"Pearl!" "Pearl!" "Pearl!"
I heard the distinct shout of my name and I stopped in my tracks. Flashes from torches appeared in an array. I knew they were here for me.
"They?" I wasn't even sure about who they were. Footsteps echoed towards me and I ran in the opposite direction.
"That is her!" Someone yelled and they began to run after me.
"Stop Pearl! It's Evelyn!" My supposed werewolf roommate yelled and I surged forward. The last thing I wanted was to stay with that monster but I didn't make it long.
The bush suddenly became illuminated like it was daytime and I was stuck in a spot, I couldn't move no matter how much I tried.
When I looked behind, I saw that the great illumination came from the torches. I didn't know their numbers but I saw five touches on the ground.
One of my pursuers had her hand on the torch in the middle, her mouth moved in succession like she was making an enchantment.
The light from the torches augmented at the center and gave off a bigger source of light that illuminated the woods.
"Let me go!" I yelled as I tried to move.
"You mouse! You are caught. You can't move an inch, not when one of the best witches is at it," Evelyn said as she walked towards me.
"You are such a pain in the ass, you have put me in a tight spot. We gotta get you back. Let's get her out of here, the woods is a dangerous at this hour of the day," Evelyn said.
"Dangerous!? You are the danger!" I yelled and they all laughed in unison.
The one who manipulated the torches rose to her feet and made her way towards me with her lips moving fast. She tapped her fingers and immediately I was able to move my legs. One of them grabbed me and he didn't let me go. He flipped me over his shoulders and marched forward.
"Thanks for helping out, Zora," Evelyn said and the one who had just tapped her fingers gave her a thumbs up.
She must be the witch that Evelyn mentioned.
I threw tantrums and tried to get away but my strength could not match the strength of the one who carried me.
The main gain was locked but it opened on its own accord as soon as we approached it. When we were all in, it closed up again on its own accord.
The guy who carried me threw me down like a sack of sand.
While I cussed and tried to wiggle back to my feet, another two of the boys grabbed me on either side and dragged me along.
We rounded different corners and soon we were standing in front of a big cage. It looked like a cage for holding large animals.
I pulled back but I was thrown inside and the cage was locked up.
"Stay in there, Mrs. Hopkins will like to have a word with you in the morning, you can't go running errant until then," one of the guys said and they began to leave.
"Get me out of here!" I yelled. No one looked back but Evelyn stayed rooted to a spot.
She turned around and walked back to me while others walked away.
"You piece of shit! Why did you run!? You have put me in a tight spot! If I get expelled because of this, I will surely make your life a living hell!" She yelled and shook the cage with a strength that was surely too enormous for her small frame.
I watched her walk away and I heaved a sigh. Well, I couldn't sleep all through the night as I was still yet to fathom all that was happening.
The next morning, the five students who dragged me into the cage returned. They opened up the case and began to drag me to a building with the inscription, 'Students Affairs'
We rounded many corners and walked past many offices until we got to a door with the inscription, 'Hopinks'.
Evelyn knocked and opened the door.
Mrs. Hopkins was seated with a dreadful look on her face.
"I warned you guys not to do anything crazy after the hazing yesterday! Evelyn, why did you parade your wolf before her!?" Mrs. Hopkins said coldly.
"I am sorry. I thought she was a werewolf and…" Evelyn stuttered.
"She is not! she is a 'normin'! You should look out for her," Mrs Hopkins said and everyone muttered. They looked at me with disdain and I wondered what a 'normin' means.
"What is she doing here, Mrs Hopkins? Why then do you make her stay with the wolves, you should take her away from us! She is a jinx!" Evelyn yelled.
"Evelyn!" Mrs. Hopkins yelled and banged the table angrily. Everyone froze and silence prevailed.
"I make the rules here. Now, leave!" Mrs Hopkins said levelly and I wondered how she was able to control her anger quickly.
We all turned to leave but I heard my name, "Pearl, wait behind."
I walked out of Mr.s Hopkins' office about an hour later. I had learnt everything I needed to learn about Hopkins Citadel.
How in the world does a place like this exist and why did my stepmom bring me here?
I walked back to my room and met Evelyn in her space, she looked away immediately she saw me and prepared to leave.
"I am sorry Eve, no one told me anything, I know nothing about all of this… I was so scared," I mumbled and held her arm from behind. She flicked and jeered her hand out of my hold.
"Don't you dare touch me!" She yelled and fumbled out of the room.
I threw myself wearily into my bed as I recounted all that I just learned.
Hopkins Citadel runs like all other normal high schools from Mondays through Fridays but Saturdays and Sundays were the weird days.
There were different faculties that students attended on those special days. There were faculty of witches, sorcerers, magicians, enchanters, shape-shifters, werewolves, and many more.
I was called a normin because I have none of those special abilities and Mrs. Hopkins wondered why my stepmom bought me over.
I was told I couldn't leave the school because the perimeter was sealed and the citadel is not visible to the outside world.
I was given a day to settle in. It was Friday anyway, I would be free on Saturday and Sunday since I won't be involved in the weird activities that take place on those days and I will begin classes by Monday.
The day was excessively bright and I wondered if it had something to do with the weird meetings that would be taking place today. Yesterday, I slept off without Evelyn and when I woke up this morning she was gone. She was avoiding me. Is it a crime to be normal? I asked myself and shrugged it off. I groomed myself and tried to get settled. When it was about 1 pm, I left the dorm and decided to take a stroll around. Not long after I had ventured out, I realized that I made the wrong choice. The whole citadel was in a frenzy. Students trooped out en masse from their dorms, they were in a mad rush. I guess their meetings start at 1 pm. From where I stood, I sighted a large court in the yonder and I maneuvered my way down. When I got to the court, I realized that it was a football court. I retired therein and tried to maintain my cool. I had just spent a few minutes in the court when I heard my name, "Pearl Shelby, you are summoned to Mrs. Hopkins's office." I turned around to
After trying hard to control the class, the lecturer finally gave up. He dismissed the class for another day.How I hated him. He began this and set the students against me but he couldn't stop what he had started.The class resumed their banters and their noise echoed through the hall as they gathered up again. They were aggrieved that Mrs Hopkins chose to send me to them. They threw different glances at me and I cringed on the inside.My savior left his seat and went on to address them. I couldn't make out their discussion but I knew he was trying to speak to them about me.I rose to my feet and walked out of the hall dejectedly. I fiddled with my necklace and walked away wearily. My eyes burned as tears threatened to fall from them.I have been rejected all through my life. My mother died because of me. Even in my own home, my father treated me like an outcast. To my stepmother, I am a little monster that her children must avoid. I was bullied at school and here I am, amidst the
PearlIt's Sunday morning, the sunrise came early and the sun was in its full colors. I was leaning against a Kashmir tree with a forlorn look registered on my face. My large curves were hugged in a white miniskirt which stopped just a few inches below my butts.A white flannel turtleneck shirt was well tucked into my skirt. I had chosen the shirt to conceal my wounds. The cuts on my neck were deep and ugly, I couldn't bear walking around with them in the open. I did not understand a bit of what was happening around me and I did not care to know, after all, I was just an outcast.I had thought lectures would commence by 1pm like the previous day until an announcement rang out at about 7am. All students were expected to get prepared for the day's events. Everyone was supposed to be ready at exactly 8am."What events? I muttered as I sprang up from the bed. Evelyn did not return after she had left yesterday and I had no one to tell me about the days' orders. Not that she would tell m
HardinI beat myself up as I watched Pearl walk away. I had noticed an all white body lurking around the tree. Whoever chose to dress up in such a combination of neutral color on a colorful day like this must be a killjoy, I thought as I approached the tree.Then I realized that it was Pearl. Everything happening must be strange to her, I thought and made my way towards her. When she turned to look at me, I was blown off my feet, I literally drooled over her. She looked pristine and undeniably gorgeous in her all white outfit and for the first time, I coveted becoming an ordinary human.Stan howled in appraisal and I must say, this was something strange. All Stan had ever wanted was his mate, not some beautiful human girl lurking around in white. Yes, my wolf and I have seen many beautiful ladies before now and I knew that Stan's attraction to Pearl was unusual."Stay away from me! Don't ever talk to me again!" Pearl's voice broke into my thoughts as she bolted away.Fuck! I knew
ZoraI understood Zenden's fear but I still do not agree with what she did. This wasn't the first time I have practiced soul traveling. I did not necessarily need the invisible thread nor a medium.Also choosing just a random student who wasn't a member of the blackbirds was a reckless move. The craft is limited to the witches. No other faculty has ever practiced it, not even the Faculty of the Prophets who shared some similarities with us.I watched Zenden burst into a wicked laughter as she watched the shuttle that took Pearl away.Thanks to Hardin, Pearl's fall would have been a great one. The students were all celebrating and no one knew she was falling off the stage.I rose to my feet and approached Zenden. "Why did you make her do it? She is just a new student," I questioned."She has a rich and unusual energy, I wanted to see for myself but she turned out to be a weakling, just a bloody human," Zenden said and pranced around the stage like a robot."Zenden!! Are you telling me
Pearl"Thank goodness, she is awake," A familiar voice said as soon as my eyes fluttered open. The settings looked strangely familiar and I wondered where I was.Hardin hoisted his face towards mine and I took in his facial features. Having recognized him, I pushed him out of the way and sat up on the bed."Are you okay?" He asked in concern."What the heck am I doing here?" I asked and looked around."We meet again. You were here a few days ago, remember?" A man in white lab coat said as his face came into my view."The infirmary!" I yelled as realization dawned on me."Smart!" The doctor smiled, raising his fingers jovially as he walked closer. He checked my pupils and some of my vitals and nodded."She must have been in shock earlier but she is good to go now," he announced and picked up the intercom as he dialed Mrs Hopkins.My gaze fell on Hardin and I wanted to show him out when the memory of him jumping into the stage to hold me from falling propped up in my head. It was the l
ZoraWhen I came around, I was in a well lit room but a peek through the blinds revealed darkness. Looking around, I realized that I was in the infirmary and right beside my bed was Evelyn. She was sitting on a stool and her head was nested on the edge of my bed.I couldn't tell how long, but I knew that I must have been out for a long time. I sat up slowly, trying to ensure that I didn't disrupt Evelyn's sleep but I failed. She grunted as I watched her rare up her head. She yawned and stretched out lazily.Slowly her eyes lit up and her gaze fell on me. "Zora!" She yelled and hugged me before pulling away to look at my face again. She did this repeatedly and I chuckled.What?" I asked sweetly"Doc! Zora is back! She has come around!" She yelled all at once. Doctor Jacobs made it to my bed in no time."Thank goodness, here you are. We were damn scared. You were out for three days," Jacobs said and began to check my vitals."Three days!?" I yelled in astonishment."Yes, without any
PearlFor the first time in four days, Mrs Hopkins attended the students' assemblage. She addressed us, emphasizing on the school rules and regulations.I chuckled after listening to her. All I have experienced in my few days in the school were the complete opposite of the proclaimed rules.Walking into the classroom, I took my seat eagerly. Our first subject for the day was mathematics. It was my best subject and the mathematics teacher seemed to be good at it.I had just settled in my seat when a student walked past, dropping a notebook on the floor. I wanted to pick it up but I decided against it. When I resumed the regular class on Monday, I had thought things would be different. I told myself that I was cast away by the members of the big cats because I wasn't really one of them and that things would be different in a general class.It turned out that I was a big fool. Not only the big cats, I did belong anywhere in this goddamn hellhole.I was given cold shoulders and everyone