"I though you said we were walking," Miren said, watching  Rinzen fade from the passenger window. Jeno shrugged.
"Just when I thought you were getting over your uptightness," he humored dryly. Miren raised an eyebrow.
"I could say the same about you." She sighed, trying to feel calm. She thought about asking where they were going. But she knew she'd just be subjected to another one of Jeno's attempts at sarcasm. So she turned her attention to the windshield.
"This is a nice car," she said instead, her hands gliding over the cool, black leather seat. Mercedes-Benz.
"Yeah," Jeno considered blankly, his eyes focused on the road as he drove. "Too bad it's not mine."
"What?"
Jeno managed to smirk slightly at her shock. "Oh, calm down. We're here."
She tried to relax her stiff form as she exited the vehicle. But they were at Rosemunde. And the place was pretty much synonymous with hell. Miren rolled her eyes. No wonder he didn't tell me where the meeting was...
"Stop scowling," Jeno said, closing his door and walking to her side. "We have to go to room 103 in Currie Hall. Lead the way."
She rolled her eyes, before taking the lead. They walked pass a stretch of greenery and made it to a building that was left of the main office.
Currie Hall was where she had taken most of her science classes, such as AP Physics with Penelope. Â They walked toward the end of the hallway, and as Miren noted the freshly waxed tile floor, the gray walls, and navy and maroon colored posters on them, she couldn't help but feel a devastating sense of deja vu.
"Are you okay?" he asked. She didn't respond. They both knew the answer to that foolish question. Jeno pressed on. "I would have told you, but I didn't want you to run away in the other direction.
She slumped her shoulders, slouching like a defensive turtle. "I'm not afraid of this place."
"You sure?" It didn't matter. They were already here. Miren opened the door to the mini-lecture hall in an effort to prove that she really was unfazed. The eyes of the homecoming court met their forms. Now they couldn't escape.
Miren sat down in the back row, trying not to look too hard at the people in the room. She knew Penelope had to be there. And Parker. Artemis. Life would be simple if she just looked ahead; the brick wall couldn't hurt her.
Walking off the elevated platform in the front, Theodora came to Miren's side. "Miles! Why are you sitting way back here? Move up, we have some important things to discuss."
Miren rose to her feet with a sigh. Asking for obscurity would always bring her unwanted attention, wouldn't it? Theodora motioned at an empty seat on stage next to the pudgy announcer girl Miren remembered from the assembly.
"Hi!" Karsha said, her voice lively and loud. "You're Miles, right? Nice to meet you."
Miren nodded. "Likewise." The girl smiled before engaging in a conversation with the copper-haired boy sitting next to her. Miren tried to relax in her seat.
But honestly, it wasn't that bad. People were being polite to her. Or him. She shook her head lightly, refusing to let her thoughts bum her out.
Luckily, Theodora had assumed the stage, and people started looking at her. Miren turned her gaze to the audience. She found Jeno, who was seated next to Levi. Toward the back left of the room was Axel and some other nominee laughing giddily about something that was probably profane. Or maybe they were high. They were probably high.
Then there were the Rosemunde Royals. Jemma sat poised with Klondike, her eyes as bright as the smile she wore. Soren sat close to them, looking rather glum, and a slightly peeved-looking Penelope sat a seat over from him, next to some other girl. But no Parker or Artemis.
How odd, Miren thought, before a projection screen descended from the ceiling behind her and stole her attention. With a remote in hand, Theodora walked toward it.
"Hello, everyone," she greeted. "Welcome to our first homecoming meeting. We will be discussing some of the plans we have for dance and parade directions, as well as our attire. This should go by pretty quick; I know most of you have after school extracurriculars."
She motioned a hand to the people on stage. The glorified party planners. "Karsha, Miles, Adam and I will be organizing this event." She turned toward Miren. "Now Miles, I know that we're going with a spy theme. Do you mind showing what you have envisioned so far?"
Miren nodded. "Not at all."
Clicking a button on the remote-like advice, the screen flashed a rough draft of Rinzen's large dinning transformed into a dance space. There was a designated area for the DJ to play on a raised stage the opposite side of where their meals were usually served. The space in front of the kitchen was now a refreshment table, and the windows were darkened, making the whole space look like a villain's lair. To make everything all the more tasteful, there was a cutout of James Bond and his Bond girls toward the entrance. The group clapped in approval. Miren beamed.
"But one thing we were wondering about," Karsha began, "is the main color scheme. Did you have any ideas, Miles?"
Miren cupped her chin with a hand, contemplating this slightly. "Um, how about black, gold and gray?"
"I like that," Karsha said, clasping her hands. "I can see more of a slate gray, though."
"Okay," Miren said, trying to shake off how irrelevant this whole discussion seemed. It's just a stupid dance.
"I think that concludes our decoration discussion," Theodora said, turning to Miren. "We'll send the blueprints out to both the Rinzen and Rosemunde art students. Of course, we will be there to assist them with decorating after the parade. Now, if we can have Adam address our homecoming schedule..."
"Hey guys and dolls," the boy began, his voice warm and charming, "here's the low down." Adam went on to say that on Friday, October 24th, the homecoming candidates would report to the Arc. They would be "dressed to kill" in their spy-themed homecoming "dreads" as he put it.
"We have acquired sports cars from the local Ferrari/Lamborghini dealership for the parade. Each group will get a vehicle with a chauffeur. So eight cars. You can pick your vehicle from this bag." He handed a black sac to a person in the front row. "No peaking."
Miren fought the urge to roll her eyes. This was a parade. Not the Pau Grand Prix. And when she caught Axel arguing with some guy over picking the last Lamborghini, she fought harder not to slap them. Don't most of these rich kids have nice cars already?
"After the parade, which should last an hour and a half, you will be free to do whatever you want till the dance at eight. Sometime during then we will assemble to the stage and watch a few of us get crowned."
"Thanks, Adam," Theodora said. "Okay, the last thing on the menu is to discuss outfits. For you boys it will be simple." The male costume flashed on the large screen. It was a sleek black suit with a golden bow tie. In the male model's hand was a shotgun. He looked very spy-like.
"Of course, there will be no gun." Theodora laughed. There was collective groan among the male audience. "You boys will be fitted for them some time this week at The Tux Warehouse." Theodora then flashed the girl's dress, a fitted, black, mod-styled gown that looked worthy of a Bond girl. They were accessorized with short black leather gloves.
"I LOVE IT!" Jemma announced, her declaration the voice of the rest of the girls.
"Okay then," Karsha said, clasping her hands. "We girls will be fitted for our dresses at Suzanne's Gown Shoppe. Well, that concludes this meeting. Thanks for coming." People were on their feet in seconds, fleeing to their other, arguably more important, obligations.
"Thanks for your help, Miles," Theodora said, smiling. Miren matched it. She hadn't gotten much of a reading of the girl when they were at the mall, but now she could see it. Her personality was as refreshing as her natural good looks. Miren could see why Jeno liked her.
"Anytime," Miren offered, descending the steps of the platform.
"Got the black Maserati," Jeno then informed them. Miren nodded. She could care less.
"Yes." Theodora did a little victory dance. Miren stood there, half waiting for them to embrace or do some other acknowledging act teenagers in love did. Instead they stood there like statues. But Jeno didn't strike her as the PDA type. She didn't know what type of anything he was.
"Good job at the meeting," Jeno said.
"I try," Theodora replied with a shrug, somehow appearing poised and lady-like with the gesture.
"Anyway, I have to drop off Miles and get to tennis practice." He started for the door, motioning his shoulder for Miren to follow. "See you later."
Theodora nodded before Karsha swept her into a conversation. As Miren followed Jeno out of the lecture hall, she felt a hand clamp on her arm. She turned around. Penelope.
"Hey, Miles," she said casually, a small smile on her lips. "Can we talk for a minute?"
Miren's nose started flailing, her eyes wide. Touching. Penelope was touching her. She was surprised her arm wasn't burning. And she didn't know whether to scream or sock the bitch in the face with her free arm.
Of course, she did neither. Taking a deep breath, Miren's eyes met Jeno's. He didn't look surprised, which told her that Wallace might have informed him of the little encounter.
"Go with her,"Â Jeno said with a shrug. He then turned his attention to Penelope. "I'm running late for tennis," he said, starting to walk out of the near empty hall. "Be safe, Miles."
Miren gulped. His advice was obsolete with him gone. She was alone. With her. Where was the safety in that?
"What did you want to talk about?" Miren asked, her voice slightly hoarse. If anyone could see through her and make her life hell for it, it was Penelope.
"Miren, of course." Penelope's eyes were heavy with a skewed sense of determination, evil intensions. "Wallace has started working on finding her, and some of the info he's reported to me is surprising."
Miren raised an eyebrow, trying not to look stupefied. "Um, like what?
Penelope sighed. "Apparently she's still in Gloveria."
"Really, now?"
"Yeah." She crossed her arms. "It's not much, but it's not nothing either. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that. Hopefully we can better focus our efforts. I need to find her."
"What are you going to do if you do?" Miren asked, though feeling foolish that she was referring to herself. But she had to know, even if she didn't want to.
Penelope tilted her head to the ceiling, tapping her foot in an effort to generate thought. "I don't know," she said, her eyes now focused on the girl in disguise. "I just know that her absence is causing a lot of problems. When she's found, maybe those problems will stop."
Problems. Penelope was blaming Miren for something she caused. Feeling her body tense, she removed her gaze from Penelope. What is wrong with this girl? Where is her compassion? Her basic human dignity? Miren shook her head. Penelope used to have those things. Maybe she was faking then. Or did Parker really awake the bitter, ugly side of the girl? Either way, Miren was waiting for it to go back to sleep.
"And what if they don't?" Miren countered, studying the floor beneath them. Penelope shrugged.
"Then I guess I'll have to do something else," she said. "Baby steps, Miles. Please keep me posted. I'd really like to have her found before homecoming. And if she's in town, I can't see why not."
Miren nodded. She should have been mad at the shallow girl, but instead she could feel most of her frustrations fueled toward Wallace. Why didn't he just lie and say that she went to live in a small, isolated village in Peru? But she knew no one would buy that. She was a poor girl who could only afford to hide in plain sight. But didn't Wallace realize that you could be found in plain sight too?
"Anyway, did you need a ride? I'm heading to Rinzen before running some other errands," Penelope said, brushing her hand on Miren's arm. Miren tried not to feel nauseated. It was as if all of her vile energy was being transmitted into her. Luckily, her eyes found Levi, who was walking out of the lecture hall. Miren shook her head.
"I'll just catch one with Levi," she said, her eyes relaxing on the senior. "I need to talk to him anyway."
Penelope nodded. "Alright."
"I'll keep you posted."
"Please do."
With a nod, Miren fled in the direction of the other boys. After all, she was one now.
All because of Penelope.