The headmistress was walking across the courtyard, sometimes around lunch. It wouldn't have been noticeable unless she was walking toward me. Then it was a little terrifying and reminded you that if you did something wrong, she would know very quickly.
"Mr. Drozdov," She says.
I swallowed, meeting her gaze. Was she going to ask why my father left in such an upset state? Why Nikolas and I walked out of the woods bloody and barely conscious? Or maybe it was something less important, like why I kept sneaking strawberries from the kitchens? "Yes?" I say.
Her eyes dart to my wings, where a bandage covered the wound. Ms. Greenwood said it would be best if I tried not to fly too much, but that did not stop me from flying. She said try, not don't. There's a difference. "I wanted to ask you, what happened in the woods the other night?" She says. "I've already asked Alexandre. I plan to go ask Nikolas sometime today as well,"
I nod. "What about... the other night," I say, pausing to notice that I saw somebody in the window behind the headmistress. My eyes meet Alex's. Wonderful. What did he want?
"What happened? Did you two do that to each other?" She asks.
I shake my head. "I don't really remember, actually. I think I might've hit my head. Ms. Greenwood said I might've gotten a concussion... so..." I say, shrugging.
The Headmistress looks at me with a raised eyebrow before nodding. "Okay. If you think you might remember something, please tell me," She says.
I nod my head, watching her as she walked off.
"What did you tell her?" Alex says, pinning me to the wall.
I scowl, shoving him off me. "Learn some manners, and maybe I'll tell you," I say, rolling my eyes.
Alex glares at me, waiting for an answer.
"I told her that I got a concussion and couldn't remember anything," I say. I brush my hair out of my face before looking back at Alex. "You don't think I'm stupid enough actually to tell her?"
"I think your little Italian friend is stupid enough to tell her," Alex says, pointing at me.
"No, he's not!" I argue, rolling my eyes. "Deimos probably would,"
"I know he probably would. The guy is as smart as marble is round," Alex says.
I tilt my head. That's the first time I've ever heard that insult. I sort of liked that insult, actually. "Let me go check, jeez," I say, rolling my eyes.
"Do you even know where he is?" Alex says. "You always go to the stupid courtyards. Starling, on the other hand—"
"He's at the astronomy tower," I answer, trying to ignore Alex.
"How do you know?" Alex asks, following me.
"'cause he likes to eat at the astronomy tower," I say.
"Do you stalk him?" Alex asks.
I glance over my shoulder at him. "Why would I stalk him?" I say.
Alex shrugs.
"Nikolas!" I say, sprinting into the astronomy tower. Alex had accidentally run into the headmistress, who was also on her way here now. We had maybe sixty seconds if we were lucky.
"What?" Nikolas says, glaring up at me. He was reading some books on the floor.
"The headmistress is coming," I say. "So you must lie,"
"Lie about what?" Nikolas says.
"Starling, just lie like your life depends on it," Alex growls, appearing from the staircase that led downstairs to the main corridor. His hair was windblown and continued to fall in his face as he walked over. "You're a good liar, right?" Alex says.
Nikolas furrows his eyebrows. "Y-yeah?" He says.
Alex narrows his eyes. "You're a terrible liar," He says. "He's a terrible liar. Why— this is going to go terribly," He looks at me, clearly annoyed.
"How about you go and distract the Headmistress? Or better yet, go jump into the lake and chill, okay?" I say, glaring at Alex.
Alex scowls but listens, turning away from us both and walking back down the staircase.
I look back at Nikolas. "You just have to lie. Anything that makes sense," I say.
"About what?" He asks.
"About what happened the other night, Starling," I say.
"Why?"
I hear footsteps and can't help but glance toward the staircase. I look back at Nikolas. "Please just lie," I say. I didn't know what happened in the woods. But I didn't want the teachers involved. Adults always make things personal and about them. I can't handle the stress of Hunters, Domenico, and Professors at the same time.
Nikolas doesn't answer, he just looked at me with an apologetic expression.
I glance over my shoulder again. "Damnit, Starling," I mutter, stepping toward the edge of the building, where long open spaces took up the walls, showing the school grounds. I jump down, my hands holding the dry walls of the Astronomy tower while I stood on a thin railing. I adjust my footing, only for the brick to crumble. I lost my footing and fell.
"Maybe you shouldn't be flying?" Alex suggests.
I glare at him, lying on my back. "Did you jump in the lake?" I say.
"No, you little shit," Alex snaps, glaring at me as he helped me stand. "Be lucky I don't punch you straight in the jaw,"
"Ooh, flirting?" I say, tilting my head.
"Ew! No," Alex says, grimacing. "And even if I were, you definitely aren't my type,"
I shrug, smiling softly. Will used to counter many threats like that. Sure, he always did get punched twice as hard as he originally would have, but it was a little funny. I glance at Nikolas as he lands softly in front of Alex and me.
"See? That's how you land! You just turned into a chicken and fell," Alex says.
"I'd like to see you fly with a stab wound in your wing!" I argue, throwing my arms up in the air.
"I'm confused. Do you hate each other, or are you guys, friends?" Nikolas says.
"Hate each other," I say, nodding.
"So much hate," Alex says, nodding his head in agreement. "Did you lie?"
"Yes," Nikolas says. "Why did I lie?"
"Because professors handle problems involving this sort of stuff worse than a toddler ever could," Alex says.
Nikolas and I furrow our eyebrows as we both look at Alex. How did he know that? I mean, I already knew that. But how did he?
"Oh, my parents track down Hunters. That's their job. That's also why they wanted me to stay clear of you," Alex says, looking at me with an annoyed expression.
