3. WELCOME TO ELLIOT …
Going through the door was somewhat similar to wading through a semi- translucent medium. Like jell-o, Diana thought. The girls fought their way to the other side, and broke out at last, gasping for air.
Only then was the pair able to take in the surroundings properly. They were now in a high- ceilinged room that appeared almost yellow owing to the dim lights that adorned both the sides. A second glance told them that their supposed ‘room’ was actually a corridor, and a rather long one at that. Seemingly endless, in fact.
Lizzie glanced down at the rough red carpet under their feet. Once she did so, she wrapped her jacket around herself rather unconsciously. It took her some time to realize that it was really cold in there. Icy cold. As cold as it had been on the deserted road some time ago. Lizzie couldn’t help shivering as she turned to Diana, who merely motioned towards the open door.
‘The draft’s blowing in from out there!’ Diana managed to stutter. Lizzie nodded and walked slowly towards the door, followed by Diana, and, together, they heaved the door shut.
Now that this was done, the two girls just stared at each other, blank expressions on their faces, until Lizzie said finally, ‘Er, Diana … do you have any clue as to where we are?’ she asked her companion.
Before Diana could answer her question, however, a shrill, high- pitched voice rang out from behind them, ‘How silly you two are! You're in Elliot, of course!’
They both spun around, surprised. The speaker turned out to be a woman. She had short red hair that was tied up in a neat ponytail at her neck and her emerald eyes sparkled at them. She was smiling, showing off her pearly whites.
She wore a full sleeved blue top and a black velvety skirt that ended just above her knees. The lady held a bunch of folders in one hand, and a blue umbrella in the other. As Lizzie looked at the umbrella weirdly, she said, ‘Rains here quite a lot, you know!’
‘Who- who are you?’ Diana blurted out unsurely. Probably a rude question, but she couldn’t help herself. The lady, however, didn’t seem in the least offended.
‘Oh!’ she said instead, giggling, ‘I forgot that you’re new here, which means that you don’t know much … nothing in fact!’ she laughed again, and Lizzie whispered to Diana, ‘Is she mental, do you think?’
It certainly seemed that way.
‘And oh!’ she continued in a breezy fashion, ‘as for who I am, I’m one of the staff members. No one important, really … here at Elliot …’ her voice trailed away as they rounded the corner. Lizzie rejoiced inwardly at the news that they had chosen right.
In the mean time, Diana had gone rather pale. Lizzie wondered why. She found out a second later when her friend said in a shaky voice, as if she was too scared to ask, ‘And- and where exactly did the other door lead to?’
Their guide’s face suddenly darkened- the change was quick, but seldom did any such detail escape Lizzie’s watchful eyes; Diana was too busy staring at the ground and picking at her watch nervously to notice- and then it brightened up again, as it had been before.
‘The principal will tell you all you need to know’ the lady informed them reassuringly.
Lizzie accepted the answer readily, though she still wondered about the dark cloud that had shrouded the woman’s face moments ago. ‘What’s your name?’ she asked politely, as they navigated their way through the interlocking corridors.
Their companion gave a tinkling laugh, ‘Oh! How silly of me … I didn’t even tell you my name … I’m Miss. Evolet Crombe,’ she told the two girls, and before either Lizzie or Diana could ask any more questions, she said sharply, ‘Look! Here we are!’
They were now in front of a rusty brass door with an old- fashioned knocker in the middle. Pulling it, Miss. Evolet banged the door three times. After what seemed a century, the door creaked open.
‘Finally’ Lizzie sighed heavily, just as a man wheeled himself out, clutching the sides of his chair. Lizzie jumped aside to make way and then the two girls stared at him curiously. He returned their glances with a rather intense one of his own.
‘I’m Mr. Volhard, the headmaster of Elliot’ he introduced himself to the nervous girls. When they remained silent, he continued, looking at their guide, ‘Miss. Evolet, if you would be kind enough to escort them in?’
She nodded and Mr. Volhard wheeled himself back to make way for them. Once in, Miss. Evolet shut the door behind them. They now found themselves in a tiny well- furnished room. Diana went and stood queasily in front of the desk, behind which the headmaster was now seated, whilst Lizzie plopped herself down onto one of the purple chairs next to Diana.
‘Welcome to Elliot’ Mr. Volhard stated. Once again, he was greeted by silence. Smiling to himself, he continued, ‘Here, you will learn magic’ he said grandly, and on seeing the blank expressions on their faces, he gave a small cough and continued, ‘But that was obvious wasn’t it?’
‘However, Elliot will be like any other boarding school, you see …’ his brow creased, ‘except for the classes of course … and the teachers … and there are no uniforms, obviously … and of course …’
He seemed to be at a loss for words, and so Diana decided to help him out by adding a few choice ones of her own, ‘Where the heck did my brother go?’ she demanded suddenly.
The headmaster, obviously much flustered at the question, removed his glasses and polished them with his robes, revealing for a moment a pair of stormy grey eyes that contrasted sharply with his black hair. He ran a hand through his hair in one swift motion as he slipped his spectacles back on.
‘That …’ he said finally, ‘is not necessary for now’ and before poor Diana could protest- as she very well intended to- he turned to Miss. Evolet, who was glancing pityingly at the girl, and said calmly but with a firm edge to his voice, ‘Take them to their rooms. Dinner is at eight’
‘But …’ Diana started. ‘Come on dears’ Miss. Evolet whispered, and she ushered them out of the room and back into the corridor outside. ‘You will be sharing your room with three other students’ she informed them quietly.
Lizzie looked around apprehensively, wondering if she would ever be able to find her way along the maze of passages.
Diana ran a bit to keep up with the other two; she kept drifting off into her own world, which revolved mostly around poor Carter’s plight.
They soon found themselves before a large door- much larger than the one that led to the headmaster’s room. Opening it, Miss. Evolet led them into a wide spacious hall, surrounded on all sides by smaller rooms. Probably our bedrooms, Lizzie thought.
‘Room no.4’ Miss. Evolet told the girls. ‘You're belongings are already here’ she further explained. This was pretty weird, considering that both of them had left all their stuff back home neatly packed.
‘I hope you like it here, girls!’ Miss. Evolet shot them one of her bedazzling smiles before disappearing back into the maze. It took a few seconds for Lizzie to realize that she had not told them where the dining hall was. Nothing new, really.
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‘What an AWESOME room this is!’ Lizzie smiled cheerfully as she dived into a fluffy mattress near the window. To her, it seemed like heaven on earth after the never- ending bus ride that day.
‘Don’t you like it Diana … Diana?’ she asked, puzzled, when she received no response. She turned to see Diana standing still, staring at the woolen rug with a sort of lifeless expression on her face.
‘‘nything wrong?’Lizzie demanded, her mouth now full of the complimentary mints that were kept in glass bowl on the table at the centre of the room. ‘No …’ but Diana’s voice sounded rather strained.
‘Oh COME ON!’ Lizzie cried unfeelingly, ‘What could possibly be wrong now?’ She herself was feeling glorious- now that she had passed the first test- getting in.
‘It’s Carter!’ Diana said suddenly. ‘Oh …’ Lizzie replied. She had completely forgotten about the girl’s brother in her excitement.
‘We-ell … at least we’re here!’ she said reassuringly, hoping to cheer the girl up, which showed that she knew absolutely nothing about brothers and sisters and friends whatsoever.
‘What is wrong with you?’ Diana said loudly. Her face had gotten fairly red now, ‘He’s my brother! And now while I’m here in this- what was that you said? - Yeah, “awesome” room, who knows where he may be? I wish I had gone with him!’ she sank down into a chair, looking most pitiable.
Now, Lizzie really didn’t know what to do. According to her, Diana had made the decision to choose the right door and there was no point repenting the decision. Especially since she had made it through all right.
The only thing that bothered Lizzie now was the classes- she was really afraid of the forthcoming tests and exams already. But she decided not to tell Diana all this. Instead, she sat down beside her and patted her back, hoping she was consoling her and not making things even worse.
Just when Diana- strong- hearted though she was- was pretty sure she was going to burst into tears, the door banged open and another girl made her way in.
Both Diana and Lizzie looked up curiously at the newcomer. ‘Hi guys!’ she cooed cheerfully, ‘I’m Liesel!’ She made a beeline for one of the beds immediately, pushing back her hair and humming all the time.
She seems nice enough, Lizzie thought as she observed the girl: she was approximately and inch taller than both Lizzie and Diana, with short wavy brown hair which fell prettily over her shoulders. Her eyes were also a deep brown, and she looked altogether a very cheerful sort of person.
She was now pulling a few pillows out of her bag and arranging them on the bed neatly. Then, smoothening the creases on the bedspread, Liesel sat down on the bed and looked at the two girls.
‘Hello …’ Lizzie jumped up, glad for an excuse to abandon Diana- not a very friendly move on her part, but by then, Diana had straightened up and she now had a rather half- hearted smile plastered on her face.
Lizzie felt the need to introduce herself to Liesel. And Diana too. So she said, ‘Hi! I’m Lizzie … from New York … and this is Diana, from … from … who- knows- where!’ she finished. ‘Though I guess she’s probably from New York too’ she added as an afterthought.
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‘That’s informative!’ Liesel quipped sarcastically. Diana glared at Lizzie, but she didn’t bother to correct her. Instead she said, ‘I’m hungry!’ she rubbed her eyes, ‘Is it time for dinner yet?’
‘In ten minutes, actually’ Liesel said, now pulling a clock out of her suitcase and setting it on the table. Lizzie wondered just how many things she had in there.
Liesel seemed to realize this because she said, ‘My mother went a bit ballistic when she saw me cramming just about everything in the house into my bag, so I had to remove quite a bit of stuff.’ She sighed, ‘Still, it would have been nice to have brought along my patchwork quilt …’
Lizzie wondered briefly whether the girl was kidding or not. Then Liesel winked at her and said, ‘Well! Let’s go find the damn dining hall then!’ and she sped out. A second later, Lizzie pulled Diana up and followed.
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‘Delish!’ Lizzie said appreciatively, sticking her loaded fork into her mouth. They were seated in a plain white room that quite freaked Lizzie out. If it wasn’t for the heavenly aroma of the food and the pangs of hunger that gnawed at her stomach continuously after the long busy day, Lizzie would’ve fled the room. This was the ‘dining hall’ for the first years- forty odd students.
‘Why did I have to be vegetarian?’ Liesel moaned sadly, eying all the dishes of food mournfully. Then, sighing, she dished some salad onto her plate. ‘There are other options, you know’ Lizzie said to the girl. ‘I know …’ Liesel said, ‘but I’m also on a diet!’
The two girls laughed and then looked at Diana, concerned. She sat in front of an untouched plate that Lizzie had filled generously for her. ‘Stop being a killjoy Diana!’ Lizzie said irritably.
Diana stared daggers at Lizzie just then, ‘Just because you are an unfeeling idiot, doesn’t mean I am, you know!’ she said angrily.
‘Okay …’ Lizzie answered, obviously hurt. ‘What’s wrong?’ Liesel asked; to her, the drama at hand seemed way more interesting than a boring plate of fresh salad.
‘Her brother’ Lizzie answered insensitively. Diana shot the girl a glare and then said to Liesel, ‘He went through the other door.’
‘Door?’ Liesel said, looking puzzled. ‘How did you get here?’ Lizzie broke in curiously. ‘Oh! We actually had this kind of test as to where …’ and she went off into a detailed description of what her entry had been like.
Then Lizzie told her about the two doors. ‘And so, Carter chose the wrong one!’ she concluded. Liesel thought for a few moments before saying simply, ‘That was dumb’ and before Diana could strangle the girl, Lizzie nodded, agreeing, ‘Yup!’ she said, swallowing a strand of spaghetti, ‘Any door that Alex chose ought to be dumb!’
‘Who’s Alex?’ Liesel piped up, but just then, Diana stood up, fuming, ‘You both are so … so …aargh!’ she yelled, and she walked out of the dining hall, the door slamming shut behind her.
And in the brief pause that followed, Lizzie wondered if maybe she was destined to lose many friends in the cafeteria- Marci hadn't spoken to her after she had spilt her lunch on the girl’s new sweater- and Liesel stared at the door open- mouthed.
Then she turned back to Lizzie and said, ‘So … who is Alex?’ and Lizzie launched into a description of the boy, making sure that he sounded like the devil in disguise.
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When the girls returned to the room that night, Diana was already fast asleep. Lizzie felt a pang as she saw the girl’s most pitiable expression as she slept.
‘Maybe we should have been more considerate’ she whispered to Liesel, who nodded back. ‘We’ll apologize tomorrow!’ Liesel suggested softly, not knowing what else to say.
Lizzie agreed and sat on her bed, a thoughtful expression clouding her face, ‘I wonder where Alex and Carter went, anyway …’ she said
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So where were Carter and Alex?
The pair too, like their former companions, had had a rather exhausting time getting through the door.
When they were finally on the other side, Carter looked back; hoping to see his sister, but no one came. And then the hole in the wall- through which they had come- closed up slowly, taking with it his last hopes of seeing Diana ever again. At least for the time being.
‘Oh my Gawd!’ Alex’s words broke his thoughts, ‘Where ARE we?’ he cried out, looking very surprised. And indeed, looking around, Carter discovered that they had stumbled upon a dungeon- like room- dark, damp and- most importantly- scary.
‘I’m seriously spooked’ Alex confided in his friend, who looked equally freaked out. ‘What the hell …’ Alex continued, ‘Where are we … in hell? Is this some punishment for choosing wrong? Like a prison or something?’ he demanded of no one in particular.
‘You are most definitely NOT in a prison, young man!’ and out of the shadows appeared a lady. Seeing her, both Alex and Carter froze. Alex was pretty sure that his heart hammering against his ribcage was the only sound to be heard in the room.
The lady who stood before them made the room even creepier than it had been before. She resembled nothing so much as a female Dracula, and that was putting things lightly. She had long sleek black hair that was streaked with silver and hung over her broad shoulders, shrouding her face.
Her face itself was characterized by a menacing pair of beady orange eyes that bore into the boys’ faces making them feel queerly uncomfortable. A large pair of spectacles were perched precariously atop her sharp nose.
After a close observation of the two boys- she swished around them, glaring at them from all sides as her long black skirt swept the ground- she smiled. A crooked, sinister smile that made them feel even more uncomfortable.
Alex thought that her smile actually looked fake- animated, almost- as if she was one of those creepy puppets he had seen at the windows of those antique stores; like someone had pulled a few strings and her grotesque expression was the sad result.
Carter barely suppressed a loud- and probably very girlish- shriek. ‘Oh, come now … don’t be scared!’ protested the woman in a tone that one would employ when dealing with a trembling first grader.
Hearing this, Alex was much offended; he prided himself on turning sixteen in three months, so he said, almost accusingly, ‘And who are you?’
‘I am your principal, Mr. Summers, and it would be better if you didn’t adopt that tone with me.’ she said. Alex simply gulped and bit his tongue. The lady then adjusted her glasses on her nose and continued, ‘You too, Mr. Forsythe’ and Carter reddened.
‘Come on then’ she told the two boys regally, and swept ahead of them and opened the door that led out of the dungeon- like room. Alex and Carter had to blink several times to adjust to the sudden exposure to bright light.
‘This-’ the headmistress waved both her hands around proudly, ‘is my school- Elliot!’
Hearing this, Alex heaved a MASSIVE sigh of relief. Elliot! They had walked through the right door, after all. Carter, on his part, nodded uneasily. In a way, he was pretty glad that Diana hadn't made it through. Who knew what awaited them in this humungous building.
‘So we made it …?’ Alex said, not sure whether to be happy or sad. In return, he received a creepy smile from the principal, as she replied, her voice now barely audible, ‘But my dear, don’t they all!’
But before Alex could process her statement, a shrill ringing sound echoed through the empty corridors. ‘Off to bed then!’ she said, ‘My, my! It’s already nine, can you believe! How time flies when you’re having fun.’- another devilish laugh- ‘Well then, you need the strength for tomorrow!’
‘But … dinner …’ Alex’s feebler protests were drowned by the sound of a second bell. ‘Now really!’ said the lady, laughing, ‘You really need to get to bed now!’ she scurried down the corridors followed closely by a sad pair of boys who were griping for food.
‘Much too late for food, boys!’ she said pleasantly as she shoved the two into a room which was already occupied by two other boys hurriedly, ‘Believe me- you NEED the sleep. Have a happy night!’ and she trotted away merrily.
‘Wha- aa- at?’ Carter mumbled when he was finally able to talk. Alex merely shook his head, looking equally baffled. One of the boys laughed at their reaction, ‘Met Miss. Crawley then?’ he said.
‘Who …?’ Alex asked vaguely. ‘Our headmistress, of course!’ the guy said, ‘Lizard face’ he added in an undertone. Alex nodded appreciatively; come to think of it, the lady did look like an overgrown garden lizard. It helped that her name was Crawley.
Alex took a good look at the guy. He had messy black hair and sharp features unlike what Alex had seen before. His skin tone was his most unusual feature: a rather pale olive, that seemed to suit him. For some weird reason, he was wearing a pair of Power Ranger jammies. He grinned at Alex and said cheerfully, ‘Hullo! I’m Jordan!’ Alex had half- expected him to speak with some Middle Eastern accent, but he sounded perfectly American. And he said after a moment, ‘And I’m awesome!’
A groan issued from the bed behind them. Alex turned to see another guy lying down there. He wore a pair of oversized round glasses that kept slipping off his nose rather comically and he was poring over a large book.
‘What’s he reading?’ Carter whispered to Jordan. The latter just shrugged, ‘Whatever it is, he’s been at it since I entered an hour ago!’ he revealed.
‘You had dinner then?’ Alex enquired. Jordan nodded, ‘And it was really good!’ he said. ‘Shut it’ Alex said sorely, slumping down onto a chair.
‘So this is Elliot, then?’ Carter said in a voice that told the others that he wasn’t too sure about it. Jordan nodded. So did the other boy. ‘Oh …’ Carter said slowly, ‘I wonder why we even wanted to come here!’ he thumped his fist against a pillow bad- naturedly.
The studious boy looked up, ‘We’ll learn a lot here, you know …’ he started, but Jordan quelled him with a glare, saying, ‘Put a sock in it, Carl. Please. This is Carl Vaughn’ Jordan told the other two boys, ‘He thinks he’s way better than all of us’ he added.
Carl looked much offended and returned to his book, his straight black hair shielding his pale face from view. ‘Good night then’ Alex said, yawning widely; up till then, he hadn't realized how tired he was. Plus, it was the only way to avoid thinking of food.
Carter and Jordan returned the greeting. Carl simply gave a slight nod from behind his book. So Alex snuggled under the covers comfortably. And within seconds, he was fast asleep.
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‘But it’s only FIVE!’ Alex protested, pulling his blanket over his head, ‘Which human being gets up at five?’ To Alex, waking up at the crack of dawn was a torture unheard of. So, needless to say, he wasn’t too stoked when the shrill sound of the morning bell jerked him off his bed so early in the morning.
As if in reply to his grumbling, Miss. Crawley’s voice boomed over the intercom seconds later, ‘Students, it is now time to wake up. Breakfast is at five thirty. Students who are not in the hall by that time will go hungry. That is all in the morning announcements. Thank you for listening’
At this sudden news, Alex jumped off his bed, suddenly wide awake; the threat of attending the day’s classes on an empty stomach now loomed over his head. In the adjacent bed, Carter’s head poked out from beneath a load of pillows.
‘Did she- did she just say NO BREAKFAST?’ he asked uncomprehendingly with a dazed expression on his face. ‘Yup!’ Jordan answered from across the room. ‘Man! This place is torture!’ he added angrily. Carter got up slowly and sat on the bed cross- legged, staring vaguely at the ceiling. ‘Breakfast …’ he said slowly.
Carl, the last roommate, was still asleep despite the bell, and he was now woken by a bucket of icy water- courtesy Jordan. The latter explained to him that he was actually doing him a service- ‘Sleep or breakfast?’ he asked wisely. But Carl was already in a bad mood, and he refused to listen.
They then took turns in the shower- a small room in the corner of their bedroom, and half- sleepily- Carter collapsed back on his bed after bathing and had to be woken up by Jordan, who, this time, fortunately resorted to manual methods- and trooped out of their bedroom lazily to find the dining hall.
It happened to be the noisiest one in the area, so it was easy to locate. The sound of clattering spoons and plates was their guide. Besides, when they got a whiff of the heavenly aroma floating towards them, they practically drifted into the crowded room.
They found themselves in a large, spacious hall. Students flitted back and forth, serving themselves food off the long buffet table at the centre of the room. Alex rushed forward dreamily; half afraid that the food would magically disappear into thin air if he didn’t get there fast enough. Luckily- and unbelievably- it didn’t.
‘Eat well, students!’ Miss. Crawley’s voice magnified itself so all the students could hear it, ‘Energy is ESSENTIAL to face the day’s challenges!’ she was standing on a small podium at the far end of the room.
Jordan was too absorbed in eating to tell her off.
Alex was guzzling down waffles.
Carter inhaled the burgers.
Carl slurped steadily on a health drink.
Till now, they had not realized just how hungry they all were. So they made the best of the situation. Who knew when they would be eating like this again?
A bell rung shrilly in the distance and the glass doors promptly slid shut, startling a young girl who had been about to enter. ‘Oh look!’ Miss. Crawley looked at the large ornate wall clock that hung in the room, ‘It’s five- thirty. Nobody else will be entering!’ she announced sweetly, making Carter hate her even more than he already did. If that was possible.
How could she starve her students?
Carter glanced pityingly at the girl who now stood outside the hall, looking ready to burst into tears. Carter wondered if she too, like them, had skipped dinner the previous night. If so …
‘This is cruel, man, plain cruel’ Jordan surmised, biting into his chicken leg and glaring evilly at Miss. Crawley from under his mop of dark hair. Alex nodded nonchalantly, not really taking in what his friend was saying- he was too busy gulping down a chocolate milkshake as if he was still afraid it would vanish. ‘Well … she is late’ Carl reasoned. And Jordan directed the glare to him.
Carter looked back at the girl, who was now standing, back against the wall, trying to look normal. She kind of reminded him of Diana, and it was not a very happy thing to see her look so troubled.
Hence, when they left the hall a half hour later, Carter slipped a couple burgers he had daringly smuggled into the girl’s hands. She looked startled for a second, and then she gave him a grateful- and watery- smile.
‘You're welcome!’ he whispered in reply to the unsaid thanks, and he walked away to join the others, feeling happier now than he had for quite a while.
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‘Today we will learn one of the basic, complex spells!’ Mrs. Blaire told the listening class. ‘Isn't that, like, an oxymoron?’ Jordan whispered loudly. Mrs. Blaire raised her voice and said, ‘Okay then, students. Let me tell you the rules of my class now!’
Forty students glanced at each other nervously. ‘Rule no 1: NO TALKING!’ she said firmly, and then added, looking straight at Jordan, ‘whispering is included under that rule’
Jordan bit his tongue as the whole class now stared at him. ‘Uh- huh’ he bobbed his head up and down until the teacher finally turned away.
Mrs. Blaire looked like she was a rather stern teacher. She had short black hair that was coiled into a bun at the back of her head and a large pair of black eyes that seemed to stare at each student in turn. Especially at poor Jordan.
Her clothes were rather outdated for someone in the twenty first century- long flowing skirts and v- necked half- sleeved tops were not exactly what one would call the latest fashion, after all. Nor were the pearls that adorned her neck.
Altogether, nobody could really figure out what sort of a person she was. Neat and prim or dressy and showy. Whatever it was, Jordan didn’t much like the look of her. Her actions told him that the feeling was mutual.
‘The spell we will now learn is the STORM spell.’ Mrs. Blaire continued, holding up a bound book. That was another thing: the books had magically popped up on their tables when they entered. Carl had taken to them with great gusto and only stopped when the teacher walked in. and even then, he hadn't looked like he really wanted to stop.
Already bored, Jordan glanced at the schedule, unconsciously registering that there were only two subjects- and two teachers- Spells, for mental activity and Sword fighting, for physical activity. At least, that was how Mrs. Blaire put it. To Jordan, they both just sounded very boring.
He looked up to see that his teacher had by now conjured up something. As he watched on half- interestedly, a small vortex formed in her hand and a second later, there stood a mini cyclone in her outstretched palm.
‘A grade one spell, that is all’ she said offhandedly, even though she looked plenty pleased with herself. ‘Grade five is the highest’’ she explained, ‘Not that any of you would be able to do that. So let’s start here!’ A smug smirk formed on her lips.
‘That was so cool’ Alex burst out, ‘How did you do that?’ he sounded pretty excited. But Mrs. Blaire regarded him coldly with her dark eyes, making him shrink back a little. ‘Rule no 2,’ she continued, ‘Never talk out of turn’
‘Hurrah! Three cheers for the rulebook!’ Jordan’s neighbor said to him, and the two traded hi-5’s. This did not go unnoticed by the watchful Mrs. Blaire, however and she said spitefully to him, ‘And you will go first, Mr-?’
‘Brandon! Brandon Smith.’ the boy replied immediately. Mrs. Blaire looked a bit startled at his confident response, and then, recovering, she said coldly, ‘Here’s how you do it: First clap your hands together. Like this’ she clapped, ‘Then, rub, and after that click your fingers’ she did the necessary actions, ‘Think about what you want to do. Say it in your head. Not aloud, and-’ a whizzing tornado appeared in her hand again.
‘Most importantly, keep calm. The greatest people have failed in spell craft owing to their constantly troubled- and sometimes wandering- minds’ she told them. Then she drew herself up to full height, which wasn’t really too impressive- she was pretty short- and said to Brandon in a challenging and almost mocking tone, ‘Now you try’
Brandon looked pretty sure of himself, Alex thought, though he detected a slight twitch of his hand as he clapped, and when he finally clicked his fingers together, nothing happened. Mrs. Blaire gave a rough laugh that sounded more like cough. ‘As predicted’ she crowed loudly. Nobody else laughed. After all, they weren't too sure of what they would be able to do.
‘Again!’ Mrs. Blaire commanded. Jordan thought she sounded slightly angry. Maybe it was because of her poor reception, he pondered. Anyhow, Brandon tried the spell fruitlessly a couple more times.
During his third attempt, he managed a faint wisp of smoke. It flickered for a second on his sweaty palm, and then disappeared as quickly as it had formed. ‘As I thought- a FAILURE’ the teacher branded him ruthlessly.
‘Go back to your seat now. And stay in during break’ she told the exhausted boy. Brandon dared not protest, and he crept back to his seat, face down.
Then Mrs. Blaire turned her attention to the roll card, ‘Hmm …’ she eyed the list searchingly. Looking for the next victim, Jordan shuddered inwardly.
‘Miss. Alicia Montez?’
A girl stood up and walked to the front of the class. With a start, Carter realized that it was the same girl he had given food to earlier that day. Sure enough, she shot him a knowing smile as she walked past his table.
‘Your turn!’ Mrs. Blaire said, stepping aside to watch her perform. She managed it- five tries later- and was greeted by scattered applause. Their teacher went on rattling the name of random students- some successful, mostly failures, Carter and Jordan included- until she came to, ‘Mr. Alex Summers?’
Alex nodded in acknowledgement and stood up shakily. Carter whispered, ‘All the best!’ and Jordan gave him a little thump on the shoulder. Alex had already foretold his failure by now. Mrs. Blaire’s expression seemed ten times more menacing up close and Alex wondered if she knew that he was going to fail too.
Nervously, he put his hands together. A cyclone, he thought steadily, closing his eyes. Come on. He rubbed his palms against each other. You can do it, he said to himself as he clicked. And suddenly, he knew he could.
For a second, he felt a strong wind around him. A sigh escaped his lips and they now curved unconsciously into a tiny smile. This is where I belong, Alex thought, feeling as if he had finally found his place in the world.
He stood like that for about ten seconds before opening his eyes. And when he did, he was shocked.
The classroom was wrecked; bits of paper were whirling around in the air like autumn leaves. Several tables and benches were upturned. A poster on the wall that had said, ‘Hard work triumphs!’ was now ripped in two, saying meaninglessly, ‘Hard wo’
But the worst was the expression on the students’ faces. They were staring at Alex with expressions of mingled fear and awe on their faces. Alex felt really hot all of a sudden.
Next to him, Mrs. Blaire gave a tiny cough- knowing her, it may have been a laugh- making him look down at her. She was holding a tattered roll card in her hand, a startled look on her face. ‘I didn’t- I don’t-’ Alex started to protest, but Mrs. Blaire simply said, her eyes wide, ‘Grade five’
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