When Shenny finally lifted her head, her surroundings had been empty, meaning that whatsoever crowd she'd gathered had since dispersed and the ice around her had melted considerably.
She got up, steeling herself. She was a freak at home, and a freak in a school of freaks. Nice.
She fished out her schedule as she walked, searching out her next class. Mortal Combat. Well. As she turned into a new corridor, she looked up to see Headmaster Kayan leaning against a wall, his unnerving eyes trained on her, like he'd expected her to pass that way. She slowed herself to a stop, prepping herself for a tongue lashing, or worse, expulsion.
Headmaster Kayan merely watched her for a few moments then straightened, gesturing forward. "Walk with me, Miss Russel." She had no choice but to obey.
They walked leisurely, mainly because that was how he walked and she was following. The silence became unbearable after a few minutes and she glanced his way to see him in deep thoughts. "Are you expelling me?" She blurted out.
He blinked and glanced over at her. "No, I am not." He said bemusedly. Shenny didn't know whether she should be relieved or disappointed. "So what happens now? "She asked him.
He merely stopped in front of a door. "Now, you attend your next class, Mortal Combat. Stop by my office when the day is over." He said and simply walked away. Shenny watched his figure till he disappeared around a bend.
"Such a hottie, right?" A voice murmered next to her and Shenny jerked,turning around to see a random, blue haired girl standing beside her. Shennys mouth opened and closed like a fish. But the girl merely turned around and opened the door, stopping misstep. "Oh, and by the way...your power is totally cool." Then she stepped in.
Shenny stood, taking a minute to compose herself. When she turned to walk in, there was a slight smile on her face.
~~~
"Argh!" Shenny grunted as she was knocked onto her ass for the umpteenth time. She snarled up at Yejit, who sported a smug look on her face.
"See me coming. Its not that hard, Shenny. Literally see me coming and dodge."
"I am seeing you coming and dodging but you're also hitting again the very second I'm supposed to dodge!"
"I don't think an evil, power sucking soldier is gonna give you time to get your reflexes in check." Yejit said dryly.
"I have excellent reflexes, thank you very much." Shenny retorted, already on her feet as she held up her fists, ready to get a punch in.
"You form okay fists at least. " Yejit teased. Shenny launched forward and threw a fist at Yejit's face who promptly ducked and danced away.
"Maybe you should just let yourself be a punching bag so we get this over with." Judith mocked. Queenette gave a mean laugh as well. "Yeah, you're slowing the class down, Russel. "
"Opinions heard but ignored, Dumbee 1 and Dumbee 2." Shenny mocked and took great delight when Judith's face turned red with anger. Like, it was almost too easy to rile her up. Ridiculous, she thought self righteously.
The Mortal Combat instructor, Oman, gave her a small smile. "You'll get better with time. Okay class, wrap up, let's call it a day!" He clapped his hands. Everyone broke away and started packing up their things. Zendaya came to stand with them, bouncing on her toes with happiness.
Shenny wondered how someone could be happy all the fucking time. She was such a pure heart, bless her soul.
There was a bark of laugh and sniggers as everyone glanced in Shennys direction. She frowned. "Oh no." Yejit muttered. Shenny glanced at her. "What is it?" She asked, then glanced down at Yejits phone tilted towards her.
A video of her seated on that bench in the park, her face resting on her knees, stared back at her. The circle of ice with jagged spikes seemed much dangerous now she really looked at it. She had been keeping everyone out, physically and mentally.
There were tags added to the video like, #FreakNewbie, #IceQueen, #FirstTimer etc. And the comments. Some were undiluted hatred, some were excited. But overall, everyone was speculative and curious.
FireBreathingQueen: Ice? I don't know how 2 feel. Freakish but way cool💅
Mantee78: Such a freakshow!😒
AstericksMiss: Go back 2 d scum lands you came from! She ain't one of us😑
GymDude: All I know is dat I'm so turned on right now
ZeroFucks: Omg, I can't wait 2 see how things turn out!
XrochanAce: Wish I had me some ice
Shenny gave Yejit back the phone as she couldn't stomach it any longer. She picked up her bag and swept out of the room, her head held high,till she reached an empty room,went in, collapsing on the floor as she tried to hold in her sobs.
"I sincerely hope you're not crying. " A voice said suddenly and she let out a scream, jumping to her feet in fright. She turned to see Prett seated leisurely on a chaise, an unimpressed look on his face.
She noticed then that it was a lounge of some sorts, with a homey feel to it and a quiet atmosphere. She sniffed. "I wasn't. "She replied Prett.
He stared on unimpressed. "You lack basic survival instincts too. How can you not tell when you're not alone?"
Shenny grew annoyed. "Look, I don't need your 5 cents right now so keep your opinions to yourself and let me think in peace." She snapped. Pretts eyes narrowed considerably as if he considered snapping her neck there and then before he huffed and returned to the book on his leg.
Shenny paced for a few moments, delighted to notice Pretts jaw ticking with annoyance at her pacing. She decided to stop before he set her on fire and strolled to the chaise next to him, flopping down.
Prett narrowed his eyes at her nearness. "You're not my type. "He stated and she was so shocked, she burst into laughter. When she had calmed down, she shook her head. "Thanks. I needed that laugh." Then she pulled out the books Headmaster Kayan gave her and flipped it open.
Prett glanced at the books and gave a small frown before returning to his book. They spent close to an hour in silence, reading the books before them before Shenny paused. "Do you have some food?" She asked.
Prett frowned and debated sharing with her. He didn't like her or necessarily like sharing. But before his mind could give his verdict, his body had removed some chips and slid her way.
Shenny was surprised. "Oh, magic kids eat unhealthy chips too?"
Prett shot her a dirty look, returning his attention. He spent the next hour seriously regretting ever giving her the chips, as she crunched noisily,her attention on the pages before her. Bits of chips fell off her mouth and Prett realised he felt a smudge of amusement at the cute habit. He gave an imperticible jerk and shoved his mind away from that. Focus. Yes, where was he..?
Shennys mind wandered towards the meeting she had with the Headmaster in a few hours. She had no more classes for the day, so she'd catch up on some reading before then.
She turned to Prett and asked,"So what's your power?" Like she didn't know and like it wasn't blatantly obvious. Prett shot her a dirty look that gave the impression that he was silently considering her as a dummy and the thought brought forward a snicker.
She turned to her book and got comfortable, devouring the history of this new world of magic she'd found herself flung into.