad going down – it was her.

"Good Morning Mrs. Jenkins, Mrs. Van Dodge wanted me to see you."

"Oh, yes my dear," she replied, but walked down the stairs further, "I have to go and get something but please take a seat."

I nodded, and walked further up the stairs into the room. It was uncomfortably large. It reminded me of the foyer down the hotel. I searched for a personal touch, something that suggested someone had once been here and it hadn't just been taken out of a magazine. The floor was polished, the walls were white and the furniture was in such basic colours that it reminded me of my home. A real contrast to the beautiful room I shared with Sofia and Veronica upstairs. When I walked in, I saw Taylor sitting on one of the white chairs.

"What are you doing here?" Taylor asked after a few minutes. He didn't try to impose a conversation on me, which I found pleasant. Intrusive people weren't my thing – they were exhausting.

"I was late," I simply replied and he leaned his head to one side, "by Mrs. Van Dodge?"

I looked at him in surprise, but he just shrugged, "There are only three teachers with us on this trip. She's the only one that would make you come here because of that."

"And why are you here?" I asked the counter question, "Didn't you hear about it?", he asked and frowned.

"Yes," I admitted, "but I think you know best."

Taylor smiled. It was not like most of his smiles - challenging, mocking, or fake. It seemed to me as if he was so surprised by my answer that he forgot himself for a moment before remembering the Role he played so well, because then the smile vanished, and instead he looked straight ahead again as if he didn't care about anything or anyone. Or, as if he was in another place in his mind, in another reality, and he saw no point in giving this one another chance.

I hadn't figured out what role he played yet, but with the wide T-shirt and dark eyes staring straight ahead as if the world was blurring around him, I realized he wasn't who he pretended to everyone that he was.

Maybe that's why I found him so interesting.

There were more than seven trillion people in the world with seven trillion faces - but Taylor seemed to carry his second face very close to the heart.

"Since this is our last day here, we will have a grand Dinner this evening in a place a bit further away. Some other schools will join us there as well. We'll dine there at 7:00PM and drive back at 9:30. There's a chance to dance too, so be aware of your clothing. Tomorrow, we'll drive back to school at 8:30AM, so everyone should be on the bus at 8:20. If they aren't any questions left you'll have free time until 6:30," Mrs. Jenkins finished explaining us the day plan for tonight and tomorrow morning.

Students started to talk again and some already made their way out of the meeting room. Veronica, with a smile on her face since she heard the word "dance", pointed at the exit, gesturing us to go back to our room as well, when in the exact moment, I heard Sofia gasping for breath, her eyes fixed at the entrance.

I turned around and almost tripped on my own feet when I saw who was entering the room.

It was never good when police officers came towards you later in the day. It was even worse when one of them had eyes full of anger and rage. This police man seemed like he hadn't had a good day in ages.

"Mrs. Jenkins? "

„Yes? ", our teacher seemed clearly irritated. The students that went out were brought in again. The room was filled with student's radiation of confusion and concern. Everyone talked loudly with one another, even though some of them seemed to be 8 feet apart. Students pushed one another to be able to hear what the police wanted. Other policemen now blocked the door to ensure that no one was entering or leaving the room.

"We received an anonymous call, saying that one of your students carries drugs with them," he slowly explained and Mrs. Jenkins looked even more irritated, "We are aware that these kinds of calls are quite usual and sometimes not to be taken seriously, however we do have to check every single student if they carry anything illegal with them."

He pointed at two of his colleagues that now went out the door, "My colleagues are going to check the lockers down at the reception, while me and my other colleague," he pointed at the tall, dark haired guy behind him, "are going to check the students inside here. We'll divide them into groups of three, and as there's just thirty students it shouldn't take that long. Does any of your students carry their bag with them, and not have it in their locker?"

Mrs. Jenkins shook her head.

"Good. We'll start from the right side."

The policeman and his colleague now started to break up a small group of students and started checking them for drugs. Mrs. Jenkins followed them. The room was now a mess; students were shouting at one another, discussing about who it might have been to call the police. Others were just radiating pure fear and confusion; if no one carried drugs with them, we had nothing to worry about, right?

"Who'd do such a thing?", Sofia said, full of rage, and I looked through the room before replying. Two green eyes caught me up and I was captured in them. A slight smile appeared on her face. It had been Hannah. She'd seen me with Taylor's drugs yesterday noon. She wanted me to get caught by the police.

What she didn't know was that the drugs belonged to Taylor.

Taylor.

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Sciamachy - a battle against imaginary enemies; fighting your own shadow.