Page 25 of Outcast

She bared her teeth. “I don’t believe a word of what you’re saying, bitch.”

“Oh!” I imitated her accent. “What did Henry say about me? Why am I only the best fellator in Elder House, shouldn’t I be the best in the academy?”

Red bloomed across her cheeks. “You…” She was probably going to call me a trollop again but thought better of it. “What do you want?”

“Get Edward to call off the prank.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. Fellate him into submission. You’re a natural at that.”

She turned to glare at Rita. “Utter a word of this to anyone, and I’ll slit your throat.”

“Touch my friend and I’ll slit yours,” I hissed back. “Now, fuck off and get to work, fellator.”

Charlotte sucked in a deep breath through her flared nostrils, curled her lip to utter some kind of insult, and then deflated. After shooting us a hateful stare, she spun around and stomped back to the head table.

Rita leaned into me. “Was all that true?”

“I have a recording of Charlotte colluding with Blake to make Henry fall in love with her.”

“Really?”

“But Charlotte thinks I recorded what happened later… the blow job she gave him in payment!”

Rita bit down on her lip. “That’s… Oh my!”

I grinned. “Now, they’ll leave me alone.”

“I hope so.” Her brows drew together. “But they always seem to find a way to win.”

Two days later after lunch, my phone beeped during Creative Writing. Mr. Weatherford, our teacher, stopped talking. “Did someone bring a mobile phone into my class?”

“No,” everyone chorused.

“Whoever did it will have their handset confiscated for the rest of the term.”

I slid my hand into my pocket and squeezed the ‘off’ button. Next time, I wouldn’t forget to put it on silent. For the rest of the class, I couldn’t focus. The matron and cleaners usually came into the room between breakfast and first break. Whoever was in my room had to be there for malicious intent. The class trudged on for an eternity, and I longed to leave and check my phone. Since the cameras were positioned everywhere in the room, we’d see where the interloper went, and what he or she damaged.

“Homework,” said Mr. Weatherford. “For next week, I’d like poems in the following structures: iambic pentameter, limerick, and haiku. Extra credit for those who pen their works using the same subjects and the same vocabulary.”

I bolted out of the class and into the nearest girl’s bathroom, powered up the phone, and watched the videos. Mr. Carbuncle stepped into the room and folded his arms across his chest while Charlotte searched through my desk, pulled back my sheets, and rifled through my closet and drawers. She left Rita’s side of the room untouched and didn’t enter the bathroom. She’d been looking for my phone.

I curled my lip and headed for the headmaster’s office. This was the evidence I needed to bury her. And that creepy, bribe-taking janitor. There was no point in calling on our housemaster as the man had clearly given up.

At first, the headmaster’s secretary suggested I speak to Mr. Jenkins, as the headmaster was in meetings all day and couldn’t see students. When I told her I would take the matter up with Rudolph Trommel, the door opened, and the headmaster stepped out and ushered me into his office. As with the last time I saw him, he didn’t wear academic robes and donned a tailored, charcoal-colored suit with a bright blue tie.

“Miss Hobson.” He leaned the backs of his legs against his desk, face pinched with distaste. “What can I do for you?”

“Are students allowed to break into other students’ bedrooms?”

He straightened. “Of course, not. Theft is a punishable offense and will be disciplined both by the school and the police.”

I pulled out my phone, pressed the security camera icon, and showed him the footage. “Then why is Charlotte Underwood ransacking my room with the janitor’s help?”

His lips thinned when I said the word ‘janitor.’ As if saying ‘caretaker’ would make the situation any less dire. Without looking at my screen, he walked around to his desk and sat. “Miss Hobson, phones should be left in your bedrooms during class hours.”

I spluttered. Was that all he could say in the face of a bribed janitor and a pillaging student? “Well, it looks like I’ll have to take this matter to the authorities.”