Why'd they bring the girl to the hospital wing. The snake nit her, she would die anyway. I sigh and roll my eyes. I walk into the hospital wing. Ingrid's brother stands up.
"You!" He says. I take a little mock bow.
"Yes, me!" I say with almost a smile.
"Why...did you do this...to my sister." His words are choaked out and paniked.
"She made me mad, I reacted. End of story."
"Don't you think this might have gone too far."
"Absolutely not. Killing someone...."
"She won't die." Joe said.
"The snake was venemous." I say. It was.
Deal with it. Why do you care anyway? Take care of yourself first, then your damn sister. Why does it matter if she dies? I try to projest my thoughts, but since Lucians expression doesn't change, it obviously didn't work. My face returns to its usual scowl.
It was such a pleasant surprise to find Jezabel and Joe in the infirmary when Haven returned from fetching coffee. Not.
Haven pushed past them and set coffee for herelf, Luke, and David on a table in the room. "Nice to see you've shown up to comfort our sick Ingrid, as she did collapse in your room."
Joe laughed loudly. "Comfort? Nah, I came for kicks. She does look awful silly lying there all near death."
Haven had taken enough from Joe and Jezabel. "Get out," she said.
Joe raised an eyebrow. "What are you going to do? Smash another painting on me?" Jezabel laughed and stroked the snake that was wound around her shoulders.
Scowling, Haven pushed her hands forward through the air. Joe and Jezabel flew backwards through the door to the infirmary. The door slammed shut behind them, the lock slipping firmly into place. "And stay out," she said with a smirk.
She turned back to Ingrid and Luke. "Is she going to be okay?" she asked.
"So...um, how do you like the school?" She asked Kara. But before she could answer a voice sounded over an intercom.
"First year students could you all please come to the auditorium. First years ONLY," the male voice said before cutting off.
Ivy shrugged, guessing it was the principal welcoming them.
"Let's go," she said leading the way.
It was full, with nearly every seat already filled. They had a lot of first years this year. A man with a large pot belly and a round, cheery face stood on a raised podium on a stage.
"I trust you're all having fun?" He asked, his voice seeming to ring through the very air. "Because, while we want you to have fun, you will also be challenged beyond anything you can imagine. And some of these challenges will require you to work with others."
He paused looking at the confused faces, still grinning. "From today to the end of the year, you will be faced with horrors that will make you a stronger person. Into the person I know you want to be. Those of you who fail will be kicked out at the very least. Others...well, let us hope that you'll just be expelled."
Students looked around, shocked, understanding what he was saying but not believing it. Ivy was horrified.
Ivy stood up and the principal smiled at her. "Yes miss?"
"It's Ivy," she said, impatient. "But...you can't mean people have died can you. That's ludicrous!"
The pricipal frowned and shook his head at the question. "Well Miss. Ivy, I'm afraid that there have been deaths. Not many die, but some do. Think of it as survival of the fittest. You see how few second years and third years we have. We have on average, five young spellcasters graduate in their final, fourth year."
"That's...barabaric!" Ivy yelled. "It's crazy."
The principal smiled again. "So I've heard. If you're so worried, then go home."
Ivy stood shaking with fear and rage. The entire student body was looking at her.
"Maybe I will," she growled, turning and storming out of the room.
Knowing full well that her parents would never allow her to leave.
Hermione, shut your ungodly, lopsided mouth and quit interrupting! 20 points from Gryffindor. You know, for the brightest witch of your age you can sure be a dumba** sometimes. *smiles* 10 points to Dumbledore!
I woke up the next morning to see the doors unlocked and Joseph sitting on the other side of my sister, watching me.
"What the hell do you want?" I muttered as I rubbed my eyes and sat up. Ingrid was still out of it for now. I glanced towards her and then stretched, yawning.
Joseph sighed and stood up. What was he thinking? I thought, sourly. He hates me.... Doesn't he? I found myself staring back at him.
"What?" we said at the same time.
"With friends like you, who needs a medical license?" - Paimon, Aether's Heart
“It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.” - Grace Hopper.
"What the hell do you want?" Luke glared at me, after opening his eyes.
I hadn't even done anything! Not yet anyway. Ignoring his reaction, I sighed before standing up. I was still staring at him, but not in the way I normally did. Not because he was getting on my nerves, I was just staring. As I continued staring, so did he.
"What?" We both suddenly spoke.
Luke quickly turned his head back to Ingrid. Sighing again, I strolled over and sat on the seat next to him.
"Is she all right?" I asked.
"Yeah, she's perfect!" Luke rolled his eyes. "What do you think? Why do you even care?"
I was only asking, I thought, slightly annoyed. He was trying his best not to make any eye contact with me. Maybe I'd been a bit hard on him...
"Look," I began. "I know I can be a bit of a... a..."
"Selfish jerk?" Luke chuckled bitterly.
"Yeah, thanks" I replied sarcastically. "I'm.. I'm sorry. It's just how I am. Trust me, it runs in my family." I laughed slightly, thinking about my father.
"It's okay," Luke mumbled.
I couldn't help but notice him smile slightly. He lifted his head, his eyes locking into mine.
I met his gaze again. Startled, I realised that I didn't want to look away... not even to glance towards my sister, in fact, all thoughts of my sister vanished with the realisation that Joseph was sitting beside me and being nice for a change.
"I have to go," I muttered and made to pull away, eyes still locked with his. I saw his lips curl up into a smile. Why can't I look away? I thought, watching him.
"With friends like you, who needs a medical license?" - Paimon, Aether's Heart
“It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.” - Grace Hopper.
Waking up in an old plastic chair in the school's infirmiry wasn't exactly the greatest thing to do, and unfortunately Haven got to do just that.
She woke up as Luke was talking to Joe. Haven yawned and glanced at Ingrid before turning to the boys. "Isn't it lovely to have you this morning, Joseph," she said, smiling.
Ingrid made a noise and everyone turned to look at her, forgetting everything else. She slowly opened her eyes and turned towards the three of them.
That was a great sleep. Glancing over I saw Brian was still sleeping. Grabbing my pillow I stood up and threw it at him.
"Uh," he let out as he opened his eyes.
"Cmon sleepy lets go do something fun before class starts."
"I bet you just woke up too."
"Right on the mark, but let's go see if anyone else is up. Classes don't start today until after noon, so I was thinking we should get a game going. I don't even care what we play. Maybe baseball or Soccer?"
"Well I'm up for anything, but we better go see if anyone else wants to play," he replied.
"Joe will definitely play with us, Luke might, maybe Ingrid will watch if she is feeling better, I doubt Jez will play, but Haven and the rest are usually good for a game."
"If the king doesn't lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow?"
I groaned, moving around a little. What had I been doing again?
"Isn't it lovely to have you this morning, Joseph," someone said.
Joseph! My eyes shot open to see my brother and Joseph sitting close to each other and the girl, Haven leaning over me.
"Ingrid?" Haven asked. "How are you feeling?"
I struggled into a sitting position and stared at my brother. He kept shooting Joseph these little glances. Don't tell me my little bro likes Joseph, of all people!
"I feel....fine," I said, rubbing my head. "What happened?"
I looked around again, noticing Joseph's hand now on my brother's knee. Luke didn't seem impressed though. He looked rather sour, actually.
"Did I miss something?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at them. Haven laughed.
"With friends like you, who needs a medical license?" - Paimon, Aether's Heart
“It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.” - Grace Hopper.
"Did I miss something?" Ingrid asked, looking at Luke and I.
Haven laughed as I quickly removed my hand from Luke's lap. I hadn't even realised I was doing it. I could feel my face slowly reddening.
"No." I spoke bluntly. "Your brother's still a friendless saddo,"
Turning my full attention away from Luke, I stood up. I noticed haven rolling her eyes beside Ingrid. Luke, on the other hand, almost looked disappointed.
"And you're still a bastard, Joe." Ingrid muttered under her breath.
That was better. I couldn't let people start liking me; I'd only end up hurting them.
I hadn't noticed his hand on my lap until Ingrid noticed... And then when Haven laughed... Yeah, embarrassing... I sighed and watched Joseph stand up, a little hurt by his sour comment.
I looked at my sister, then Haven and felt my face go red. I shoot upright and left the room at a run, heading for the nearest boy's toilets.
I slipped into a stall, locked the door behind me and sat down on the floor. What was wrong with me?
Ingrid:
I stared at my little brother as he ran out of the room, his face red. What the hell?
"What is up with?" I asked, frowning.
Haven laughed and looked towards Joe, who was also blushing.
"Haven't you guessed?" she asked. I tore my eyes away from the doors and looked towards Joseph.
"oh," I said. Joseph just shrugged. "Oh," I repeated and then I started laughing.
**Oh, poor Luke. Having some dubts, hmm?**
"With friends like you, who needs a medical license?" - Paimon, Aether's Heart
“It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.” - Grace Hopper.
Haven laughed. Luckily things were working out for the best. Ingrid was feeling okay, and Joe was acting less jerkish than usual.
"Teleport" a voice shot through Haven's mind. She cringed and held her head until it stopped throbbing.
"Are you alright?" Ingrid asked.
Haven nodded. "Yes, Mr. Dawson."
Ingrid nodded, understanding. Mr. Dawson was one of the less pleasant teachers at the school, and one very skilled in communicating through thought.
"Teleport, Haven. Now!" Mr. Dawson screamed into Haven's head.
Joe laughed when she cringed the second time. "Sounds like it's challange time."
Haven shot him a look, which only caused more laughter. She gritted her teeth and concentrated. Her body dissappeared in an instant - hopefully leaving less ruin in her wake than the last time she had to teleport - and she appeared just outside a classroom.
"So close," she muttered as she opened the door to meet Mr. Dawson. A first year boy dashed out past her as she went in.
Dawson threw a sword at Haven - which she just managed to dodge. It clattered onto the floor. "Pick it up!" he shouted. "We have a lot of work to do."
Bailey
A boy sped past Bailey in the hall, disappearing into one of the boys bathrooms. He looked pretty shaken up about something. Bailey wondered if he was okay.
She looked both ways down the hall. No one was in sight. She slipped into the boy's bathroom, hoping no one else was inside.
"Uhm, kid?" she called into the bathroom. "Are you okay?"
"Uhm, kid?" someone called. "Are you okay?" It was a girl though. What was she doing in here?
I groaned and punched the wall in front of me and muttered, "Damn it." Obviously she heard.
"Hey," she said from the other side of the door. She knocked and tried to push it open. "I'm Bailey. You seem upset."
"Go away," I snapped, sounding a lot like a jerk... Like Him, I thought and then punched the wall again. Damn it. Why did this always happen to me?
I heard a sigh and then she sat down. I peeked through the tiny crack between the door and the wall to see her. I saw glimpse of blondish hair but not much else.
I sighed and leaned back against the cubicle wall.
"Lucian," I muttered. "Lucian Devereux." She chuckled.
"Ingrid's brother?" she asked. I looked down at my hand and sighed again. Why did everyone seem to know my sister?
"Yeah."
"With friends like you, who needs a medical license?" - Paimon, Aether's Heart
“It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.” - Grace Hopper.
