Enchanted High Book I
Chapter Twenty: Announcements

James felt the familiar twisting sensation as he concentrated on a mental picture of the office.

Moments after, he landed with a thump on the couch.

Looking around, he saw that he was back at the office.

Charlie was sitting on the coffee table in front of him, looking about as June appeared beside him. Nicole appeared with Dominic; quickly, they placed his unconscious body onto the grey corner sofa.

‘You all okay?’ Charlie stared at the four.

‘Fine,’ James adjusted his position on the couch.

Charlie took a deep breath. ‘Where’s the Fern Flower?’

‘It’s in the bag,’ said June. She reached into the bag on her lap and gently uncovered the plant, it looked as beautiful as the first time he had seen it; its golden pot gleaming in the grey room. She handed it to Charlie who stared at it in awe.

‘It’s beautiful,’ he said, then straightened up. ‘I’ll have to give this to Cazoom; he’ll know where to store it.’

‘Right,’ said June.

Charlie glanced down at Dominic, who was breathing lightly. ‘You’ll have to keep him someplace warm; he’ll recover in a matter of seconds if you say he was affected by the water.’

June nodded, standing up. ‘What time is it?’

‘It’s still early, seven forty.’ said Charlie and he walked out of the office. ‘You can leave whenever you’d like,’ he called out. Moments later, he was gone.

Nicole looked at Dominic’s blank face. ‘Where do you think we should keep him?’

‘Charlie said someplace warm, isn’t it?’ said James. Without explaining further, he switched on the heater in the office. A surge of warm air burst towards the center of the room, and instantly Dominic’s hair prickled and his finger twitched. He groaned and lifted his head.

‘Where am I?’ he said.

‘Back at Enchanted High,’ said Nicole aiding Dominic into a sitting position. ‘You were unconscious.’

‘My – head,’ he groaned again. And a rumbling sound filled the silence. ‘That’s my stomach,’ said Dominic. ‘I’m hungry.’

‘Yes, we all are,’ said June. ‘Let’s order supper from the cafeteria; they should be open.’

‘Hmm...’ Nicole stared ravenously at the approaching waiter who carried a large tray of delicious food.

‘Your order,’ said the waiter. He passed June, Nicole, James and Dominic their respective orders, swung the tray over his shoulder and trotted back to kitchen.

‘Hmm,’ Dominic echoed. He bit into the roast beef and chewed satisfyingly.

All around them, students were eating their supper. But a meal wasn’t the only thing on their tables; school books and revision sheets were piled on top of each other. They were in the midst of the final year examination, doing all they could to make it through the final week of the year.

‘I’m feeling a bit left out,’ said Nicole. She observed a group of girls on the table opposite them, testing each other on their work.

‘I’m not,’ said Dominic happily.

‘What would we have been be writing today?’ asked June.

Nicole frowned in thought. ‘Sorcery, I think.’

‘Greetings, lovely people!’

June tilted her head over Dominic’s shoulder to replace Hubert strolling towards their table, in one hand he clutched a thick book whilst the other waved in their direction frantically.

‘Why, hello,’ said Dominic.

‘May I join this gathering?’ said Hubert politely. ‘Everywhere else seems to be occupied.’ Sure enough, when June surveyed the cafeteria; she found that every seat was occupied.

‘Sure,’ said June. Hubert sat beside her. She thought she had seen James glance in her way, his jaws clenching, but she ignored it.

‘So,’ he began. ‘Did you all hear about those library books?’

There were moments of stiff silence.

James took a sip of his drink casually. ‘What about it?’

‘Well,’ Hubert explained, ’at this morning’s announcements Salvatore mentioned that there has been a robbery in the library and that the suspects responsible were expelled.′

‘Really?’ said June.

‘Didn’t you hear the announcements?’ Hubert asked suspiciously.

‘N – No I was busy ... with uh ... with some work,’ said June and she finished of her statement with an innocent smile.

‘Oh,’ said Hubert.

‘Did they mention who the suspects were?’ Dominic asked.

‘No, actually,’ said Hubert frowning as if trying to remember. ‘He said that there were two people involved though.’

June and Nicole exchanged thoughtful glances with each other. June frowned. She thought that Salvatore would’ve wanted to expose them all, but instead he wanted to keep it a secret. Did that mean that he didn’t entirely think that they - that they murdered Gilda? Or was he hiding something that he needed to keep a low profile about?

’If I ever get my hands on those people who dare steal from a library ...′ Hubert frowned, waving his hands as he spoke. ‘I mean it’s there to borrow! And –’

‘What other announcements were made?’ June cut in, trying to change the subject.

‘We’re not allowed to use magic anymore,’ said Hubert, looking positively apoplectic. ‘Which is quite ironic as this is a school of magic.’

‘Why?’ Dominic asked.

Hubert looked at him utterly bewildered. ‘Didn’t you know that we study magic here?’

‘No, I meant, why we aren’t allowed to use magic anymore?’ concluded Dominic.

′Oh,′ Hubert relaxed. ‘It’s all because of that incident in Sorcery class,’ he explained. ’When the tree disappeared? Headmaster Salvatore decided that we shouldn’t use our magic anymore. He’s afraid something more valuable might ‘disappear’,′ Hubert made a grunting sound. ‘Anyways, I didn’t see you in Art class today, June.’

‘Oh, I was sick so I took the day off,’ June thought at super speed, and she added a cough to her statement.

Hubert nodded in reply.

There was a terrible silence in which Nicole gulped down the remaining of her juice. June reached to grab her own glass of water, still processing what Hubert had told them, when she accidently tipped the glass over to the side and the contents spilled over Hubert.

Hubert sprang up from his seat in surprise and stared at his wet pants for moments.

’I’m so sorry!′ said June, standing up and offering Hubert a tissue. James and Dominic burst out laughing and Nicole shot them a reproachful look.

‘Godammit,’ said Hubert. His eyes flashed towards her and she was lurched into the vision again. Lightning. Red lightning. An old man. A woman yelling.

A warning. “I will replace you.”

It was gone as soon as it came. The others didn’t seemed to have noticed.

‘I really am sorry,’ apologized June. They watched Hubert gather up his possessions rather hurriedly, as if hoping to get away from them as soon as possible.

‘That was pleasant,’ Nicole added, uncomfortably merrily once Hubert was out of ear shot.

‘I think we should call it a night,’ said Dominic rising from his seat. As if on cue, Nicole yawned and nodded in agreement.

June and Nicole parted from James and Dominic and went up the staircase that led to the second level of the girls dorm rooms. When they reached the door to room 109, they found that Kendal was already asleep and so was Gadget and Alexia, curled up in her feathery white wings on top the white ball of fur that was Gadget.

‘Goodnight,’ said Nicole. She yawned again and lay on her bed and, watching Nicole all cozy; June began to feel even more tired.

‘Night,’ she replied, switched off the lights and within seconds her eyelids felt heavy as she listened to the tick and the tock of the clock above her.

The last thing she thought of, or rather, the last words that appeared in her mind before she fell asleep was Flamed Pearl.

I don’t sleep very much. It’s kind of difficult to close your eyes when you’re living in a wooden house, suspended by three scrawny wooden sticks in the middle of the ocean. And there’s so much of noise. Growling. The sea. And then there’s also the prospects of various threats: pirates, rogue mermaids, the creature in the attic.

I’m not surprised that my boss can somehow sleep like a baby. How? She’s been through worse than me. How does she sleep?

Oooh sweet sleep ... I’ve forgotten what it’s like ... sleep ...

Love from all the confusion in my mind,

--THUG.