Soon enough, I heard a door open, then chattering. “See you all in two days!” cried Yearlove cheerfully. I peeked through the statue and saw them all filling out. There was Robin at the back, talking to Joanna. Hurry up, I thought ducking back into shadow as Jessie, Tow and Karma from Hubris passed. This was absurd, hiding like this. I turned back to look — Tina was hugging Jasper, did they ever give it a rest? And now Robin was speaking to Yearlove about something! Tina turned off the other way as Jasper slowly made his way along the corridor, smiling to himself. I snuck back into the shadow as he passed.
“Think I can’t see you?” he said slowly, without looking. “Tut, tut, tut, you were a naughty boy,” he stopped, turning his head slightly to look at me. I nearly choked with fright, how on earth did he spot me? Jasper shot forwards, grabbing me by the collar and shoving me backwards into the dark corridor.
“Get off me you git!” I cried. “ROB—” I tried to call, before he slammed a hand round my mouth.
“How dare you call me Orc eared!” He spat, his handsome face enraged. “Your jealousy of my superiority is plain for all to see, you ridiculous relic of a failed family name.” I pushed him back with all my strength as he relinquished his hold.
“Jealous? Of you? Pah! You have a high opinion of yourself!” I called, heart beating fast. “And you—”
“SHUT IT!” He punched the wall next to my head, which cracked, plaster and brick falling over my shoulder. “I’ve had enough of you Avis. What even is your problem? Is it Tina?” he smiled menacingly, nothing like the pretty, handsome charming boy he was in class. “My Tina. And yes, she’s told me everything. I can be very persuasive…”
“I doubt that,” I said smiling to myself, if she did tell him everything, then the pact we’d made last year would have done something horrible — like tattoo her face with swear words.
“I SAID SHUT IT!” he cried again. I wished Robin would turn around that corner right now and help me. “That she would choose to associate with a Blackthorn is a clear mark of her lack of maturity last year. She has since matured and realised what you are,” he leaned in close, until I could smell his rose scented breath. “I can make sure she never, ever speaks or looks at you again. Is that what you want?”
I didn't say anything, I couldn't. My hand was still shaking. He saw it and began cackling. “Pahaha!” he riled into the ceiling. “You are pathetic! This is what I suggest… you stop coming to Yearlove’s class, or if you do, please just sit there and listen, you might actually learn something,” he grinned. “Now please excuse me, I have to go help those less fortunate than me, learn something about their signs…”
Jasper smiled again and wandered off whistling, pleased with himself. I stood against the wall for a good minute. I had frozen — he’d scared me. I was already in a state of shock from what happened in the bathroom. It pained me to stand there, weak and feeble, his spitting remarks burning my ears like acid. Slowly I moved away, then began jogging, before sprinting back to my dorm.
I slammed the door shut to the empty room. I breathed hard and got my Seven League Shoes out from under the bed and hurriedly put them on. They had saved me before when Ross had tried to attack me, maybe they would again if that thing, or Jasper went for me. Just in case.
***
“Apparently it was some wayward ghosts,” said Graham.
“No,” spluttered Simon. “It was more than likely the dodgy spell-work on the taps. They could have been lethal! Thank god no one was in there…” — They were talking about the destroyed bathroom, everyone was. It was an apparent mystery, since no Occulus’ were around to record the incident.
I still hadn't told Robin about what had happened, I just hadn't got round to it. I was walking along with the rest of the boys from my form, preferring to take safety in numbers. Besides, I wasn't going to go to another bathroom alone. It was ten o’clock and I felt exhausted by the days activities. Besides getting caught in the Library last night, trashing the bathroom and getting sent out of lessons, I then had to make my way outside into the freezing December cold to lift extremely heavy rafters, drapes and metal poles. My hands were really sore too, the rope had slid out of my hands earlier, causing a huge friction burn, followed by a sharp electric shock from caretaker Ingralo.
“Your quiet?” said Hunter, behind me.
“Long day,” I offered.
“Yeah and getting sent out of lessons, naughty boy!” Hunter laughed. “Mind you I did agree with what you said, that Jasper kid is a cringe.”
“Why are you wearing shoes?” Simon sneered, peering down at them as if this was the most unfashionable thing in the world — they were all wearing slippers.
I sighed, too tired to think of an explanation. “Because I couldn't be bothered taking them off,” I said wearily.
“Will you stop ‘dat!” said Jake turning to glower at Hunter as we turned the third corner, mid way to the bathrooms. “He keeps trying to trip me up, thinks it’s funny…” he said as Hunter giggled.
I sighed. “As long as you don't do it to meeeeeeeee!” I said, just as Hunter clipped my heels. And now, golden light suddenly flashed from the shoes. In barely the blink of an eye I was off! Shooting at break neck speed down corridors. The feeling of wading through treacle returned, as I sped round the school corridors in golden loops, arriving at the entrance to the bathroom, dazed and wobbly. I looked down at the shoes as the golden light evaporated. They had worked again? But I wasn't in danger? And they had taken me exactly to where I wanted to be. My brain was frazzled, I couldn't think what this meant. Soon enough the other boys turned the corner with quizzical looks on their faces.
“Why did you just run off like ‘dat?” said Jake. “We got scared, thought there was something afv’ter us!”
I wobbled on the spot. “Did you not see the golden light? Or see me whizz off?”
Robin, who looked as tired as me with his glasses dropping down his face, frowned. “What golden light? We just saw you leg-it down the corridor.”
“Have you been practicing sprints?” said Hunter. “You’re really quick.”
Simon sneered again. “So just to get this straight, you didn't see anything odd? No ghosts?” he smiled.
“Hey,” said Jake. “Save your energy for Riptide. We could do with speed like ‘dat.”
Jake had said something that remained with me. Referring to Riptide, he said that we ‘could do with speed like that’. None of them had seen the golden light, nor the fact I basically flew at break neck speed around the corridors. They hadn't noticed at all, they thought I was just quick? I didn't get long to think about it that night as I slept almost as soon as my head hit the pillow. It was uncomfortable sleeping in the shoes, but needs must.
Snow fell thick and fast during the night. Upon waking and drawing back the curtains, a good three feet covered everything in sight. Caretaker Ingralo was madly zapping around the Riptide Stadium with a heat-spell gun, melting all the snow so that we could go out there and carry on working. That is until the Lily told him to stop. We cheered from our bedroom and danced around as if we’d just won the cup, chanting: “The Lily! The Lily! We love you!” A day off from building at last! And to make matters even better, at breakfast it was announced that all lessons were cancelled for the day. A massive eruption of cheers broke out reverberating the Chamber until it shook.
“What lessons we missing?” said Hunter after he calmed down.
“Well,” said Dawn sharply. “It’s a Friday isn't it? So if you check your timetable, you’ll see we are missing Numerology and AstroMagic.”
Hunter stood and punched the air. “Thank you god for making it snow.”
We carried on eating in very good mood, taking our time over breakfast, still all in our pyjama’s and dressing gowns. Jake and Gret read the Herrald sport pages together. Graham and Simon started a game of magic cards, which caused Graham to be told off by Magisteer Dodaline who heard him swear loudly as he was bitten by the lizard queen card. Hunter joine
d his friends Jamie Brown and Kenny McCarthy on their table and was laughing away in his deep booming laugh. I just sat, feeling quite good about having a free day, but with the previous days events like the splinters in my hands — unable to get them out. Jasper wasn't in the Chamber, neither was Tina. Good.
I could feel someone watching me, the hair on my arms stood up. I glanced around, in my peripheral I saw Harold, my brother, turn his attention away. He was up at the Magisteer’s round table in the corner, now inspecting his porridge sourly. Then, a full head of white hair popped up in front of him. It was Zara from his form. She was gazing at him with the same adorning glaze to her eyes that Tina had for Jasper. She asked him something and he nodded slowly, before she left again with her friends beaming wide.
“What you looking at?” said Robin looking up from his homework.
“Nothing,” I said shifting in my chair and looking the other way. “Why you doing homework?”
He looked down his nose at me with a big frown on. “It’s got to be done hasn't it? I mean, it’s not going to do itself. Might as well use this day to catch up.”
“Spose’… hey, I need to tell you about what happened yesterday.”
Robin looked up sharply from his homework and fixing me with a deep stare. “Why, what happened?”
All of a sudden some people came storming into the Chamber crying: “SNOW FIGHT!” there was a mass shuffling of chairs as people raced outside to the snow. Robin and I looked at each other, before jumping up and running after them.
“I’ll tell you later!”
***
“So, what was it you wanted to tell me?” said Robin taking off his soaking wet clothes and standing by the roaring fire in just his pants. It was not a pleasant sight. I was already nice and dry, having said the heat spell a couple of times on the way back up.
We’d had so much fun in the snowball fight I’d almost forgotten about everything else. I hadn't had that much fun since the end of last year. David Starlight thought he was brilliant at snowball fights and was running around totting up how many people he’d hit, I could hear him counting as he ran, but not before Robin, Jake and I smashed a big snowball right in his face, causing him to lie on the ground for a good minute, before being helped up by his friends. The Lily was watching from his office high up, I could see him out of one of the long windows surveying the action below. I bet he wanted to join in, I would if I was old. Magic snow balling is different from ordinary snow balling when your little and magic-less, or an Outsider. It was a little unfair at times, the sixth and seventh years were absolute magic masters and knew how to make their snowball fire like a homing missile! So I, and many other lower years, received so many clouts to the face, that it went completely numb.
“So?” said Robin satisfied that he was dry enough as he dressed into his robes.
“Well, there’s a couple of things. Firstly, you know the bathrooms near Yearlove’s?”
“That was you wasn’t it?” he said wide eyed.
“No, well, not exactly. Just listen… I went there after I walked out—”
“Sent out.”
“Whatever, listen… something attacked me. I saw it and chased it. It made all the taps explode, then the chandelier fell on me. Got out of the way though, then I saw it in a cubicle. It wasn't a person, it was small and dirty and dressed in black rags.”
Robin slipped his jumper on. “How didn't they know it was you in the bathrooms?”
“That’s the other wired thing, there are no Occulus’ up there.” Robin looked up at the ceiling as if he could see straight through the floors above. “After that lesson I waited for you, but you took ages! Then Jasper saw me and pushed me down an empty corridor. He told me not to say anything else in Yearlove’s lessons, and that he can be persuasive, and that he can make Tina never talk to me ever again. And other nasty stuff. I was… a bit scared.”
Robin shook his head. “Who does he think he is? How dare he use that as a threat, Tina can talk to whoever she wants!”
“And then…” I said flicking my shoes up to my gaze. “My shoes, they—”
“Your shoes?” said Robin turning to look at them. “What do you mean your shoes?”
“At the end of last year, the Lily gave me these in the black leather box. You got the same box. Well, me and Tina found them originally in the passageway near where Malakai used to go.”
“And?”
“They’re Seven League Shoes.”
Robin took off his glasses and stared open mouthed at them. “Of course.”
“They work, except I don't know how, they’ve saved me like three times now from danger. And last night when I ran off to the bathroom. That was the shoes! There’s a golden light around them, and then I feel like I’m running through treacle, but I’m going so fast… And it got me thinking… what if, like Jake said, I used them in Riptide?”
Robin shook his head slowly. “They would know. Underwood does a check before every match.”
“Well, that’s what we need to find out,” I said clicking my fingers. “We need to get to the Library again.”
“What?! You must be kidding, after the last time? No way! We’ll be exspelled instantly!”
I got off the bed. “Listen mate, if we want to find out how to make the shoes work and become brilliant at Riptide, then we need to get into the Library at night? We can’t go during the day because we can’t look at any books! All we need to do is work out how to take out the Occulus,” I said, but Robin was shaking his head.
“No way, we were lucky not to be exspelled last time.”
“Fine. I’ll go alone,” I said sitting back on the end of my bed listening to the shouts of joy from outside as the snow fight continued. “Just didn't want to be the complete losers of the school again, like we were last year. Ernie told me there are books up there that he used to be great at Riptide.”
“Is that why he’s on like twelve Riptide trophies?” said Robin. I nodded slyly. He rubbed his forehead and sighed. “I’ll see what I can do…”
***
Snow continued to fall for the next week, newer flakes falling on top of hardened icy ground. Snowballing wasn't fun anymore, it hurt. Lessons resumed as usual, but obviously I wasn't allowed in Yearlove’s lessons. Didn't want to go anyway, didn't want to be anywhere near that git Jasper. I had to find out who he really was. There was no way he was the same age as us, he knew too much — his eyes, when he was staring at me in the gloom of the corridor were… evil. I was sure of it. He was either Malakai, or a Malakai supporter, out for revenge. And he was using Tina to get at me.
“Only a week until Christmas!” Dennis cried at the dinner table, wrapping the wood with his knuckles excitedly. “Oh I can’t wait. Going to have a lovely big Dandy bird, and lots of presents!”
“What the hec’s a dandy bird?” said Graham looking perplexed.
Dennis scoffed. “You don't know? It’s the most delicious bird ever, all Wizard’s eat dandy's on Christmas day.”
“Except vegetarians,” said Joanna sharply, who was an ardent vegetarian.
Hunter was nodding at Graham and Dennis with a bit of bacon hanging out of his mouth. “We have—” GULP. “We have turkey don’t we Graham. Outsiders always have Turkey.”
“What on earth is a turkey?” Simon sneered. “Some sort of potato thing? Outsiders eat lots of potatoes. Their diet is almost exclusively potato.”
Hunter scoffed. “No, it’s not a potato thing. A turkey is a bird.”
“And is it as delicious as a Dandy?” said Simon.
“Doubt it,” Graham muttered. “Who’s coming to the Hubris girls party tonight?” the majority of the table nodded, except me.
“What party?” I said.
Jake looked at me quizzically. “I thought out of everyone you would know. Tina Partington’s party?”
“Oh yeah that, pfft, forgot didn't I?” I said clapping a hand to my head. Jake passed me a small purple leaflet to ‘jog my memory,’ I looked at it
hard without seeing it for a minute, as I let my red face pass.
You are invited to a small gathering in room 32z, floor four on the 18th of December to have fun and party and celebrate my 13th.
Just turn up at 8ish. Not robes allowed.
Tina Partington
Why hadn't she told me about this? Or how had I not known about this? Robin was inspecting his toast very closely. “Did you know about this?” I said flashing the leaflet at him. He looked up from the toast, pretending to draw a blank, shaking his head dreamily.
“Noooo— not sure… maybe…”
“You did didn't you?”
“Yes,” he nodded sullenly.
“Why didn't she tell me?”
Robin shrugged. “I honestly have no idea.”
“Must have forgotten,” I said, hopefully.
***
I was a bit nervous because I knew Jasper would be there. I put on my tartan shirt and nice jeans, keeping my Seven League Shoes on for good measure. Robin had put on his best denim jacket. The other guys were walking just ahead of us nervously, Hunter in a big shirt and drape that was actually the curtain from our room, he said he wanted to go as a prince. We tried to remind him that it wasn't fancy dress, but he wouldn't listen.
Music drummed outside room 32z as Jake wrapped on the door. A second later Jessie opened it, squealing with excitement as if she didn't think anyone would turn up. We piled into the big room, it was the size of our bedroom, without any beds but the entire place was filled with decorations and banners. The fireplace was lit, but the fire was crackling multicolour fire, spinning dancing rainbow lights around the room. I could hear him before I saw him, Tina under his arm by the fireplace. Jasper was explaining to some third years how he had created the fire and the decorations.
Avis Blackthorn and the Magical Multicolour Jumper (The Wizard Magic School Series, Book 2) Page 13