Despite what Mr. Connor had said in class about the Pelan and the Xurguwi, Tilli's proclamation had still come as a bit of a surprise, and even more so Miriam's fiery defense that sometimes you had to keep secrets. The reaction that had stunned Mat the most, however, was Ayan's. It had been nearly a year since he had heard the Epaluno language spoken, and he had almost cried at the sound of it. He supposed he should have known how she would react. If she felt any other way, she wouldn't have embroidered the Pelan sun onto her shirt cuff. Still, knowing he could be himself around her--around all of them--lightened his heart.
Unfortunately, the next day was Springday, and he would have to admit to Charlie that he had told Mrs. Putyam about how he and Antony had broken into Mrs. Theelnin's filing cabinet. He got to the infirmary early, but Charlie wasn't there. Instead, Tisheet was in his place.
"Tisheet?" Mat asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I fill in sometimes when the usual infirmary workers can't make it. Ms. Collins asked me to fill in for Charlie today."
"Did she say why?" Tisheet shook her head, though Mat knew the answer before he asked the question.
His work was a nightmare that day. Mat liked Tisheet well enough, but he had hoped to get his confession to Charlie over with and put the whole mess behind him. Now, he wasn't sure when he would see Charlie again.
As soon as his shift ended, he bolted for the cafeteria. Charlie was eating dinner with Wince and Chloe, as always, though Mat couldn't really say anything in front of them. He waited impatiently, picking at his food, only half attentive to the conversation. Charlie seemed entirely unphased. When Wince and Chloe stood up to leave, Charlie told him he'd follow them in a minute. Then he turned to Mat and got straight to the point. "What's wrong?"
"I'm sorry, I... I told Mrs. Putyam that you broke into Mrs. Theelnin's files last year. There was this whole thing last night with Antony, and..."
Charlie actually laughed. "Is that what this is about?"
Mat began to tell him about the day before, but Charlie help up a hand. "I know everything I need to know. Ms. Collins talked to me about it this morning. Antony and I had to help Mrs. Theelnin install new magical locks on her filing cabinet, to make it difficult for students to break in, even with a key."
Matsias wrapped his hands around the handle of his crutch. "Is she taking you off infirmary duty?"
Charlie shook his head. "No. She said that wouldn't be fair to you. But she is making me write a paper about confidentiality, and I've probably lost my shot at being student head next year." His mouth turned down in disappointment.
"Are you mad at me?"
"No. I broke the rules. That's my problem, not yours."
Mat breathed a sigh of relief. "Do you think they'll expel Antony?"
"That depends on what he did with the information, I guess."
"So you don't know?"
"I don't need to know. I think I've my fair share of gossip for the year." Charlie stood up. "See you Nortday?"
Matsias breathed another sigh of relief and nodded.
