She was the one who made the poison in the water glass, she knew its capabilities. It's just a simple concoction made from grocery store ingredients, but according to various people on the internet, it's deadly. Even if she wanted to save River, why did she have to drink it herself? Her stupidity was going to be the end of her.
"I need to go to the bathroom, uh… Too much water." Beatrix barely managed to get the sentence out before she stumbled away. She felt three pairs of burning gazes on her as she left.
She reached the closest bathroom she could find, haphazardly shutting the door. She fell onto the floor, her knees harshly hitting the tile.
She was in no mind to care about the pain, though.
Her insides were tearing themselves apart, her stomach and throat burning agonizingly. She felt her tongue swell and itch, and foam developed on the corner of her lips.
Her hands cupped her own face, fingers trembling. She was terrified.
It felt as if her organs were melting, and they probably were.
Beatrix was dying.
She regretted it, she regretted everything. She wished she had thought through everything more, both her actions here and her actions when agreeing to the gods' deal. She wished she had been more careful.
But more than anything, she wished she hadn't grabbed that glass from River.
Black spots blurred her vision, and Beatrix finally felt her body collapse.
-
Beatrix could tell it hadn't been long since she passed out; she was still splayed on the tile in an awkward position.
More importantly, however, she was alive. And well, from the feel of it.
She felt the pain in her knees from her fall, she'd have bruises tomorrow. And her stomach and throat were still burning, making her want to scratch her neck. But for the most part, she felt okay.
It's a good thing she'd taken that glass from River. He would have lived to tell the tale, and Beatrix would be the first suspect, especially considering her interaction with Lucy. And then her task would fail, considering she wouldn't be able to reach River. She'd be in jail, after all.
She found it surprisingly easy to collect herself and return to the dinner table, the poison did close to nothing. She really shouldn't have trusted the internet.
-
Charlotte's parents were very worried by Beatrix's untimely exit, and that didn't completely go away when she came back from the bathroom. But they decided not to comment on it, perhaps out of consideration for Beatrix, thinking it was some sort of embarrassing bodily issue.
River, however, stared at Beatrix from the moment she returned to the table, suspicion lighting his gaze. He must be wondering if it would have been him rushing to the bathroom if he had drunk that water, instead of Beatrix.
She could only hope he thought it was some childish prank involving laxatives.
-
It appeared he thought she was harmless enough, judging by his persistence towards her. Currently, he blocked her way in the school hallway, his friends close behind him: a bit confused but jovial nonetheless.
In the book, River's friends were described as being energetic yet violent delinquents, often getting into fights and arguments. River and his friend's antics were one of the reasons it was so easy for Elias to get them expelled.
Seeing them in person was interesting, knowing their unfortunate future.
"Do you want to eat with us?" River said innocently, obviously still sticking to his initial plan. His friends watched from behind, gathering gossip.
"...Why would I do that?" Beatrix was trying her best to be aloof and unsociable, but it truly wasn't like her. In her high school years and the half a year she spent in college, she had become desperate for friends. She was terminally shy and awkward, and some small part of her had hoped she wouldn't have to live that legacy forever. But now was not the time to indulge her selfish desires, or at least that's what she kept telling herself.
"Hey, I just want to eat with you. I noticed you usually eat alone, and I think it would be fun. You know Clara and Daniel want us to get along."
River's friends immediately became more interested. They knew of River's situation, but it was another thing to see it firsthand.
If she ate with River, it's likely he'd mention it to Clara and Daniel 'by happenstance', and maybe they'd stop worrying so much about their relationship. Even better, they may stop forcing them to study together. One lunch versus many study periods immediately outweighed each other in Beatrix's mind.
"Fine. Are you eating in the dining hall?" It's too loud there.
River was a bit surprised, he clearly wasn't actually expecting her to join them. He was just making his presence known and cementing his image as being kind and considerate.
"Great. We were going to eat outside, the cafeteria is too loud." He quickly flashed a warm smile.
-
When they actually sat down and started eating, River's friend's fascination with Beatrix quickly wore off, they didn't know how to act around her. It was awkward.
One of his friends, however, Theo, as she remembers from the book, kept staring at Beatrix strangely.
It was unsettling Beatrix, and it seemed River could tell. He kept talking to her, trying to get her to relax and open up to him.
And despite her best efforts, she was.
He was fascinating and charming, it was a wonder Charlotte hadn't fallen for him. If she hadn't known his true personality, she would have tripped right into his clutches.
Thankfully, that didn't happen.
After Beatrix and his other friends left, Theo pointedly stayed behind with River.
"Do you want to explain why you're suddenly sticking to some random girl?" Theo asked, annoyed.
"She's not some random girl." River hadn't explained his plans to his friends.
"Fine, whatever, that doesn't matter. I can tell she doesn't like you, by the way." Theo said harshly.
"So?"