“Ugh, I’m so tired…,” Finn groans, stretching and reaching his hands to the sky.
We are in different school years, but he takes extracurriculars with us since he’s gifted. Henri, too. Henri and Alan are twins, but Henri is smarter. Eric is also smart, but not the same level as Finn and Henri.
Finn stares hard at me, a huge smile filling his face. The sun is reflecting off his golden hair, shining blindingly bright as ever.
He always smiles at me like that when he wants something. Finn may look like the purest and most innocent of our group, but he has a dark side. I might just be overthinking things, but if Finn used his cuteness as a weapon, he could probably get anything he wanted.
“Let’s get something to eat,” he says.
“Just us two boys?”
Finn rolls his eyes and glares at me. “You’d better ease off on the lady-killing; otherwise, someday they’ll kill you.”
That does have a ring of truth to it. I do love women, but it is exhausting being around them constantly. Besides, I’m not wired for monogamy.
“All right, let’s go to the dining hall,” I agree.
We set out together. And for some reason, when we arrive at the dining hall, we find Alicia and Gill standing in front of it. They are peeking inside.
“I saw something glint just now—was that a knife?” Finn says.
Apparently, Gill just handed Alicia a weapon.
“The real question is, what are those buggers up to?”
Finn and I get closer to the dining hall for a better look at Gill and Alicia.
Come to think of it, how does Finn feel about Alicia? It doesn’t seem like he’s got a thing for Liz…but he also doesn’t seem like he’s on Alicia’s side, either.
“What—is there something on my face?”
“Uh, no.”
Great. Now Finn caught me staring at him.
“Whoa, check that out.” Finn pays me no mind and points at Alicia and Gill.
Alicia has entered the dining hall, stands before a trio of girls, and is staring hard at them.
……What a terrifying death glare. I hope she’s not going to actually use that knife.
“What are you doing here?!”
“Don’t barge in on us, you creep…”
“Let me guess—you overheard everything we just said?”
Alicia just listens in silence.
“Wait, did Emma say something to you?!”
“Did she betray Miss Liz? Wow, she really is the worst.”
“That rat, she should just leave this school and never come back.”
Emma…she’s one of Liz’s devotees, isn’t she…?
The girls’ verbal abuse gets worse and worse. The words they use to slander Emma are very much not what you’d expect to hear from well-bred ladies. But Alicia quietly stands her ground and takes it all in.
“Don’t just stand there—you’ve got something to say? Just spit it out.”
“Awww, unless you’re too scared of us to talk?”
They laugh condescendingly at Alicia. But Alicia remains undaunted. I steal a glance at Finn. His head is tilted slightly, and he shrugs. Apparently, he is also having a hard time understanding Alicia’s motives.
“She’s giving me the creeps.”
“I guess the great Alicia Williams isn’t so hot after all.”
“She acts all bossy and struts around, but maybe we made her lose her nerve.”
The situation has escalated quite far, yet Alicia remains silent…… Something is wrong. I take a step forward, to stop them.
“Forget about her—let’s go.”
But the next thing I know, the girls turn to leave. I quickly scoot backward. I have a feeling I’ll get caught up in some pesky drama if they see me.
“Curtis? Don’t you want to stop them?”
“I can’t. They’re already coming toward us.”
Finn sighs softly at my excuse. It annoys me how condescending he can be despite his younger years, but I can see why my behavior annoys him.
And then it happens. Something shiny shoots right at us.
““Huh?”” Finn and I gasp in perfect unison.
Alicia threw the knife. It sailed right next to the group of girls and stuck itself into the wall. The girls haven’t pieced together what happened yet. They’re just standing there, frozen stiff. The knife sailed right past their faces. It’s understandable that they’re shaken.
……Wow, what incredible control. Is it even possible to shoot a near miss with such precision? There is no surprise in the girls’ eyes…only fear. They stare at the knife in horror.
“Well, how does it feel to have a knife thrown at you?” Alicia murmurs without flinching. Then, ignoring the girls, who are paralyzed in fear, she turns to leave.
“Hold it right there!” the girl with the strongest will cries out, after much desperate struggling to move. “Did Emma get to you? You came here to avenge her, didn’t you?!”
With an annoyed sigh, Alicia turns back to face the girl. And the once boldly shouting girl clamps her mouth shut, trembling in fear. From where I am standing, I can’t tell what sort of expression is on Alicia’s face, but her voice sounds tense.
“Next time, I won’t miss.”
Those five words carry a tremendous weight. As a threat, it succeeds beyond her wildest dreams. For Alicia to suggest vengeance, those girls must have done some truly horrible things to Emma. They scramble away from the scene, hurling obscenities as they run.
“Shouldn’t we scram, too?” Finn asks me quietly.
He’s right. We should leave before Alicia finds us.
“Lord Curtis, Lord Finn, a moment of your time?”
But the next thing I know, Alicia has met my gaze. I don’t even have a chance to run away…
Without a word, Alicia makes her way to the central garden. Feeling guilty about getting caught, we follow silently behind.
“Ali, can I ask you a question?”
Alicia stops right at the entrance to the central garden. Then she slowly turns to face me. The light in her eye is so sharp that I swoon in spite of myself. Most people would probably be terrified at that moment, but her demure expression nails me to the spot.
“……What the hell are you thinking?” I blurt out my thoughts.
“Huh?” Alicia frowns, staring at me in amazement.
“Er, it’s just, you know, I was just wondering why you threatened those girls on Emma’s behalf.”
She pauses for a moment, then answers, “I didn’t do it for Emma. I just couldn’t stand to hear another word from them.”
“I bet Emma will defect to you, Alicia,” Finn says beside me, sporting a poker face similar to Alicia’s. Is he happy or angry at the prospect of Emma siding with Alicia? Who can tell?
“But Emma is a rabid Liz worshipper, you know,” Alicia argues.
“I only believe what I can see with my own eyes,” Finn replies.
“Lord Finn, what exactly are you trying to say?”
“Everyone calls you a devil, Alicia, but I’ve never seen you act like one—if anything, you’re an angel to me.”
“That is the worst possible compliment you could have given me,” she scoffs. “An angel? How truly deplorable.”
Wow. She really does hate being called an angel. Funny. Most girls love that… I observe Alicia as these thoughts run through my mind.
“By the way, Emma likes girls,” Finn says.
“Excuse me?”
This finally surprises the formerly calm Alicia. It looks like Gill already knew, though. He doesn’t show the slightest surprise in Finn’s revelation.
“I said, she likes girls,” he repeats.
“Um, so you mean…in a romantic way?”
“““Girls,””” we three boys reply in impeccable unison.
Alicia still doesn’t seem to understand what Finn means. Well, it has to be a shocking revelation. Not very many people know.
“Gee, I wonder if Emma is already in love with Ali…,” I tease.
“But I didn’t do anything,” Alicia insists, her voice slightly emotional.
“Yeah, I think Emma fell hard for you, Alicia,” Gill says in earnest (clearly to add fuel to the fire of her worries). “Anybody you get close to always feels the lure of your charm whether they want to or not,” he adds, a hint of cynicism in his smile.
I have to admit, the kid is right. It is odder not to feel drawn to Alicia’s allure. Even if you think she is a wicked woman, she still draws you in. Completely the opposite of Liz, Alicia is the bewitching of the two, in my opinion.
“If Liz were in your position, she would have either brought the girls to Emma and forced them to make up, or she would have stood up to protect Emma, one or the other. Though that’s pure conjecture on my part,” Finn says.
“Well, Liz Cather is everyone’s hero,” Gill agrees. “She’d have to at least do that much.”
“But if you ask me, the true hero is the one who punished Emma’s abusers in secret,” Finn says.
“Liz Cather wants to show everyone how pure her heart is, so she’d gather an audience and say a long, beautiful speech first.”
……They sure treat Liz horribly. I’m not exactly siding with Liz, but for boys with such cute little faces, Finn and Gill sure let the slander slide off their tongues like butter. But more importantly, for the first time, I finally know what is on Finn’s mind. I had only a vague sense of it earlier, but to my surprise, he has been Team Alicia all along. I get the sense that all of Alicia’s followers are geniuses.
Though I suppose it is only natural that the gifted flock to the gifted. I wonder how many of Liz’s followers will defect to Alicia. Things have gotten really interesting. I guess an outsider like me will have to keep a close watch to see how things unfold.