Riverview School For Girls [GxG]

thirty

Willow found Jordan eating in the courtyard at lunch, and offered her a smile, "Come inside."

Jordan glanced up from her sandwich, "Why?"

"Because you should be in the dining hall with your friends."

"My friends?" Jordan raised her brows questioningly, "I didn't think I had any of those."

"Well, like it or not, you do." Willow grabbed Jordan's hand, and pulled her off the bench, before dragging her back into the castle. When they reached the dining hall, Willow let go.

Sydney and Dahlia were chatting animatedly when Willow and Jordan reached their table, but Val was silent, her head in her hands, her food untouched. Willow wanted to say something to her, to reach out, to touch her, to reassure herself that Val was real. But Willow didn't say anything, because there was nothing to say.

"Girls."

They all froze, glancing up to meet Miss Burke's frosty glare. She was stood over their table, her hands on her hips, a scowl on her face.

"I told you to take those braids out." Miss Burke scolded Sydney.

Sydney gulped, staring down at her plate, "Sorry, Miss, I just-"

"She likes them." Jordan interjected, "And she shouldn't have to take them out."

Miss Burke's gaze hardened when it landed on Jordan, "I see you've gotten a new hairstyle too, Miss Kiani." She noted stiffly.

Jordan grinned, "Do you like it?"

"It's hardly ladylike-"

"Oh, good." Jordan sighed dramatically, "That's the last thing I want."

Miss Burke's jaw twitched in irritation, and she turned back to face Sydney, "I want the braids taken out by-"

"She's not taking them out." Jordan interrupted, "You have no right asking her to."

"Very well." Miss Burke nodded curtly, "Detention it is."

Sydney's eyes widened, "But Miss-"

"If you are not willing to follow the school rules, then detention is the only option." She told Sydney coldly. "I'll see you after school in my office."

"But I have training-"

"I'll let Mr Mitchell know that you won't be able to make it." Miss Burke spared them all one last look of distain, then marched away, searching for her next victim.

Sydney groaned loudly, "This is bullshit."

"She can't get away with this." Jordan complained frustratedly, "We can't let her."

"There's nothing we can do." Dahlia sighed sadly, "It's been like this for the past six years-"

"It's fucked up." Jordan shook her head disapprovingly, "Really fucked up."

Willow traced the edges of her prefect badge, then, mindlessly, took it off, and slipped it into her pocket.

That afternoon, Willow walked back to her dorm still dressed in her hockey kit, her skin sticky with sweat, frizzy hair pulled into a windswept ponytail. Training was gruelling, and without Sydney, it was long, too. She was tired, her limbs heavy from the exercise, her eyes itching for rest.

When she reached the top of the West Tower, she pushed the door open to find Val curled up at the windowsill.

Willow paused in the doorway, and cleared her throat, "Hi." She leant her hockey stick up against the wall, then walked over to the sink, where she proceeded to take her contact lenses out.