I haven’t told anyone that I’m going to be working. Even if I wanted to share the excitement, there’s nobody who cares enough to listen to me. Even Mr. Stanfield probably thinks that I’m off in some corner, licking my wounds, and I’m fine with that.
Carefully, I squeeze out the paints I’m going to need, then pick up my palette knife and start mixing. My hand tires quickly, but I’m not going to slow down. Gritting my teeth, I force myself to keep mixing and working. I know that I should take it easy.
I know that I should see the nurse.
But I’m not going to. I’m going to start painting today, no matter if it kills me.
I swear, it almost does, but when class is finally over, I have a lot of great colors mixed up. I’ve even started roughly sketching out my painting, which feels amazing. Getting back to work after a few weeks of not being able to paint is a huge relief.
Leaving, I pull my curtain shut behind me. Someone, probably Mr. Stanfield, is turning off the lights in the room, and I pause for just a moment, enjoying the smells of my paint. It feels really good to be back.
This morning I had hoped that I’d be eating dinner in the cafeteria with Madeline today, but I think the best thing for me to do is try to avoid her as much as possible. The thought almost kills me, but the way she looked at me at lunch honestly scares me.
I don’t want to think that Quinn is right. I don’t want to think that he’s the person who helped me out, especially when he treated me like shit at first, but I can’t deny the way she looked at me.
The way her eyes looked through me. They were cold and heartless, and she’d never looked at me like that before.
Shivering, I pull my shirt tighter around my body and start to cut through the maze of curtains and workspaces. Nobody in class knows that I painted today, and I want to keep it that way. I don’t want people to know that I’m back, and that’s why I’m cutting through the space, trying to avoid being seen.
Chances are good that it’s just Mr. Stanfield left in the room, but I still don’t want to run into anyone.
I’m almost to the door when I hear his voice and I freeze, thinking that he’s calling out to me. But that doesn’t make sense. He’s never used that tone with me before.
The last time I overheard a conversation in here, it was him and Quinn, and it completely changed how I viewed Trinity Prep and my place in it. I hesitate, knowing that I should keep walking. I know that I should put as much space between me and whoever he’s talking to, but I feel frozen to the floor.
The next voice that I hear honestly gives me chills. It’s not one that I ever expected to hear in this department. She’s a sculptor, not a painter. She’s not supposed to be here.
Besides, she hates me.
But it’s Madeline’s voice. I’d recognize it anywhere.
“I think that the thing I don’t understand is how the hell she’s still here. I thought that you and Quinn were going to take care of her. Where is he, anyway? Wasn’t he supposed to meet us here to talk about everything?” Madeline sounds pissed, and the blood in my veins runs cold as I listen to her.
She’s my best friend. What in the world is she doing down here talking to Mr. Stanfield, and why would she want me gone? It doesn’t make any sense.
Quinn is the person who wants me out of Trinity Prep. Madeline has always been there for me.
My head is swimming and I have to bite my lower lip to keep from calling out. I have a sneaking suspicion that getting caught listening in on their conversation could be very bad. Even though my entire body is screaming for me to get out of here and run as far away as possible, I have to know what’s going on.
Mr. Stanfield’s voice cuts through my thoughts. “I thought that she would be gone by now, darling, but I can’t help the fact that she’s more stubborn than we all thought.”
It sounds like Madeline throws something to the ground. It clatters and I flinch, even though I know that she can’t see me. “You would have thought that after she broke her wrist and I got to the nurse to give her an overdose of medication she would have left. Why can’t she get the hint that she just doesn’t belong here?”
She talked to the nurse?
He murmurs in response and I lean forward, trying to hear what they’re saying. It still doesn’t make any sense. From what Quinn said before, his family has some dirt on Mr. Stanfield and that’s why he’s been basically promised the internship. But if Madeline is involved then…
A chill runs through me.
Madeline and Quinn have hated each other from day one, but I never really considered why that was. He thinks that he’s a god here, and everyone has accepted it. But Madeline…
“You would have thought so, wouldn’t you? Everything always works out for you two, doesn’t it? Already got the internship locked down?” Mr. Stanfield sounds bitter and angry. I still don’t know what’s going on, but I keep praying that one of them will say something that will clue me in.
She scoffs. “Of course, I do. There’s not any competition that comes anywhere near how good I am, so it wasn’t ever a concern. Even if it were, I’m not worried about being able to take out the competition. I just can’t believe that my brother would be such a damn pussy about it.”
Her brother? I don’t want to believe what I’m hearing, but there’s nothing else that she could have said. I know that I didn’t hear her wrong. I
