Altered

Twenty-Six: Interrogation

The rains had stopped sometime during the night, allowing the morning to dawn bright and fresh. Birds sang beyond the window, diving and twirling in contented flight. The sun beyond was watery, but the sky was a deep blue and the sea was calm. The winds had died down and now only the slightest breeze played in the leaves of the trees beyond her open window.

Charlotte was just zipping up her jacket over her shirt and pale blue pinafore, when the silence of her lonely room was disturbed by frantic knocking. Charlotte opened the door, uncertain what to expect when she met clouded green eyes.

"James? What's wrong?" she asked in a rush. He stepped back from the door, his expression, a mask of seriousness.

"Jansen was just by. He asked me to find you - he had said something about Maria Rodriguez being taken below?" He looked at her in confusion, waiting for a further explanation.

"Rodriguez?" Charlotte groaned, closing the door behind her. "What else did he say?"

"He just said today was going to be a bad day?" Charlotte nodded to herself trying to sort out her thoughts. She turned to hurry down the corridor, but James caught her hand and pulled her back. "Tell me - what did Ethan mean? He was in such a rush he wouldn't say anything before he left by the forgotten stairs," James whispered, his tone was one of concern and that alone was the only reason Charlotte decided to confide in him. She glanced to the door the forgotten used to access their corridor. He couldn't have been seen leaving here, she thought making sense of Ethan's actions.

"Yesterday at training, Bennett was spying on us," she sighed, pulling her hand gently from his grasp. She didn't need to appear aggressive towards him on top of everything.

"Spying on you? How do you know?" he asked, his voice dropping to a whisper.

"We saw him - he's not a very good spy," she shrugged. "It was raining badly and Rodriguez decided it was a good idea to... startle him. She used her alteration and brought purple lightning down all over the island - even out on the sea," Charlotte explained.

"Yeah, I remember that," James' nodded. "I thought it was odd - scary even".

"Well that was what she was hoping for. Bennett went scampering back to the academy and... I guess we forgot about it," she mumbled. "Ugh, this is not going to be good".

"He'll think you were behind it," James pointed out in a matter-of-fact voice.

"I know," she nodded. "I'm trying to turn the world against him remember?" James frowned at her, but didn't say anything. "I need to go about my day as normal until..." she paused, glancing at James. He looked at her strangely and she could sense the fear and worry leaching from him. "I can't act suspicious, can I?" she said, trying to appear cool and calm.

"No, you can't," he agreed slowly. "We should go to breakfast. The bell will ring in a few minutes and if you are not there..."

"Innocent until proven guilty, right?" she said, smiling in a way she hoped appeared brave. "You'll walk down with me though," she whispered, the words escaping from her lips before she could stop them.

James seemed to hesitate, as if he thought it was a bad idea. "Yeah, sure," he said finally, readjusting his backpack.

The food hall was silent as they entered. Others still came behind them, but Elmhirst was standing staring about in silence, commanding the room's attention. Charlotte scanned the room. Desmarais was seated at the staff dais, his face an impassive mask. Bennett was pacing the ground beneath the dais, like a ravenous wolf. Charlotte could see the rest of her team, dotted about the senior tables. Maria was the only player missing.