Chapter 10

The next morning, Amber was woken by Starfire nibbling on her ear at precisely 7 o clock. She woke Azure up and they both prepared to go for breakfast.

After a hearty breakfast at the dining hall together with the rest of the academy, they walked to class again. With the same dramatic effects, Lady Dorothy appeared in the study hall.

“Class, today I will be telling thou about thy initiation test, in which thou will be tested on thy potential and whether or not thou art fit to enter the realm of magic.”

“What? We have to go on a test? A person of my standing and beauty is naturally fit to become an enchantress, a mistress of magic! I was born for the sole purpose of leading you useless fools!” wailed a dramatic SNOB.

“Hush, Ms Stella. Everyone is equal in the academy regardless of thy standing. Thou shalt be sent on a quest accompanied by thou mascots. Thou shalt start from different parts of the world, but can group together later if thou so wishes. Thou and thy mascot will discover new abilities and increase thy bond of friendship. Thou shalt be considered successful if thou returns with the magic cloak, and thou art only able to take along thy mascots, rulebook and some other basic necessities.

“What? We don’t even get a map? I don’t believe this!” exclaimed an outraged Stella. Dave and Nick immediately molded their faces into similar looks of dismay.

“Nay. Thou shalt have to listen to thy inner, magical calling, which, combined with faith and skill, shalt show thou the way to the cloak. Tis a dangerous and hazardous journey, wrought with unmentionable sorrow, heartbreak, terror and perils, from which thou may not return, perishing in the attempt. Tis our way of weeding out the weak. Do not worry, thou parents shalt not miss thou, for they art grieving over the loss of their beloved child that happened in the tragic fire which destroyed the castle and all its inhabitants.” Lady Dorothy grinned, seeming to be enjoying herself tremendously, and offered them a small consolation. “so, from another point of view, thou hath nothing to lose if thou deigns to fail, other than thy life.”

The entire study hall was silent, to the extent that even a drop of a pin could be heard. The students stared at Lady Dorothy with dumbstruck expressions, speechless. Suddenly, all hell broke lose and chaos erupted in the study hall.

“This journey will ruin my perfect beauty! I wont be able to look like a delicate flower anymore…” sobbed Stella.

A pillar of calm amidst the chaos, Lady Dorothy dropped the bombshell. Upon hearing the BOOM! The whole hall fell silent.

“Thou shalt be leaving this Saturday, 2 days from now. It is my suggestion that thou start preparing thyself mentally and emotionally.”

With an amazingly evil laugh, Lady Dorothy drifted from the room, leaving a hall of destruction and chaos behind her.

Chapter 9

“Mmm… one of the things I like about this place is the food. The cook is really good!” Azure exclaimed.

“I agree. This is great! Thank goodness we don’t have to share a table with Ms Stella-I-forgot-her-oh-so-long-name. I pity Sapphire her bad luck,” muttered Amber.

“Actually, I remember her as SNOB. You see, its Stella Natalie Opal Bartex, so it kinda spells out as SNOB. I didn’t mean to offend her,” said Azure.

They all looked over at Stella, who was sitting over at the Ring of Falcon table with Sapphire and Nick. Stella’s mascot was a black Darcmyste, while Sapphire and Nick were both accompanied by navy and grey Darcmystes. “Shadow, aren’t you just the cutest Darcmyste that ever lived…” Stella was crooning to her mascot, while Levi and Grey looked on.

“Grey’s such an imaginative name for a grey Darcmyste, don’t you think? That Nick really has brains. I mean, the name completely sums up the Darcmyste!” Azure said with a roll of her eyes. Star Angel, her Shieldbubble was eating from her plate.

“Hey, hey. Lets continue eating and stop being mean. I think Stella is really nice when you get to know her, right, Warrior?” Darren interrupted, one hand caressing the Shieldbubble beside him.

“Attention all students!” Lord Twinheads announced. “You will be given time after lunch to unpack your bags till 6pm. Then, I’ll give you time to bathe and come down for dinner at 7pm. At precisely 8pm, I want all the first years to gather here at the dining hall while the seniors can rest for the day.”

The hall was immediately filled with the screech of chairs being pushed back as all the students stood up to retire to their rooms respectively.

#~#~#~#

“Okay, there are 2 beds, separated by a bedside table with 3 drawers. A mini chandelier, air-conditioner, a connecting bathroom, 2 cupboards, a dressing table, and 2 study tables. Hmm… Not bad for a tower room,” said Amber appreciatively, taking in her surroundings back at their bedroom, having been too tired the night before to fully notice her room.

“Lets choose our beds and unpack. Time isn’t on our side,” said Azure practically.

4 hours later…

“I’m done! Oh yeah!” said Sapphire, jumping up and down in glee.

“Me too!” Amber said. “Now that we’re all nice and clean after that shower, lets check on Darren and Dave. We still have half an hour anyway.”

#~#~#~#

“Darren! Open up! It’s us!” Sapphire knocked on the door, shouting loudly. Starfire and Star Angel were hovering beside Sapphire, waiting for the door to open.

“Coming!” Darren replied hurriedly.

Having mistaken what Darren said for ‘come in’, Sapphire opened the door and they all stepped in. A startled Darren looked up from rummaging in his wardrobe, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

“Ready to go down yet?” Amber asked.

“Dave, don’t come out of the bathroom! We have visitors!” shouted Darren, a panicking expression on his face. “Uh, not just yet. I haven’t finished dressing yet. Could you wait a while?” asked Darren, a blush staining his face beet-red.

Amber, Azure, Starfire and Star Angel’s gaze slid downwards, and saw that he was only dressed in his boxers.

“Oh… Sorry, sorry!” Amber and Azure quickly backtracked and went out of the door, their face also as red.

“Thanks, guys,” Darren smiled.

#~#~#~#

“Dinner was great again,” Darren said, while Warrior nibbled at his leftovers.

“Look! The seniors are leaving. I wonder what the heads want.” mused Amber and Azure.

“Well, we will find out vewy thoon. Look! Hwere he comes. Boy, does he look sewious,” lisped Dave, accompanied by his yellow Shieldbubble, Sunshine at their side.

“Welcome, my dear students. I am Lord Twinheads, and I am the principal of Lotaholes Academy. As you all know, no school can function without rules. Well, here it is.”

With a poof, a thick leaflet appeared before them. The word ‘rules’ was emblazoned across the front page. The students turned their astonished gaze back to the principal with difficulty.

“Everyone got their copy? You are to memorize them and know them by heart, understand? Good, now will all of you please turn to the last page? That is our school song. We will sing it together before ending this gathering. So, a one, a two, a three, a one two three go!”

“Friends, friends, friends to the end,
Where will you be without friends?
You’re friends who will never smother,
Smack or stab one another,
You’re not a bunch of useless goners,
Let’s face it,
You’re not a bunch of sad losers,
So you had better befriend each other,
Because nobody would be such an idiot,
To have other morons as friends.”

“Except Thella, who ith pwepectly lovely,” muttered Dave, looking at Stella dreamily.

“Did they just lose their brains or what?” asked Amber.

“Well, they cant lose what they never had,” whispered Azure.

The two good friends sniggered. Then, they followed the crowd back to their respective towers and rooms for the night.