by Zoe Knights
“Okay, just… let me do your make-up. Please? And you have to go. I told you boarding school is all about putting yourself out there and getting involved!”
“Agh fine,” Eddie sighed brusquely. Then she hesitated, eyeing Quinn uncertainly. “Just… don’t do too much. Please… and no big eyebrows. They look weird on me.”
Quinn chuckled, “Probably because you have like no eyebrows normally?”
“Hey!” Eddie spluttered. “They’re just fair!”
“I’ll just add a little colour… okay? I promise.”
Finally, Eddie agreed, and with too much enthusiasm Quinn set about her work.
They weren’t a match in foundation at all considering their vastly different shades of skin, but Quinn managed to make do with some of her powders. Her eye shadow was incredible. Eddie had only ever dabbed on a bit of glitter in the past, but Quinn had a whole collection of colours and shades. She used four colours, worrying Eddie that she would look like a clown – but, in fact, it was low-key and simple, merely defining her eyes. She then expertly shaped Eddie’s eyebrows and applied mascara that made her eyelashes look twice their size.
Eddie was surprised to find she didn’t mind how she looked. In fact, she’d be willing to admit she looked quite pretty.
“Wow… you’re really good at this,” Eddie said in surprise.
Quinn chuckled, “I watch a lot of YouTube tutorials,” she said as she began to tame Eddie’s hair, making it less hectic-curls and more gentle-waves. “Has anyone ever told you your hair kind of looks like old school Taylor Swift?”
Eddie blanched. “Agh. Yes. It’s not my fault! I’m not trying to make it look like that, it just does it all on its own!”
Quinn raised a surprised eyebrow. “Okay…sheesh. I meant it as a compliment,” she chuckled slightly. “It’s gorgeous. So… care-free.”
Eddie snorted, shaking her head. “Yeah, care-free because can you imagine how long it would take taming this every day?”
Quinn rolled her eyes. “You need to learn how to graciously accept a compliment,” she scolded. “Alright,” she added when she had finished with her work. “Clothes time.”
The two then chose their outfits – Eddie donning jeans, her little green jumper and her brother’s gifted coat. Quinn had impeccable style. Her outfit probably cost more than Eddie’s entire wardrobe combined. She wore waist-high pencil leg pants with heels and an off the shoulder dark red top with long sleeves. Everything Quinn owned had fancy designer labels and thick, strong fabric, lacking in the holes and loose threads that Eddie’s bore.
They headed off, finding their way to the party, the music from the boathouse drifting across the grounds to the school entrance. Inside, tables lined the walls with snacks and drinks and Quinn elbowed Eddie to point this out.
“Don’t forget half the drinks are spiked,” she said quietly with a wink. “Better choose the right one,” she hinted cheekily.
“Quinn, Eddie!!” Millie’s excited voice sounded from across the room before the red-headed girl darted over to them. “Oh, I’m so glad you came,” she said happily, her eyes flickering frequently to Eddie’s brown-eyed friend. “Come on, come in – Eddie do you want me to introduce you to more people?”
Eddie shook her head, “That’s fine, Millie,” she said quickly. “I’ll manage.”
“Eddie, I thought I should tell you something,” Millie continued seriously. “I feel awful for assuming what had happened between you and Sam earlier this week. He’s been making it well known to all, and I quote, that ‘he hasn’t laid a finger on you, and if he did you’d likely chop it off’.”
Eddie snorted a laugh of surprise. “Okay well… that’s good, I guess,” she muttered. “And don’t feel bad. You weren’t the only one. I just can’t believe he has that much of a reputation that everyone’s mind first goes there.”
“He prides himself on his reputation,” Millie sighed. “Anyway, come on. The others are over here – grab a drink! Oh… er, the ones on the left table are booze-free, but anything else is a risk!”
Eddie exchanged a slightly cheeky glance with Quinn before helping herself to the spiked punch.
She choked and coughed on her first sip, spiced rum the most overpowering taste of the drink. She found she did not dislike the taste – however, the burn in her throat had her eyes watering.
Quinn laughed at her, having no problem with her own alcohol. “Have you ever drank before?”
“Yes,” Eddie said back touchily. “Well… sort of,” she added sheepishly. “I had some mulled wine once.”
Quinn laughed again, “Well… just take it slowly. And drink water,” she advised as they continued over to Millie who’d sat down with Elliot, Devna, Kai, and Natasha.
“Yes, you made it!” Devna squealed in delight, and Eddie had a feeling she was already tipsy. “You’re drinking right?” she demanded of both Quinn and Eddie.
“Dev!” Elliot scolded. “What did I say? Drink if you want, just don’t let me know about it!”
Devna rolled her eyes. “Oh, what are you going to do about it?”
“Nothing,” Elliot narrowed his eyes. “Which is why saying it puts both me and Millie in an awkward position.”
Devna just laughed. “Speaking of awkward positions,” she looked cheekily at Eddie. “I’ve been hearing things…”
Eddie raised her eyebrows, taking another sip and managing not to cough this time. “Hmm?” she murmured, confused.
“You and Samael…”
Eddie nearly did choke this time, though not because of the rum. “Anything you heard is not true! He showed me to class, and that was it!” she spluttered furiously.
Tash snorted derisively. “Right, ‘showed’ you. What else did he show you?”
“Not cool, Tash,” Kai cut in before Eddie had the chance. “Sam will flip his shit if he hears people still talking about that – it’s not true. Obviously, some girls can resist him.”
Tash made an irritated sound from the back of her throat. “Whatever,” she snapped, standing up. “I’m bored. I’m going to find something actually fun to do.”
She stomped off. Kai hesitated for a moment, his neck a little red before he followed without looking at the others.
Eddie looked at Quinn with raised eyebrows.
Quinn inclined her head, leaning closer. “That’s that…on again off again thing I was telling you about. It’s pretty weird, they’re always doing that,” she explained in a whisper. “But, everyone knows Tash wants to get with Sam – but he’s never shown any interest in her.”
“Well, that’s awkward…” Eddie muttered back.
Conversation continued, Eddie had two more drinks, and by the time Devna excitedly suggested playing a game she was feeling very dizzy in the head.
“Truth or dare,” Devna waggled her eyebrows. “Who’s in?!”
“Oh no…” muttered Millie while Quinn laughed.
“Oh come on, it’ll be fun!” urged Devna. “How about you, Eddie?” she turned her cheeky gaze on Eddie. “You game?”
Eddie shrugged casually. “Oh, I’m in,” she said with an edge of daring to her voice. Tipsy or not she could never resist a dare.
Devna’s interest was piqued. “Oh really? Okay then, you can go first, new girl. Truth or dare?”
“Dare,” Eddie said without pause. “Definitely. But, no kissing anyone.”
Devna rolled her eyes. “Fine. Walk the wood rail along the jetty on the lake.”
Millie gasped, “No, that’s so dangerous! The water would be freezing if she fell,” she said firmly.
“That’s why it’s a good dare,” Devna said back.
“Don’t do it, Eddie,” Millie urged.
“It’s fine. I’ll do it,” Eddie shrugged, feeling far too confident. “I have good balance.”
Quinn snorted. “You forget you’re drunk, Eddie,” she laughed. “Your good balance is way gone.”
Eddie stood up, grinning down at Quinn. “Phht, I’ll be f
ine,” she said cockily.
She walked off out the door, and the small group got up excitedly to follow.
Eddie was already hopping up onto the railing when they got there.
“Oh God, oh God, oh God,” Millie muttered under her breath. Quinn laughed, but it was nervously now that they were in the cool night air.
“She’ll be okay, right?” Quinn whispered back, apprehension getting to her.
Eddie glanced at them with a cocky grin, but she nearly slipped on the first step.
“Eddie!” Quinn gasped, and Millie grasped her hand tightly in fear, both their cheeks flushing at the contact.
Eddie steadied herself, laughing off the surge of adrenaline that had rushed through her. “Okay, here I go…”
She started again. One step, then two. She was focusing on a place just in front of her, and she got further and further. Her confidence grew at the end of the jetty, and she did a little hop to turn around.
She looked out at her view, barely hearing the party from her spot as the wind off the lake roared in her ears. She paused, her eyes catching sight of something off to the left close to the woods that shaded the edge of the school grounds across the water.
She was certain she could see a figure… walking with a great big black dog just like the one she’d seen on her first day. For a moment, she thought the beast turned to look at her, and two ruby red dots blazed in her vision where its eyes should have been.
Jolted in shock and fear Eddie went to take a step back. Her foot missed the railing, slipping on the mossy edge of the wood and before she knew it… she was falling hard into the lake.
Eddie barely had the chance to gasp before every sense went numb and then… the cold. It hurt, jolting her sober in a heartbeat, and the shock made her eyes go wide, the icy water streaming in, stinging and freezing her sockets.
She wasn’t sure if she could move her muscles, and panic began to creep over her brain, loud silence pounding her eardrums.
Something blurred above her, a dark mass shielding the silver rays of the moon rippling in the water. In mere moments she felt movement around her, something had scooped her up, and water gushed past her till finally, she broke free of the lake’s surface.
She gasped in the air in shock as the world and sound came back to her.
Whoever had her was incredibly warm, despite having just been in the same icy lake and Eddie began to shiver immediately. A strange almost strangled giggle erupted from her throat as a mix of adrenaline and her tipsy state took over again, but it was stifled just as instantly when her eyes fell on who had her.
It was Sam.
“Wha-what?” she chattered through her teeth, confusion fogging her mind as she felt thoroughly disconcerted. But, there was nothing much she could do as she was being pulled out of the water now and much to her own frustration she found herself clinging to the warmth that pulsed off said boy. She almost thought if you looked really closely, there was a slight glow coming off his skin.
He set her down on the firm grassy ground on shore, ensuring she could stand while she stared at him with a confused frown. Vaguely she could hear cheering mixed with the gasps of her concerned friends asking if she was alright coming toward them.
“I s-saw you in the woods,” she stuttered, shivering, barely noticing as Millie had thrown her own jacket around Eddie’s shoulders and Quinn was grasping her arm, trying to make sure she was okay.
“I think she’s had a little too much to drink,” Sam told her friends, ignoring Eddie. “Should probably get her inside, somewhere warm.”
Before Eddie could demand any answers from the strangely warm, dark-haired boy, he was walking off swiftly, entirely unaffected by the freezing water that drenched his clothes.
“Eddie are you alright?” Quinn’s voice finally broke through her daze, and she turned to look at her.
“Where did he come from?” she asked, her lips turning blue.
“I don’t know,” Quinn said back, while she and Millie began pulling her toward the castle. “But, you need to get out of those clothes and by a fire.”
“That was amazing!” Devna gasped, running along beside them as they hurried for the warmth of inside. “I didn’t even know Sam was here. Did anyone see him? Oh, and I can’t wait to see Tash’s face. She’s going to hate you, Eddie.”
“Pretty chivalrous of him to jump in like that,” agreed Millie. “Though I can’t believe this happened. I’m such a terrible head girl. Eddie, I’m so sorry.”
Eddie just shook her head, unable to shake the sight she was certain she’d seen before falling into the lake. “Don’t be stupid Millie – it was a dare, and I wanted to do it…” she muttered.
She glanced back behind them before they disappeared through the castle doors, her eyes lingering on the woods on the other side of the lake, scanning the tree line for a set of ruby-red eyes.
Strange Encounters
5
That weekend the cold snap continued. Eddie was struggling. Her curly hair stuck out under her warm, dark green beanie, falling messily over her shoulders which still shivered despite her jumper, jacket and scarf combo.
Quinn found it quite comical, always trying not to laugh when she looked at her. “You need thermals,” she told her in amusement while she unwrapped two stolen brownies from the previous evening’s dessert. “You’re going to die at Christmas otherwise.”
Eddie shivered again as a particularly chilly gust of wind breezed past them. “I don’t think I’ll make it to Christmas,” she bit out, rubbing her arms gingerly. “And to think I thought I’d like your winters. Snow and all that. This is so disappointing. It just rains and is grey and so. Bloody. Freezing.”
Quinn chuckled again. “It’s not even winter yet,” she chided, now taking a bite and holding the other brownie out to her. Eddie took it unenthusiastically. “Yeah, they’re pretty shit…” sighed Quinn between mouthfuls. “But, it’s still chocolate.”
Eddie inclined her head. “Mm. It’s clearly packet mix. That or they used shitty eggs that were way too cold when they added them to the sugar. You can tell from the mottled surface that they didn’t emulsify properly.”
Quinn stared at her.
Eddie blushed. “Food science is cool…” she defended lamely, taking a bite of the sub-par brownie.
Quinn chuckled, but merely turned the bend, leading them around the corner of the building toward the sunny courtyard they were headed.
Eddie noticed a commotion ahead under cover of the school building where students usually snuck out to smoke out of view of teachers.
There was a small group of students surrounding just one. Sam. And the students were all part of the FAITH group.
Eddie stared as they walked nearer, their voices carried to her on the wind before she reached them.
“Change subjects,” Simon was the one speaking. “You care nothing for our beliefs. Our God. It shouldn’t matter to you.”
Sam merely seemed quite amused as he rolled himself a cigarette. “And so you’ve cornered me with your little posse of sheep?” he quipped. “To what… intimidate me to leave because you’re afraid of having your faith challenged? Shouldn’t it be strong enough to withstand the likes of me?”
“You know what you do!” Simon stepped closer to Sam angrily, breaking off from the semi-circle that surrounded him. “You corrupt others. Spread lies with… with the cover of charm-”
“Aw, McLaren. Are you calling me charming?” Sam cut in, holding his cigarette between his fingers as he smirked at Simon.
“I’m calling you the Antichrist,” Simon growled lowly.
Eddie stopped in her step. “What the hell is going on here?” she couldn’t help but cut in, moving around their group to stand aside from all of them, Quinn hesitantly hovering behind her.
“Nothing that concerns you, Eden,” Simon snapped without looking at her. “I’m having a discussion with Samael and his subject choices that are upsetting the students.”
Edd
ie raised an eyebrow, but her eyes slid to Linh who stood silently with the group behind Simon. “I thought your group was meant to be a ‘kind and friendly’ youth group,” she said, disappointment colouring her tone. “And here you are ganging up on someone to make them move class?”
Sam answered before Linh had the chance. “Ah, Eden… you forget. They’re a conservative religious group. They thrive on corruption and hypocrisy.”
“We are simply expressing our feelings to Samael,” Linh spoke up. “We believe he does not show our religious beliefs any respect. And he is causing a great deal of distress to many of us in a class he clearly has no care for.”
“It’s Study of Religion,” Eddie frowned at the girl. “Not church. We’re all allowed our own opinions.”
“Perhaps. But only if there is respect,” Linh said straight back.
“And how exactly am I supposed to respect you when you believe blindly in something, and yet also are terrified of anyone speaking even slightly against it?” Sam snarled, tucking his cigarette into the pocket of his jacket. “That is simply pathetic to me.”
“Well only someone as faithless as yourself could say that!” Simon threw in this time. “You don’t even know what respect is!”
“Let me tell you what I respect then,” Sam narrowed his eyes. “I respect people who use their brain and don’t mindlessly follow something that they don’t truly know!” Eddie could tell he was getting irritated now. “Take Eden, for example,” Sam abruptly gestured to her, and her stomach jolted. “Someone who understands that religion has serious significance to this world, but doesn’t blindly believe in the bible. That is what I call intelligence. And that I can respect.”
Eddie blinked in surprise, but she had no chance to offer her own words for Simon was getting just as riled up as Sam.
“Well one thing I don’t respect is the son of a whore who thinks blasphemy is a joke,” he growled.
There was a moment of silence as everyone’s breath seemed to catch at the same time.
“What did you say?” Sam’s tone was suddenly low and dangerous as he took a single step closer to Simon.