Young Writers Society

Avery wrapped an arm around Dawn's shoulders, doing her best to comfort her. "It may be for the best if we don't tell anyone. Not until we know exactly what's going on. Right, Sage?"
Sage nodded slowly.

"Wait!" Evan cried, hurrying after Dr. Emily. "You didn't say where Sam is. How do I find them?"

The teacher turned around one more time. "Well, I assume they'd be in their dorms, packing," he said, leaning down to Evan's height slightly. He was remarkably tall, after all. "I suggest you hurry. They might already be outside."

As Avery wrapped an arm around her, a surge of warmth and secruity hit her. Of course, it was only for a moment, but appreciated nonetheless. Dawn leaned into her, her head resting on their broader shoulder. "I... I suppose you're right," Dawn said, her brows creased tightly, "But what should we do until then? Wait for more mind control stuff to happen? What if I get mind controlled? Or any of us?! Should we make a safeword until then? Or a 'only the real one would know' type of thing? Oh, God..." Even in Avery's warm embrace, panic slipped through. It didn't stop her face from growing red and her heartbeat from going faster than usual, even through this mess.

"A safeword might be a good idea," Sage murmured thoughtfully. "...What should it be?"
"We should probably go outside to talk about it," Avery suggested nervously, rubbing Dawn's back. "The rooms could be bugged."
"Good idea," Sage nodded. "To the garden!"

Evan thanked Dr. Emily hurriedly, dashing off down the hallway. He knew exactly where Sam would be--they shared a dorm room, after all.
I hope I'm not too late! He thought, skidding around the corner. As he did so, he almost bowled over the three people in front of him.

"Whoa!" Sage cried, putting up her hands to defend herself from the person sprinting toward them. Vines whipped out of the ground, snagging around Evan's ankles.
"Ow!" he yelped, yanked to a stop.
"Sorry!" Sage lowered her hands, releasing the tangle of Semavry. "Reflexes, y'know? Where are you going in such a hurry?"
"Sam's been expelled," Evan gasped, flinching as he rubbed his sore legs. "I was going to say good-bye before they leave."

Dawn's cheeks grew red when she felt Avery's hand on her back. Sometimes, she couldn't help but wonder if they were more then friendly gestures. It's not like their was anything really specific! Yeah... Yeah. Just friendly stuff. Probably shouldn't get her mind caught up in it. Yeah.
"Bugs?!" Dawn blurted out as she came to. Quickly, the librarian shushed her and she mouthed an apology. "I mean... Who had the time to do that? Someone would've seen, or... or... I dunno." Dawn scratched her head. Why did this have to be so troubling?
Thankfully, a walk to the garden would be more comforting.

Well, until Evan almost knocked her over. She shrieked like a weasel as she saw it coming. Thankfully, Semavry caught him before it could happened. A wave of relief hit her and she sighed.
"Evan's getting expelled?" Dawn said, her brows creased. "Well, I mean... He did burn down the stadium. That's gotta be some grounds, right? I'm sorry, Evan."
She then glanced at Avery and a lightbulb lit up. "Avery!" she whispered as she pat her shoulder, "You should probably tell Evan about the, um, brain... hacking-" That was probably a stupid codename for mind-control, but oh well, "-before he leaves. You said some, um, weird things to him."

Evan raised an eyebrow. "Brain hacking? What's that?"
"Mind control," Avery clarified. Evan narrowed his eyes at her. It was clear that her words still stung. "Look--I didn't mean what I said. I...don't know what I said, actually. I was being used by someone else. Our food is being tampered with."
"Tampered how?"
"Somebody's been putting, like, mindbending spores in everything that we've eaten," Sage explained, clicking her chain frantically. "It's all over the school."
"Well, we think it's all over the school," Avery pointed out. "We don't know anything for certain. But what we have found..."
"...Is very disturbing," Sage finished.
"So you're saying the Adjudicator is poisoning our brains?" Evan furrowed his brow. "Why?"
Sage shrugged. "Who knows? It could be any number of reasons. The point is, we're being watched. Let's move outside."

"Woah, woah, wait!" Dawn butted in, pushing past Sage slightly. "There is no proof my mom is behind this! She would never do that!" It was only afterwards she realized how aggresive she came off as an and backed away, caught in deep thought and hiding behind Avery's arm.
Her mother wasn't a bad guy! Why would she go through all this trouble?! There was no motive and no proof she was even aware of it!
"There's nothing to talk about, really," Dawn grumbled. "If you want to go see Sam, we'll catch up later. When we have a better understanding. You were closer to Sam then we were."

Dawn, once again, moved past her friends. This time, she continued on their way to the garden, her heart weighing heavy in her chest.

Evan looked at Avery, then at Dawn, and back at Avery.
"...I'll go," he muttered, hurrying off in the opposite direction. Avery watched him leave, rubbing her forehead with one hand.
"This is such a mess," she sighed. "It's giving me a migraine."
"Me too," Sage lifted her arm to scratch at the burns on her back.
"You okay?" Avery asked.
"I'm fine," Sage pulled her hand away quickly. She still hadn't told her friends about her scars. "Let's catch up with Dawn."


The two girls found Dawn outside, staring at the garden.
"She looks so small," Sage observed in a hushed tone.
"She's got a lot to think about," Avery murmured. Sage looked up at her.
"What do we do?"

Dawn had no clue what to do with herself. So, she was left carressing one of the wilting flowers near the end of the garden. At her touch, it seemed to perk up just slightly.

Her mom was under fire, her friends were accusing her so vividly, and at any moment they could betray each other. What was the point? It made no sense. Sure, maybe some mind control to get along, but they weren't getting along! It was only causing conflict!
Then, something hit her. The entire point of the school was to teach young Prodigies how to handle high stakes problems... and as a student, every social interaction would be something. What better way to teach than hands on learning? Was it all just... tests?

No, no! It couldn't be! Sure, the Adjudicator was eccentric, but she wasn't insane! She was old, but not senile! She refused to believe it! She... refused. Why was her own mind even trying to come up with it? Why would she even start thinking her mom was behind it if she didn't even... Well, maybe she did...

Dawn groaned and dropped herself to a small patch of grass in the botanical garden, hiding her face in her hands. Vines hung above, drooping ever so slightly in the chill winter. Why? She snug herself into her hoodie further. That was the only question. Social life in a superpowered boarding school caused enough problems already, why create more?

Her head rolled over on it's own and in the corner of her eye, she saw two figures standing. When her eyes glanced over them, a few daisies sprouted by her feet. "Any ideas for a safeword?"

The two girls approached slowly. Sage clicked her chain nervously as she looked at Dawn. She could tell something was wrong, but...how was she supposed to fix it? Should she say: "Sorry we accused your only family member of being a dangerous, manipulative psychopath. Wanna stay friends?"
No, that was despicable.
Avery's much better at this sort of thing, Sage thought, looking up at her taller counterpart. She'll fix this.
But Avery said nothing. She just stood there, the tendrils of her hair flowing around her face in the breeze. Her expression was pained, like she had swallowed a cactus.
"How about 'botanical'?" Sage said, breaking the silence. She pulled her face into a tense smile, trying to push away the problem under her cheerful demeanor. If she shoved it down far enough, it'd go away, right? "Or--ooh! Spaghetti?"

Dawn stared at them. Avery's pained face pained her, too. She hated all of this. If this is what they would deal with as real heroes, then she wanted nothing to do with it. She'd just go live as a florist, if it came down to it.

Slowly, she sat up and gestured for them to come over. When they sat with her, she slowly let out a breath. "I like spaghetti. How about we come up with answers specific to us? So, if you guys ask, Do you like spaghetti? I'll say No, I don't. So, if I answer differently, then you'll know." Dawn said, smiling at the two.

Dawn then started to stare at Avery. That expression was still stuck in her mind. She scooted closer to her. "And, um, sorry about the outburst. It's just... a lot to think about."

"Yeah," Avery's tight expression was replaced with an understanding smile. "I can't imagine what it must be like for you...I'm sorry. We jumped to conclusions really fast."
"It's just easier to stay on the pessimistic side, y'know?" Sage added, winding her hands tightly around themselves. Semavry curled up her legs, locking them in place. "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, right? After all, things...don't usually go as planned."
She rubbed her burns as she said this.
"That's the second time you've done that today," Avery pointed out, gesturing to Sage's scratching fingers. "Are you sure you're okay? Did you get bit by a mosquito or something? Cuz I have Neosporin if you need it..."
She reached her hand forward, Daya pooling into her palm. As the other two watched, it solidified into a little yellow tube of anti-itch cream. She handed it to Sage.
"Thanks," the Botani-kinetic said sheepishly. "But really, it's fine. I just have some old injuries that...bother me a little sometimes. It's no big deal."

Dawn's cheeks grew bright pink at Avery's smile. At least a few people were on her side. Whatever that side was was yet to be determined. "Don't worry about it. Besides... I was thinking about something. What if I go confront her now? I'll see what her reaction is, see if I notice something weird. And if she says she'll look into it, we can check if anything actually has changed from then on. Just.. ya know... gotta make sure I don't die in the process."

Dawn also watched Sage curiously, though was momentarily mesmorized by Avery's Daya. It was truly something to behold and she had to wonder how many failed creations were behind her technique.

She tilted her head at Sage's words. "Really?" She blinked, then her eyes lit up. "Do you have scars? I do, too! I think they're cool. Make you look all... like, tough and all." It took her a moment to realize that just maybe normal people didn't say that to someone who didn't seem all too comfortable. "My bad," she said awkwardly. She nervously laughed, "I don't think sometimes... Pretty obvious already."

"It's fine," Sage mirrored Dawn, chuckling tensely. "If you want to see them, I can show you. They're a little grotesque, though. I was in a fire a long time ago."
Meanwhile, Avery's expression grew worried. She turned Dawn's words over in her mind, a seed of anxiety sprouting in her stomach.
"What do you mean you've got to 'not die'?" she asked. "Do you think your mother might hurt you?"

"Oh, that's fine! Don't worry. I've seen a lot of gruesome stuff in my time. I can show you some of mine, if you want! They aren't burns, but, ya know, scars are scars." It didn't seem to click in Dawn's mind- that usually you didn't get a scar for a good reason. She was more or less excited that somebody else even knew about such things.

Then, Avery's words caught her off-guard. "I mean... Yeah? Have you seen my mom? If I came up to you and said you might be behind something sinister, would you want to shut me up? Besides, she trained me a bit, just typical self-defense stuff, and I've suffered her wrath. Where'd you think the scars came from? Well, some of them, at least." The gravity of her words didn't hit her.

Sage and Avery stared at her, shocked.
"...Do you mind telling me exactly how you got these scars, Dawn?" Avery asked slowly.