The Fairest Stars

Chapter Eight: 'More inconstant than the wind.'

Kael was late. Again. Isis couldn’t help but feel disappointed, though, as she sternly told herself, she had no right to be. It was just what Lydia had said during their cancelled lesson; saying Kael had been drinking in the sight of her. She wanted to see if he did look at her like that.

He had been looking at her with an expression she couldn’t quite decipher, she had to admit. She’d personally thought the glazed look which occasionally passed over his eyes was the result of either boredom, or some sort of drug rather than lust. She had no idea if Kael was of the sort to take drugs, but it wouldn’t really surprise her. But still. She wanted to have a proper look, and see if what Lydia had said could be backed up at all.

It had been pestering her ever since. She’d gone back over their conversation, wondering if it was flirting (she came to the conclusion that it definitely wasn’t. Boys didn’t use lines from Lewis Carroll to snare the girls they were interested in- that just wasn’t the way that it worked) and had even let herself imagine that he secretly did like her, and was wasting away with his love for her. Pfft. After a week? He might as well just do a Romeo and Juliet, and marry her if he was in love after a week.

Not that he was anyway. Isis turned to her script again, but even that couldn’t distract her. She knew Lydia had been wrong, but what she had said was still playing over and over like a broken record in her mind.

She looked up as Mrs Robson started to announce what they’d be doing today. Thankfully she’d arrived, still looking as if she was in a sort of trance, she’d been perfectly alright, and perfectly dressed in what could probably pass for a Mrs Santa outfit- it was bright red with furry white edging.

‘Children, today we will be exploring your characters in further depth,’ she declared. ‘We’ll start from Act 1 and Scene 1, and go from there.’

Isis scanned the lines. Mercutio didn’t make an entrance for quite some time, so it was fine. Fine. She didn’t have anything to say either: she didn’t make an entrance until Scene 3. Settling back into her chair, she crossed her legs beneath her and waited expectantly. She’d been looking forward to starting to read through the script.

The actor playing Sampson began to speak. ‘Gregory, on my word-’

The door opened, and in came Kael. A smile plastered onto his face, he practically skipped into the room, sitting down close next to Isis. She got a whiff of alcohol and shut her eyes in despair.

He’d gotten himself drunk?! For what benefit?! Was she really that hard to deal with that he had to drink alcohol to bear it?

The others continued to read through the script. Kael looked around, and then smiled foolishly at Isis.

‘Are you drunk?’ she inquired, in a harsh whisper.

He beamed. ‘Not quite!’ His words weren’t slurring, which she took as a good sign. ‘I’m just tipsy drunk, Isis.’ Why did people who were intoxicated always struggle to whisper?

‘Tipsy drunk?’

‘I just had one bottle!’ he protested. ‘I promise!’

‘But why did you have one bottle?’ she replied. ‘What were you thinking?’She knew she probably didn’t have any right to be cross with him, but the fact that he’d strolled- no, skipped- into the room without a care in the world, having drunk enough to make himself get into a stupidly happy mood couldn’t help but piss her off.

‘I was cross,’ he said, with a delighted laugh. ‘But I feel better now.’

Now he was behaving even more like a two year old. Isis had no idea what to do. She hadn’t had much experience of dealing with people who were tipsy-drunk, but she knew that under no circumstances could Kael be left alone. He clearly didn’t know his own mind.