The Missing Mortals, page 27
Emma shook her head in the negative. “No, but he might as well have. That’s probably what Doug will think if Bobby has his way.”
“What’s Bobby got to do with this?” Martha asked with a sinking feeling. Things had gone much worse than she’d imagined if Bobby was involved.
“I’ll tell you everything but not here,” Emma said as she struggled to hold back the tears that threatened. She was afraid Martha’s sympathy would be her undoing, so she needed to get out of the ballroom as soon as possible.
“Wait here while I tell Sebastian that I found you. Then we can go to our room and talk.”
“I’ve got to get out of here. I’ll just meet you there,” Emma managed over the lump rising in her throat. Without waiting for a reply from Martha, Emma hurried away.
Martha watched after her for a moment with a worried expression. What could have happened to make Emma so upset? Anxious to find out what was going on, she began looking for Sebastian so she could tell him that she had found Emma and that she was leaving. She caught up to him just as he was about to step out on the terrace.
“I found her,” Martha said when she got close enough for him to hear her over the music.
“Where was she?” Sebastian asked. They had been looking for Emma ever since she and Preston had left the dance floor. Emma hadn’t been aware of it, but Martha had been keeping tabs on her all night. She didn’t trust Preston and had been highly suspicious of his sudden interest in Emma. Sebastian didn’t trust Preston any more than Martha did, so when Martha had expressed her concern at not being able to see them anymore, Sebastian had readily agreed to help her look for them.
“I went to look for Emma in the restroom and ran into her when I was coming back into the ballroom. I don’t know what’s happened, but she was pretty upset. I told her I’d meet her in our room.” Martha started to leave and then stopped and turned back to Sebastian. “I had a good time tonight, Sebastian. I hate to go, but I’d better find out what’s going on.”
“No problem. I hope Emma is okay,” Sebastian replied. He hesitated for a moment before adding, “Just for the record, I had a good time tonight too.”
Martha smiled and impulsively gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Then she hurried away. With eyes opened wide in surprise, Sebastian watched her go.
Emma was pacing when Martha entered the room. Upon seeing Martha, she promptly burst into tears. “Go ahead and say it,” Emma finally managed between sobs.
“Say what?” Martha asked.
“Go ahead and say I told you so. You tried to tell me that Preston was trouble, but I wouldn’t listen. Now I’ve made a mess of everything,” Emma exclaimed in a rush before finally taking a breath, which ended up being more of a sob.
“What exactly happened?” Martha questioned without her usual sympathy. She had indeed tried to tell Emma that she didn’t trust Preston, but it had not been her intention to point it out just now.
Emma finally got a hold of herself, and after taking a deep breath, she began to relate the events of the evening, ending with the conversation she’d overheard between Preston and Bobby.
Martha listened quietly with a frown on her face. She had to admit Bobby’s plan had been clever. She’d never liked Preston, but she’d never thought him capable of something like this. It made her wonder why Preston had really come to Dinswood Academy. Had he done something at his previous school to get thrown out? If his behavior tonight was anything to go by, it was entirely possible.
“Bobby was just using Preston to get even with me, and I walked right into his trap,” Emma said when she had finished her story.
Martha was silent for a full minute. Finally, she said, “It’s a good thing you figured out something was wrong when you did. There’s no telling how far Preston would have gone with the act.”
Emma shuddered at the thought. Martha was right. As bad as things were, they could always be worse. Preston may have been planning to kiss her as a culmination to the evening. It made her physically ill to think that someone like Preston might have been her first kiss. He and Bobby would no doubt have gotten a good laugh out of that, and Doug would probably never have forgiven her. He still might not forgive her, but at least she didn’t have a kiss to regret. Looking back, she knew she would always be grateful to the little inner voice that had alerted her to the fact that something was wrong.
“I feel like such an idiot!” Emma railed. “I’m sorry, Martha. I should have listened to you.”
“Yes, you should have!” Martha replied more loudly than she had intended. Then in a softer tone, she added, “But even I didn’t suspect Preston of something like this. The question is what are you going to do now?”
“I don’t have any idea. At first, I was so mad I just wanted to get even.”
“That’s exactly what started this whole mess,” Martha responded quickly. “If you start plotting revenge, you’ll be no better than Bobby. Just suppose you were able to get even. Bobby would try to get back at you, and then you’d have to get back at him. When would it all end? There’s no way to win when you start playing by Bobby’s rules.”
Emma didn’t want to admit it, but she knew Martha was right. Getting even was not the answer, but in her anger, it had been her first and only thought. Now that she’d had time to calm down, Emma realized that getting revenge wouldn’t fix the problem. It would only make it worse. She also realized that she really had only herself to blame. Preston hadn’t forced her to dance with him. She had gone willingly—just like a lamb to its slaughter.
It was inevitable that Doug would find out that she’d spent the night dancing with Preston Danvers, but there was no way of knowing how he’d react. Maybe he wouldn’t get mad, and then again maybe he would. At the thought of the latter, Emma started crying all over again. Martha sat beside her quietly and let her have her cry. Although she knew Martha was upset with her, Emma was still comforted by her presence. Finally, it occurred to her that she had interrupted Martha’s evening.
“I’m sorry I ruined your evening with Sebastian,” Emma said miserably.
“You didn’t ruin it. My ankle was starting to hurt again anyway,” Martha responded with a sigh.
“Still, I’m sorry.” Emma knew that, even with a sore ankle, Martha would have stayed at the dance with Sebastian if it hadn’t been for her. Somehow, she would find a way to make it up to Martha.
No more was said as the two girls prepared for bed. When Martha turned out the light, Emma lay awake for a long time, worrying about what tomorrow would bring. She was awake when Susie and Clarice came in, but she pretended to be asleep. She didn’t feel like talking, and she was in no mood to hear about the great time the two girls had undoubtedly had at the dance. Emma finally managed to fall asleep around three o’clock.
Emma’s worst fears were confirmed the next morning at breakfast. She and Martha were already in the dining hall when Doug and Sebastian entered. Instead of coming over to sit with the girls, as was their usual habit, they went over and took seats next to Phil and Tom. Sebastian smiled when he spotted the girls, but Doug didn’t even look their way. There was no doubt about it; Doug had heard the news about her and Preston, and he was angry.
Suddenly, Emma wasn’t hungry anymore. She murmured a hasty “I’ll see you later” to Martha and, after emptying her tray, left the dining hall. Emma paused for a moment in the hallway. She didn’t want to go back to the room because Susie and Clarice were there. Since last evening she had been having a hard time even looking at Clarice without being reminded that she was Preston’s cousin. It was possible that Clarice had even known about Bobby’s plan. Emma didn’t want to believe it, but neither could she rule it out. At any rate, she wasn’t in the mood to face Clarice. She could go to the lounge or library, but both would probably be filled with students. Emma might run into Bobby or Preston, and that was something she wanted to avoid at all costs. She was still too angry and wasn’t sure she could control her temper if she came face-to-face with either one of them.
Emma realized that her only other option was to go outside. Yesterday, it had been raining, but today the sun was out, and the sky was clear. Without bothering with a jacket, which would have required her going to her room, she pulled open one of the double doors and went outside. A cold wind hit her, and she immediately regretted not getting her jacket first. Oh well, it’s too late now, she thought.
She sat down on one of the benches that circled the fountain. The bench she’d chosen was in the sun, and although the wind was cold, the sun provided enough warmth to allow her to remain outside without her jacket. Emma couldn’t say how long she sat there with the previous night’s events replaying in her head over and over again. She kept hearing Preston laugh as he made fun of her dancing. Had everyone been making fun of her? Even though she was alone at the moment, Emma felt herself blushing in embarrassment and humiliation at the thought.
As morning marched on toward noon, other students came and went, but Martha never came in search of her. Emma wasn’t surprised. Although Martha was still talking to her, she was obviously angry with her.
By the time the bell in the chapel’s steeple pealed the hour of high noon, Emma’s morning of introspection had resulted in her reaching several important conclusions. First, she had finally admitted to herself that she had gotten exactly what she deserved. Doug had every right to be mad at her. If the shoe had been on the other foot, she would have been mad with jealousy. Second, the old saying that you can’t judge a book by its cover was absolutely true. Preston may be gorgeous on the outside, but he was ugly on the inside. She should have taken the time to read a few of the pages before deciding to buy the book. The third and final conclusion Emma had reached was that she needed to apologize to Doug—not so much for him, but for herself. Doug might not even accept her apology, but she needed to do it just the same. He was probably too mad right now to listen to anything she had to say, so she would wait, and while she waited, she would pray that she and Doug would someday be friends again.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized that in the days to come, she was going to miss Doug terribly. Who was going to help him find the other two Mortals? Of course he would still have Sebastian and Martha to go along on searches, but she certainly wouldn’t be included. It broke Emma’s heart to think that her help would no longer be welcomed. There was no doubt about it. She’d really done it this time. She’d ruined everything, and all because she had thought Preston Danvers was the living end. Well he had been the end all right—the end of her friendship with Doug.
Hastily wiping her eyes, she got up to go in for a lunch she didn’t really want. For a girl of thirteen, almost fourteen as her birthday was in less than two weeks, she’d had to learn some very painful lessons in a very short period of time. The only good thing that had come out of this whole mess was that she had finally learned to be more cautious. The gullible naïve girl she had been just last night was gone, and in her place was a young lady that would, from this day forward, carefully weigh the consequences before taking an action. At least that was the promise she made to herself. Whether she would always follow through with it remained to be seen.
Emma found Martha sitting with Sebastian in the dining hall. After filling her tray, she joined them. Martha didn’t ask her where she’d been, and Emma didn’t offer to tell her. Sebastian looked from one to the other as if sensing that things weren’t exactly right between them. Unable to contain his curiosity, he finally asked, “What’s going on with you two?”
Martha didn’t answer, so it was up to Emma to explain. “Last night, Martha warned me that Doug would be upset if I danced with Preston, but I wouldn’t listen, and now she’s mad at me.” Emma said this all in a rush, and by the time she had finished, her eyes had filled with tears again.
Sebastian didn’t say anything for a moment but glanced over at Martha. Her expression confirmed what Emma had just told him. Finally, he sighed and said, “Well, you’re right about one thing. Doug is furious. As soon as he got back from the infirmary, I told him everything. Of course at the time, I didn’t know about Bobby’s involvement. Martha told me the whole story after breakfast.” Sebastian stopped then and looked at Emma. “Before you get mad at me for telling Doug, you need to understand that I was just being a good friend to Doug. I figured he ought to know what happened before someone else blindsided him with the news. Anyway, after I told him he didn’t say anything. He was really quiet, and if you know Doug the way I know Doug, that’s not a good sign. Right after breakfast, he went upstairs to visit his dad, and I haven’t seen him since.”
Emma listened with a sinking heart. All hope that Doug would eventually forgive her was gone. He didn’t know that Bobby had put Preston up to asking her to dance, but she doubted it would matter even if he did. After all, Preston hadn’t forced her to dance with him. She could have said no.
Knowing that she was only moments away from bursting into tears, Emma hurried from the dining hall. She didn’t even take time to empty her tray. She left it sitting on the table—its contents untouched.
This time she did go to her room. Clarice, Susie, and Martha were all at lunch, so she knew she would be alone. The moment she got there, she climbed into her bed and got under the covers without bothering to undress. Then she cried until she couldn’t cry anymore. By the time she was finished, her pillow was soaked. Emma turned it over to the dry side and continued to lie there—thoroughly and utterly miserable but unable to produce any more tears. Physically and emotionally exhausted, she eventually fell asleep.
Emma awoke to a darkened room with a pounding headache and a sore throat. A burning behind her eyes indicated that she might be running a fever. Emma also felt a little sick to her stomach. Of course, this could be due to the fact that she’d had practically nothing to eat all day, but it could also mean that she was coming down with something. Remembering that strep throat was going around, Emma got up and went into the bathroom. Opening her mouth wide, she looked at the back of her throat in the mirror and saw two white spots. With a moan, Emma left the bathroom and began packing an overnight bag. She would most likely have to spend the next couple of days in the infirmary, so she might as well save someone else the trouble of gathering the things she’d need.
Emma packed her robe and slippers and a couple of nightgowns along with her toiletries. Then she grabbed the book she was reading for English class and the project she was cross-stitching. She didn’t know if she’d feel like working on it, but she took it anyway, just in case. Christmas was only a couple of months away, and the picture depicting scenes of the four seasons was the present Emma planned to give her dad and Vera.
As Emma walked to the infirmary with her bags, she was actually glad that she was going to be away from everything and everyone for a couple of days. She needed time to regroup. Instead of being a bad thing, her coming down with strep throat might be just what she needed.
Mrs. Godfrey was in the infirmary tending to a few other sick students when Emma arrived. A brief exam confirmed that Emma had a case of strep throat. Mrs. Godfrey assigned her a bed and instructed her to put her pajamas on. Once Emma was settled cozily under the covers, Mrs. Godfrey brought her some water along with pills to take for her fever and an antibiotic tablet to begin dealing with the strep infection.
“Do any of your roommates know where you are?” Mrs. Godfrey asked as she took Emma’s temperature.
Emma couldn’t reply with the thermometer stuck under her tongue, so she simply shook her head in the negative.
“I’ll send a message to your room then, and I’ll also inform your teachers. Is there someone who can get your schoolwork for you?”
Emma nodded, and once Mrs. Godfrey had removed the thermometer from her mouth, she said, “Martha Merriweather can get it.”
“All right then. I’ll take care of it. Now you try to get some rest. Supper trays should be coming in another hour or so.”
Mrs. Godfrey left her then to check on the few other students currently in the infirmary. Emma tried to sleep, but her head was hurting so badly that she couldn’t, and by the time her supper tray arrived, she was too nauseated to eat.
The next day, Emma wasn’t any better. Mrs. Godfrey gave her a shot of penicillin and a shot to help with the nausea. By lunchtime, although Emma’s head was still pounding, she was able to eat a little of the chicken noodle soup on her tray.
“The infection has gotten an unusually strong hold on you, but that shot I gave you this morning should do the trick,” Mrs. Godfrey said with a smile when she checked on Emma after lunch. “I’m glad to see you were finally able to eat something. How’s your head?”
“It still hurts,” Emma replied.
“That should start to let up soon. I’ll give you something for fever and pain, and then I want you to try to rest.”
Emma continued to feel terrible the rest of the day, but when she awoke Tuesday morning, her headache was gone. She was able to eat some scrambled egg and toast for breakfast, and when Mrs. Godfrey came to take her temperature, it was normal.
“Now, that’s what I like to see,” Mrs. Godfrey said. “This afternoon, if you feel like it, you can shower and put on a fresh gown. I’ll let your teachers know that you’ll be here at least until Friday. I want you to get your strength back before I turn you loose in these drafty halls.”
The mention of her teachers prompted Emma to ask if Martha had brought her any homework.
“Yes, but I want you to rest today,” Mrs. Godfrey answered. “If you’re still feeling better tomorrow, you can work on it.”
Emma took the nurse’s advice and showered after lunch. By the time she had changed into a clean gown, she was exhausted. Gratefully, she climbed back into bed, and in no time, she was fast asleep.
On Wednesday morning, Emma was feeling much better. She spent the morning working on the homework Martha had collected for her. After lunch, she decided to take a little nap before finishing her homework. When she woke up, she was surprised and dismayed to see Clarice lying in the bed next to her.
