My eyes wandered to the pink flower pot on the floor. Its golden daisy was shimmering in the dim dorm lighting, and I made a quick decision to hide it in my closet. The dark mahogany furniture held a lightbulb inside, and that would do until I could find a safer place to hide it.
I needed to locate Hannah, and see if she had any idea what was going on. Her name was on the scroll with some other students names, and I had a feeling at least one of them played a part in this. It wasn't too late in the day and the second block of classes would be ending soon.
I shouldered my bag, and headed out of my dorm in search for the young nymph. It took roughly fifteen minutes of walking around the campus' main courtyard for me to spot her approaching the fountain. My eyes widened when I saw Brandon approach her from behind, and tap her on the shoulder.
When Hannah turned around, she smiled at him. The two hugged and sat on the fountain's edge. My feet edged closer to them, and my heart sped up. I was still a good distance from them, and blocked slightly by some students. My ears twitched as they tried to focus on Hannah's conversation.
"Hannah, I heard from someone that you've been talking to Alex Montgomery. What the fuck? You know he's friends with Coop. You know what they do."
My ears perked up at the mention of Coop, and my brows furrowed. Brandon being a part of the research team meant he had access to Deadly Nightshade. I shuddered at what he could do to the demigod. By the look of it, Brandon still hated him with a passion.
"Brandon, I can talk to whoever I want to. Alex isn't a bad guy, and you are blinded by your rage. This behavior isn't going to be beneficial to our project, and if you keep trying to interfere with my personal life, I will go to Hawkins." Hannah's voice was softer than Brandon's, and I could tell her words affected him greater than he led on.
His eyes glazed over, and his brows raised. His posture stiffened, and he leaned closer to Hannah. I couldn't tell what he whispered in her ear, but he straightened himself, and left her staring at the ground.
I couldn't tell what to make of the conversation, other than Brandon is a bit of a whining twat when it comes to Coop.
"Hannah?" I called, making my way over to her.
"Oakley! You wouldn't believe the grade that Hawkins gave me on my test," She gushed.
Hannah met me halfway, and pulled me into a bone crushing hug. I didn't have to guess what grade she got. Her perky attitude hadn't been demolished by brooding Brad.
"I assume you got an A, Han," I wheezed, "Please, I can't breathe."
She jerked a bit at my plea, and let go. She brushed herself off and smiled at me.
"Sorry, I just studied so hard. I can't believe it. I'm at the head of his class now, actually all classes with those last points. Ugh, My dreams are going to be a reality soon." Her pride was amusing and I returned her smile.
"Hey, I don't mean to pry, but I saw you talking to Brandon. What was that about?" I said, feigning innocence.
Getting Hannah to talk was easy, I just had to form the right questions. She looked a bit confused before she recovered. Her feet hopped up and down, and her eyes lit up.
"Oh, remember how I told you I was doing a research project on machine's effect on wildlife? Well, Professor Hawkins hand picked a few students. Brandon and I got picked. We're working with some gnarly stuff, but its going to be overseen by Headmaster Vancejoy." Hannah's excitement about her project was evident in her tone.
"That's incredible, Han! I'm so happy for you. So Brandon's a part of your research team then? What stuff are you working with?" I questioned, gesturing to continue talking.
"Yeah, its like four or five of us. We have our hypotheses worked out. We begin the actual research this week. There isn't much that I can talk about though. It's an outside project, so Headmaster had us all sign NDAs. There's important information, classified even, in some of the files we have to review." She boasted, hooking her arm with mine.
"That's so cool, Han. When you're a member of the Nymph's Tech Council, remember me." I teased to boost her ego.
Vancejoy was going to use this project for the Seven's agenda, and Hannah would be my ticket into figuring out how to stop it. I had a bad feeling about them, and the fact that they were coming to the school meant that there was a bigger plan in place.
"Oaktree, c'mon! You'll be on the High Council. We'll be in the same meetings." Hannah countered, her feet skipped with mine down the courtyard's cobble path.
"Hannah, no. What? Where did you hear that?" I stopped in my tracks, and unlinked our arms.
"Oh, well my uncle was talking to your mom at one of the meetings and she told him-" I raised my palm, cutting her off.
"Hannah, my mother is delusional. I've told her my goals, and they are no where near the Nymph's High Council." I reassured, letting her know my stance on my mother's position.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Oakley. I thought you'd changed your mind. My uncle said she seemed adamant about you taking her position when she stepped down." Hannah's tone was sincere, and I gave her a knowing smile.
"You know parents, Hannah. They give us a hard time because they try to relive their own lives through us." I quipped, nudging her a bit.
"Ain't that the truth. Did you want to come to the mess hall with me?" She asked, fishing out her earplugs from her bag.
"No, I'm okay. Its busiest now, and I just want some peace before I talk to Hawkins. Hey, were you meeting with Alex today?" I asked, if she was with Alex, I could talk to Coop without the fear of anyone hearing us.
I'd get Ainsley and Trey to meet with Eldritch later. Hannah shrugged her shoulders, and sighed.
"Maybe, if there's a party tonight, he'll be going. That means I'll be in my dorm studying." She sighed, drooping her shoulders.
"Hey, send him a raunchy text. I'm sure he'll come racing to you. Have a little fun with it." I taunted, winking at her.
Hannah gasped, and her cheeks shaded a light pink. With one hand she tucked an inky wave behind her ear. My giggle escaped, and I nudged her again before turning on my heels. I had to tell Coop about Brandon.