If only there was somebody to talk to about this. Last term, she’d be climbing out of the window right now and running across to the boys’ side of the building to slip through Carter’s window and tell him everything.
She looked longingly at the sturdy ledge beneath the window frame. Then she shook her head and looked away. Those days were over.
But who else was there to talk to? Rachel wasn’t in Night School, so she couldn’t really talk to her about it. Zoe was only thirteen and, although she was freakishly smart, she was just a kid.
The chill had begun to seep into her bones and she was closing the window when someone tapped lightly at her door.
Frowning, Allie glanced at the alarm clock beside her.
Half five in the morning. Who would be knocking at this hour?
When she opened the door, Nicole stood on the other side. In her dark blue pyjamas and thick, white dressing gown, she looked uncharacteristically imperfect – her long, dark hair was dishevelled and she wore no makeup; Allie could see a red map of tiny pimples scattered across one cheek.
So Nicole was human, too, behind her façade of perfection.
‘I’m sorry,’ the French girl said, blithely unaware of the intense scrutiny she was under at that moment. ‘I couldn’t sleep. I thought maybe you might be up, too.’
‘Totally.’ Allie stepped back to let her in. ‘I’m glad it’s not just me.’
‘Well. It was a strange night.’ Nicole’s tone was wry. Without waiting to be asked, she sat on the end of the bed, pulled the blanket off the footboard and draped it across her legs.
‘It’s colder in here than in my room,’ she observed.
Allie admired her confidence; she seemed to just take charge of the situation wherever she was, and to feel comfortable no matter what she was doing.
Climbing back into bed, Allie pulled the covers up against the chill that still pervaded the room after she’d closed the window.
‘After you left, Zelazny and Jerry Cole came to talk to us.’ Nicole spoke quietly. ‘They asked so many questions, but they wouldn’t tell us where you were. It was so stupid – like they’re playing war games again, you know?’
Allie nodded. She hated when things went wrong and the teachers acted like Cimmeria Academy was MI5 or something.
‘Did they… did they mention Eloise?’ Allie spoke hesitantly.
Nicole’s huge dark eyes shot up to meet hers. ‘They asked us about her a lot. Is she in trouble? I was very confused by that.’ Her delicate brow furrowed.
For a second, Allie paused, unsure of how much to reveal. But Nicole was a senior Night School student so she’d find out soon enough.
‘They think she’s Nathaniel’s spy.’
Although her voice was just above a whisper, her words seem to hang in the air, like the reverberations of a bell.
At first, Nicole was too shocked to respond. Then she gasped in dismay. ‘Oh no – but that’s ridiculous.’ She muttered something in angry French. ‘Why do they think this? I don’t understand.’
Heat flooded Allie’s face; she dropped her eyes. ‘It’s my fault,’ she confessed. ‘I… saw something and I told them. Then they freaked.’
To her surprise, Nicole took this remarkably well. ‘What did you see?’
Allie told her about Isabelle’s office, Eloise and the key.
When she’d finished, Nicole frowned with thought. ‘That is strange. I don’t understand why…’ She glanced up at Allie. ‘Isabelle said there was no reason for her to be there?’
Allie gave glum assent.
‘Oh no.’ Nicole slumped back against the wall. ‘This is terrible. It can’t be her. I don’t want it to be Eloise.’
‘That’s what I thought but then… I don’t know. It looks bad,’ Allie said.
‘Wait.’ Straightening, Nicole tapped a pale pink nail against her chin thoughtfully. ‘Let’s think this over.’
Burying her face in her hands, Allie groaned. ‘Do we have to? Isabelle and I talked about it for hours. We found nothing to help Eloise.’
But Nicole was not dissuaded. ‘I have had a thought. You say she was sweaty? And seemed nervous?’
Allie nodded.
Nicole absorbed this before asking, ‘Was her hair… what’s the English term… rumpled? Like bed hair?’
Allie was baffled – how could that help?
She gave a puzzled shrug. ‘Yeah, I guess.’
‘Did you see anyone else come out of the office? Any other teachers?’
Curious, Allie shook her head. ‘No. But I left right after that.’
‘Hmmm.’ Staring off across the room, Nicole rested her chin on her hand. ‘It could be.’
‘Could be what?’
Nicole blinked at her. ‘It could be that Eloise isn’t a spy. It could be that she was in there with Jerry having sex.’
There is no way I heard that right.
‘What?’ Allie gaped at her. ‘Are you saying Eloise and Jerry Cole are…’
Nicole nodded. ‘Shagging, as you English say. Yes.’
Allie couldn’t seem to get her mouth to shut. The very idea of the librarian and the science teacher having sex was repulsive. Why would Eloise, so young and pretty, want a man so old? He had to be at least… nearly forty.
Trying to imagine what the librarian saw in him, she had a sudden memory of Jo staring at him dreamily – she’d always had a crush on Jerry.
But still. Eloise wouldn’t. She could have anyone.
‘I think that’s rubbish,’ she announced. ‘There’s no way Eloise would want him.’
Nicole seemed surprised. ‘Why not? I think he’s quite handsome. He has a great body.’
‘Jerry?’ Allie stared at her in horror. ‘He’s an old man, Nicole. You can’t think he has a good body. That’s just… gross.’
‘Oh, you English girls are so naive.’ Nicole sighed. ‘Jerry is very good-looking, I assure you. And I know they are having an affair. That much is certain.’
‘How do you even know that?’ Allie tried to disguise her dismay but failed.
‘I think the question is how do you not know? Haven’t you seen the way they look at each other? They liked each other for ages and they got together last term. I kept seeing them going off into the woods together. Once I caught them kissing in the training room before the others arrived… I thought everyone knew.’ She shrugged carelessly. ‘They are in love.’
Allie tried to force herself to process this information.
‘OK, but even if they are together – which I am not OK with – how did they get in Isabelle’s office? And why would they go in there to… to shag? Why wouldn’t they just do it in their rooms?’
‘I don’t know,’ Nicole conceded. ‘But teachers aren’t allowed to date and sex is totally forbidden. So… maybe they got the key somehow and, knowing Isabelle was away for the day, they went in there because it is private. I mean, I don’t know, this is just an idea.’ She looked up at Allie with a thoughtful expression, as if she were working out a complex homework problem. ‘It is a small office but there is space in there enough for two people to make love, non?’
Allie wrinkled her nose. This is grim, grim, grim.
‘It’s possible, I guess. But if that’s what she was doing, wouldn’t she just tell them? Then Jerry would back her up and they would let her go.’
‘If she tells them she and Jerry are having a relationship they will both get fired. So she could be protecting him. Or she could have told them and – but this is inhuman – he could deny it to protect himself.’ Nicole’s expression grew serious. ‘Or it is possible Raj and Zelazny simply don’t believe them.’