Annabelle sat alone at breakfast; she had not seen Simone all morning. She did not know if it was because she regretted the night before, or if she was avoiding Annabelle all together. The food was unappetizing to Annabelle, so around and around her plate it went. She was not normally one to play with her food, but the suspense of that morning was getting to her so much that she slammed her fork down in frustration, gaining a few odd looks from her classmates. Her day grew that much brighter when Kat made her way over to where she was sitting and plopped down in the seat across from her.

“So, did you finally sleep with Miss Bradley?” Kat tactlessly asked, at least having the common sense to keep her voice at a reasonable level. “I didn’t see you two at the dance last night after you made your little performance. Did you write that song for her?” Kat teased.

“Why, are you still pissed because I won’t sleep with you?” Annabelle spit back.

Kat clearly was not amused by the comment. But, she made no further attempts to anger Annabelle, and moved clear across the cafeteria. Giving up on breakfast all together in favor of panning over her thoughts outside, Annabelle hastily stood and made her exit, glancing quickly at Mother Immaculata before reaching the door. Mother Immaculata curiously watched Annabelle leave, but made no motion to follow her.

After breakfast was over, Simone walked down the hallway and down the stairs, the clicking of her heels the only noise among the silence. Her clothing reflected the setting; her normal uniform of a white collared shirt and a stiff pant suit was there. But, the jacket was unbuttoned and the shirt was not as stiff as normal. And underneath, neatly concealed and barely visible, Simone wore the Buddhist prayer beads. She peered into Mother Immaculata’s room through her open door upon passing, but did not stop. Mother Immaculata looked up from her desk as Simone left the doorway.

“Simone!” Mother Immaculata shouted suddenly from her seat, but Simone either did not hear her or chose to ignore her sharp voice, because she kept walking down the hall.

She slowly wandered out into the yard in front of the school. Since it was mid morning, all the girls it seemed were traveling in the same space that she was trying to walk through, all talking away about the dance. Bits and pieces of their conversations were audible, but Simone smiled and shook her head at the sheer trivialness of what they were so excited about. The clear blue sky reached down behind them, and the sun shone brightly. Simone scanned the crowd as she walked, and finally a small, quick smile adorned her face and her eyes brightened the tiniest bit as the person she was looking for came into view. Sitting against a tree away from everyone else was Annabelle, holding a cigarette as it was normal for her to do. This time, though, the cigarette lay almost forgotten in her hand, and Annabelle was sitting cross legged staring off into space. She didn’t seem to notice that the cigarette was almost at its end, and only dropped it when it burned her finger. She let out no gasp, no indication as to the pain she had just endured, for she had just spotted Simone coming toward her from across the yard. She let a small smile that almost matched Simone’s spread across her face.