For days, Maya had been prepared for the time to come. She didn't know what the sign that would indicate the right time would be, but had been carrying things she thought they would need, everywhere she went. Even Elena lingered around at times, she would usually go on her own to cause some mischief, expecting the moment Maya would give her the cue.
It was a break between classes. Maya used this opportunity to skim through her notes while Elena was sitting on her desk at the back of the class chatting with some boys.
A low rumble approached and the ground began to shake.
First, it was a gentle tremor, but it gradually turned into a violent shaking.
Again, people panicked. One of the wall-mounted cabinets got unhinged and fell to the ground. The furniture was sliding all over the floor. A big crack in the wall above the teacher's cabinet appeared.
Maya could see, out of the window, a flock of confused birds, flying from the roofs of the Academy, straight into the windows of the east wing. It was chaos.
When it finally calmed down, Maya and Elena exchanged looks across the room. This was the moment.
"Students, into the courtyard!" the professor ordered.
They heard teachers yelling in the halls for students to evacuate the building. Everyone started making their way in a panicked manner. They were kept out there for a while until teachers decided to dismiss the students and let them go home for the day. The damages to the building were becoming visible, they couldn't risk continuing with the classes.
Although Anastasia didn't leave them with detailed instructions, Maya and Elena knew the window of opportunity wouldn't be long, and the passage that opened would close again.
Students began to pour out of the Academy grounds, and the two of them needed to go the other direction. They moved slowly, weaving through the crowd of students. In an attempt to move inconspicuously while the air was clearing out, they lost each other.
Passing through the main hall, Maya accidentally brushed against Burcu and her bag slipped off her shoulder.
"Watch it!" Burcu snapped.
Because her unresolved anger management issues were triggered by Maya, Burcu impulsively grabbed the bag before Maya had a chance. She then began to rummage through it without any hesitation.
"And what do we have here? A lapis micantis? That's a bit hard to come by," Burcu was intimidating spinning the witch-light in her hand. "Where did you get it?"
"Give it back!" Maya demanded.
Burcu continued to go through Maya's stuff and avoided her trying to reach for it. "Ooh, A fancy lighter."
"Why are you doing this?" Maya was stressed.
"Just curious. What else does the crowned headmistress's jewel have? Witch-light is something students earn for being at the top of their class at the end of the year," she was spiteful. "You haven't finished the year and she's already awarded you?"
"That's mine," Elena appeared behind Burcu, startling her a bit, and making her reposition herself to face both of them. Maya couldn't help but notice Burcu was a bit intimidated by Elena.
"And there she goes running to your rescue," she returned to demeaning Maya. "What is with you and people getting involved for you?"
"You got me involved. As I said, that's mine. Now, return it," Elena ordered in a calm voice, extending her hand for Burcu to hand it over.
Burcu put on a tough facade. "I don't see any name on it. And why would you have it? You're the worst student this Academy has ever seen. You must have stolen it and I have to report it."
Elena crossed her arms on her chest. "Do you really need to reach that deep into your brain to figure out why I have it? Think harder. You can do it," Elena belittled her.
"I don't care." Burcu put her hands on her hips, leaning in to disprove herself, feeling cornered, but simultaneously taking a subtle step back
"Give it back," Maya said.
"And what are you going to do? Make me?"
"I might," Elena suggested calmly.
"Go ahead. I know you're one incident away from being expelled," Burcu bared her teeth. "You can only play though."
Elena waited a moment, confusing the other two girls with the lack of reaction. Then, when the last witness left the hall, she suddenly acted.
The moment there was no one around, Elena charged in, grabbing Burcu's collar and pushing her back against the wall. Burcu was taken by surprise, leaving her no room to react before Elena lifted her knee to pull out something from her boot.
Maya gasped. Elena was too close to Burcu's face and Maya couldn't see what she had in hand. But there was no reason to wonder about it. Knowing Elena's tendencies, there must be a knife on her person.
"Now. Return what you took or I'm going to spill your juices all over the floor," Elena threatened.
Burcu was terrified. She gave back Maya's bag and Elena let her go, allowing her to scurry away.
"Havens, Elena! Isn't this a bit over the top?"
"We don't have time for bullshitting," Elena stated firmly, slipping the knife back into her boot.
However, they have taken a risk and fortune didn't favour them. As Burcu was running away, she almost bumped into a teacher passing through. Seeing her pointing back toward them as she furiously tattled on them to the teacher, the girls sighed.
"Just great…" Elena realized they were in trouble.
The teacher looked furious. They were considering whether they should run, but it would catch up to them eventually. There was no choice but to obey as they were being walked to the faculty wing to get scolded.
The hallway in front of the headmistress's office was chaotic. Plaster was scattered everywhere, and the doors to both Amanda's and Daria's offices were open. The disorder inside was visible. Many items were no longer in their original place, scattered on the floor.
Amanda was on the phone while simultaneously directing the help, while in the other office, Daria was talking with frowning Burcu. Daria intercepted them before they could be shown into the preoccupied Headmistress's office.
"I'll take care of this," Daria said.
She sent Burcu away, who was giving them snarly looks as she passed them by, and led the two of them into her office closing the doors behind them.
"Sit," she ordered showing them to two dusty leather armchairs placed in front of her desk while she made her way to her seat, picking things up on her way.
Daria sighed before speaking to Elena. "I thought I told you that carrying knives was forbidden."
"I'm not carrying any knives," Elena claimed.
Daria was tired of her antics. "Elena. I'm not playing your little games. I know you have a knife, now hand it over."
"I don't have a knife," Elena was persistent.
"Do I need to search you?" Daria was deathly serious. "Miss Tiryaki claimed you pressed a knife to her throat. Now stop testing my patience and give it here."
"Just give it to her, Elena," Maya said.
Elena looked at her with a questioning look.
"Where is it, Maya?" Daria asked.
"In her boot," Maya said.
"Glad to know I can count on you," Elena said sarcastically while her face became a sharp scowl.
Maya didn't want to betray Elena, but she feared that if Daria searched her, she would find more knives. This would only worsen the situation.
Daria got up and walked around the table to reach into Elena's boot while Elena kept her cold stare fixed on Maya. Maya's apologetic looks didn't soften her up. But what Daria pulled out of Elena's boot, surprised even Maya.
"What's this?" Daria was baffled looking at the object in her hand.
"Exactly what it looks like… A fork," Elena stated, hiding her amusement.
Daria sighs. "I told you, no weapons."
"This is not a weapon. It's a fucking fork!" Elena defended.
"Why, for the love of gods, do you carry a fork around if not as a weapon?"
"I'm germophobic. I don't like eating with forks other people have used. And there's no telling where those forks in the cafeteria have been."
Elena's imagination sometimes amazed Maya and the crap she was ready to make up on the spot.
Daria laughed at the absurdity of her claim. "So, you are keeping it in your boot?" she sighed, well aware that she shouldn't follow Elena into this rabbit hole. "It's still a sharp object and you assaulted another student."
"Oh, come on," Elena complained. "I didn't even use the sharp part. I just touched her skin with a handle to make her crap her pants. She was bullying Maya."
"Is that true?" Daria asked Maya. She was firmly tired of Elena's wild contortions.
Maya stuttered a confirmation.
"Come on. Burcu even attacked her intentionally and very publicly," Elena went on further.
"I don't want to hear any of this. Two punishing chips for each of you," Daria declared, having had enough. "Including Burcu. And Elena, I don't want to hear from you. I can't endure any more of your insane schemes. I'm leaving for a month, and any problems you create will be handled as Amanda sees fit."
They got off easy. Daria always seems to give out lighter punishments despite her lack of tolerance for Elena's troubles. As they were leaving through the corridor, Maya noticed the ghost, which was always stuck here, was nowhere to be found.