Ezzie
"Poor Corvus, baby" I cuddled him to my chest. "You flew all that way for me. Well get you a nice treat." he flopped, exhausted, in my arms. I walked up the stairs with Aggy following close behind. She was carrying the box of letters. I threw open the door and went to set Corvus down. The empty fireplace flared up with deep purple flames. The cauldron immediately started to heat up. I sat Corvus down on the bed and he fell asleep immediately.
"You need to save energy for the spells, stop the fire. I'll get firewood." Aggy said and left the room. I pulled a large bottle with little balls of light floating in it, from the shelf of meager supplies I had. I pulled one out and whispered my message to it. It floated out the window and towards the assumed direction of House. I needed a lot more supplies. But what I had here would work for a few letters. I grabbed the first letter. Sleeping hex; mild and reversible with time or a kiss. I grabbed the ingredients off the shelf and started.
Aggy came in to replenish the non-magical fire many times in the next couple of days. I didn't get to sleep, just work constantly. The tiny green boxes with spells inside started to stack up as my ingredients dwindled down to near nothing. After 4 1\2 days of constant work, I was out. Everything was used and packed into boxes. I could do nothing more. I crawled into bed and fell asleep.
"Wake up!" Someone yelled in my face. I shot up and hit heads with them. Owwwww!. I held my forehead and tried to see through my sleepy eyes. It was Mary. She stood next to the bed, holding her head.
"What the heck are you doing here?!" I said.
"Hagatha said to help bring up these boxes for you and wake you gently." she shrugged. "I don't like listening to her but mom made me help with the boxes. I woke you for fun" I jumped out of bed and saw 3 large boxes by the door. Everyone had a mortar and pestle stamp on the top. I groaned.
"Oh goody, guess that means I get to work again." I looked at the pile of letters waiting to be fulfilled. I sighed and dragged the heavy boxes to my shelves. Mary looked around at the empty jars and multicolored stains everywhere.
"What are you doing here anyway?" I put stuff up onto the shelves.
"Nothing you need to worry about." She sat on the box and looked me in the eye.
"Tell me tell me tellmetellmeteeellllllmeeeeeee!" She was being annoying.
"Work!" I snapped and grabbed more stuff. One shelf full per box. Almost. The shelf was full but the box still had some stuff in it. I moved to the next shelf and filled it up. I filled up all 5 shelves and there were still at least 2 boxes worth left. I set those up on the table, desk, and floor under the table. Just setting it up has made me tired, how tired will I be in a few hours?! I grabbed another letter and started.
I worked nearly all week. Every night, and every day. The amount of coffee I had consumed should have killed me but the stress would not let me die. I depleted all the extra ingredients and 4 shelves. I only had scraps on the 5th shelf but I was done. I stepped back to see what I had created. Hundreds of boxes, stacked on top of each other. And green. Every box was a sickly green, the traditional color of the Yagas products. One last spell and I could die, I mean sleep. I grabbed a jar of will-o-wisps, pumpkin seeds, bunny fur, and other stuff. I made one of my most basic potions ever. I could do this without potions, I just needed to be nearby and concentrating. Once it was ready I filled a couple of spray bottles and got to work. I sprayed every box and it floated into the air. They each knew where to go, given I had written the name and address on each box, and they shot out the windows in an orderly fashion. I collapsed back onto the bed and fell asleep to the sound of rustling cardboard and paper.
I woke up and the boxes were gone. Unfortunately, the mess still remained. I spent an hour or so cleaning it up. I bent to pick up a paper and turned it over. My soul left the premises. The letter from school!! I'd Forgotten about it!!! Heckincrap!!! I looked at the clock. 12:00. Crap. tomorrow I will have to go. I grabbed my coat and filled the (few) empty pockets with extra spell ingredients and hung it up by the door. I threw my backpack next to it and went back to sleep. It felt as though I had only closed my eyes when I woke up again. The clock read; 7:36 AM. I jumped up and put on a pastel green, blue, and purple shirt and overalls. I threw on my coat and headed out. Someone was making a racket in the kitchen so I snuck out the front door. I grabbed my broom on the way out and took off. I know my broom is an old relic and pretty cliche, but I love it. I am able to travel in other ways but I think broom travel is the best. I zipped through the early morning fog and nearly hit a car.
"Stupid car!" I yelled as I rolled around it. The driver's jaw dropped as I passed. I zipped to the school and set down right outside. I walked in and went into the office. There was a black-haired woman with glasses behind a desk. Very intimidating. She glared at me as I walked up.
"Hello. I'm Emerald Yaga," I said nervously. "My Gran signed me up to go here and I just got the letter a week ago."
"Why did it take so long for you to get here?"
"I was in Texas when I received the letter. I'm lucky to have traveled that fast."
"I'll need to talk to your parents or legal guardian."
"I don't know where my parents are and you'll need a seance to talk to Gran. I'll be happy to help though.'' The sarcasm in my voice was heavy and there was no way she could miss it. Her face flushed.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…"
"It's fine."
"So do you live alone then?"
"I'm currently living with an old friend, but I didn't need to tell you that, nor do I need to tell you anything else." she nodded, flustered, and printed something. She handed it to me.
"Here's your schedule, have fun." I took the paper and went to the common area. There was no one else there and I sat there looking at the paper. My broom was leaning against my side and pulled out Percy Jackson #5 from my bag and began to read. People arrived and the common area filled up. I was enjoying the battle scene when my broom was ripped out from under my arm. I dropped my book in shock and looked up. A kid taller than me (i am 5'10") and built like a brick of concrete was holding my broom. Several mean-looking kids stood behind him, snickering. I looked down at my book, crumpled on the floor, and without a bookmark. Humph. This better be good or I'm gonna gut this kid, I thought and looked back at him. He sneered at me.
"Looks like you're new here. Why the heck are you carrying around a broom?! You the new janitor?" the mean-looking kids in the back laughed even though it's not funny. I crossed my arms and waited for the verbal abuse. He grinned and snapped my broom over his knee. I watched it fall to the floor with a blank face. The broom Gran gave me for my 4th birthday. One of the only things that truly mattered to me. He turned to make a joke to his laughing friends and I slugged him in the gut. Just as I had thought, he doubled over and made retching noises. His "friends" backed up and looked between us.
"You use your exserve bulk as a deterrent for your victims but it's not muscle. It's fat. And you're a bully. Yagas. Don't. Tolerate. Bullies." my old Russian accent that I had thought disappeared slipped back in as I spoke again. I bent down to whisper in his ear. "You mess with anyone again, I crush your bones to make bread" I stood, picked up my book and broke the broom, and walked away. I don't tolerate bullies nor did Gran. she had quite a few stories of what she did to her bullies. Most of which a 6-year-old should have not heard, but I am not normal. I am a Yaga.
I walked down the hall to my locker, 352. Mary was fiddling with the locker next to it. I unlocked my locker and threw my stuff (minus my coat) inside and shut the door. She didn't even look at me.
"Hello Mary Lou," I said and she whipped her head around to see who had spoken. I waved awkwardly when she saw me.
"Oh, hey Ezzie." she opened the locker and pulled out a huge book. She scribbled something down in it and put it back. I looked at her quizzes but to no avail. She waved and walked away. How rude. It is my first day. She could at least show me around. I huffed and spun on my heel. I went to my first period, science. Oh goody. I knew Gran thought this was a sick joke. Putting a witch in a science class. She was probably on the other side, laughing her head off. I smiled at that thought and opened room 12a's door. There were a huge pop and confetti shot up my nose. I coughed and sputtered and a bunch of people shouted,
"Surprise! Welcome to class, Emerald!" I coughed and some confetti came out.
"This is science, right?" A girl in the front with pigtails, braces, and a confetti launcher nodded vigorously.
"Yep. and this is Miss Hallow" she pushed an old woman forward. She had greying, brown hair, and deep wrinkles.
"Hello, Ezzie dear. I knew your Gran a while back." this piqued my interest.
"Case?"
"I was told 54,370"
"Excellent. If you need any other help, we are up and running again." her brow furrowed.
"But I thought Darlene had passed…"
"Was killed," I corrected and her eyes widened. "But I am running the shop now."
"But you're too young to get involved in all this stuff!" She exclaimed and someone cleared their throat. I looked in that direction and saw the entire class staring at us.
"No secrets in this class, we're a family." said burly jock in the back. Miss Hallow simpered and said,
"Oh, Emeralds' Gran and I used to do business. We were quite good friends. Now everyone sit back down, we do have a test today." they groaned and did as they were told. I sat in the way back and Miss Hallow handed me the test. Oh, this was easy. It's just physics. Even though I broke most scientific law daily, I still knew them and how they worked. I quickly scribbled out the answers and handed it back to Miss Hallow. She wasn't even done handing them out.
"What?! So fast?" She said and took the test from me.
"I've had a lot of practice writing." I went to sit down. Everyone stared at me and whispered and the pigtailed girl stood with her hands on her hips.
"I said we were family, right?" several people nodded. "Then why are you gossiping about family?!" This shut them up and Miss Hallow continued the lesson. Something about anatomy of the cow, something like that. I drifted off into lala land and fell asleep.
I lifted my head to find Miss Hallow staring down at me.
"Well?" she demanded. _FEAR LEVELS +100%_ "what's the answer?"
"I was asleep so i didn't hear the question, so could you repeat it please?" crap, my accent had slipped again and people were giggling. I blushed and looked down. She sighed and said,
"What is the precise usage of a frog's spleen?" ha! I knew this!
"Chaos. Mostly the dark potions and curses. I knew of a blue frog species whose spleen could...raise...the.."my voice pittered out and people laughed loudly. Of course she meant for the frog! Not magic! I slammed my head on the desk. Great. I look like an idiot.
The class passed eventually and i went to my next period, math. This was easy and i swept through it. Next was lunch. I snagged a lunch tray and sat at a table in the furthest corner i could find. As i sat down, a glowing symbol appeared on the table faintly and a large, leatherbound book emerged from it. It opened up and floated just above the table. I took a bite of the spongy burger and read spells from the ancient grimoire. I was able to enjoy a minute of solitude and peace before a stupid hooman ruined it. The page turned of its own accord and a voice whispered in my ear,
"Whatcha doin'?" i jumped a mile and the book fell to the table. A dark skinned girl with hair nearly as poofy as mine (mine is just curly and thick hers is like an afro) and a leather jacket stood there, a smirk on her face. Behind her was another girl, the pigtail girl from class. I glanced at the definitely not hovering book and said shakely
"Nothing. Just reading." they plopped down across from me and the afro girl grabbed my book.
"Yea but whatcha reading?" she flipped through the pages and pigtails said,
"And how'd you make it float like that?" I snapped my finger and the book made a snapping noise. It disappeared from the girls hands and into mine. I quickally flooded it into my alp but the damage had been done. The afro girl stayed frozen for a moment and reached into her bag. She pulled out a little wooden box the size of a normal book and opened it. I tried to look into it, inconspicuously, but it was angled wrong. She pulled out a vial of clear liquid and threw it on me. Pigtails shrieked
"We talked about this! No dousing people with holy water!" I tried not to move. Holy water wouldn't have any affect on me but they didn't know that. I stood and walked to my locker. Spare clothes. Gran always forced me to pack spare clothes. In our line of work it's good to be prepared. I grabbed the bag and ran to the bathroom. My spare clothes were a pair of faded jeans, and a white shirt with little kitten faces on it. I just changed the shirt because the overalls were ok still. I tucked the shirt under them and there on my overcoat. When I walked back to the lunch room, I could tell who had done business with my family and when. The people who had parents make deals were nervous and trying not to look at me. The people who had been told stories from their grandparents thought this was funny as did the people whom the Yagas had never done business with. I'd say about a sixth of the lunchroom was nervous. That's roughly 13-16 kids. Not bad for one lunchroom. I sat at the table and pigtails immidatall started apologizing for her friend.
"I'm so sorry! Calli just gets a little over excited and overreacts!" I stared Calli in the eyes.
"Case number?"
"None, just stories of your evil." she spit at my feet and I stiffened. I was calm and reasonable most of the time. I just had to stay that way. I took a steading breath and smiled brilliantly.
"I hope we do business sometime then," my smile turned a bit. "And I hope you miss a payment." I grabbed my tray and walked out of the lunchroom. I threw my tray onto the cart and walked off. I stormed to my locker and opened it up. I was going to fly back to Blackwell Manor and see if House was ready yet. Indeed my maze of shelves felt better again. I threw open the door and my heart sank. I'd forgotten about this morning. I should have cried. I did a little bit but that's not the point. I sat there holding the snapped broom until the bell rang. I still didn't move. A kind looking older lady -in her 50s- with brown hair and laugh lines walked by. She noticed me and her eyes softened with concern. She knelt next to me.
"Are you ok, sweetie?" I probably looked miserable. I probably had puffy eyes (i'm not crying, you're crying) and my face was red. I nodded and shook my head. She smiled kindly.
"Well which is it? Yes or no?" I bit back a laugh. She sounded like Gran. always making jokes to help with pain and touching your soul without you realizing it. And once you did, it was too late. She would have you in an impromptu therapy session without a single drop of magic. I felt more tears slide down my face and the lady hugged me.
"Don't worry, it's all right." her hugs even felt like Grans, full of love and affection. I almost wondered if she was Gran who had faked her death but I dismissed that thought. Gran wouldn't let me suffer for this long without telling me she's alive. The lady helped me to my feet and led me down the hall, away from third period.
"Why dont you tell me whats going on?" She said gently. I hugged my broken broom to my chest and and dident speak. She didn't try to get anything out of me, just led me to a dark room. She hit a switch and the entire thing lit up. This would be the Industrial Tech labs. Where they build stuff. She gestured grandly at the saws and tools and tables.
"Welcome to the Break it Build it lab!" she put on a pair of goggles and walked me to a workbench.
"Here we build cool things by breaking apart the less cool things." i noticed the scraps of stuff everywhere and smiled inwardly. Felt like home. This was as good as my maze. I drank it all in and saw her pull out some tools.
"What are those for?" i asked quietly
"Ah! So he does speak!" i grinned.
"Only when he wants to." she grinned back and took out a pail and paintbrush.
"These are to fix your broom," i looked down at it, surprised to see it was still with me.
"You were crying over it so i assumed it was special to you." she shifted her feet and waited. I waited too until she said,
"Its kinda hard to fix that when your hugging it like it'll fly off.'' I made no comment and set it on the desk even though I was dying inside. "HAHAHAHA! She doesn't even know how close she got to the truth! HAHAHAH!" I laughed to myself. She put a sticky yellowish past on one half and stuck them together. She held them together and waited. I looked around at the saws and saw out of the corner of my eye, an orange and red spark. I turned my head back to the lady and she handed me my broom innocently.
"There we are, good as new!'' I ran my hands over the smooth wood. There wasn't even a mark to show where the brake had occurred. I looked up at her.
"What type of witch are you?"