The Dark Part of the Forest #6

The Dark Part of the Forest #6

Amelia DesMarais, Author

♠ Chapter 6: Classes Start ♠

generic prozac.
The next morning, a bell rang through the halls of the school at 6:45 on the dot, waking every student in the school. They got dressed in their rooms then trooped down to a breakfast of deviled eggs and bacon (the other choice was a salad). Then they brushed their teeth, got their things, and walked (or, in some cases, ran) to homeroom. For Tily, Peter and Erin, that was Magical Transportation and Messages, which was just a fancy way of saying magically sending messages and getting from one place to another. No one knew for sure why these two subjects were one class, but the main theory was that it was because of the portals. These purple portals could be used as transportation and as a way to send messages, but there were other ways to do both of those things.

But that was beside the point. That day, the teacher who taught the class, Mrs. Eastland, gave then a short lecture introducing the class protocol, then set them the task of opening a portal.

“I know that you have been taught this material, so I would like to do some review to make sure you did not forget anything over the break,” she explained.

The class broke out in chatter as they began their task. Lucky for the trio, Mrs. Eastland let her students sit wherever they pleased. Erin had opened a portal within two minutes of work. Peter opened one soon after, leaving Tily struggling to concentrate. Finally, she opened a dim portal.

“I was never really good at this, it was always you guys,” she moped.

Their classes went on like this. Most of them were indoors in classrooms filled with wooden desks and chairs, but two were outdoors, and one was in the gathering hall. That one was called Magical Study and Practice, but it was really just a study hall in which you could either study or practice magic. But that catastrophe was after lunch, so it is not yet important. Second period was outside, which was unlucky, since it was pouring out. Luckily, it was held under a canopy that day, so they were not drenched, merely uncomfortably damp. This class was called Magical Plant Sense, but since we don’t want to waste your time, I won’t describe it in detail. They got a short lecture and were ordered by the instructor, Mrs. Greenelake, to pick a certain plant. Afterwards they had History, in which they had a long lecture and the task of writing a paragraph about some people no one cared about (this class was taught by Mrs. Miller, an ancient lady whose voice could put anyone to sleep, even Peter, who tried as hard as he could to stay conscious and take notes), followed by Magical Sports an Games, which was usually held either in the Gymnasium or the field. This class was equivalent to gym, except the sports are entirely different. It was taught by Mr. Wocket, who gave them a short description of the class, then gave them some flying balls and a free period. His class alternated with whichever language you took, which was Mandarin for Tily, Italian for Peter, and Latin for Erin.

Can you see a pattern here?

At long last came lunch, and to great joy, the tables were set with cheese pizza and pineapple (the other choice was a lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and onion wrap, which nobody ate). After lunch they had Perfecting Magical abilities (taught by Ms. Peters-Patter, who had the ability of knowing exactly when the bell would ring, seeing as at the en of class she would clap her hands twice and say “Class dismissed” the second before the bell rang), Magical Study and Practice (a huge mess every day) Orchestra/Chorus (the orchestra was a full concert orchestra, which was just band and orchestra smashed into one class), Art (one of the few non-magical classes), Mathemagic (math class but…different) and, last but not least, English (magicked up, of course).

What happened in that day’s classes was not very interesting. This was just an introduction to these classes for you, reader, whoever you are. No, the interesting part of this chapter is yet to come.

That day at dinner the table at which many Earth students sat was oddly quiet. After a few inspections, the trio figured out that Ximen and Xanithan were not there. They deduced that they were most likely either suspended or in detention. They talked about their classes with other students, they rated that night’s dinner (a noodle, mushroom, turkey, pepper, cucumber, and cheese casserole that earned four stars), and chatted about teams, clubs and meetings they hoped to join and attend. In other words, they acted like normal people.

Then, just as they were getting to the height of their conversation, a deep, growling rumble shook the castle. The hall went silent. A moment later, Mrs. Greenelake hurried in and up to the table at which most of the teachers and the principal ate. She murmured something to the Principal, who then followed her out the door. When she came back, most students were just finishing off their dinners and were getting up or getting ready to get up and bring their plates away. Some light chatter filled the room. When the principal stood up, though, it went silent.

“All students please grab your things, put away your dishes, and report to your your dorms immediately.”