Strains

I’m in dead language class when the door opens. I try to hide my grin from Korma as Matthew walks through the doorway. Score, I get to ditch this stupid lecture early.

“Elizabeth. Gather your things and come with me,” he says.

Gladly. I was two minutes from falling asleep in here anyway. I slide my notebook and pencil into my backpack. I give Korma a wave, which to her is the equivalent of flipping her off.

When I step out into the hallway, it isn’t just Matthew waiting for me. Mr. Kane is there too. Looking every bit as judgmental as ever. Neither of the men say anything to me as they lead me to the administration building.

We pass by April’s desk, where she is surrounded by her paper fortress. She doesn’t even attempt to look at us as we pass. This isn’t the reception I thought I would get for capturing a predator. The vibes are off and sensing that makes my heart race. Matthew has yet to even offer me the slightest nod to reassure me.

We begin to ascend the stairs, something I’ve never done before. I hold onto the gold railing, looking for security more than balance. Should I ask them what’s going on? No, if they haven’t spoken, filling the silence might be a bad idea.

Once at the top of the stairs, Matthew opens a set of double doors and holds them open while the councilman and I walk through.

Unlike the conference room downstairs this one is outfitted like what I would expect from city bureaucrats. Seven chairs on a raised platform are positioned in front of a panoramic window that oversees the entire academy. Only one of the seats is unoccupied and that is soon remedied by the councilman. Below the chairs is a long bench that stretches nearly the length of the room. Theron, the Spark facilitator, is sitting on one end, dressed in the academy’s crisp white uniform.

Matthew guides me to one side of the long bench and I sit. He then moves to stand against the wall between the bench and council chairs, like a bailiff in a courtroom.

My fingers flex and wrap around the edge of the bench. Why am I so nervous? I didn’t do anything wrong, if anything I should be happy to have a front-row seat to see this guy get reprimanded. Though, I do get chills seeing him this way. He isn’t shrouded in black like every other time I’ve seen him. Dressed in the academy uniform and with his hair slicked back, he seems even more frightening.

My eyes drift over to Matthew, but he offers me no comfort. His gaze is fixed ahead like he’s not staring at anything at all.

This isn’t about to be good, is it?

The slightest frown flashes across his face as he adjusts himself.

I redirect my attention to the seven in front of me. Besides Mr. Kane, I’ve never seen the rest of the council members. The panel is mostly men, with only two women sitting on the council. They’re draped in all white, the polar opposite of the night cloaks.

“Good morning. We’ll make this quick, as we all have more important things to attend to,” The councilman sitting in the middle says. He’s the oldest of the bunch, looking to be in his mid-forties.

“Matthew, you brought this incident to our attention. Please explain it for the members who haven’t been briefed,” Councilman Kane says.

Matthew strides to the floor below the council.

“Last night, one of my enforcers was called to the kitchen by Chef Floy. There, he found Elizabeth who was obviously in distress and Facilitator Theron locked in the cellar. From what I gather, Facilitator Theron has attempted to and at times succeeded in assaulting Elizabeth after dinner hours when she is alone doing the dishes. Furthermore, he had disguised himself in the enforcer uniform and restricted Elizabeth from returning to her dorm at curfew. These, among other smaller details, were included in my report I submitted this morning.”

“Thank you, Matthew.”

He returns to his post against the wall.

“Facilitator, do you have anything you wish to add?”

“Nothing, sir.”

“Matthew, for what reason did you refer this situation to us?”

He doesn’t move from the wall to respond.

“I believed it to be necessary, as this is an unprecedented violation of the safety of the academy students.”

“With all due respect, Matthew, I find your choice of words interesting,” one of the councilwomen says. “By ‘unprecedented’ what you really mean to say is that there are no rules against what took place, is there?”

“Graduates, and especially facilitators are expected to protect the integrity of the handbook and the academy as an institution. It does not account for the possible sins of those we’ve deemed as true heroes,” he says calmly, but I can feel the edge in his voice.

The blond councilwoman taps her hand on her lap.

“What rule can we expect to enforce in the absence of one?” The councilman sitting in the center says.

“Council, if I may,” Theron says from next to me. My eyes dart to him. What could he possibly have to say? It’s not like things could get any worse. Everything he’s done, and it looks painfully obvious that he’s going to get away with it.

“As Matthew so eloquently pointed out, we facilitators have a duty to uphold the rules written in the handbook. So, as far as last night is concerned, I think we ought to acknowledge the extensive rule-breaking committed by the student beside me.”

What the hell is he talking about? I bite the inside of my cheek until I taste blood.

“This student violated curfew, intentionally vandalized academy property, and was in possession of an enforcer weapon. All details included in Facilitator Matthew’s report, correct?” he says.

“It’s the duty of a facilitator to issue punishments to students, that is if they even witness these offenses,” the other councilwoman, a woman with jet-black hair says.

“Exactly, and where was her facilitator last night?”

All eyes turn to Matthew.

“Matthew, you were on scene, weren’t you?” Another council member asks. I don’t even care to acknowledge who is saying what anymore. My world is falling apart, and I haven’t even gotten to defend myself. I shouldn’t even need defending. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

“I was. I can handle the transgressions of my student without the aid of the council, I’d rather not waste anymore of anyone’s time.”

“Make sure you do.”

“Let’s get out of here.”

“Can we grab a snack before the walk back?”

The council seats begin to empty, and its members walk past me. My focus is on the floor in front of me, and my feet feel fused to it so much so that I haven’t made an effort to move. A pair of shoes stops within view.

“See you around, Elizabeth.”

I look up and recognize the smirk that overcomes Theron’s face. He thinks he’s won, and this time, I think he’s right.

He walks away, leaving Matthew and me alone in the conference room.

“What was that?” I ask, trying to hold back tears but failing miserably.

“Elizabeth, go to your room. I’ll be by to punish you later.”

He can’t be serious.

“Just go and don’t leave unless it’s to get lunch.”

***

I soak my pillow when I get back to my room then beat it against my desk. No good. I am going to pulverize that man, once I figure out how.

Two hours of thinking later, and I’m no closer to a plan for revenge. Vengeance isn’t my forte, but neither is forgiveness in the absence of an apology. So instead, I begin snapping my pencils in half and watch them disappear in my hands.

God, this is making me feel like a psycho.

I grab my backpack. I don’t care what Matthew said, I’m not going to just sit here fuming. My hand is on the door handle when a thought that had been waiting in the wings for my rage to die down comes into the forefront.

Now that he’s been found out and unpunished, what would stop Theron from harassing me in public?

I tap the thought back down into the recesses of my mind. It’s not like I can do anything about it except resolve to live in my room forever. Even running away to stay with Caiden in the library doesn’t sound like a feasible solution. If I am going to be here, I can’t run and hide while Theron wears that dirtbag grin and terrorizes someone else. Especially now that the council has set a precedent that graduates can get away with anything.

My mixed bag of emotions delivers me to the dining hall. I’ve always been an emotional eater, so I hope Matthew has taken pity on me and given me some carbs or something.

He does not.

A chicken salad is on the menu today. Why would I expect anything other than the same coldness he displayed this morning reflected on my plate. I’m dragging my feet over to the table when Hercules calls out to me.

“Squirt!”

Have I ever told him what an embarrassing nickname that was?

“Hi, Hercules.”

“Want to join me for lunch?”

I nod my head and follow him back to the buffet line. All I can do is wait for him at the end while he piles his plate with protein. As he’s nearing the finish, a group of Socks pass by me and knock my tray upwards and onto my dress.

“Outta the way, human!”

My dress catches the salad, but the glass of water falls to the floor and disappears upon impact.

They know. Everyone knows.

The Socks are long gone by the time Hercules comes to ask me what happened.

At the table, I explain what happened this morning.

“So you don’t have a strain and you let some asshole get his hands on you without telling me?”

His choice of words makes my ears start to burn.

“I didn’t ‘let’ anything happen Hercules. Do you think I wanted this? Any of this?” I motion around us. “Matthew told me to keep it a secret from you because he thought you’d make it worse.”

“And that’s supposed to make it okay? Alright, if that’s how the two of you operate, I better re-evaluate who I consider a friend.” He stands from the table and leaves without even touching his food or wine.

Guess that settles that. I’m definitely going back to my room. I grab Hercules’ untouched plate. And this will be my dinner.