A Scarlett Ruin

Chapter Three

The wall was absolutely fascinating. A dull beige colour, and if Scarlett sniffed she could smell the hand sanitizer so strongly it might as well have been shoved towards her nose. Anything was better than looking in front of her.

If she averted her eyes just a dangerous inch to the side, she could see a Monet print. Water lilies – of course. She had to take the change cautiously, because it brought her gaze too close towards the woman sitting across from her. Still the print was easier to stare at and pretend real engrossment, though she'd seen her fair share of real Monet's over the years. Indolently, she wondered just how much the teachers got paid at this school considering the cheap print in the rather beautiful frame.

Yet she wasn't going to able to sit in silence forever, because there was a delicate little cough made in front of her.

Unable to stop herself, her eyes flashed with a dangerous mix of insolence and impatience backed up with outright annoyance. They landed on the counsellor who was watching her closely. She reminded Scarlett of a librarian with mossy hair and her grey pant suit. It did nothing to remove her feeling that she was living between shades of grey.

They'd had two meetings so far; one every two weeks. When she'd been informed that she'd have to be in counselling sessions to attend the school, Scarlett had thought it couldn't be too bad. It meant she could skip one class every couple weeks, and she was certain that they couldn't be that intensive. They'd only be bleakly judging her off a few words and then she'd be on her way after they realized she was perfectly healthy and at no risk.

What she hadn't expected was the blunt questions that the woman had started off with in that first session. They'd rung through Scarlett's ears and numbed her tongue until it was useless. When she gained use of her limbs again, she'd grabbed her bag and walked out without a word or backwards glance.

The second meeting had been sat through in complete silence on her part. And even when it became clear that she wasn't going to speak to the woman, deeply distrustful of her, she hadn't been allowed to leave. So they'd sat together. The counsellor gave her a shiver of unease up her spine. Maybe it was the eyes that were too sharp for their own good or the fact she could imagine her salivating for information. Whatever it was, she clammed up well and good before the door even closed behind her.

So when their third meeting had started, Scarlett hadn't even greeted her, only sat stiffly in her chair with her books on her lap. That's when the wall staring had begun.

Finally with the gaze she wanted fixed on her, the counsellor reached up to adjust those circular glasses. Scarlett despised the sight of them. The distaste was probably clear on her face, but the woman went on with it. "You're going to have to speak to me eventually, Scarlett. We're in here for a reason."

A sneer wanted to roll her lips back, but she buried it quickly. Even she had some self-preservation. Instead she let her eyes narrow before she turned her gaze away. This time in the opposite direction and she got a window out of the deal.

It should have been plenty more interesting than the beige wall. However the rain pounding and dark sky did nothing to lift her mood. It had been dreary for the past two days, but importantly dry. Apparently the sky had tired of holding back, and let the deluge loose to pound on the stone and their heads just as she was walking towards this building. It made the earthy scent rise up from the stones and gardens, slipping over the students as they walked between classes.

At least it let her eyes trace the raindrops that caught on the glass.

Then came a heaving sigh that grated right across Scarlett's teeth. She had to resist the urge to cringe at the sound, but allowed herself to press her lips together in a hard line. There was a sound of flipping paper, like the flap of a particularly nasty set of doves. Maybe not doves – hawks seemed far more fitting at this point. Something with a sharp gaze and deadly claws.