Chapter 6
Maze stared at herself in the mirror while brushing her teeth. Her eyes looked to be carrying her luggage with how baggy they were. The white of her eyes were now bloodshot and her pores could be seen by the worst of cameras with how visible they were.
Nothing a little make-up can't fix. She spat out the paste in her mouth and began slurping the water to rinse her teeth.
"Ms. Mazekien, are you alright in there?" Her maid asked from outside her bathroom door.
"I'm fine, I'll be out in a minute." She looked at herself in the mirror and called out to her maid again. "Can you please take out my primer and foundation." After hearing an obedient, "Yes ma'am." She went back to taking care of her dental hygiene.
Once she was done in her bathroom; she went straight to applying her make-up. This wasn't an everyday occurrence. Her skin would usually be perfect from the moment she woke up, but stress tended to make her skin worse. Of course, the irony of applying make-up was not lost on her.
She was going to spend the entire day putting on an act of perfection for everyone to see. And there she was sitting in front of a mirror putting on a mask to hide just how much of a reck she was.
"Are you okay, Ms. Mazekien?" She giggled at her maid's question.
"What do you mean by that? Can't you see?" She turned to her maid; her make-up only half done. "I'm perfectly fine." Of course, her smile was forced, but forcing smiles was something she was already used to.
"I'll go prepare your breakfast then, what would the young miss have for today?"
"Just make me cereal, I'm not in the mood for a big breakfast." Her maid turned to leave and once the door closed Maze sighed to herself.
I keep forgetting her name, I should ask for it next time I get the chance. She had finished her make-up and walked over to her bed to wear her uniform. Everything was washed and ironed, ready for her to wear at any time. She couldn't imagine a life without her maids. She could barely cook for herself, let alone clean her own clothes.
All she could do for them was try her best not to dirty anything. Memories of her last maid chewing her out for playing in the mud made her want to avoid that same fate with her new one.
Once fully dressed she began making her way to the lounge, her footsteps echoing in the empty hallway and down the stairs until she finally reached the bottom floor. Passing by a few family portraits which she willed herself not to look at. She reached the lounge with shock as she entered.
"Sit down with me Mazekien." Her father called sitting on the sofa with a tablet in his hand. He was already fully dressed in his usual suit consisting of a pair of navy-blue dress pants and blazer. Under it a black waist coat and white shirt. He wore a pair of Brogues on his feet with the family insignia on their sides. An illustration of the skull of an Ox boar, which represented strength and resilience.
"I'm just a little surprised father, it is not often you come join me for breakfast." Maze made her way to sit on the couch across from her father, hearing the grumbles he whispered.
She studied her father's demeanor. His thumb and index pinched the bridge of his nose. His back slumped over with his elbow acting as support on his knee. Seeing all of this made her grow anxious as she tried to guess the reasons why he would be in such a mood.
"Is something the matter, father?" He sighed before sliding the tablet on the coffee table towards her. Taking out a cigar and putting it on his lips before lighting it.
"Please explain what that is?" He took a big pull from his cigar, the head glowing in a blue flame as Maze watched what was on the tablet. Her eyes widened in shock as she witnessed in full HD the events of her party.
Everything from the copious amounts of alcohol and weed, to the illegal drug trades. From the joyous and ecstatic dancing, to the fight between her classmates. And as the cherry on top, not only was she filmed drinking alongside Tiffany, but the act of Bastien kissing Tiffany in front of her was caught in 8k.
Her heart felt just like it did the night it all happened. Broken and weakened by their betrayal.
"So, what now? Former Head Girl of Rosemary." Her father teased, but there was nothing funny about his statement.
"Former?" Her voice nearly came out as a whisper as she didn't realize she was holding it.
"Vander sent me that video, so obviously once you go to school you will be stripped of your position. Luckily, he said that the video has yet to go viral and that he'd be doing everything in his power to keep it that way." His tone was calm, but she guessed that was just the affect the Cigar had on him.
"Your brother wasn't an angel, but he was at least smart enough to keep his act up in public. This is a stain on our name Mazekien. I thought you were better." His disappointed gaze stuck as he stared at her.
"But Dad, this isn't… I didn't… I made sure I got everyone's phone before they entered." She tried to explain, her expression being a mixed bag of shock and horror.
"As we can see there were obvious holes in your security. This video threatens to dirty our family name Mazekien, I won't be able to trust my inheritance with you should this video go viral." Maze noted what he said and instantly asked, "Where did you get this from!?"
"I see the shock of it all has rendered you deaf, I won't be repeating myself." Maze flinched at her father's retort and went quiet. Her breakfast was served to her, simple milk and cereal with some added strawberries.
She stared at the cereal as her mind wondered who the culprit could be.
"The school is investigating the case as we speak. That being said, I think it's high time for you to change schools." As if the shock of the video wasn't enough, the man laid on another bombshell as he casually pulled from his cigar with the Maid serving him a glass of golden scotch.
"No, we can't." Maze retorted. "Rosemary was Brother's school, I can't leave!" Her voice began cracking. She could feel the tears wanting to come out, but she fought them back. Breaking down at that time would not help her case against her dad, even though it sounded like he had already made up his mind.
"Marcus is dead Mazekien, but if he were here, he'd be as disappointed as I am." Maze felt a jolt of pain run through her jest as tears began falling. Placing her breakfast on the coffee table, Maze stormed out of the room.
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The drive to school was quieter than usual. Her driver played toons on the radio, but all of it felt like white music to her. Her father's words played a harsh symphony in her head and, try as she might, she couldn't stop them from playing.
The early morning traffic was worse than usual. Every car was practically bumper to bumper with each other and the heavy showers outside didn't help. Everything alluded to an accident that happened nearby.
They weren't far from Rosemary, but the heavy traffic was likely going to make her late. Meaning everyone would already be there to ridicule her for her failed façade. She was going to lose the position she wasted all of her Junior high to get. Duncan was more likely to side with Bastien and Tiffany, since he knew them longer. She had no one. Her life was over.
All of these thoughts in her head bore an empty feeling in her chest. A familiar feeling, that she couldn't identify the source of. She shifted on her seat towards the right door of the Maserati and palmed the handle.
"Ms. Mazekien?" She stepped out of the door, the driver calling her name in a mix of panic and confusion.
Her heart raced as she ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Weaving through the cars, with the voice of her driver still calling out to her. She didn't turn back. From a hard left into an alleyway and to a hard right out the other end, she took another right before disappearing into the city.
She couldn't hear her driver's footsteps anymore, but she didn't stop running. She wanted to scream, but her unathletic lungs weren't used to the exhaustion she brought on to herself. Her legs felt like jelly and eventually she fell into a puddle on the side of the road.
She picked herself up, gasping for air. Her knee was scraped, and she was too tired to continue running, but she got up and walked to wherever her legs took her.
She had no one to turn to, and once law enforcement found her, she'd be either brought back home or deported to the South. Not the best decision she had made, but if she was honest with herself, she'd admit that she wasn't thinking at the moment.
"Where do you go when you've got nowhere to go?" She asked herself. The image of her late brother played in her mind and with a smile she immediately knew the answer.
Her legs began running again as she caught her second wind. She was never the athletic type, always just completing her fitness tests with a mark above 60%. But at that moment she enjoyed running more than anything. All her stress, her worries and the emotional toll everything had on her seemed to go away. Her heart raced, but not with anxiety. For the first time it felt like her heart raced out of joy.
Standing in front of a maroon door with the golden number written 8400 above the doorbell she pressed and waited for him to answer. Now that everything had begun to slow down, she realized just how wet she was. Everything from her blazer to her bra was completely soaked. And the pang of pain in her knee began to worsen.
This is embarrassing. She thought as the door swung open.
"Mazekien?" He asked with an obvious look of shock on his face. It didn't take long for him to step aside to let her in. Once she was in, she fell to her knees and began laughing.
"Maze, are you okay?" Her laughter turned hysterical when he asked that, but in the midst of it all, that laughter turned into tears.
She could barely form a sentence as her tears began flowing out uncontrollably. The man kneeled next to her and pulled her in for a hug. Maze didn't hesitate to drown herself in his arms as she let out a cry that she felt was long overdue.
"My deepest apologies Headmaster. I didn't expect my car to be acting up like this. It was driving perfectly the other day, so I'm just as surprised as you are."
If it's unavoidable then I'll allow it, but I expect you to be here by tomorrow. Am I clear Mr. Fry?
"No problem sir, you can count on me." Mr. Fry dropped the call and returned to aid the little bird that had wound up on his stoep. He allowed Mazekien to borrow his shower and gave her some of his ex-wife's old clothing. Now all that was left was to treat her wound.
"I'm sorry if I'm asking too much of you. It's just---"
"You don't need to say anything, I already know." Maze looked at him with a shocked expression.
"The video was sent to every teacher. I was able to put two and two together, but I didn't expect things to have gotten this bad so quick." Maze dropped her head in disappointment.
"You must not think too highly of me, now that everything is out." Mr. Fry scoffed.
"I never thought highly of you to begin with." Maze bit her lip as the comment stung.
"It doesn't matter what you achieve Maze, I'll always see you as that bratty little girl who interrupted my breaks in recess." Maze chuckled but she quickly slapped her hand over her mouth to stop it.
"Honestly, you Schmidt's are an annoying bunch. Your brother would always get on my nerves even after I stopped mentoring him. You're not even the first Schmidt to crash into my house out of nowhere." Maze couldn't help her chuckle from escaping, but she kept her hand over her mouth to try. She winced in pain as Mr. Fry began applying the disinfectant.
"Careful now, we don't want to worsen your injury. It looks like you got a torn ACL and a dislocated knee."
"Shut up you fake doctor, there's no way I fell that hard." Mr. Fry chuckled.
"What about infection, your leg could turn into a zombie!" He teased before pressing some more disinfectant on it. Maze winced in pain, before pretending to collapse.
"It might be too late for me you fake; I might turn into a zombie and bite you first." She exaggerated.
"Oh no, I better close this wound before it's too late. Spending eternity with you sounds like hell!" The two laughed as Mr. Fry wrapped her knee in gauze.
"You don't need to worry about asking too much, I'll always be here for you." Maze bit her lip, trying her hardest not to let the tears flow out.
"Thank you." She whimpered out. Without warning Mr. Fry slid his hands under her knees and picked her up bridal style. Maze knew she had a steady diet, but she couldn't believe that she was that light to him.
"It's best for you to stay in bed, I don't want my best student to catch a cold." Maze chuckled.
"That's what you're worried about?" She asked. Her arms wrapping around his neck for support.
"Yeah, I don't think anything else should worry me right now, I'm already taking a big risk. I'm guessing you don't want your parents to know where you are?" Maze remained quiet which was enough of an answer for him.
"It's cool, I understand." She lightly punched him on the chest.
"And that's why you're my favorite teacher." The two chuckled before Mr. Fry turned into a free room.
It had a single bed with a few Rock inspired posters hung up. The room was relatively clean, but nothing compared to hers. Even when he lied her down, she couldn't help groaning in discomfort.
"It's not much, but a single room home is all I can afford with a teacher's salary."
"What about the money you got from my tutoring?" Mr. Fry scratched his head, chuckling out of embarrassment.
"That was all taken once the divorce was settled. It was enough to settle me out of paying child support every month. So big ups to that." Maze frowned at that sentence.
"What about your son, do you even get to see him?" Maze remembered how hard he worked for that money, even putting up with delinquents just to get an extra pay.
"Wipe that look off your face. This is all just adult stuff, so you shouldn't worry yourself about it." He was about to leave but was pulled back and nearly fell on the girl. Supporting himself with just his arms.
"I'll study law and get you the justice you deserve." A light smile came on his lips.
"I was a shitty husband, so you'd be fighting a losing battle." He chuckled, but Maze remained firm in her argument.
"I don't care, I want to pay you back!" The determination burning in her eyes was evident, but he couldn't help but laugh. His face falling right next to her ear left ear.
"It's not that funny!" She shouted while trying to push him back.
Mr. Fry lifted himself off her, their faces only a few inches apart. "You're a good girl Maze." He kissed her on the forehead. "But stay out of it."
"Mr. Fry!" She called out in complaint as he got off the bed.
"You know my name, so use it." Maze rolled her eyes.
"Hunter!" She called.
"Yes, my lovely lady." He teased just as he reached the door.
"I'm serious!" Hunter scoffed.
"So am I," He closed the door. "Now get some sleep!" He shouted from the other side of the bed.
He could hear her grumbling on the other side of the door as he slid down on his knees.
Goddamn it Hunter, the fuck are you doing? He said, putting his hand over his beating heart.