Altered

Two: Elected

Charlotte could feel her heart hammering against her chest. Each step forward made her head spin that little bit more. She tried to keep her mind away from the suffocating darkness and burning pain of detention. She tried not to dwell on the wild stories they would fabricate to incriminate her. She fought to drown out her frustration and panic.

Fear swelled inside her and nothing she did could quieten it.

The headmaster's office was on the fourth floor of the Old School, overlooking the western terraces and walled gardens. It was a long walk there from the Food Hall, a walk taken in silence. Charlotte was glad Bennett wasn't speaking to her. It would only result in her getting in more trouble. Her mouth always reacted quicker than her brain. It was the main reason, she tended to find herself in trouble. That and the fact that Elmhirst loved hating her.

The lights were burning in the corridor outside Elmhirst's office as they approached. Bennett knocked on the door and opened it for her, a gloating smirk on his face.

Charlotte smoothed her grey pinafore and forced herself to stand up a little taller, lifting her chin and gritting her teeth. She might have feared them and hated them, but she would never cower before them.

Charlotte stepped into the long, narrow office. She squinted against the dying light blazing through the window in the wall opposite. Instead she allowed her eyes to drift over the neat, ordered bookcases lining the walls. The ornate carpet of green, blue and red muffled her footsteps as she inched forward. She didn't was to look to the cumbersome desk at the end of the room.

Bennett closed the door behind her, leaving her to the silence of Elmhirst's office.

The headmaster glanced up as the door shut. His spectacles balanced on the end of his long nose as he watched her. She could feel his distaste for her wash over the room, before he gestured to one of the chairs before him. With a great deal of effort Charlotte forced herself to walk towards his desk.

"You're late," he said at last, as she neared the wing-backed chairs.

"Sorry, sir," she muttered, trying to hide the anxiety in her voice and concealing her clenched fists in the folds of her skirt.

"Sit down," he ordered, his tone cold.

Elmhirst appraised her with icy grey eyes for a moment, before returning to the paperwork in front of him. She watched the vein throbbing in his forehead beneath his dark hair, streaked with grey. His hair had been combed back from his narrow face, making him appear harsh. He was a tall, thin man, with a cold, stony expression and an even harder demeanour.

The tick of the old clock on his desk and the scratch of his pen were the only sounds in the room as Charlotte sat awaiting interrogation.

Finally she leaned forward, preparing herself to ask Elmhirst to get it over with, when she heard the office door open once more. She shrank back into the seat, hoping to remain concealed from whoever had entered.

"Timing doesn't seem to be a strong point today," Elmhirst drawled, looking up from his paperwork to his next guest.

"Apologies sir," the male voice sighed, his tone indifferent and yet confident. "I was in the library and it took Mr Bennett a while to find me".

Elmhirst paused for a moment, tapping his finger against the table. "Sit down, Mr Alexander," he said, indicating the other chair.

Charlotte closed her eyes, willing herself to stay calm. It couldn't get much worse. She dug her nails into the leather of the armchair, her entire body tensing.