We sat down in anticipation of our meals. There was paper and pen in front of each seat. Instinct told me to pick the paper up and when I did, it glittered, and on it..
'Write down what you would like to eat' boldly appeared.
"Guys," I called the others causing them to look at me "Look" I turned the paper over to them.
I saw the surprised look on their faces and instantaneously, they picked up the papers in front of them up.
Mia giggled when she saw the prescription appear on her paper. We picked up the pen and started to write.
As I wrote the new words, the old ones disappeared. I looked around and saw the other newbies doing the same thing except for the seniors that were already eating.
Soon, some men and women dressed in chef's attire came out pushing pan racks that carried different meals.
The meals were so sumptuous and looked
mouthwatering. A chef came over to our table. with a pan rack that had the meals we had written on the papers luxuriously displayed on them.
They placed the dishes in front of us and our mouths opened widely. The aroma coming from the food was excellent, we dived into the food and ate our hearts filled.
My eyes traveled around the noisy seniors and I saw the delight of happy school life on their faces.
Suddenly, four girls turned their table over and stood on it.
"Whooo!"
Was the jubilations ensuing from some of the other seniors. The girls twisted their bodies and started to sing and dance rhythmically.
🎶don't call me a freak 🎶
I'm no freak yeah, I'm just better than you🎶
🎶Watch me wave my hands 🎶
"And your nightmares will come to pass!" the others chorused.
My eyes were fixated on them as I watch in admiration. They could do this during school hours? Cool! We clapped our hands and the girls bowed and jumped down from the table.
We were about to settle down when a ferocious-looking man appeared from nowhere. His clothes were dark and he wore a black suit with black well-polished shoes. He had no beards on his round face and he had a look that could send grown men running in shivers.
I had my eyes rapidly blinking.
The girls looked like they had seen a ghost too.
Where the hell did he come from? How did he appear from nowhere like that?
"Leslie, Joyce, Natalie, Natasha, up now" he ordered the four seniors that sang and danced.
They rolled their eyes and reluctantly got up from their seats.
The man turned to our section " Newbies, this is the only one time I will address you concerning this issue. I am advising you to desist from participating in unlawful atrocities such as this. You wouldn't want to Join me in the blank room, I assure you. Eat your meals gently and silently and go to your rooms afterward. Your classes commence tomorrow" he instructed.
We all felt the strictness behind his words. I could tell he was a practical person, I reproached myself to make sure not to get on his bad side. I was an expert in getting on people's bad side because of my outgoing personality.
Since we were done eating, we all dispersed and went into our rooms. Some of us were walking in three or two numbers according to the way we were grouped into our rooms. Some girls were walking alone without any companions and I wondered if they have not gotten along with their roommates or if they were introverts and anti-socials.
We got to our hostel building and the chattering increased. We were all chattering simultaneously with our newfound friends. A noise from behind diverted our attention and sent words back into our mouths as we grew silent and looked in the direction where the noise came from.
"Watch it!" the loud voice said in anger and we looked back in wonder at what was going on. Two girls were in a hot argument, it seemed one had mistakenly stepped on the other.
"You should be glad my precious leg stepped on your filthy one," the one who stepped on the latter meanly let out.
"Oh, you do not know how to say sorry? Did your mum forget to teach you etiquette, or did you basically and naturally, lack manners?!" the other girl in retaliation fired at the mean words of the perpetrator.
"What?! "the first one shoved the other hard on the floor. "Do you know who I am? Do you know who my parents are?" she spat and then went ahead to kick the latter.
Why was she so mean and cruel?
Why did the universe create some people at all? When you step on someone, you apologize not shove them down and kick them. If she had said sorry, sleeping dogs would have laid.
"Stop it!" the girl that was on the floor roared. I started walking toward them to separate the brawl and maybe scold the bully a little.
I had almost neared them when... Whoosh! A strong wind sent the bully thumping at the far end of the hostel. Those of us close by were not left out, I found myself on the floor with a big headache banging my skull as I made attempts to stand up.
Oh, no! The bully just messed with an 18!
I stood up along with the rest ignoring the pounding of my head.
Some of the other girls that fell along with me were coughing and holding a part of their body in pain from the impact.
I looked at the bully who landed at the end of the passageway.
She was wincing in pain and staggered up. The others laughed at her and I couldn't help but laugh too.
I laughed even harder when I recognized her as the girl that had said nasty words to me earlier out of spite from an unknown source. I didn't even know her from Adam! Serves her right.
We all went into our rooms amidst laughs from the unpaid for entertainment.
"Serves the fat face right" I blurted out to the girls when we entered the room.
"A little sorry could have just prevented the whole disaster" Mia commented while settling on her bed and removing her glasses.
"She couldn't say sorry so the universe made her mess with an 18" I replied also getting in bed.
"Goodnight girls, let's go to bed early. You heard the grumpy man, classes resume tomorrow and I do not know about you but I can not wait to resume classes and learn to control my ability" Mackenzie said to us.
"Look who's showing off being an 18" Mia pouted her lips at her.
"When your ability surfaces, then you'll know it is kind of crazy to have powers you can not control," Mackenzie replied to her with a serious tone.
"Well, if those powers will save me the way it saved poor wind girl then I cannot wait," I said. The girls turned to me.
"Wind girl?" they asked in chorus.
"What? I gave her a nickname " I shrugged.
"Unbelievable." Mackenzie shook her head. "And what nickname did you give me?" she asked me.
"I haven't seen your abilities in action so I do not know" I replied, feeling funky.
"Goodnight girls" Mia yawned and put off the lamp by her bedside. We also did the same and drifted to sleep.
.
"Newbies, get ready for classes. You have 20 minutes left till the first period!" the voice-over recited repeatedly.
The noise woke me, I don't sleep well under noises.
I got up slowly and yawned when I saw a figure opposite me staring at me.
"Ahh!" I exclaimed and then, I heard some giggling.
It was not a figure, that was Mackenzie gazing down at me!
"What are you doing?!" I shouted.
"Why the noise?" The sleepy Mia said lowly.
"Trying to wake you up and you freaked out. Why are you such a baby?" Mackenzie laughed at me.
I didn't find it funny though. I looked away from her and to Mia. She was already getting back to sleep.
"Wake up, Mia! Classes resume in twenty minutes" I was shouted at her.
She sprung up immediately like an agile man ready to tear the day apart.
"What? 20 minutes? Why didn't you wake me" she exclaimed putting on her glasses.
"Didn't wake you?" I frowned at her.
"Enough let's get ready, I don't want to be late on my first day" Mackenzie admonished.
We got out of the casual clothes we put on when we went to eat dinner the other night and were deliberating on who would go to bathe first.
"Why don't we all bathe together?" I suggested trying to clear the air.
"What? No" Mia said wrapping her hands around her body.
Mackenzie pushed both of us into the bath and we all end up bathing together as I suggested. When we got out of the bath, we got dressed in haste and stepped out almost immediately.
We found other girls also by their doors waiting for instructions like the night before. Some were just openings their doors and stepping out. When we were all almost by our doors, the arrows appeared again.
Blinking and leading us to our destination. We got to the building where we had an assembly with the dean before and the arrows finally stopped at a class big enough to suffice about a hundred occupants. It was more like a hall. There were also some seniors rushing by to get to their classes. It seemed as though no one wanted to be late for class.
We rushed to take the best seats.
We finally found one.
I and the girls took the seat in the middle . We sat down, all chatting mostly about how the class was going to be.
It was not just girls anymore, both boys and girls are now mixed in class. The number was crazy.
Shortly, a figure stepped in. Dressed in a white garment with a white robe, silver hair, and white complexion was Teacher Lazlo grinning meticulously at the noisy class that went quiet immediately after he stepped in.
"Well well, hello dear boys and girls "he greeted us.
"Hello sir!" we chorused.
"I believe I have been introduced to you by the dean but I will make a proper introduction now. I am Lazlo, an expert at teaching emotional control." he bowed, more of a bow to receive the claps we used in acknowledging him than a bow of respect.
Without being told, I figured the teacher was the kind of person who liked accolades.