-Tristan-
The rest of my day went on smoothly, although there was a part of me was quite u neasy, no matter how I tried to settle it down. Fiona had repeatedly flashed me her penetrating gaze, as if she'd been watching my moves.
You know her eyes were as sharp as the colossal squid's, so the plan of actions had to be sneaky.
However, it seemed that luck wasn't on my side these days, unfortunately.
"Here's the final one." Grey tossed down a picture of a girl. "She's from my Eco nomics class."
I gathered all the scattered photos that the guys had collected from each female participant of the Fate dance, and scrutinized them one by one.
First picture: a blonde with freckles across her face. Nah, Cinderella had a dar k one.
Second picture: a ginger... nope.
Third picture: a pretty brunette, and I recognized this person as Ronnie.
"Flip the photos," Grey suggested, leaning closer to my side. "We made them writ e the name of their Fate strings for you to be able to recognize them easily."
I flicked the back part of Ronnie's photo. There it was written: The Mask.
Shrugging, I put it aside, and Ryo quickly grabbed it.
"You're not going to take this, are you?" he asked perkily.
"Nope. All yours," I said, turning another photo.
"Oh yes, hell yes! I finally have a picture of her." He flapped the photo in the air like a ten-year-old kid having a Happy Meal for the first time.
Justin slapped him on the back. "Dude, you sound like a creepy stalker."
As I kept on turning each photograph, I felt as if I was sinking in the deepest part of the ocean, dissatisfaction drowning me in huge waves.
Seventh picture: a dark-haired one, The Hourglass.
Eighth picture: a short-haired, The Sunrise.
Ninth picture: a brunette, The Harp.
Tenth picture: a blonde, Monique Mayfield, The Turquoise.
Eleventh picture-
My fingers froze.
This last girl had a long, curly black hair, which was very familiar to me. Smal l, oval-shaped face... small nose... huge eyes... I covered her eyes with my fin ger like a mask. Her features were pretty much similar!
Was she the one...?
I gulped.
"So, T, how's the inspection?" Grey asked.
A hint of doubt still lingered in my mind. I held up a hand. "Hold on, I have to make sure with this one," I said, eyes focused on the girl. The tension was bui lding up in my chest.
I held my breath as I flipped the photo.
The Mirror.
Sighing, I dropped the photo together with the other ones on the table.
Justin took and examined the eleventh girl's photo. "Well, this one's cute," he said, "I think I should get her number or something soon."
"Damn. None of them was my pair," I muttered to no one in particular.
They all fell into silence. We had already managed to come up with five plans; s till, they didn't seem to work out when we put them into action. There might as well been 'epic fail' signs plastered on our foreheads.
In simpler words, coming up with the perfect plan was harder that I had thought.
"Don't worry, Tristan!" Ryo chirped. Undoubtedly, he would be the only guy in th e gang who still would have that much enthusiasm when everyone else was starting to get down. "We still have plan F!"
I snorted a laugh. "Yeah, though I'm starting to doubt we can eat the whole alph abet cake and shit out another 'perfect' plan."
"Hey, if all else fails, there's still the plan W-T-F," Justin chimed, folding t he girl's photo and inserting it into his pocket. "See that building over there? Go climb it up and jump off it." He cracked up.
"Thanks for the suggestion, man," I scoffed. "Why don't you execute the plan fir st?"
"Oh, burn!" Will hooted, because that was what he would always do.
Grey began to gather the rest of the photos. "If this shit goes on, I bet this w ould become as the eighth wonder of the world." He glanced at me. "That girl of yours, T, is absolutely mysterious. I mean, does she even go here?"
"Jeez, of course, why would the student council choose a Queen that doesn't..." My words trailed off as a memory came to me in a flash. I snapped my fingers. "W ait, hold on a sec... speaking of the council, Steven said that there were twelv e female participants that had been chosen for the event and-" I pointed at the photos "-we've only got eleven pictures of them. Where's the twelfth?"
They looked at each other and shrugged.
"Holy crap! She really doesn't go here!" Ryo exclaimed all of a sudden.
"No, that's impossible!" I said. "She's around here, I know. Probably she's just ..."
"Trying to get away from you," Clark murmured after his long silence.
I stood up from my seat. "I have to talk to Steven."
***
A few minutes later, I found myself standing in front of the student council off ice. The door was already ajar so I let myself in. I was half expecting to see S teven twirling the chair to face me just in time. That was what he always did ev ery time a person came in, acting like the President of the council - although h e was only the Secretary.
Instead of him, though, I found the council's adviser, Ms. Ritchie, sitting in t he front desk. She seemed to be lost in her own little bubble. Her fingers were fluttering, her eyes were closed, and her mouth was mouthing some words in a... sensual way.
Jesus, was she writing another erotic novel of hers in the office again?
This was such an awkward timing.
I faked a cough.
She opened her eyes and closed her laptop immediately. Then she tapped her pale-blond hair and straightened her violet blouse as if she was trying to compose he rself.
"Hello, Mr. Hartford," she said in her shrill voice, her wrinkly red lips forcin g a casual smile. "Is there something you need?" She raised a hand before I coul d open my mouth. "Oh, let me guess, you're here to report about your yet another bloodbath with somebody, aren't you? Last time, a poor lad came here with a bad ly bruised face and a missing tooth."
My eyes widened in surprise. She still remembered that? Huh, so typical of her.
"That last time was, like, what-two years ago?" I snickered. "But come to think of it, if that actually did happen now, won't I be too kind if-you know, I turn over myself to you willingly, instead of escaping like what does the culprit ten d to do when he did something bad, right?"
She raised an eyebrow and pushed up her glasses in a prim and proper way. "Inter esting, Mr. Hartford. I was simply testing you, and I must say that the level of your sarcasm and wits seems to increase even higher and higher every year," she said and opened her laptop to resume her typing.
I smirked. "Ma'am, you have no idea how many times I practice that with someone every single day," I said, intending that someone as Kylie.
"So what brings you here, young chap?"
"Actually, I'd just like to know if where Steven Davis is."
She looked up at me. "Oh, he and the rest student council, together with Mr. Whi te, are out for a conference held in Columbus High," she answered completely, pu shed up her glasses again, and went back to typing.
"So... when will they be back?" I asked.
"They left just this morning, and since the conference covers up for three days, then I assume they will be back this Friday afternoon."
"Damn," I muttered. Another bad timing for me.
Ms. Ritchie flashed me a look. "I don't need any blaspheming, Mr. Hartford. Not in this office," she demanded.
"Right, got it," I said. "Well, I think I have to go now. Sorry if I distracted your... uh, hobby," I added hesitantly.
I let out a defeated sigh as the door closed behind my back. Steven was the only one I knew who could give me the definite puzzle piece to help me figure out th at mysterious girl's identity, but dang-he wouldn't be around for three days!
What a tough luck.
Putting my hands in my pockets, I began to walk back to the room where the guys were, but when I was about to round a corner, a girl collided on my chest.
"Ow, crap!" she cursed, brushing her nose. She looked up, and the usual scowl ap peared on her face. "You again."
"Kyles."
"Bummer."
"Oh, yeah? Well, that's all right. You're not the only one who feels pretty bumm ed," I said with a dry laughter. "You have come across with me many times, and I have come across with that girl zero time, so we equally have a crappy day."
She snorted, shaking her head. "You're still finding that girl, seriously? The b all was over, like, a week ago."
"You know, me, Kyles. I don't stop until I get what I wanted."
She took a step back. "Why her? I mean, there were probably many girls better th an her at the ball. Why do keep on looking out for that specific girl?"
I took a step forward. "Because she has caught my interest without even trying." I smiled and put both of my hands over her shoulders. "Why do you seem to oppos e every time I talk about her, Kylie? Are you jealous?"
As I continued to peer down at her, a strange, faint feeling of familiarity sudd enly coursed through me, making my chest drum faster every second. Wait. Why was I having this kind of sensation as those huge blue eyes of hers locked with min e?
The face of the mysterious girl flashed through my eyes. I blinked, taking a few steps away from Kylie.
"You done?" she deadpanned. "Because I'm going to my next class right now." She walked past beside me, and turned back. "Oh, and as for your question. You know the answer, right? 'Why would I?'"
With that, she was off.
I shook my head, rubbing my temples.
My eyes were probably just tricking me. I think I needed a break.
***
I was hoping for a normal day as the next day came in a flash. However, when Fio na showed up at our table in the cafeteria, I knew another shit was just about t o get real.
She dropped two things on the table: a white half mask, and a curly black wig.
"As the president of the Drama club, look what I just found in our prop room," s he said smugly, crossing her arms and lifting up her chin. "Check it out, honey. "
The guys' faces had gone limp straightaway.
Reluctantly, I grasped the silky wig. A huge lump began to form in my throat. Th e image of the girl and her hair swaying through the air as she danced flashed t hrough my eyes, and I felt something sharp slice through my chest.
Then my gaze fell on the mask, and I suddenly felt even worse. I paid a lot of a ttention on her that I practically know every detail about her features. Those s ilver trinkets and designs pasted on the mask were the same as the one Cinderell a had!
"No. No to the way, Fiona." I shook my head, pushing them away.
She rolled her eyes. "Yes to the way, T."
"Who... who owns them?" My voice was quavering when I asked, but I tried to make it as emotionless as it was.
"No particular person owns those things, Tristan," she spoke in breeze. "Everyon e in the club uses them during performances."
I hollered in incredulity, "Are you kidd-"
Fiona's sharp laughter cut me off. "You think I'm pulling your leg? Oh, puh-leas e! Believe it or not, that is that. You have underestimated what I can do, Trist an. Now, see? I have contributed to your puzzle pieces. And these two things-" s he motioned "-are the proof that that girl was simply just an illusion." She shr ugged, smiling slyly. "I think I'm done with my part now. Oh, and you're welcome . Good luck finding that girl, Tristan." She wriggled her fingers as she left.
"Uh... she was really kidding, wasn't she?" Will asked, reluctant.
"No... I-I'm positive these were the real stuff that girl had used in the ball," I stammered. I was sure my face had turned into a dark shade of crimson. Facing them, I said, "What kind of damn trick is this?"
"Chill out, T," said Will, tapping my back.
"Well... you're kinda obsessed now, aren't you?" Clark pointed out teasingly. De spite his joking tone, there was something strange about the way he talked.
"I think she's bald, that must be why she wore a wig," Ryo said with a firm nod. I wanted to punch his lights out for that comment.
"Jeez! You're not helping," I barked at him after having a mental face palm.
Grey cleared his throat and said, "Or she was in disguise."
The five of us stared at him with invisible question marks floating above our he ads. We didn't understand what he meant.
"She was in a disguise," he repeated slowly as if he was speaking to a child, on ly his voice had conviction in it. "She wouldn't wear a wig if she didn't want t o conceal herself, right? I doubt she's actually bald."
"She is Cinderella; I feel I have to remind you this," Ryo stated, rolling his e yes.
"So she's originally might be... a brunette, a redhead, a dark-haired, or a... b londe," Justin added and looked at us. "Right?"
A feeling of dread wafted through me. Hearing about their opinions made my whole body solidified on the spot. There was no way we could and would have called ev ery female in the campus, lined them up and examined them one by one like they d id in the movies and books.
"Hey, who knows? There might be a chance we know this girl, but maybe we weren't paying too much attention hence why she might slip out of our grasp," Grey said with a shrug. "I was getting those vibes already-strange, I know."
I stared at him in astonishment. I had never thought of Grey as a man with a fun ctioning brain, but then again, a lot of my assumptions today had already been p roven incorrect.
"Grey actually has a solid point," Will pointed out and sent Grey a thumbs-up si gn.
My jaw went firm. Thoughts ran through my mind consecutively. I was stuck in the spot staring at an approaching figure, even though my mind was on Cinderella.
Her name... I need to get to know her name...
The strange thing was that, the moment I pondered for a perfect solution, my eye s fell on a shocked-looking Kylie.