13.
Before she knew what was happening, Monica was lying in bed with Jenny holding a cold compress to her head and Cynthia sitting cross-legged at the foot of the mattress. “She’s starting to cool,” Cynthia said. “I’ll go and tell Alendro.” Monica blinked, and Cynthia was gone.
“How are you feeling?” Jenny said. She took back the compress as Monica sat up. “Do you think we could go back now, the meeting’s almost –”
“No, we can’t go back,” Monica cut in. Her whole body tingled with a pulsing energy well apart from her heartbeat. She climbed out of bed and pushed past Jenny to the open double window, where a strong gust ran through the forest lines from deep in the green recesses. It brought a flurry of pine needles soaring into the girls’ room.
Some of them fell on the beds, some on the carpet, and a few ended up on the dressers. “Ow!” Monica heard Jenny exclaim. She turned to see Jenny unwrapping the large bandage on her toe, which had been pierced through by many needles. The skin itself was healthy. The nail body was a deep purple, pitched and curved, ending in a sharp, upturned hook.
“It’s been like that for a while.” Jenny answered Monica’s unbelieving stare. “It’s been growing since before school let out.”
“Since the letter, Jenny? I don’t like this,” Monica said, turning back to the window scene. She stroked her red, cloven nail as she gazed into the forest depths, stirred by a warm, wet wind which tucked a cloudbank around the sun. “This is all too contrived to be – ”
“ '– the real state of things.' Come on, Monica, stop quoting Ms. Longbone. Put your qualms about Darrowwood to rest.”
“‘Qualms?’ the Jenny I know – the one I thought I knew – wasn’t such a prig. Who are you?”
“Hush. Do you hear that?” Jenny placed her hand over Monica’s mouth. She looked out the window, her blue eyes wide and dreamy. “There’s singing out there.”
Monica pushed away the hand, and one of her eyebrows arched midway up her forehead. “I think you’re hallucinating. I don’t hear anything beside the wind.”
“It’s lovely. It’s the most wonderful sound I've ever heard in my life.” Jenny, her eyes still wide, spun around and ran barefooted into the corridor.
“Jenny, what are you doing?”
Monica listened to the bare, pattering footsteps. Beside her bed, the picture of Ms. Longbone fluttered in the renewed breeze. Monica touched what looked like spotted water in the ink. But the fingernail was colored too perfectly green to be a smear on the surface.
It was all connected. She grabbed a uniform jacket and her cellphone and took off after her friend.
Monica listened to the bare, pattering footsteps. Beside her bed, the picture of Ms. Longbone fluttered in the renewed breeze. Monica touched what looked like spotted water in the ink. But the fingernail was colored too perfectly green to be a smear on the surface.
It was all connected. She grabbed a uniform jacket and her cellphone and took off after her friend.
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