Mina actually did notice the photos everywhere she went. Mostly, there were old, black and white photos of the place, its construction, a few people who participated in the construction. There were no current ones.
“Then, it’s probably in one of the others, I’m not really sure.”
Mina made a mental note to inspect all the dorms for possible photo identification of the Headmaster. For now, she had all she wanted. She could go ahead with the Witches’ Sabbath, without fear of him being there. Of course, she still knew that nothing she was told here was one hundred percent sure. This could still all be a trap. But, Mina was being lulled into a safe feeling of assurance that nobody here knew who she was. Would they treat her so nicely otherwise?
She immediately remembered Hendrik, Thorne, Renwick, Reeba, even that jerk Raphael. She had no idea why, but whenever she thought about the other three guys, Raphael’s image always came along with theirs. It was like the four were intricately connected somehow and one didn’t go without the other three. She was head over heels over all three, and despite her complete and utter reluctance to admit it, she was head over heels over the fourth one, too. There was no doubt about it.
“I really appreciate all your help, Miss Watson,” Mina concluded. “You’ve been very kind and most helpful.”
“Why, it’s nothing, dear.”
Mina’s compliment had made her day. The smile on her face vouched for it.
“I guess I should be heading back to my dorm,” Mina smiled back.
“And don’t worry,” Miss Watson assured her, “as soon as the Headmaster returns, he shall send for you immediately, I’m sure.”
There was an ominous feeling hanging in the air after these words. Mina knew that she’d be ready. She thanked the secretary and waltzed out of the main building. He wasn’t here yet. Sure, it could all have been a clever ruse, but Mina was certain that she’d see some signs of him there. There were none. His secretary, who was madly in love with him, would have surely spilled it, if he were there. She wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret. No loving heart could.
Just as she was walking out, her head still under the impression of what she just heard, headed back to her dorm, she noticed a familiar face. That cocky walk, that overly self-confident grin, that sleek hair which no wind could even touch. There was only one person like that in the entire place. Hell, in the entire world.
“Hey there, gorgeous,” Raphael greeted her, as he approached her.
She
noticed that there was a small group of guys huddled around in a circle, some of them sitting on a little bench. Obviously, they were just hanging out there and Raphael came up to say, hi. What the hell was he trying to do? She couldn’t figure him out and it was driving her crazy.
She really disliked him. It wasn’t only the warning she had received in the school bathroom. It was him. He was a jock and had all the worst traits assigned to one. She wouldn’t be caught dead spending time with him, even if her life depended on it.
“Oh, it’s you,” she rolled her eyes.
“Ouch,” he pressed his hand on his chest, which she could tell was chiseled as hell, “that hurt. Why the hateful welcome, when I’m being so nice and just wanted to say hi?”
“I seriously don’t get you,” she got so close to him, then blew hot air right into his face, like a bull about to go on a rampage.
“I’m mysterious like that, I know,” he chuckled.
She wasn’t sure if the guys he was with could hear them, not that it mattered, really. The last thing she wanted to do right now was to argue with him. She just wanted to get out of there.
“Do you always have to be like that?” she asked, not having any more strength to be rude.
“Like what?” he answered and she could see confusion in his eyes.
Could it really be that he wasn’t aware of how annoying he was? Or, was it that he always got what he wanted just because of that handsome face, so it never mattered what he said, because no one really listened?
“Like… this,” she replied, gesturing at him with her hands. “I have no idea what you want, and honestly, I have no time, or desire to waste time, on finding out.”
“Whoa, whoa,” he said, pulling them a little to the side.
She was sure that from where they’d just been standing, his friends could hear that. Now, they had moved a little further away from them and she figured, it was because he didn’t want them to hear any more of their conversation, not that she planned on staying here with him much longer.
“Why do you always have this angry vibe towards me?” he asked, and to her complete and utter surprise, he sounded genuinely sincere.
He eyed her with a puppy-dog look. She hated it. He was just playing her. She could sense it. There was probably a bet or something going on with his jock friends, about him getting her to bed or something equally distasteful. Why else would he even be talking to her?
“You are everything I dislike,” she told him, plainly and unapologetically.
“What do you mean?”