Chapter 7 Absent

After a restful morning sleep, June had gone back to her room so they could head to the bathhouse and then to the dining hall for breakfast.

"Where's Gwendolyn?" Elaine asked as they made their way to the dining hall, which was in the same building.

"I don't know," June replied, earning a questioning look from Elaine. "She wasn't in the room when I came back."

"And you aren't worried?"

"No. She usually disappears like that sometimes."

"Oh," Elaine nodded slowly.

"She should already be at the dining hall."

"Okay."

"Why do you call her by her full name?" June asked.

"You mean Gwendolyn?"

"Yes."

"It's nothing. I just don't think we're close enough. She doesn't seem to like me very much."

"That's not true. She's just like that—she behaves that way toward almost everyone. Just a little softer with me."

"Hmm," Elaine hummed, unconvinced.

As they stepped into the dining hall, Elaine was impressed. Like the rest of the school, it was elegant and antique. A long dining table stretched across the room, with beautiful chandeliers hanging above, shining brightly. There were many students, but what caught her attention most were the dishes and the wonderful aroma. It made her salivate. She hadn't realized she was hungry until she stepped in.

They sat down quietly and ate, talking about mundane things. Elaine noticed two people she knew were absent, Gwen and Allan. Is it a coincidence that they both aren't here? she wondered. Or are they together? The thought made her uneasy.

What is wrong with me? she scolded herself internally.

"Gwendolyn isn't here," Elaine pointed out, hoping June would say something to ease her mind.

"I guess not," June replied.

"Is it okay for students to skip meals?"

"Yes, especially on Sundays. Some students love to sleep in after mass. Plus, the dining hall is always open."

"Really?"

"Yes. Some usually come later."

"So what next?" Elaine asked.

"What?" June repeated, confused.

"Like… today is Sunday. Do we just laze about until tomorrow when classes start?"

"Well, yes," she answered.

"Okay."

"But Sunday nights are the best part," June continued. "We usually have Sunday night activities."

"Like what?" Elaine asked, intrigued.

"At night, we go outside, have fun, and there are different activities every Sunday, games, tasks, wagers. They're always so much fun… until you end up on the losing team."

"What's so bad about losing?"

"You don't just lose and walk away. One time, I ended up on the losing team and had to do someone's fieldwork for a month!" June said dramatically.

"Fieldwork?"

"Fieldwork," she repeated. "Every Thursday is sanitary day."

"I don't understand."

"We usually clean the senior building and enviroment. We're divided into groups, some groups do fieldwork. It's the hardest part, and we don't get reassigned for a whole month."

"Oh, did you say senior building?"

"Yes. All this you see is the senior building," she said, gesturing around.

"So where are the juniors?"

"The juniors' building is a little farther from here."

"About sanitary day," June continued, "it's hard to escape it unless you pretend to be sick. But then you spend the entire day in the infirmary."

"Sounds stressful," Elaine said, already dreading Thursdays.

"I…" Elaine trailed off as she watched someone familiar walk in, someone she had been looking forward to. Most importantly, Gwen wasn't with him.

Her heart rate spiked. Her entire being seemed drawn to him as he sat far from where she and June were. Nevertheless she could still see him. But there was something off about him.

Red.

She noticed it, a small detail one could easily miss. Maybe it was because she wasn't just looking at his face like the other girls giggling childishly around her. She was observing everything, his whole being.

There were faint red splatters on his neck, just below his jaw, where his black hoodie didn't fully cover.

Paint? she wondered.

Probably, she concluded.

She was still staring when his head suddenly snapped up, his eyes locking directly onto hers. Cold and hard.

Her breath hitched. As their eyes met for a moment, before he slightly lowerd his sight to his neck, where the red splatters were, as though he knew what she was looking at. As he looked up again, she Instantly lowered her head, avoiding the intensity of his gaze. She felt as though she had been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to be.

He seemed angry, she decided. Maybe whatever art he had been working on hadn't turned out well.

"Elaine!" June called, her voice loud enough to snap her out of it.

"What?" Elaine asked, flustered.

"Instead of wasting all that precious time, why don't I take you around the school?" June suggested.

"That sounds nice, but maybe later today. I plan on going back to sleep."

"No way!" June said, shaking her head. "I'm going to show you around the school. In fact, let's go look for Gwen," she added, pulling Elaine out of the dining hall.