To say Fianna was unamused was, by far, an understatement. The resulting detainment in her office due to the investigative actions I took with Elise, Krys, and Val, was about as expected as could be. Luckily, Elise came with us to argue my case.

“She was told to stay OUT OF TROUBLE. That’s all I asked her to do, and she couldn’t! You helping her just makes this incident that much more COMPLICATED!” Fianna shouted at Elise for the third time since the door shut.

“And as I’ve stated, she achieved the goal that you couldn’t. Her actions may have been more overt-“ Elise began.

“Overt doesn’t even BEGIN to cover it!” Fianna cut in.

Elise continued on as if she hadn’t been interrupted, “But in the end she got results. As a candidate for your position, getting results is a bare minimum. If anything, you should be applauding her efforts and giving guidance on how to resolve the issue in a more covert manner in future.”

“Don’t even get me started on her candidacy for head girl right now. If she’s lucky she’ll still be here at the end of the week! Mistress Black is going to be furious, and I don’t even know HOW to explain to her what happened!” Fianna said, flopping herself down in her chair behind the desk.

Elise smiled, “Tell her that Lauren not only figured out that the earrings were sabotaged but also figured out why and for what they had been sabotaged for.”

“If I may…” I started, before both sets of eyes locked on me.

Fianna motioned for me to proceed while pinching the bridge of her nose, her glasses balancing on the tips of her fingers.

“If it makes things better, why not put me under house arrest? Claim you’re investigating the results I brought to you, but making it so I cannot tamper with things. Then if you have to, go and send me away. I won’t blame you, but I would really like some answers. Like why these earrings were trying to find me, or what was causing the change in mood.” I said as rushed as I could.

Elise nodded, her smile widening. “That’s both a prudent idea as well as a viable option for defusing the situation.”

Fianna sighed, nodding along with Elise’s statement. She then let her glamour down and placed her head on the desk. I couldn’t tell if this was her winding herself down, or if maybe this was her trying to stop another explosion.

“Look, Fianna, I’m not feeling great.” I said, feeling a sense of bloating and cramps in my lower abdomen.

Fianna looked at me, “Like you’re getting sick?”

I shook my head and hunched in on myself a bit, hugging my midrift as a fresh wave of pain hit. The medication must be wearing off.

“Oh. The monster from the deep. Got it. Here.” Fianna said, realizing her mistake and reaching into her desk and pulling out a bottle with big blue letters on it.

I downed two pills and could feel a small bit of relief climbing its way out from my stomach. It also seemed to relieve some of the mounting tension I felt behind my left eye. Goddess I hate this time of the month. Why couldn’t I just have been born with a penis? This would have been so much easier!

I kind of zoned out for the rest of the conversation, which might have been less than smart, but I started to doze a little. At some point though, Elise left and Fianna snapped her fingers in my face to snap me out of the funk. I jolted back to reality with a start.

“Lauren, you should go lie down.” Fianna said, her head back on her body.

“You going to lie with me?” I teased, using my skewed sense of humour as a shield for the discomfort.

Fianna smiled slightly, “Not this time. Somebody made a lot of paperwork for me.”

“So… rain check?” I asked.

“If you’re still here at thanksgiving, maybe I’ll consider it. You do owe me a make up date.” Fianna teased back.

I grinned and stood up gingerly, “It’s a promise then.”

I wandered out of the room, feeling like a zombie. I meandered my way toward my room, not even noticing the crowds around me. I vaguely remember getting into my room and flopping myself down on the bed, but past that the next few hours were silence and dreamless black.

I think at some point, a few hours later, I got a message telling me I was to remain in my room for the next week unless accompanied by a member of the disciplinary committee or a head girl. Meals would be delivered at appointed times by someone appointed by Fianna. I think it said I’d be stuck here for a week, but I was still kind of out of it.

See, dad always thought I had some sort of biological issue, periods and great discomfort tended to make me sleepy. I always assumed it was just a coping mechanism, and if I was being honest, it was a great coping mechanism for most situations.

Val came in at some point and got me another dose of meds to keep things from becoming unbearable. I made a mental note to thank her when my brain came back online.

About eight hours later I woke up again, crawled out of bed, took a shower, and threw out the bloodstained garments. I’m going to run out at this rate, I thought. I think I’ll put in an order for some more drawers.

I went over to the computer desk and logged into the local ordering system. I ended up putting in a mass order of black and brown panties, about five pounds of chocolate, and a cute skull hairclip. Placing the order with my accrued grade funds, I was complacent… until the cramps came back in full force. But before I could make my way over to get more pills, a knock came from the door.

I steadied myself on the wall and shifted my way to the door. Opening it, I was met with Elise’s face and a tray of food. I smiled, winced, and then stepped back to let her in.

“You know, you make periods look like death. Must hit you like a gale.” Elise teased, setting the tray down on the counter in the kitchenette.

“You are one of those mythical people with those minor discomfort cycles, aren’t you?” I all but wheezed out.

“Compared to your hurricane, mine are a summer breeze. How much longer are you expecting to be out of commission?” Elise replied.

“Normally I’m in for three days of hellish torment and then a day of floods where I’m not aching. Sometimes it’s a week of aches. We’ll see what’s going on in about two days.” I said.

Elise nodded, pulling out a bottle of painkillers. “I know these aren’t exactly PMS busters, but these things will make the pain into a memory for about three hours… and a dull ache for another six. Take only two or three in a twenty-four hour period.”

“I could kiss you.” I said, taking the bottle and popping a pill down my gullet.

“I bet Fianna would get jealous about that.” Elise teased, poking at my stomach. “She spent all night agonizing about how to woo you the other day and then things blew up al over the place.”

I winced again, “She told you about me screwing up, huh?”

She smiled mischievously, “The whole thing.”

I groaned and slid down the wall to the ground. A wet splat sound was heard when I landed, and I met Elise’s gaze.

“I’ll go get you a mop and a bucket.” Elise said and dashed from the room.