It was barely first period when a Sister came to take me to the headmistress. I looked at Charlotte wondering if she found out about our skinny dipping last night. But I was the only one that was called to her office.
Sister Agnes was sitting behind her big mahogany desk, glasses perched on the tip of her nose as always.
"How are you doing, Mary?" she asked.
I shifted uncomfortably on my feet. "I'm doing great. Am I in trouble?"
She gave me a brief look. "Have you been indulging in things that could get you in trouble, Mary?"
I immediately shook my head. "No, sister."
"I've assigned a guardian to you. This should've been done after your enrollment but I've been busy and I wanted to do it myself. It's important that I oversee the affairs of my students." She raised papers and files on her desk, before pulling out a small brown envelope.
"Ms. Duval is your guardian moving forward." She gave me the envelope. "Give this to her. If you encounter any problems, you can always go to her. And concerning what happened the last time." She clasped her hands in front of her. "You will have counseling sessions with her twice a week, you can work out the schedule together."
"Okay, Sister."
"All things aside, I hope you're settling in fine?"
I nodded, bolting for the door the minute I was dismissed. I had to find Ms. Duval and give her the letter in the envelope so she'll sign.
Of course the universe still conspired to bring us together. I was happy that it meant I'd still be able to see her but I was nervous. Would she be able to keep our personal matters aside for our counseling sessions?
Just sitting across from her and being able to look at her was enough for me. It meant she wasn't totally ignoring my existence. But she wasn't in her office, and she wasn't in her apartment either.
I wandered off to the east wing of the teacher's quarters. Nobody ever really went there, it was more or less abandoned. But I had the urge to look around.
That was where I found Ms. Duval, with a cigarette in one hand and a book in the other. From here she looked like something surreal, her posture elegant even while doing something so ordinary.
She didn't look up from the book she was reading. "You're not supposed to be here."
Something about her always managed to steal my breath away. She was wearing a halter neck top that showed off her cleavage and a tight skirt that hugged her curves perfectly.
"My eyes are up here." Her voice snapped me out of it.
I cleared my throat. "The headmistress asked me to give you this letter as my appointed guardian."
She didn't seem surprised by it. She took a long drag before sitting up as she exhaled. "Anything else?"
"Counselling sessions two times a week. I know your little girlfriend will not be happy about it." I twisted my fingers, finding sudden interest in my shoes.
I expected her to be angry, that was my last memory of her. But instead she smiled. "I don't have a girlfriend, and if I did they wouldn't be little."
This was the version of Ms. Duval I knew, not the angry one that surfaced whenever Isadora was around.
"Anything else?" she asked when I didn't move to leave.
I hesitated. "I saw Mary again last night."
Her brows furrowed. "Where?"
I'd have to snitch on Charlotte's location. "There was this river I found at the back of the school so I went there to have a little dip." I wondered if she could tell I was lying. "She was in the water. She held my ankle and tried to drown me."
"That should not be happening." She closed her book and snuffed out her cigarette.
There was a growl in the distance, like some wild animal. We both turned to the window.
"You have to leave now," Ms. Duval said, her voice urgent.
"I will, but I have a question about Mary. How did she die?"
Ms. Duval's face was carefully composed when she turned to me, but her eyes betrayed the nervousness she felt.
"Was she assigned to you too? Were you her guardian?"
She gave me a single nod.
"So we're practically living the same lives. Same name, same face, same guardian. I think her ghost keeps haunting me because she thinks I've taken over her life. That's the only thing that makes sense to me."
"I'd argue that it was your imagination if I hadn't seen the bruises she left on you myself."
"Then help me find answers, I need to know why this is happening to me. You were the closest to Mary, if anyone knows what really happened to her then it's you. I want to know how she ended up being so important to the school that they're trying to replace her with me." Something finally clicked. "Maybe that's why I got admitted in the first place despite not having the right credentials for enrollment."
"I think you're overthinking it." Ms. Duval's voice was unsteady which was unusual.
"And you're not thinking about it enough." I retorted.
She scoffed. "You think knowing what happened will save you? You were doomed from the moment you stepped through those gates."
"What do you mean?"
There was another growl in the distance, like an animal in pain. Which was surprising because there was nothing else on this deserted island except the school.
She doubled over like she was in pain. "If you keep pushing for answers the school will try to silence you. That's what it does to everybody that asks questions. Ignorance is the only way to survive here."
"I still don't get it. What are they hiding that they need to protect it this much?"
"I'll tell you as much as I know but right now you need to leave." She leaned over, struggling to hold up her weight.
"Are you okay?" I moved closer but she recoiled from my touch and it sent a flash of pain through me. "Do I need to call someone for you?"
"Just…leave. I can't hold it in anymore."
"Hold what in?"
"I'm trying to protect you but you keep asking so many damn questions! Just leave!"
"Protect me from the school? Just tell me what's happening and how I can help you." The veins on her arms were growing visible, their color a bright red.
She laughed but it sounded maniacal, like something out of a horror story.
"I'm trying to protect you from myself," was the last thing she said before her eyes rolled into the back of her head. "I'd run if I was you."