Emily stepped out of the restroom. Her foot nudged the door, closing it and almost tripping.
She brushed her hands together and sneaked a glance around the hallway. She pressed her lips together at the empty space. That meant Alex met up with Skye already. Since it was just the two of them, Emily hoped things wouldn’t make a turn for the worse.
“What took you so long?” Jae asked from behind a pillar, leaning his back on a window. He hid at the one behind Skye. His hands clenched into fists. It took all his willpower not to lunge her on sight. He still remembered her side comment from his house.
“Where did they go?”
“They went over there.”
Emily followed the direction he pointed at. She nodded at the sight of the storage unit, clapping her hands, “At least, they’re nearby. We’d have to keep a lookout that nothing would go wrong.”
She sighed contentedly. She would have loved to be there… but her cousin quickly shot down the idea. Even when Emily offered to observe and silently think of ways to torture the bitch, Alex was relentless. Her cousin didn’t trust her to behave. She even called Emily as a firecracker, someone who instantly exploded when lit up by a small fire.
Or was it someone who explodes consecutively at once?
Suddenly, rapid knocks echoed from the restroom. If it weren’t for the quiet corridor, it would have hardly been heard. A muffled shout soon followed. It was faint so it couldn’t be from the entrance. Jae glanced at the door Emily hit with her foot.
Then, he frowned at her, “What did you even do inside the restroom?”
Emily merely shrugged, turning on her heel, “I just did a bit of something to buy time for someone not to look for Skye while she’s talking to Alex.”
She pressed her ear against the door of the storage unit. For once, she hated the soundproof feature of the rooms. She huffed, “I really can’t hear anything.”
“Did you lock someone in the stall?” Jae persisted.
“Of course not!” Emily blew a raspberry, lifting her head off the door. She sneaked a peek at the restrooms. The shout became slightly more apparent.
She let out a cough and mumbled, “All the locks were already jammed.”
He stared at her with wide accusing eyes. Wasn’t this school supposed to have excellent performance on discipline? How could it have such conniving students? Or were the things he heard about from TV true? The ones about those who felt too privileged since the school can’t kick them out or they’d lose a large sum of donation?
“What?” Emily blinked, raising her hands, “I’m innocent. The only fault I had was tripping on the door on my way out—and it was an accident.”
Jae bowed his head and shielded his face with a hand. He was in for a ride with this one. Not only could she be straightforward but she could also be sneaky. If he pushed her too hard, he might find cockroaches in his underwear drawer someday.
He looked up, shaking his head.
He didn’t know whether to praise her or to scold her.
“Remind me not to get on your bad side.”
Emily sniggered with a flip of her hair, “Too late.”
“You’re not still mad about that photo, are you?” Jae chuckled. Then, he added, “By the way, we told Logan that the reason we came here was because of those stalkers we talked about.”
“What?” She hissed, walking towards his direction. She pointed a finger under his chin, “Explain yourself before I try to slice your neck with my fingernail.”
“Alex needed to make up a lie for why she and I are missing from school. Since Logan doesn’t know about her connection with Skye, it was the only thing we could think of.”
“You mean the only thing YOU could think of” Emily scoffed and turned away. She shook her head, “If this spreads anywhere else, I will behead you.”
Footsteps gradually grew loud from behind them. The pair whirled around in alarm. Their eyes landed on the staircase at the end of the hallway. Their hearts hammered in their chest. Senses on alert, they waited.
A mop of black hair surfaced from the downstairs. Cold turquoise eyes met their gazes. The term seemed fitting since Emily and Jae froze in place. The Student Council’s Marquis reached the top of the stairs with a hand tucked inside his pant pocket.
He strolled through the hallway, passing them by. They stood to his left while he used the right lane. He stopped in his steps, shifting his head in Jae’s direction. He kept his poker expression, saying, “Weren’t you with Alexandra?”
“Uh, yeah” Jae replied, clearing his throat. He didn’t think that Neal would speak to him. Nudging his head towards Emily’s direction, he said, “I’m just having a private moment with my girlfriend.”
If Emily had a chestnut between her two fingers, she had the confidence that she’d be able to break its shell at this moment. Her lips attempted to smile, “A private moment in a corridor where people can come by freely?”
Jae laughed, seeming to appreciate her sarcastic humor, “Now, now, sweetie. Is that any way to talk to your boyfriend in front of someone?”
Fire blazed in Emily’s eyes. The corners of her lips stayed curled upwards. She could tell that Jae snickered with his mouth closed. He loved to see her struggle and she knew it. The nails of her fingers yearned to stab him.
“Oh, I’m sorry, honey” she spat, emphasizing the last word, “I’ll keep those for times when no one is around to witness me beating you up.”
Neal remained impassive to their exchange. Instead, he stirred the conversation to a new topic, “Where is Alexandra now?”
“She went to look for a restroom” Emily answered before Jae could say anything, “This one seems to be locked. We haven’t seen a janitor to help open it.”
A muted scream resonated from the toilets. The Marquis scowled, stepping towards its entrance. He grabbed the knob and turned it. He met resistance and slammed a hand on the door. The wood trembled beneath his palm.
The shrieks from the other side died down.
“Please, remain calm” he instructed with a loud voice, “We’ll get you out as soon as possible. Don’t panic and relax while we look for help.”
Neal nodded at a response that neither Emily nor Jae heard. Then, he peeped at them, letting his hand drop, “Stay here while I search for a maintenance personnel. Keep a lookout and yell if anything suddenly happens.”
Emily nodded her head. She gave him a salute, “Yes sir, Mr. Marquis, sir.”
“That’s not proper grammar, Emily” he lectured, “Unless Marquis was my name.”
“I apologize. I totally forgot that you don’t have a sense of humor” she replied with a snap of her fingers, “I meant that we’ll wait here, Marquis Neal.”
“Good.”
The Marquis gave them one last nod and walked to the staircase across from the one he used previously. His walk was stiff and precise. It made him look like a robot. The pair seemed to hold their breath as they watched his back disappear. Even when it did, they waited for about a minute to pass.
“You think Alex would take long?” Emily asked all of a sudden. Her gaze flickered towards the storage unit. She wouldn’t have known what to do if one of them walked out while Neal was around.
“How do Alex and Neal know each other?” Jae inquired, scowling at the blonde elf’s back. Her attention darted between the door and the two staircases.
“Of course, they know each other” she snorted, “Everyone here should know everyone. You wouldn’t want to mess with the wrong family.”
“But…” he protested, “Isn’t it that Alex was isolated with people other than Skye?”
“Not entirely. She still went to functions. You make her sound like she was in prison all this time” Emily rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall beside him. She jabbed her elbow on his side, “You better sleep with one eye open later tonight.”
If he thought that the ‘girlfriend’ comment flew over her head, he was wrong. She would have done more but she didn’t want to get caught. It would only take one witness for her mother to hear about it. She was already under stress about the upcoming wedding. As her daughter, Emily needed to be responsible and not cause trouble.
“I can’t help it if the excuse is usable in this situation” Jae defended. He scooted a bit closer to her, making sure not to let their skins touch, “You might want to work on your acting skills if someone else would come by.”
“Don’t be lazy and come up with a better reason.”
“If I did that, they might find out we said something different to Neal when he gets back in time. That would just make us more suspicious.”
Emily closed her eyes. She transported her mental state to her happy place. A room filled with dress forms, mannequins and various fabrics. She would be on a chair, sitting sideways. Her elbow would be on the desk next to it while she sketched her designs in a book.
A place for herself surrounded by her creations.
She sighed in satisfaction.
Jae hunched over until his lips hovered near her ear, “Why are you fantasizing about me when I’m just right here?”
Immense pain pierced his side. He had a feeling that it was the same sore spot from earlier. He could already imagine how big and deep the bruise would look like later.
