Obscure

twenty eight

SOPHIE JUMPED AND her hands shot out, gripping the edge of the table. Her eyes grew wide and shot up. Her roommate stood beneath the archway that separated the bedroom from the kitchen. Her hand pressed against her mouth, the corners of her eyes wrinkled with glee.

Eli glanced back over his shoulder and grimaced.

Her roommate bolted across the room. "Eli!" she gasped, wrenching a chair closer to him and plopping down. Her hand grasped his arm and tugged. "I didn't know you'd be dropping in to see me! I would have tried to dress up a bit and look pretty!"

Eli's expression became pained. Then, before the girl noticed, it transformed into something charming. "It's nice to see you again, Margret. You look quite lovely this morning."

Margret blushed. She fluffed her hair with approval. "Did you come to have breakfast with me?"

"Of...course," Eli stuttered. Margret tugged on his arm some more, grinning up at him dreamily. He glanced at Sophie, and his expression twisted with chagrin.

Sophie arched an eyebrow, folding her arms across her chest as she leaned back in her seat. Her lips pressed into an amused smirk.

Margret hesitated. Her gaze followed Eli's helpless one, and noticed Sophie for the first time. Her eyes narrowed with irritation. "Don't you have a shower to take? Or something else to do? The adults are trying to converse here."

A snort escaped Sophie. "Of course. Who am I to have breakfast?"

Eli made a disgruntled noise as Sophie pushed her chair back. She stood, plucking her apple from the table, and took a bite. He watched her with a somewhat horrified look on his face. "You don't really have to leave," he said.

Her gaze locked with his, her amusement evident in her expression. "I know."

Sophie demolished the last of her apple and started toward her bedroom. She rummaged through her bag, picking out a new outfit. She didn't think that she'd have to compete today, as the others still had to finish the obstacle course. But her outfit still resembled the one she wore the day before, just in case. She took a quick shower and changed.

When she emerged, Eli had vanished. Margret stood beside the fridge, her arms folded across her chest. Her lips twisted with a pout. "Are you finally ready?"

"Sure," Sophie said. She pulled her damp hair back with a hair tie.

Margret stomped toward the door. She wrenched it open without as much as a glance backward to see whether Sophie followed. With a heavy sigh, Sophie stepped into the hallway and looked around. It was as dark and foreboding as it had been the night before. A shudder tore through her body.

"Hurry up," Margret snapped.

Sophie caught a glimpse of Margret vanishing through another corridor. Her arms folded across her chest and she hurried after her. Despite how much she disliked Margret, she didn't want to get lost again. Not after the last time.

Margret made her way down several more corridors. As they passed through, Sophie found that she recognized a bit of the decor. Then she found herself back in the courtyard.

The obstacle course had been reset; a much thicker rope stretched across the two poles. Sophie looked up, and noticed that another countdown clock was centered within the sky. Now she didn't bother to keep up with Margret. Her gaze traveled around as she crossed the field, toward the platform. It looked the same, excluding a pair of chairs situated in the center of it.

Eli stood beside the chairs, his hands shoved into his front pockets. As Sophie stepped onto the platform, his expression lightened. He beamed at her.

Sophie drifted toward him. Her gaze flickered around. The rest of the contestants were present, along with Evangeline and Aubrey. Most seemed clustered several feet from the chairs. The only one missing was the Headmaster.

Margret's fiery gaze followed Sophie across the platform. "Is this the re-do?" Sophie asked, stopping in front of Eli. She peered upward. Her arms remained crossed over her chest.

Eli bobbled his head with a nod. "Yes, ma'am!"

Sophie arched an eyebrow at his enthusiasm. He grinned wider at her expression and reached out, patting the back of the chair closest. "This is your seat," he announced.

"But what if I don't want to sit there?" she asked, just to be difficult. Her lips twitched with a small smile.

Amusement swam within Eli's mismatched eyes. "Tough luck," he said and stuck his tongue out.

Sophie laughed. She shook her head at him and looked around again, wondering when the Headmaster would appear. She wanted the event to start so she could go back to her dorm. When her gaze skirted over the other contestants, she noticed Margret's furious expression. Sophie's smile grew wider.

A blur parted from the crowd then, and walked closer. It was Natalie, dressed in an outfit like Sophie's. She dipped her head in a slight nod at Eli as she approached, and then smiled at Sophie. "Good morning," she said.

Sophie shifted around on her feet. "Good morning," she repeated, and smiled slightly at Natalie. Her stomach twisted with nerves.

But Natalie didn't seem to carry any malice like Margret. In fact, Sophie realized, none of the other Night Class members seemed angry about her relationship with Eli. The other Night Class girl had completely ignored Eli from the start. A small part of her felt better. At least she didn't have to watch her back around them.

Natalie sat down in the untouched chair and crossed her legs, resting her hands atop her knee. She looked so elegant that Sophie wanted to cry.

Eli's snickered, and he patted the back of the chair in front of Sophie. It was now the only open option.

She scowled at his happiness.

"So what do we do now?" she asked, reluctantly easing down into the chair. She had to crane her neck back just so she could see his face. "Are we just going to sit here and watch?"

"Yeah!" Eli chirped. "Then once these guys finish, the next challenge will start." His eyebrows puckered. "I think it's the mental test."

Natalie nodded. "It usually is."

Sophie glanced at her. Her lips twisted with a frown. Eli reached down and squeezed her shoulder. "Don't worry about it," he said. "It doesn't count against you much."

"Unless you completely bomb it," Natalie interluded. "The test is standardized though. Even if you had the IQ of a bug, you'd get at least sixty percent of the questions right."

"I can't wait," Sophie muttered sarcastically. She hated tests.

Then her thoughts slammed against a metaphorical wall. She straightened a bit, and clenched her teeth. Why was she stressing over this test?

She didn't even want to be here.

Screw the test, she decided. She leaned back in her seat, her arms folded across her chest. Headmaster's voice boomed across the field then, drifting from a video played overhead. As he announced the start of the re-do, Sophie ignored him.

Her thoughts unconsciously drifted toward Mr. Wolfe.

Would History class still be the same when she returned?