Page 31 of The Other Side
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“Earth to Violet.” Jolene waved her fingers in front of my face, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Huh?”
“You don’t usually let me prattle on about sewing and knitting techniques for this long.” She chuckled, amused by my vacant state.
I’d been replaying both my interaction with Chance and the conversation I had overheard between him and Claire all day. I was missing something, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. Whatever it was, it was burrowing deeper under my skin, determined to gnaw at me until I figured it out.
“Sorry.” I stared at the midterm papers in front of me. I’d resolved to keep Jolene company while she worked late to finalize the quarter-end finances, which needed to be mailed out before the last mail pickup. I hadn’t wanted to go back to the carriage house, afraid I might run into Chance and blurt out that I’d heard him talking with Claire, giving up the only leverage I had.
What do you need leverage for?
“Are you going to tell me what’s up, or do I have to coax it out of you?” Jolene smiled at me over her desk, the orange sequins from the giant pumpkin on her sweater flashing upon the movement.
I did trust Jolene, but I was torn about sharing all the details of what I’d witnessed. Something weird was definitely going on, but the only thing I’d really been able to discern from the bit I’d overheard was that Chance and Claire seemed to know each other and were working together on something, which they were trying to keep under wraps…something dangerous, Chance had pointed out.
I needed to tread incredibly carefully with what I said and who I said it to. If I said the wrong thing to the wrong person, I might get someone hurt, or find myself without a job.
“What do you know about Claire DeLongpre?” I asked Jolene.
Her eyes narrowed on me. “Enough to know you don’t want to mess with her,” she warned.
Anxiously, I chewed on the corner of my mouth. “Has she ever gotten in trouble at Montgomery—likerealtrouble?”
Jolene considered me for a moment. “Not that I know of, but her parents are donors, so anything could have easily been swept under the rug.” Her brow furrowed. “Are you going to tell me what this is about?”
I didn’t know why exactly I was protecting Chance, but something about the way they spoke to each other indicated there was fear underlying whatever they were working on.
“Violet,” Jolene scolded me for stalling.
“I overheard her having a weird conversation with someone. I don’t know what they were talking about exactly, but it sounded…I don’t know, it sounded like they were up to something.” I sighed, not knowing how exactly to explain without divulging everything.
“Who was she talking to?”
“I—I don’t know,” I stuttered.
Jolene seemed to see through me, but rather than call me on it, she leaned back in her chair, appraisingly. “You should report it to the deputy headmistress,” she finally suggested. “She’ll take you seriously.”
“But I wouldn’t even know what to report.” I raked my hands down my face, trying to figure out the best course of action. Maybe I could try to talk to Claire and just make sure she was okay?
What I really needed was more information.
I tried to hide the light bulb going off over my head when I realized the answer was right in front of my face.
“What are you going to do then?”
Spy on their dinner meetup.
“Maybe if I sleep on it, I’ll figure it out,” I lied.
Jolene’s eyes narrowed on me, suspecting I was up to something.
“Can I grab you dinner before I head to my room?” I offered, in a poor attempt to distract her.
Her lips pursed, seemingly well aware of what I was trying to accomplish. “Okay.”
Luck seemed to be on my side that night.
