MJs Hogwarts Journal Chapter 38

Saturday 25^th January

Jed got himself another detention. I couldn’t moan at him this time though – it was on purpose. We really wanted to confirm what it was that we saw in the Forbidden Forest the other night. We were so scared, and we fled so quickly that none of us really knew what we saw. Recalling what Blondie had said about his detention in the forest, some of the things that he boasted about definitely seemed to relate to our story. The whole unicorn’s blood thing for one. Anyway, on Thursday night, Jed snuck out of the Slytherin Common Room after curfew. He was wandering the corridors, pretending to be sleepwalking and preying to get caught by the caretaker, Filch – which he succeeded. Jed was given a night’s detention with Hagrid and two Fifth-Year Hufflepuff students who had gotten into an argument and accidentally trodden on Mrs. Norris – Filch’s cat, in the process.

Meeting up with Josie in the library, Jed gave us the low-down on what happened last night. Sat on his chair backwards, Jed leant his arms against the back. “So we found it,” said Jed with wide eyes. “The dead one that we saw the other night. It ‘ad decayed a little since then. Some creature’d tried t’ eat some a the meat, but it was still there.”

“What did Hagrid say?” I asked him.

“He’s not sure what it is, but I do know one thing. Hagrid wouldn’t tell me in front a the others, but he said that it’s one a the biggest crimes this side a the unforgivable curses. Whoever’s doin’ it will be in a lot a trouble with the Ministry when they’re caught,” Jed told us.

“Is that all?” I sighed. It hardly seemed worth the detention.

“Well, ya know,” Jed shrugged. “I got see around the Forbidden Forest and get an idea of whatever-that-thing-was was doing. Like, creeping around the forest. Hiding in the bushes. Waiting for the unicorn t’ fall into his trap… that sorta thing. Hargid’s been trackin’ it.”

The whole time Jed was explaining himself, Josie sat flicking through a textbook. “I haven’t been able to find much out,” Josie confessed. “It’s just standard creature care in ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’,” she said, as she closed the book. “This one however,” she said as she brought a beige coloured book with black, swirly lettering out of her bag. “‘Magical Creatures’ mentions some of the uses for unicorn’s body parts once their dead, like the horn and tail, but nothing I didn’t already know.” She flicked through the pages, before returning the book to her bag. I frowned at her. That was a Dark Arts book – even I knew that. The thick, swirly, black lettering and the strange feathered symbols. And she already knew everything before reading it. Jed and I exchanged concerning glances, before we looked at her. Jed’s worried stare proved that my theory was correct. “What?” blushed Josie with a shrug. “I like unicorns, okay?” she mumbled, before sinking into her seat.

Aww… Josie likes unicorns. That’s sweet. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It’s like she’s a little kid to me sometimes. Okay, so unicorns are real, and you don’t have to be, like six years old, to believe in them, but it makes me feel like babying her a little. Not in a bad way, just in a she’s-my-cute-little-sister sort of way.

Jed let out a sigh. “Hagrid’s kinda mad at me for getting detention though,” Jed confessed. “The sad part is that I couldn’t tell him it was all an act.” I did feel bad for him, but this was Jed’s idea. He came up with it and followed it through – it’s his own fault that he didn’t see through to the consequences of his actions first. Overall, we didn’t seem to be able to find anything else out. Jed’s detention didn’t teach us anymore than we already knew by being in the Forbidden Forest by ourselves for all of, what, three minutes. And Josie’s detecting through textbooks didn’t really bring light to anything. All we know is that something is out there, killing unicorns to drink their blood. That on its own is scary.

- Josie -

Welcome to Arcturus High - FIRST DRAFT

(JosieSayz: This is my first draft of the very first Arcturus High Chronicles story: Welcome to Arcturus High.)

Welcome to Arcturus High

 

The Beginning of the End

An elongated shadow towered over them. Her heart panged in her chest. Her tongue scraped against the roof of her mouth. Clawing her nails into her friend’s elbow, she twisted her head over her shoulder, as her eyes scanned the length of the building. Twenty, six-foot tall, windows lined the ground floor of the building to their right, with another twenty on the first floor. Spinning her head back around, the left side of the building was a mirror image. Towering above them, a six-story high cylindrical tower glistened in the sun. Its black brick work gleamed, as though sparkles of precious minerals were lodged inside the stone structure.

“You okay, Caitlyn?” asked her male friend, tapping his hand against hers that was squeezing into his elbow.

“Why is the school so big?” Caitlyn trembled. Her heart rattled in her ribcage. Forcing herself to swallow, she squeezed her friend tighter. “I’m going to get so lost,” she cried. Her bottom lip quivered as she recalled the eight classrooms their old school had that housed the nursery, all the way through to year six. This school was ten times as big. “And Jay, why’s there a big, black castle turret in the middle?”

“Don’t worry,” Jay told her as he let out a laugh, trying to mask his nerves. “You’ll be fine,” he reassured her. “My brother, Will, said it won’t feel that big once we get used to it.”

“What if I don’t want to get used to it?” sniffed Caitlyn, as her chest trembled.

“You’ll be fine,” Jay told her again. Slipping his arm out from her grip, he pulled her into a tight embrace. “I promise,” he whispered. “We’ll survive this together.” Leaning out of their embrace, he smiled at her. Caitlyn prodded the right corner of her mouth into her cheek. “And don’t worry about the turret,” Jay told her with a shrug. “Will said the school’s built around some old, historical tower – something to do with King Arthur, I think. There’s no access to it; it’s just there for the history.” Bringing her gaze down from the towering turret, the swirling in Caitlyn’s stomach settled.

‘I guess if it’s to do with the story of King Arthur, it can’t be that bad,’ Caitlyn decided, as Jay led them into the main entrance.

Pushing open the main door, they stepped inside. Three padded, faded, cobalt blue chairs sat in the left corner. Beside the chairs, a wall hatch remained closed. To the right, group pictures of teachers and students hung in frames, covering the wall. A large, potted palm tree stood either side of a weathered, wooden doorframe, straight ahead. Caitlyn dropped her sight to the eggshell marble flooring as a pair of large, worn, leather shoes appeared in the doorway.

“New students?” came a deep, warm greeting.

“Yes, Sir,” she heard Jay say, beside her. Forcing herself to swallow, Caitlyn nodded.

“Good,” beamed the large man standing before them. “My name is Mr Penn; I’m a teacher, here, at Arcturus High.” As Caitlyn raised her head to look at him, an icy shudder crept up her spine. Her heart sank to her stomach. She clawed her hands back into Jay’s side. The large man towered over them, at way above six-foot tall. His broad shoulders and large belly filled the doorframe, preventing Caitlyn and Jay from seeing into the corridor behind him. As Mr Penn brought a clipboard towards his face, his mane of long, dark curls dance around his shoulders.

Placing a hand on Caitlyn’s, Jay rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand. “If I could just take your names,” Mr Penn requested, as he peered over his clipboard. “I can tick you off the arrival sheet and take you into the main hall.”

“I’m James Hilton,” Jay announced, as Caitlyn’s grip on his elbow eased. Humming to himself, Mr Penn’s eyes danced across the page as he skimmed through a list of names, before puffing out a blow of air in attempt to waft a curl from his face. A grumble escaped him as he lifted a page on his clipboard and skimmed through the names on the next sheet. With his long, flowing locks sweeping across his face, Mr Penn hummed once more, scribbling Jay’s name off the list.

“And Miss?” he asked, peering over his dark, round spectacles. As his eyes locked with Caitlyn’s the sensation of an ice cube sliding up her spine returned. Mr Penn’s eyes widened, and his lips parted as he stared at her.

“Cuh-cuh, Caitlyn Flynn,” she stuttered. His expression softened, as his smile returned. Mumbling to himself, Mr Penn’s eyes began dancing from his left to right once more, as he searched for Caitlyn’s name.

“Alright,” he beamed at them, having scribbled Caitlyn’s name off the list. “If you’d like to follow me.”

Following Mr Penn through the doorway, Caitlyn’s sight returned to the ground. The creamy-eggshell marble flooring changed to a deep sage-grey worn carpet, dotted with blackened, dried-in chewing gum, as they entered the main school corridor. Chatter rumbled on the other side of the wall. Holding both arms out in front of himself, Mr Penn swung open a set of double doors, opposite the main entrance. “Take a seat,” Mr Penn told them as they stepped inside. “Mr Llywelyn will begin the welcome assembly in fifteen minutes,” he said, as he checked his watch.

Caitlyn’s eyes darted around the room. To their right, rows and rows of grey chairs lined the hall, facing them, many already filled with students chatting away to the person sat next to them. Her stomach spiralled. Eyes turned towards them.

“Thank you, Sir,” Jay told Mr Penn with a nod, as he led Caitlyn through the school hall to find a seat. The trembling in Caitlyn’s chest returned. Keeping her head low, Caitlyn kept her eyes fixed on her shoes as heads turned towards them.

“Are these all year sevens?” Caitlyn asked, as Jay led them towards an empty row, three-quarters of the way along.

“Think so,” replied Jay with a shrug. “The rest of the school aren’t in ‘til next week.”

Swallowing, Caitlyn nodded as they sat down, placing their bags at their feet. The trembling in her chest turned into a low, vibrating hum as she and Jay blended in with their surroundings. Arching her head over her shoulder, Caitlyn stared at the towering rows of padded, worn, cobalt blue benches behind them. Four adults, dressed in suits, stood in front of them; Caitlyn assumed these were teachers. Her forehead puckered as the towering benches reminded her of bleachers in a stadium. “That’s where the older year sits,” Jay informed her. “Two year groups have an assembly at the same time. The lower year sits down here on the grey seats, the older year gets the blue seats.” Caitlyn nodded, turning back around.

“It’s a good thing your brother tells you things,” Caitlyn said, hugging her biceps tight.

As the chatter built around them, Caitlyn flickered her sight around the room. To the left and right, three large, six-foot tall, windows let light inside. Stretching her neck up, Caitlyn attempted to see the view outside, but the windows were situated so high that all she could see was sky. Above them, the ceiling stretched up at least eighteen feet. Bar lights, suspended in the air by chains, like swinging chandeliers, hovered overhead. At the very front of the hall stood a block wooden stage, raised two feet from the ground. A podium was positioned to the left, with a laptop open on the top. Facing the students, a large projector screen was pulled down, presenting the newcomers with the message, “Welcome to Arcturus High,” written in a pumpkin-orange coloured text, on a black background.

Glancing around at all of the people in front of them, Caitlyn’s intestines knotted. She inhaled a slow, shaky breath. The thumping in her chest calmed. Her sight flickered to the grey double doors to the right-hand side of the hall, as Mr Penn appeared, showing more students inside. Biting her bottom lip, Caitlyn’s eyes skimmed across the seats from left to right. She strained her neck up, and her head nodded as she counted the rows from the front towards them. Arching her head over her shoulder she continued to count the rows of grey chairs behind them. “There’s twelve rows,” Caitlyn exclaimed with a raised brow. “And I think there’s twenty seats to a row.”

“I know,” Jay muttered, sinking into his chair. “Secondary school’s huge compared to primary.”

“There’s gonna be two-hundred-and-forty of us in year seven alone?” she gasped, having calculated the number of students that could fit in the lower, grey chair area.

“I know,” Jay replied, forcing a swallow. His right knee began to bounce. Pressing a hand to his knee, he shuffled in his seat.

“Are you okay?” Caitlyn asked. Jay hummed. Prodding the right corner of his mouth up, he shrugged.

“Guess I’m just nervous,” he mumbled.

“I’m sorry,” muttered Caitlyn, lowering her chin to her chest. “I’m not helping.”

“It’s okay,” Jay told her, placing a hand on hers. “We’ll get through this together.” A smile broke across Caitlyn’s face as she let out a little giggle.

A thunderous bellow of laughter broke out, from a group not too far to the left of Caitlyn and Jay. Hunching her shoulders, Caitlyn scrunched up her nose. Jay pulled at the knot of his tie, as his stomach churned. Running a hand through his scruffy chocolate-brown hair, he exhaled a puff of air, vibrating his lips.

“I don’t think I can get up in front of all those people,” Caitlyn confessed, feeling her stomach knot. “Are you sure Will didn’t drop any hints as to what the initiation ceremony is?” Jay shook his head and shrugged.

“Nothing,” he replied, as he stiffened his shoulders. “He just said you have to get up on stage in front of everybody.” Staring ahead at all of the bodies surrounding them, he shuddered. The thought of introducing himself to the entire year, along with sharing a fascinating fact about himself, reciting spellings or answering any sort of academic question, made Jay’s intestines churn. ‘I hope we don’t have to sing or dance,’ Jay squirmed, but did not dare share this disturbing thought with Caitlyn; his elbow could not take much more of her nails squeezing into it.

Grabbing her khaki-green backpack, dotted with small, silver flowers, from off the floor, Caitlyn swung open the shimmering, silver butterfly flap and dove her hand inside. Voices echoed around her. Her heart rapped against her ribcage. Objects rattled together as she rummaged around. Her fingers trembled. ‘I wish I’d put my teddy bear in my bag,’ Caitlyn whimpered to herself, feeling a salty prickle filter into her eyes. She pinched her eyes tight. Pulling out her midnight-black pencil case, covered in stars, Caitlyn placed it on her lap, as she returned her bag to the floor. She took in a slow, shaky breath as she rubbed her thumb across the satin star keyring that was attached to the zip.

“Please, try ‘n’ stop worrying,” Jay insisted, as he watched Caitlyn fiddle with her pencil case. “We’re gonna be together and everything’s gonna be okay,” he assured her. Looking at Jay, Caitlyn forced a smile. “You told them we wanted to be in the same form group, right?”

“Yeah,” Caitlyn nodded.

Before leaving primary school, everyone who would be attending Arcturus High in the new school year, had to spend an introductory day at the school, where they met some of the staff, as well as mixed with some of their future peers. Each student received a one-on-one meeting with a member of staff, where they could request a male and female friend to be in their new form group with them, as well as inform the school of anyone whom they did not get along with and/or would prefer to not share any classes with. In addition, students were allowed to pick their preferred modern foreign language to study. Arcturus High offered the students the option of learning French or German. This one-on-one also offered the new, upcoming students the chance to ask any questions they may have about the school.

“I asked to be with you and to learn French,” Caitlyn told him.

“I did want German, ‘cause Will does it,” Jay told her. “But they always give siblings opposite languages, so they can’t cheat. So, I know I’m getting French.”

“Good,” Caitlyn beamed, with a nod. “So, who’d you pick as the guy you wanted to be in your form?” she asked with a puckered brow.

“Kieran,” replied Jay.

“Oh,” Caitlyn muttered, dropping her eyes to her lap, as she continued rubbing the star on her pencil case.

“You don’t like him, I know,” Jay sighed, rolling his eyes.

“I try to get on with him,” Caitlyn told Jay, as another group of students were led into the hall by Mr Penn. “He’s always late. He never does his homework or even tries in class,” she confessed. “He disrupts lessons. He’s so messy and lazy. And he hovers around me; he doesn’t speak… he just stands there… staring. I’ve tried having a conversation with him. I just get this uncomfortable creepy shudder when I’m around him. It’s not a good thing, Jay, and I don’t like it,” Caitlyn warned him. Jay huffed, folding his arms. “That doesn’t mean I won’t try and make an effort,” she went on. “Making friends doesn’t come as easy to me as it does you.”

“I know you’re trying,” Jay sighed, as he fidgeted with his blazer. “An’ Kieran only creeps around you ‘cause he likes you.”

“No, he doesn’t!” Caitlyn exclaimed with a shudder.

“Course he does,” chuckled Jay.

“Stop being silly,” Caitlyn protested, shoving him.

“I’m being serious,” Jay laughed.

“Well, if you’re in a serious mood,” began Caitlyn, straightening her back. “Promise that no matter what happens, we’ll always be friends.”

“Pinky promise,” Jay replied, holding his little finger out towards her.

“Pinky promise,” Caitlyn smiled back, linking her littlest finger with his.

A roar of boisterous bellows boomed into the main hall, as Mr Penn entered with another group of students. Conversations stopped. Heads turned. People held their breath, as the newest group of lads strolled in. “Oh no,” Jay hissed, sinking in his seat. “Please don’t see us,” he whispered. His pulse pounded in his ears. “Please don’t see us.” Holding her breath, Caitlyn lowered her head. “Good,” Jay whispered, as the group clambered past people into a space in the centre of the hall, several rows ahead of Jay and Caitlyn. “That was close.”

“Did you put them on your refuse-to-be-with list?” Caitlyn asked. Jay nodded.

“Did you?”

“I didn’t,” Caitlyn told him as she shook her head. “I know Andrew, Adam and Rob bully you sometimes. I don’t like them, but I’ve never really had a problem with them,” she confessed as she hunched her shoulders. “And Andrew’s always been kinda nice to me.”

“Only ‘cause he likes you,” Jay growled, folding his arms tighter at his chest.

“Stop it!” Caitlyn hissed, shoving him again. “Stop saying people like me.”

“It’s because they do,” Jay told her with a chuckle as he shook his head at Caitlyn’s stubbornness to believe him. “You’re a smart, pretty, funny girl, Caitlyn, who isn’t scared of hanging out with the guys and having fun. A lot of guys like you.”

“No, they don’t,” Caitlyn sighed with frustration, shaking her head. “They like making fun of me. That’s about it.”

Shifting his eyes around the school hall, Jay scanned the room in search of anyone he knew. In an array of black blazers and backs of heads, everyone blended together. His shoulders sank. “Hey,” muttered Jay, as he returned his attention to Caitlyn. “I told you about Kieran, so what girl did you pick?”

“Darcia Addams,” Caitlyn replied, as her forehead wrinkled, sensing Jay’s discord.

“What?” he exclaimed, scrunching his face up. “Why her?”

“She’s the only girl I really speak to,” she explained, hunching her back. “Everyone knows she’s really smart – my parents think she’ll be a good influence on me.”

“Come on!” Jay laughed. “Darcia? She sat in the school planter for attention. She purposely made our class lose the Sports Day tournament every year. She has no TV or PC – I mean, what does she do for fun, brew potions over a cauldron?”

“Jay!” gasped Caitlyn, throwing a hand to her mouth as she tried to hide a giggle.

“What?” he shrugged. “She looks like a witch.”

“Jay!” Caitlyn gasped again, giving him another playful shove. “You can’t say that,” she warned him, as a grin prodded into her cheeks. “Her dad’s on the school governing board; he’s giving Darcia a lift in today,” Caitlyn informed him. “He’s really close to the head teacher. He’s got a meeting with him this morning.”

“Alright,” Jay sighed. “I won’t call her a witch to her face. Happy now?”

“Yes,” she giggled with a nod.

The door to the hall peered open a crack. A tall, slim man in an ash-coloured suit and a thick beard crept in with a girl, wearing Arcturus High’s school uniform, at his side. Spotting another man, of equal height, in a navy suit, the two gentlemen engaged in conversation. “Talk of the devil,” muttered Jay, as a head of ebony-brown hair bounced towards them. Skipping in their direction, the girl slid into the empty chair beside Caitlyn.

“Hi Caitlyn! Hi Jay,” she cheered.

“Hey,” Jay murmured, forcing a smile.

“Darcia, hi,” smiled Caitlyn as she let out a giggle. “How on earth did you spot us?” Caitlyn asked, as the increasing volume of people in the hall made her feel a little lightheaded.

“Easy,” Darcia beamed. “I can spot your hair a mile away.”

“Great,” muttered Caitlyn, sinking into her seat. She tugged at her ponytail, bringing her waist-length, bronze hair to her front.

“Don’t be sad,” Darcia told her with a pout. “I like your hair colour. It beats boring brown,” she added with a chuckle, ruffling up her own fringe.

Brushing her hair back behind her, Caitlyn tugged at her tie. “So, how was your summer, Darcia?” Caitlyn asked, in a desperate attempt to take the attention away from herself.

“Fun!” Darcia beamed. “I learnt a lot on piano and the flute. I went camping and I helped my mum in the kitchen a lot.”

“Yeah, I bet she practised her cauldron mixing,” Jay sniggered.

“Shush,” hissed Caitlyn, jabbing her elbow in Jay’s side.

“Sorry, what?” Darcia asked, with a wrinkled brow.

“Nothing!” blurted Caitlyn. “Sounds like you had fun.” Grabbing Jay’s arm, she tugged him closer, as she told Darcia, “We just spent the summer together playing at the park and at each other’s houses.”

At the front of the hall, the two suited men were still conversing. Leaning into the girls’ conversation, Jay asked Darcia, “What are your dad and the headmaster talking about?”

“I dunno,” Darcia shrugged. “Dad said Mr Koh had to sign some document declaring no changes have happened to the structure of lessons – whatever that means.” Darcia’s father, Mr Addams, cupped a hand to his chin and nodded back at the headmaster, who held his hands down, towards the right and swung them back and forth. “Dad’s got the papers in his briefcase, but I think they’re just talking about golf, to be honest.” As Darcia laughed at Mr Koh demonstrating swinging a golf club, Caitlyn and Jay sniggered alongside her.

“So, is that the head teacher?” Caitlyn asked, pointing to the man in the navy suit.

“Yeah,” replied her friends in unison.

“He’s Mr Koh,” added Jay.

“He seems nice,” Caitlyn decided with a nod.

A third man, with a head of thinning, grey hair, hobbled over towards Darcia’s father and the headmaster. He, like many of the other males they had seen, was wearing a suit. A tuft of white curls poked out of the top of his pastel pink shirt. Resting his weight against a wooden walking stick, he shook hands with Mr Addams, before nodding at Mr Koh. Darcia’s dad and the head teacher then departed the school hall. “They won’t be long,” Darcia told them. “Mr Koh only has to sign the paperwork.” Caitlyn and Jay both nodded.

Thumping his wooden walking cane up onto the stage, the grey-haired man heaved himself up with a grunt. The cuh-clonk of his walking stick echoed around the room. Silence. All eyes focused on him. With a smile stretched across his face, the man reached out for the microphone, on the podium, next to the laptop, before opening his mouth. A whispered croak of, “Welcome ladies and gentlemen,” slithered into the ears of those closest. No sound carried through the speakers perched on either side of the projector screen. Sniggers hissed. Confused frowns were exchanged as a plump lady, in a scarlet dress, leapt to the man’s side.

“Technical issues,” she projected, for those in the back to hear. “We won’t keep you a moment.” Taking the microphone from the gentleman, the lady turned it upside-down and appeared to twist a dial and press a button. Another man, with scruffy dark hair, dressed in a stone-coloured shirt and dark, denim jeans, leapt onto the stage.

Chatter bubbled in whispered murmurs around them, whilst the teachers faffed about fixing the microphone. Everyone’s eyes turned to the door as it swung open. Mr Penn peered inside with a latecomer. Strolling down the hallway with a swagger to his step, his shirt untucked and his tie dangling two buttons down from his collar, the boy approached Caitlyn and her friends. A cold shudder crept up Caitlyn’s spine and her stomach spiralled. Both Jay and Darcia placed a hand on Caitlyn’s shoulders. “You okay?” Jay whispered. Caitlyn nodded, lowering her head as the boy approached their row. “Kieran,” Jay cheered, holding his hand out for the boy to shake. Shimmying past Darcia and Caitlyn, Kieran clambered over Jay into the empty space beside him. “How’ve you been, mate?”

“He’s late,” Caitlyn hissed, rolling her eyes as she folded her arms.

“Good mate,” replied Kieran. “Hi Caitlyn,” he beamed, waving. “And Darcia,” he added.

“Hey,” the girls muttered.

“How’d you spot us?” Jay asked, ignoring the girls.

“Caitlyn’s hair!” explained Kieran. Grunting, Caitlyn sank in her seat.

Watching the stage, as the lady in the scarlet dress and the man in jeans stepped down from the platform, Caitlyn prodded her elbow into Jay’s side, silencing the boys’ conversation. She nudged her head in the direction of the stage, as the grey-haired man strode forward. “Welcome ladies and gentlemen to Arcturus High,” he boomed as his voice circulated the room, flying through the speakers. “I am your deputy head teacher, Mr Llywelyn. It is great to see such a vast array of new faces,” announced the grey-haired man, as he hobbled around the stage. “Thank you for your patience in bearing with us during those technical difficulties. Ms Hartle, our assistant deputy,” praised the deputy head teacher, as he held his hand out towards the lady in the scarlet dress, to the right of the hall. “And my son, also Mr Llywelyn, our IT technician, were here to save the day,” he went on, pointing to the scruffy haired man in dark jeans, to the left of the stage. “And it gave a chance for our latecomer to settle in.” Scrunching up her mouth, Caitlyn glared at Kieran. “Yes,” Mr Llywelyn went on, “You did not go unnoticed. Let us hope you do not make a habit of it.”

Trudging over to the laptop, Mr Llywelyn clicked a few buttons. The projector screen changed to a photograph of himself, beside his name and a photograph of the head teacher, displaying his name. “Now your headmaster, Mr Koh, will appear momentarily to share with you his words of wisdom,” the deputy headmaster continued. “However, while we wait, I shall begin.” Silence rang through the hall, as all heads faced the man on stage. Pressing his fist to his mouth, Mr Llywelyn cleared his throat, before tapping buttons on the laptop. The words, “Form Groups,” and, “Tutors,” flashed onto the screen.

“I don’t intent to keep you too long, now,” Mr Llywelyn announced. “You have a lot to get through. You shall meet your tutors momentarily and be divided into your form groups and whisked away, where you shall spend the rest of the day. There, you will be given your timetable and tour of the school. Tomorrow you begin your lessons.”

With a click of the laptop buttons, the next slide in the presentation appeared; it read, “Lessons,” “Abilities,” and, “Bands.” “Up until the end of first term, at Christmas, all of your classes, apart from maths, will be with your form group,” Mr Llywelyn informed them, as he paced the stage from left to right. “You will be split into maths groups based upon your final grade from primary school. After Christmas, you will then be divided into ability groups for English, science and humanities. You shall remain with your form group for other classes, such as IT, design and technology, your foreign language, art, music and PE.” Taking in the information, Caitlyn nodded. “Your year group will be split into two groups, known as red band and blue band. Each band will contain four form groups, each form group contains thirty pupils. You will be divided into bands based on your modern foreign language. Those who learn French, will be known as red band. Those who learn German, will be known as blue band. This splits the year group up.”

Fidgeting with her silky star keyring, Caitlyn’s stomach swirled. ‘Is splitting into two groups good or bad?’ Caitlyn wondered. ‘The year group is so big, so smaller groups are less scary… but I don’t want to be separated from people,’ she worried. ‘What if Darcia and I are split up. I can’t hang out with Jay and Kieran forever; they’ll drive me insane.’

“You see,” Mr Llywelyn went on to explain, “there are so many of you that all two hundred and forty students cannot possibly all study IT or PE at the same time, as we only have four computer classrooms and two gyms – one for boys and one for girls. Both bands will have completely different timetables and you may find that during your week, you scarcely see each other.” Caitlyn’s heart dropped to her stomach. She and Jay turned to each other, forcing a smile. “Even break and lunch times are different between bands and year groups,” the deputy droned on. “We do not have a canteen big enough for all one-thousand-two-hundred pupils, plus our sixth form and our staff. You may find your break and lunch times overlap with one another, but it is the school’s best interest to keep each group moving forward.” The thought of one-thousand-two-hundred students made Caitlyn’s stomach spiral. She rubbed her thumb back and forth on her silky star.

“As you may be aware, it is just you, year sevens, in the building today and tomorrow. This is to help you settle in. The rest of the school will join us with their presence on Monday. You will have this time to learn your way around. Now, don’t be afraid to ask any teachers if you feel lost or are struggling to find your way,” he told them, gesturing to many staff members that were now stood down both the left and right-hand sides of the hall. “The building is quite big, and I know many of you have come from schools on a much smaller scale.” As Mr Llywelyn finished his sentence, he waddled back towards the laptop.

The hall door squeezed open and the headmaster, Mr Koh, snuck back inside. Glancing up at the presentation, Caitlyn’s eyes widened as the word, “Discipline,” appeared on a black screen. Before clicking anymore buttons, Mr Llywelyn arched his head over his shoulder, to see who the recent hall enterer was. Spotting Mr Koh, his eyes widened. Mr Llywelyn clicked away on the laptop and the scary, “Discipline,” word disappeared, leaving a blank screen. “Okay,” Mr Llywelyn boomed, as he strode towards the right-hand side of the stage. “That’s the boring bit over with. Our head teacher, Mr Koh is back, so I will let him make his introduction before he gets whisked away, again, for another important meeting.”

“Thank you,” Mr Koh laughed, as he took the microphone from Mr Llywelyn and the two traded places. “Good morning,” he beamed, looking over the students. “I am delighted to have you all here in our school. Here at Arcturus High, we encourage learning and progress. We listen to each other’s suggestions, with the aim of moving forward. We don’t want to fall behind with the times… that is why every teacher has their own laptop and every classroom a projector, to optimise classroom efficiency.” A few gasps and whispered, “Ooow,” drifted into the air. “Now these suggestions are not limited to just staff and the school governing board. In fact, there is a little post-box, right outside my office, where any of you can make a suggestion to improve our way of learning. Whether you are in year seven or year eleven, whether you are in the highest ability group for a subject or the lowest… I will read your comment and take it into consideration.” An excited bubble of murmurs hummed amongst the students. Holding a hand to his stomach, Mr Koh chuckled. “Now don’t go thinking this means snack machines and bubble-gum at your disposal.” A disappointed chorus of, “Awww,” rang out around the room. “I am not having a line of angry parents outside, complaining that I fed their children junk food and additives.” Again, more disappointed groans filtered into the hall. “That is bad for your waistline, bad for your skin and your mental health – the latter is something we take very seriously at this school.”

A smile poked into the corner of Caitlyn’s mouth as Mr Koh spoke. “I like him,” Caitlyn whispered to Jay with a giggle.

“Good,” he grinned back.

“We encourage you all to join an after-school club,” Mr Koh went on. “We have many to choose from: football, rugby, hockey, basketball, netball, tennis, badminton, swimming and athletics.” Excited gasps and murmurs began to build again. “We also offer clubs in music and art.” Pressing a hand to his mouth, Mr Penn (who was stood beside Mr Llywelyn, to the right of the stage) cleared his throat in a loud, cantankerous manner. Caitlyn’s eyes widened, as she stared at him. The shudder she received from him earlier returned. “We also offer clubs in music and art,” Mr Koh repeated. “For those of you who perhaps aren’t feeling quite so athletic or just enjoy a more creative outlet.”

“Now, I shall return you to Mr Llywelyn for the serious bit,” announced Mr Koh, holding a hand out for the deputy head teacher to return to the stage. Caitlyn watched as Mr Koh neared Mr Penn. Clasping her hands to her chest, a gasp escaped her. Mr Koh chuckled and patted Mr Penn on the back. A frown fixed itself on her forehead, as she returned her attention back to Mr Llywelyn’s presentation.

“Discipline,” boomed the grey-haired man, as the word reappeared on the screen. “We take discipline very seriously at this school,” he warned. Caitlyn forced herself to swallow, as his warm, jolly tone vanished and was replaced with a cold and harsh one. “We do not tolerate disruptive behaviour, nor do we allow our students to misbehave. May I also remind you that lateness is not tolerated?” Sinking lower in her seat, Caitlyn threw Kieran a glare.

“We have a four-tier consequence system in place at this school to prevent the disruption in our classes and allow our pupils to learn to the best of their abilities,” Mr Llywelyn explained, as he tapped the keys on the laptop. “Consequence one, consequence two, consequence three and consequence four or c-one, c-two, c-three and c-four for short,” he continued, glaring at the students, as the text appeared on the screen.

“C-one is a verbal warning,” he announced. “Letting you know that your teacher believes your behaviour to be disruptive or unacceptable. This consequence will be written, by your teacher, on the white board,” he warned, lifting his wrist and striking a motion in the air, as though he were writing the characters ‘C1’ on a whiteboard. “This is where you learn. Okay,” his stern voice changed to a higher pitch, as he began to imitate a student, “I took things too far. I’m sorry class. I won’t do it again.”

With a shrug, Mr Llywelyn trudged towards the left of the stage. “C-two is the final verbal warning. If you are selfish and you continue to disrupt the learning of your fellow peers, your friends, then your consequence will be escalated. Your teacher will mark this on the whiteboard.” Thumping his walking stick into the stage, the deputy head plodded to the right of the platform. “Now this is not to be taken lightly. This is your last warning. If you disrupt the class again… it’s consequence three.” Any murmurs stopped. Silence.

“C-three is detention,” he boomed, banging his cane into the stage’s wooden floor, in attempts to make the students jump. Caitlyn flinched, gripping Jay’s arm. Darcia patted a hand to her friend’s shoulder. “If you continue to be a nuisance and disruptive,” he spat. “You will be given detention. Now I don’t know what you may have seen on the television or read in books, but detention here is not writing a few lines and then skipping back off to cause more disruption. No,” he snarled, standing centre stage. “At the end of the school day, when everyone else is going home, you will sit here, in the school hall, in silence, facing the front, as you are now, for one whole hour.”

Gasps squealed out around the room, accompanied by an array of, “No way!” and, “That’s not fair!” Mr Llywelyn allowed the students to mutter amongst themselves, before clearing his throat.

“That is right, one whole hour,” Mr Llywelyn went on as he returned to pacing up and down. “You won’t be going home with your friends. You won’t be allowed to attend the nice after school clubs that Mr Koh spoke about. If you happen to be on the basketball team and your team is playing against another school, it’s tough. You have to miss the game. Your team might lose without you. Your friends might be counting on you – tough!” he shrugged. “You have to sit here, in silence for one whole hour. And don’t think we aren’t aware of the tricks you youngsters try. We were all young once – even me, believe it or not,” he added with a chuckle. Caitlyn pressed a hand to her mouth to conceal a giggle, as did many of the staff and students around her. “We know the earphone down the sleeve trick,” he warned. “We know the mobile phone in your pocket trick too. There will be no note passing. No music. All phones and other mobile and electronic devices must be placed in the box as you enter. You will have nothing but silence for an hour, staring at me… or a fellow member of staff.” More gasps rang out.

One male voice could be heard yelling, “Argh!”

“Yes,” boomed Mr Llywelyn. “My face is terrifying, especially if you have to look at it for an hour.” More sniggers and chuckles sounded. “The other ladies and gents that you see around you are not so frightening, but that doesn’t mean to say they treat detention any different.” Eyes darted around the room. People fidgeted in their seats. Many swallowed at the lump that had built up in their throat, whilst Mr. Llywelyn has been speaking.

“That brings us to c-four – isolation.” Lowering the microphone, Mr Llywelyn took a pause, as he glared over the students. “Now, no one should ever misbehave in such a way, but it has been known. If you continue to be disruptive, even after you have been given detention, your teacher will send for a senior member of staff to escort you from your classroom, where you will be placed in an isolation room. Now, this is a small, dark, grim room, where you will be watched over, all day, by a member of staff and forced to copy out of textbooks.” The tremble in Mr Llywelyn’s voice caused Caitlyn’s knees to shake. Her eyes widened, in fright, as he went on. “You will not receive break time or lunch time - you will be served the cold leftovers from the canteen. You will not meet with your peers or friends. And depending on how disruptive you were, you may be placed in isolation for a whole week.” Mr Llywelyn’s voice roared louder, as his explanation continued. “Your parents will be informed of your immediate removal from the classroom, and will be called into a face-to-face meeting with myself and Mr Koh before you return to your normal lessons.” This time, when Mr Llywelyn paused, there was no chatter. No murmurs. Nothing. “This is not a punishment that we like to use, and it is used sparingly. But be warned, if you misbehave, we have ways of punishing you.”

Caitlyn’s heart thudded inside of her ribcage. Holding her hand against her chest, she was worried her heart would leap out. ‘I don’t know why I’m so worried,’ she told herself. ‘I’ve never done anything wrong in my life.’ With a sniff, she dropped her hands back to her lap and continued to rub her star keyring.

“Anyone stupid enough to receive more detentions than you can do in a week,” Mr Llywelyn warned, as the murmurs returned. “Will spend the fourth Saturday of the month sat in here, in silence until you have worked off your time in detention. And before I let you go… suspension and expulsion are also not off topic; although, we do hope and pray that things never escalate this far.”

With the deputy head teacher, Mr Llywelyn’s, speech on discipline over, all of the students in the hall breathed a sigh of relief. Next, he invited different teachers, from around the hall, to stand with him on the stage and call all of the students’ names in their form group. The first to take to the stage was a large-bellied, male teacher, wearing a white lab coat. He was introduced as Mr Ferrante, one of the science teachers. As Mr Ferrante took the microphone and called forward his class of students, Caitlyn grabbed both Jay and Darcia’s hands. Thud-thud, thud-thud trembled in Caitlyn’s chest. Pulse pounded in her ears as each student’s name was called out. Jay gave her hand a tight squeeze, as Darcia forced her biggest smile. Students rose from their seats. Clambering out of rows, the pupils that were called made their way to the front of the hall, joining their form tutor. With the group gathered, Mr Ferrante led his students out of the school hall and the next teacher took to the stage.

The second tutor to stand before the school was a small female, with short sandy hair, petite spectacles, and an angular face. She, too, wore a white lab coat. “I don’t like the look of her,” Darcia muttered, as the teacher introduced herself as Mrs Styrne. Names were called. Caitlyn’s heart thudded. Students clambered their way to the front of the hall.

The next teacher was a lean woman of colour, dressed in navy tracksuit bottoms, with a white pinstripe, and a matching zip-up jacket. She introduced herself as Miss Ferguson, one of the female PE teachers. The enthusiasm in her voice as she projected each of her students’ names, whilst bouncing on her toes, made Darcia groan. “I hope she’s not like that during PE lessons,” Darcia complained. A small exhale escaped Caitlyn, as her friends remained by her sides.

“The final red band form tutor will be Mr Bruges, another of our PE staff,” Mr Llywelyn announced as a large built man with a blond buzz cut, dressed in a similar tracksuit to Miss Ferguson’s, strode forward. As he yelled out the names of his form group (he did not need to use the microphone, but he chose to anyway) Darcia stuttered, “Are all of the PE teachers so full of energy all the time?” Caitlyn shrugged. Kieran’s name was called. Caitlyn’s stomach swirled as Kieran clambered to his feet, pushing his way past Jay, Caitlyn and Darcia. “Watch it!” Darcia growled as Kieran stepped on her foot.

“And last, James Hilton,” Mr Bruges announced.

“No,” Caitlyn cried, squeezing Jay’s arm. “That’s no fair,” she murmured.

“You’ll be fine,” Jay told her, giving her his biggest grin, as he rose from his seat. “I know you will.”

 

Finding Friends

Caitlyn’s chest trembled. Salty prickles filtered into her eyes. Lathering bubbled in her stomach. Voices swirled around her. The light overhead flickered. She hugged her arms tight around her waist as the next form tutor, a maths teacher (a short, timid man, with a red tuft of hair, named Mr Murray) hopped onto the stage. “You remaining students are all in blue band,” Mr Llywelyn informed them. “You will remain a separate group from your peers, until you reach year ten, when the two groups will merge.” An involuntary sniff escaped Caitlyn as the distance between her and Jay sunk in.

More names were called. Students left their seats and exited the hall. Turning to Darcia, a lump lodged in Caitlyn’s throat. The girls gave each other forced smiles, as the next form tutor introduced herself. She was another maths teacher, named Miss Vines, dressed in a flowy white blouse and black pencil skirt. As names were called, Caitlyn turned to Darcia and whispered, “What if there’s been a mistake? What if our names aren’t down to go to this school?”

“Don’t be silly,” Darcia giggled, tapping Caitlyn’s shoulder. “There’s still two more form groups to go.”

The seventh teacher to call forward students was a slim, petite woman, named Miss Hirons, dressed in narrow fitted, dark trousers and a sage blouse. She introduced herself as an English teacher, who specialised in poetry. “If you are ever interested in the many sonnets of Shakespeare, I am probably the one to steer you in the right direction,” she announced with a chuckle. Caitlyn found herself smiling back.

“I hope we get her,” Caitlyn whispered, crossing her fingers for luck. Darcia scrunched up her nose and shrugged.

While Miss Hirons called out names, Caitlyn’s attention was drawn to Mr Penn. Still stood at the side of the hall, he gazed back at her. The icy shuddering sensation and chilling spiral in her stomach that Caitlyn had experienced when she first saw Mr Penn, returned. Squeezing her arms tight, at her waist, Caitlyn flickered her vision back to Miss Hirons. ‘I bet we get him,’ she told herself. ‘I have a bad feeling.’ Forcing a swallow, she chewed on the inside of her cheek. ‘I only get a shudder like that when someone’s bad or something bad’s about to happen.’

As Miss Hirons called the last name for her form group, Caitlyn’s heart sank. Flopping back in her seat, she gazed around at the few students that still remained, dotted around the school hall. With over two hundred empty chairs staring back at them, the size of their year group sank in, causing Caitlyn’s stomach to spiral in a circumbendibus.

“And last, but by no means least, we have another member of our English faculty, Mr Shaw,” announced Mr Llywelyn, handing the microphone over to a tall, lean man, whose suit hung from his frame. Caitlyn’s brow puckered.

‘I guess at least we don’t have Mr Tall-Dark-and-Creepy,’ Caitlyn decided as Mr Llywelyn clambered down from the stage and waddled towards Mr Penn. The two began whispering, while Caitlyn returned her attention to the form tutor stood on the stage.

Scratching a hand to his ginger beard, Mr Shaw groaned. As he placed the microphone to his mouth, his bulbous nose peered over the top of it. “I could just assume you’re all my form group,” he told them with a shrug. Flickering her eyes from Mr Shaw to Darcia then back again, Caitlyn was not sure whether this was supposed to be a joke. She sensed a tumbleweed roll across the stage, as crickets chirped. Mr Shaw lowered the microphone to clear his throat with a chesty splutter, before reading through his list of students’ names. “Darcia Addams,” was first to be called.

“See,” Darcia whispered, poking Caitlyn. “I told you we’ll be called.” As each name was read, the drumming in Caitlyn’s chest grew louder. Another student was called and another.

“Caitlyn Flynn,” Mr Shaw announced. Caitlyn’s stomach swirled, as she released a breath, she had not realised she was holding.

“See!” Darcia exclaimed, with an excited squeal. “We are together. There was nothing to worry about.”

“I know,” Caitlyn muttered as she dropped her eyes to the floor. ‘But why him?’ wondered Caitlyn with a sigh as Mr Shaw’s spluttered another cough. ‘And why aren’t we all together?’ she sulked as she slid her pencil case into her backpack, giving her star keyring one last comforting squeeze. She flinched, as Mr Shaw coughed again. ‘And what’s with Mr Penn?’ Humming to herself, Caitlyn pursed her lips, as she flickered her sight between the two teachers.

“Right, you lot,” Mr Shaw called out, once the last name was read. Caitlyn shuddered out of her thoughts. “Follow me.”

Departing from the main hall, Mr Shaw turned left, leading his students down the corridor. A puzzled frown wrinkled Caitlyn’s forehead. ‘That’s odd,’ she realised. ‘Will said there was a scary initiation ceremony, but we’ve all been split up already.’ A chuckle prodded into the corner of her mouth. ‘I bet he tricked us,’ she decided. ‘Or at least I hope he did.’

As they passed by classrooms, Caitlyn noticed that all of the doors were painted the same shade of cobalt blue she had seen many times already, with numbers painted, in white, near the top of the door. They walked past room twenty-six, twenty-five, twenty-four, and twenty-three, before stopping outside door twenty-two.

Whilst waiting for Mr Shaw to unlock his classroom door, Caitlyn turned her attention to the windows opposite the line of classrooms. The view led to a grassy area outside, where a shed-like building could be spotted in the far right. The next corridor along appeared to back onto Caitlyn’s right hand side view of the grassy courtyard. On the opposite side, more windows into another corridor could be seen. To the left Caitlyn spotted three large windows, situated high in the wall; this, she suspected, was the main hall, where she had just been. Towering over the main hall was the glimmering black, stone turret. It sparkled in the sunlight. Caitlyn’s mouth froze open as she gazed upon it. ‘Is that a part of the hall?’ she wondered, seeing the bottom of the old, turret merge with the modern brickwork. ‘Were we just inside the magical King Arthur turret?’ she wondered as her eyes widened. ‘It didn’t look like it,’ she sighed to herself as her shoulders sank. ‘Maybe Jay was right,’ Caitlyn decided with a shrug. ‘It’s just an old structure and they built the school around it. It’s very strange.’

Caitlyn’s thoughts came to an abrupt end, as Mr Shaw swung open his classroom door. A stampede of students pushed and shoved each other out of the way, to fight for the seat next to their friends. Lingering at the back of the group, Caitlyn and Darcia slipped into two of the three empty seats at the back of the classroom. As they settled down, Caitlyn spotted another teacher sat on a chair beside Mr Shaw’s desk.

“Settle down, settle down,” Mr Shaw grumbled as he waited for silence. “Now, before we begin, I’d like to introduce you to my teaching assistant, Mr Heekin.” A young-faced man with a little stubble and dark hair, rose from his seat and nodded at the class. “He will be assisting me in keeping you under control,” announced their form tutor. Leaning towards Mr Heekin, he muttered, “I dare say they’ll need it.” Clattering a handful of papers together, Mr Shaw went on. “Now in a bid to get to learn your names, I have your timetables to hand out. As I call your name, raise your hand.” As timetables were passed out among the students, chatter began to build. “Caitlyn Flynn?” Mr Shaw called. Caitlyn shot her arm in the air. Passing Caitlyn her timetable, Mr Shaw did not even glance at her, before moving on to the next student.

Skimming the subjects, Caitlyn’s eyes darted across the page. Maths, English, geography, science, IT, history, music, art, PE, design and technology, RE and German. ‘German?’ Caitlyn forced a swallow as her brow puckered. She sank in her seat, gripping her brow. “Anything wrong?” Darcia asked.

“First I get separated from Jay,” cried Caitlyn in a whisper. “Then I get German, instead of French.” Sliding her timetable across the desk, as far away from her as possible, Caitlyn sighed. “Can things get any worse?” she sulked. As if agreeing with her, the light above Caitlyn flickered.

“That might be my fault,” Darcia confessed, running a hand across the back of her neck. Caitlyn’s eyes widened, as she pushed herself upright in her seat. “You see,” Darcia began, forcing a swallow. “I asked to be as far away from Kieran as possible.” Pinching her lips in, Caitlyn nodded. “And… when I asked to be with Caitlyn, I didn’t specify which one.”

“No!” Caitlyn gasped as she threw her head over her shoulder, scanning the room of students.

“You and Kaitlin Barker, from our old school, are I the same class,” Darcia told her.

“But she’s bad,” Caitlyn hissed. A chilling shudder tingled up Caitlyn’s spine and her stomach swirled, as she caught sight of Kaitlin across the room. “Now we’re in the same class again. Everyone’s gonna get us confused. They always do. It took me all six years of primary school for people to figure out Flynn is the good one and Barker is a troublemaker. I can’t go through another six years of that,” she cried. Inhaling a shaky breath, Caitlyn lowered her head and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“You only have five years at secondary school,” Darcia reminded her, in a sing-song tone.

“Great,” muttered Caitlyn under her breath, as she rolled her eyes. “Let the countdown begin.”

“I kind of asked to do German too,” Darcia revealed, as Mr. Shaw handed Darcia her timetable. “My dad knows it – they have clients in Germany, so I knew he’d be able to help me.” Folding her arms tight, Caitlyn hunched over the desk. A nervous tremor bounced in her knee.

“Is there anything else you failed to tell me that might make today any worse?” Caitlyn sighed as her shoulders sank. The light, overhead, gave another flicker. Caitlyn’s chin lowered to her chest. A shaky breath escaped her as her bottom lip quivered. Lowering her chin, Darcia shook her head.

“I don’t think so,” murmured Darcia. “But I don’t understand why you’re so upset. Don’t be so pessimistic – this is all so exciting,” she gleamed.

As the class settled down from discussing their timetables, Mr Shaw informed them of assembly times and tutorial. “You will have six lessons a day,” their form tutor informed them. “Within your first two lessons, you will have a fifteen-minute break. After second lesson you will attend either a fifteen-minute assembly in the main hall or you will come here for tutorial. This is followed by another two lessons and either assembly or tutorial – this will be the opposite to whichever you had first time around. Then you will have your last two lessons, in which a thirty-minute lunch break will be inserted in one or the other classes. Mr Heekin will give you a handout containing your break times, as well as the assembly and tutorial rota. While he does so, I shall give each of you a sticky label. You are to write your name on it. However, do not peel it off. Instead, you are to return it to me. I will then mix the names up and hand you a random sticker. It is your mission to find the person whose name I have given you and learn two facts about them. Once you are all done, I will have you reveal what you have learnt to the rest of the group. This means that you will have met two new peers – the one whose name you will have and the person who has your name. You will have fifteen minutes to complete this task.”

The rattling inside of Caitlyn’s chest increased. Sweat clammed up her palms. ‘He wants us to interact already?’ Caitlyn cried to herself. Forcing a swallow, she gripped her pen tight. As the sticky label was placed in front of her, Caitlyn clicked down the green ink of her multi-ink pen. She swirled her wrist, scribing her name in her neatest handwriting. Lowering her head, Caitlyn heard Darcia giggle beside her.

“Why have you done a circle over the ‘i’ instead of a dot?” Darcia chuckled, pointing her fountain pen at Caitlyn’s name sticker.

“It’s just how I do my ‘i’s,” replied Caitlyn with a shrug. “It’s stupid isn’t it?” she cried, feeling her heart sink to her stomach. “Should I ask for another sticker?” Darcia shrugged.

“It just looks funny,” she mused.

‘Maybe I need to be more like Darcia,’ Caitlyn decided, folding her arms tight at her chest. ‘Maybe I should copy her,’ she thought with a hum. Prodding her mouth into her right cheek, Caitlyn flickered her sight to Darcia’s name sticker. Darcia’s neat, cursive handwriting sat perfect and straight on an invisible line, in blue ink. Dropping her sight back to her own name, Caitlyn’s shoulders drooped. Her rounded lettering, choice of green biro and the circle on the top of her letter ‘i’ made Caitlyn groan. “Mine looks childish, doesn’t it?” Caitlyn sulked.

“Stop being silly,” Darcia sighed. “I’ve just never seen anyone circle their ‘i’ before, that’s all.”

As their form tutor collected his students’ name labels, Caitlyn copied out her timetable, break list and assembly/tutorial rota (merging the three together) into her star covered notebook. “That’s a cool notebook,” Darcia told her. “Way better than mine,” she sulked, showing Caitlyn her plain, marl-grey cover.

“Thanks,” Caitlyn replied, feeling her stomach flutter a little as she prodded a smile into her right cheek.

“I want to copy you,” Darcia blurted out.

“What?” frowned Caitlyn.

“I want to copy you,” Darcia repeated. “I want to have cute looking letters and I want to have a pretty notebook.” Caitlyn clasped a hand to her mouth as a nervous laugh escaped her. “And I want friends like you do,” Darcia added with a pout.

“I was thinking I wanted to be more like you,” Caitlyn confessed.

“Me?!” Darcia exclaimed. “Yuck! No way! I’m boring. Boring’s no fun. I like you; you’re so much fun to be around.”

“Am not,” Caitlyn objected.

“Are too,” insisted Darcia. “Everything about you is fun. Everyone wanted to play with you at lunch, in our old school. Even your notebook, your pencil case and your backpack are fun.” Darcia’s eyes flickered from Caitlyn’s star covered notebook and pencil case to her khaki green backpack with silver flowers and a large silver embroidered butterfly on the flap. Darcia’s shoulders deflated as she shifted her sight back to her own marl grey notebook and pencil case and her plain, black backpack. “Everything about me is plain and boring,” Darcia sulked, folding her arms.

“I just like what I like,” Caitlyn told her with a shrug. “I didn’t choose this stuff because I thought anyone would like me for it. I picked it because I liked it.”

“That’s why I like you so much,” Darcia told her with a chuckle. “You aren’t trying to impress people. You’re just being you.” Caitlyn felt her cheeks tingle. “I don’t know how to do that.”

“Maybe we can help each other out,” Caitlyn suggested with a blushing grin. “I can help you discover ways to express yourself and you can help me feel less scared about… well everything,” she added with a nervous laugh.

“Yeah,” Darcia agreed with a nod.

Chatter built around the room as the class began discussing their timetable, lessons and lunchtime. Having collected his students’ name stickers, Mr Shaw returned to his desk. His hands raced over the keyboard and his fingers thundered into the keys as his eyebrows daggered. With her back to her form tutor’s scowl, Caitlyn stared at Darcia’s triangular prism shaped pencil case. It was triple the size of Caitlyn’s dainty one that held her essential stationery. “Do you have any pencil crayons or gel pens in there?” Caitlyn asked, pointing at her friend’s pencil case.

“Yeah,” replied Darcia with a nod. “I’ve got both. D’you want to borrow one?”

“No thanks,” Caitlyn told her. “I was thinking, maybe you could decorate the front of your notebook with doodles you like,” Caitlyn suggested. “You could use your crayons and gel pens to make it colourful or maybe stick some stickers on it. That’ll make it unique and more like you.”

“Excellent idea!” agreed Darcia, clasping her hands together.

“As for your backpack and pencil case, maybe you could add a keyring you like to the zips,” she told Darcia. “And you’re good at sewing; maybe you could attach some patches or scraps of fabric that you like or maybe you could make the letter ‘D’ out of fabric and sew it on. I’m sure your mum would help you.”

“See!” exclaimed Darcia, with wide eyes. “You’re amazing.” Caitlyn felt her cheeks flush as her stomach tingled at Darcia’s compliment.

“Am not,” Caitlyn objected. She hunched her shoulders and lowered her head.

“Are so,” insisted Darcia, clasping her hands together again. “I never would have thought of any of that. They’re all amazing ideas. I can’t wait to start.” Unzipping her pencil case, Darcia emptied a rainbow of pencil crayons and gel pens onto the desk. “You’re amazing!” beamed Darcia as she uncapped a turquoise pen.

“I am not,” Caitlyn muttered with a shrug. “You’d have thought of them eventually.”

“Nuh-uh,” Darcia replied, shaking her head.

A chair scraped back. Caitlyn held her breath, focusing on the sounds behind her. Footsteps paced the room. Flickering her sight down to her notebook, she returned to copying out the last of her timetable. Out of the corner of her eye, Caitlyn watched Mr Shaw pass by a neighbouring desk. Without acknowledging the girls sat around the hexagonal table, he flickered six stickers down into the centre of the desk, before turning his back to them. Hands clawed out for the stickers, with each girl grabbing one tight and examining the name scrawled down before them. Caitlyn’s intestines knotted. Scraping her tongue against the roof of her mouth, she forced a swallow.

Paper fluttered beside her. Caitlyn flinched. “Ha!” Darcia boomed, clenching her fist with triumph. Caitlyn turned to her friend, wide eyed. “I got Aaron, from our old school,” Darcia boasted, showing Caitlyn the sticky label with Aaron’s scribbled name. “That’s easy.”

“Aaron’s here too?” whimpered Caitlyn. Arching her head over her shoulder, a shudder tingled up her spine as Caitlyn spotted another of their primary school bullies. “How is this possible?”

“He and Kaitlin must have asked to be together,” Darcia told her with a shrug. “Who’d you get?”

“Samantha Blair,” replied Caitlyn with a hum, squinting at the teeny-tiny writing in front of her. She arched her head around the room. “Any ideas?” Darcia shook her head.

“Maybe try the girls over there,” Darcia suggested, pointing to the hexagonal table to their left.

“Right,” boomed Mr Shaw, returning to the front of the classroom. “You all have a name. Your fifteen minutes starts… now!”

Sliding out of her seat, Caitlyn gripped Samantha’s name sticker tight. She sniffed a shaky breath as the hexagonal table, full of girls that she was heading towards, all rose from their seats, mixing with the rest of the group. Hunching her shoulders, Caitlyn bit her bottom lip as she glanced up. One girl remained. Stood alone, the girl with a sandy-blonde bob stared at the table. “Hi,” squeaked Caitlyn, as she neared the girl. “Are you okay?” Clawing her hands into her sleeves, the girl nodded. “My name’s Caitlyn,” she told her. “My friend Darcia’s over there,” Caitlyn said as she attempted to point Darcia out amongst the bobbing heads. “What’s your name?”

“Samantha,” replied the girl looking up.

“Really?” Caitlyn replied with a giggle. “Samantha Blair?” The girl nodded. “I have your name sticker.” As Caitlyn handed Samantha her name sticker, she asked, “Do you have any friends here?”

“Not really,” replied Samantha shaking her head. “I’m just sat with some girls I know from my old school. I don’t really have any friends.”

“Oh no,” Caitlyn murmured as her heart flopped to her stomach. “That must be so hard!” she exclaimed. “I just got separated from my best friend, Jay. He was one of the first groups to leave the hall.” Fiddling with her tie, Caitlyn glanced around the room, as the chatter increased in volume. “You can sit with me and Darcia if you like,” Caitlyn offered. “You don’t have to,” she added, seeing Samantha’s face redden. “But if you want to, I’d like that.”

“Thanks,” Samantha giggled. “You’re really nice.” It was Caitlyn’s turn to blush.

“Do you want me to try and help you find the name on your sticker?” Caitlyn asked, as she saw Samantha’s eyes dart back down to her desk.

Nodding, Samantha whispered, “Yes please.”

“Who’ve you got?”

“I think it says Michael, but I can’t read the surname,” Samantha told her, as she held the sticker out.

“Me either,” Caitlyn giggled. Shifting her sight over to the other side of the room, where most of the boys were congregated, Caitlyn forced a smile before turning back to her new friend. “Come on. Let’s be brave,” Caitlyn said, holding her hand out to Samantha.

“Thank you,” Samantha squeaked. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

After helping her new friend, Samantha, find the guy named Michael, Caitlyn glanced around the room as she lingered nearby them. She spotted Darcia laughing with Kaitlin and Aaron and smiled at them.

“Erm, hi,” spoke a boy with a long brown fringe that swept across his eyes, as he appeared in front of Caitlyn. “Do you happen to know who Caitlyn Flynn is?” he asked, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck.

“That’s me,” Caitlyn replied with a nervous giggle.

“Cool,” nodded the boy as he handed Caitlyn her name sticker. “I’m Arthur Pendragon, but my friends call me Artie.”

“Artie’s a nice name,” Caitlyn smiled. “Are your friends all in our form group?”

“Well… I’m kinda a loner,” he confessed with a shrug. “I know some a the guys from my old school, but I prefer my own company.”

“Wow,” gasped Caitlyn, as her eyes sparkled. “That’s really brave.”

“Nah it’s not,” Artie replied, scrunching up his nose. “The guys are always teasing me for it.” Caitlyn’s lower lip pouted as she dropped her sight to the floor. “I like the circle you’ve done over the ‘i’ in your name,” he added, pointing at her sticker.

“Thanks,” she replied, blushing as her heart fluttered.

“It’s cool,” he nodded. “Really unique. I like people who aren’t afraid to stand out from the crowd.” Pinching her lips together, Caitlyn felt her blush brighten.

With everyone now wearing their own name sticker, Mr Shaw gave his form group a tour of the building. While wandering around the school, Caitlyn clung close to both Darcia and Samantha, although she did not do much talking. Mr Heekin had handed them all a map of the building, and Caitlyn made as many notes as possible on it that she could squeeze in. The school was divided into five buildings. The front left wing (when stood outside of the school, facing the building) housed the maths corridor on the ground floor and IT and the language classrooms on the first floor. The back left-wing, that contained an adjoining corridor, both on the ground and first floor, was home to the science block. Chemistry classes were located on the ground floor, while biology and physics were on the first floor.

Walking down a staircase in the central corridor brought the group back to the main entrance. To the left-hand side of the reception area were the head and deputy head teacher’s offices. To their right was the drama studio hall. “Each year group will have an assembly in the drama studio hall once a week, instead of the main hall – as there are five year groups, but two sections of seating in the main hall,” Mr Shaw informed them as they passed by. “There is also the opportunity to learn the art of drama during your English lessons, providing your class are well behaved.”

Opposite the main entrance was the main school hall, which Caitlyn observed, was where Mr Penn had led her and Jay to that morning. Mr Shaw then retraced their steps from earlier, as he led his form group back down the front right wing, which was the English department, on both the ground and first floor. Entering the right-wing corridor that connected the front and back buildings, were two art classrooms. As they reached the end of the corridor, they climbed a case of stairs to the first floor. “Here are your humanities subjects – geography, history and religious education,” Mr Shaw informed them as they passed through the corridor and climbed more stairs to the second floor that housed the music corridor, where Darcia discovered she could have private flute lessons. She tugged on Caitlyn’s arm and bounced up and down with excitement. “Now I’ll be better at the flute than mum,” she exclaimed.

Heading back down the stairs, that they mounted to get to the humanities department, Mr Shaw pointed out the design and technology block. Pressing their faces up against a large, glass screen, the entrance to cooking classes, textiles, graphic design and resistant materials remained locked.

Doubling back to the merging corridor for the front and back of the right wing, Mr Shaw led his class down a long, narrow corridor, full of windows to their left, which faced a grassy area. Mr Shaw pointed out that this grassy area housed a large shed-like building, where they would find their lockers. “All coats and bags must be placed in your locker at all times,” he warned them. “Being found with your coat or bag on you during the school day, from tomorrow, will result in an instant consequence three.” A shudder crept down Caitlyn’s spine; they were being threatened with punishments already. Opposite the grassy area they could see the English corridor and their form room. Continuing along, Mr Shaw pointed out the entrance to the library, on their right, as well as the entrances to the boys’ and girls’ PE gyms.

As they reached the end of this corridor, Mr Shaw pulled open two shamrock-green and sunflower-yellow, plastic-framed doors. Another corridor appeared; this one was twice the size of most of the main school corridors. The ceiling grew higher and the corridor darker, the further they traversed. Turning back to face his students, Mr Shaw stopped in front of another set of green doors. “To your left, up these stairs,” Mr Shaw began, as he held a hand out to a narrow set of brick stairs heading up, in the corner, “is IT support, as well as two of our IT classrooms. If your timetable says CR-one or CR-two, you will find that they are up here.” Nodding, Caitlyn noted this piece of information down on her map. “And through these double doors is the canteen.”

“But Sir,” a guy asked, raising his hand. “What’s that door, beneath the staircase for?”

“Oh,” gasped Mr Shaw in a fluster as he turned to the small, tawny doorframe in the wall. Creases lined his forehead. “You know, I have no idea where that leads. It must just be a store cupboard – isn’t that right, Mr Heekin?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, Sir,” confessed Mr Heekin, with a shrug. “I’m just as new to this school as they are.”

“Right, right,” their form tutor muttered to himself. “Yes… yes.” Bringing his fist to his mouth, Mr Shaw bellowed three thunderous coughs. His skeleton trembled. “Now, our last stop is the canteen,” he told his students, as he swung open the doors, leading the way inside. Peering over the shoulder of the person in front, Caitlyn gazed around the pupil-free canteen. Two tables with four chairs apiece were beside each other, with another two back-to-back in rows around the room. Both the tables and chairs matched the shamrock-green and sunflower-yellow of the plastic doors at the front of the corridor. “And before any of you get any ideas,” Mr Shaw warned. “The chairs are connected to the tables and they’re all bolted to the floor, so there will be no furniture moving, thank you very much.” An echo of moans and groans filtered into the air.

As Mr Shaw clambered his way to the back of the group, ready to lead their return to their form room, Caitlyn grabbed Darcia and Samantha’s arms. “Guess what?” she whispered to her friends with a mysterious grin. “I bet there’s something secret hidden in that room,” she told them with a giggle.

“Yeah!” Darcia gasped. “It’s our mission to discover what’s behind that door.”

“You too Samantha,” Caitlyn told her, with a big grin. “D’you want to help us come up with ideas?” Holding a hand to her mouth, Samantha giggled with a nod.

After returning from their school tour, Mr Shaw’s class spent the rest of the day filling in forms and taking mini assessments. Passing her stack of papers, over her shoulder, to Mr Heekin, as he collected their reading assignment, Darcia hissed to Caitlyn, “Why’d you let her sit with us for?” jabbing a finger at Samantha, who was sat on Caitlyn’s left.

“She doesn’t have any friends,” Caitlyn whispered to Darcia with a shrug. “And she seems nice.”

“So?” hissed Darcia, snarling her nose. “I don’t want that gormless, hay haired zombie following us around.”

“Darcia!” Caitlyn scowled. “Stop it. Samantha’s just shy. You haven’t even given her a chance,” she scolded. ‘She’s one of few people that I’ve had a positive feeling about today,’ Caitlyn told herself. Folding her arms, Darcia huffed, as Caitlyn turned towards Samantha. “How did you find that reading test?” Caitlyn asked her new friend.

“Hard,” muttered Samantha, rolling her pen across the table.

“Me too,” Caitlyn agreed. “I struggle with reading,” Caitlyn confessed as she stiffened her shoulders. Samantha nodded. “And I can never find a book I like. Darcia’s really good at reading, aren’t you Darcia?” Caitlyn asked, desperate to include her two friends together in conversation. Turning to face them, Darcia grunted.

“Suppose,” the brunette muttered.

“Darcia reads lots and is really good at finding interesting stories,” Caitlyn told Samantha. “Maybe the three of us could go to the library together sometime and Darcia could help us find something we’d actually like to read, instead of the boring books the teachers pick. What d’you say, Samantha?”

“I don’t know,” mumbled Samantha. Her cheeks reddened as she flickered her sight from Darcia, back to the table. “Maybe.” The corner of her mouth prodded into her cheek as she looked up at Caitlyn.

“Darcia, what do you think?” Caitlyn asked, as she turned from Samantha, on her left, to Darcia, on her right. “It’s something the three of us can do together. And you are the best at finding good stories.”

“Okay,” grumbled Darcia, lowering her head, as she tried to hide her blushing cheeks from Caitlyn’s compliment.

“Yey!” Caitlyn cheered. “See Samantha, we can try to help each other out.”

“Thank you,” Samantha squeaked.

“That’s what friends are for,” Caitlyn assured her with a warm smile.

 

*

 

On Friday morning, Jay knocked on Caitlyn’s door and the two of them began their journey to school. As Caitlyn relayed to him how her first day went, he nudged her and replied, “See, I told you it wouldn’t be that bad.”

“Earth to Jay!” exclaimed Caitlyn, shaking a hand in front of his face. “Did you hear the same story I was telling you? At what part was that not so bad?”

“You made friends, didn’t you?” he pointed out.

“Kind of,” shrugged Caitlyn.

“And you didn’t need me by your side,” Jay told her.

“I guess so,” Caitlyn sighed. “But-” Passing by Kieran’s road, Jay signalled for them to wait a moment. “He’s gonna be late again,” Caitlyn warned, tapping her foot.

After waiting several minutes and with no sign of their friend walking up the road towards them, Jay and Caitlyn grew impatient and continued their journey. “So, how was your day?” Caitlyn asked. “I’ve done all the talking so far,” she confessed with a giggle.

“I’m just glad to see you’ve cheered up,” exclaimed Jay, running a hand through his hair. “Even if it’s only a little,” he added with a chuckle. Caitlyn beamed back at him. “My day was okay, I guess,” he told her with a shrug. “Our tutor, Mr Bruges, seems more pleasant than the sound a your guy,” Jay told her. A shudder shivered down Caitlyn’s spine as the image of her form tutor, Mr Shaw, crept to the front of her mind. “He’s pretty cool,” Jay went on. “Very energetic though,” he added as he tugged on the knot of his tie. “He thinks we should join every single sports group there is and volunteer to run laps around the track, before school.”

“No thanks,” Caitlyn laughed. “I think PE twice a week is enough.”

“I know,” agreed Jay.

“So…” she asked, rubbing the silky surface of her tie between her fingers. “Did you make any friends?”

“I had Kieran,” Jay shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “And there’s this guy Sean, who took a liking to us.”

“That’s good,” replied Caitlyn, forcing a swallow as the right corner of her mouth poked down. ‘He’s not okay,’ she realised. ‘And he won’t tell me why.’ As they passed through the park, Caitlyn’s eyes widened as her smile returned. “D’you wanna meet up at the weekend?” she suggested. “Maybe catch up then. We can play football in the park… or computer games if you’re not up to running around. We can carry on playing that theme park game, if your dad lets us use the PC.”

“Yeah,” Jay nodded as a smile prodded into the corner of his mouth. “I’d like that.” As Caitlyn’s grin grew, Jay found himself smiling back at her. “You’re good at cheering me up,” he told her. “D’you know that?”

“We’re best friends,” she reminded him, in a cheerful sing-song tone. “That’s what I’m here for. Oh and I’m getting Will back for tricking us into thinking there was a scary initiation ceremony,” Caitlyn added with a chuckle. “He’s gonna regret scaring me.”

“Count me in,” agreed Jay, clasping his hands together.

As Caitlyn and Jay turned onto the main road, Darcia raced towards them, from a side road. “Morning!” she cheered, waving.

“Hi,” chirped Caitlyn, waving back.

“Hey,” muttered Jay with a nod.

“Yes!” Darcia hissed, as she walked alongside Caitlyn. “No Kieran.” Jay frowned at her.

“Darcia doesn’t like him either,” Caitlyn told him.

“Speaking of people I don’t like,” scoffed Darcia. “Did you tell him about that dreary, duck-face girl with straw for hair that was following us around, like a lost dog, yesterday?”

“Darcia!” Caitlyn cried. “You can’t say things like that?”

“Why not?” she shrugged. “It’s the truth.”

“Honestly,” tutted Caitlyn shaking her head. “Samantha’s really nice. She’s just shy. She doesn’t know anyone, and like me, she’s scared.”

“Ugh!” Darcia groaned, scrunching up her face.

“That’s Caitlyn for you,” chuckled Jay. “She’s so sweet, she’ll make friends with anyone – especially those who are in need of a friend… never change,” he added, placing his arm around her shoulder, giving her a side-hug.

“I won’t,” she sang.

 

*

 

The wait for the design and technology block to open, on Friday morning, made Caitlyn’s stomach churn. Hundreds of bodies buzzed at the end of the art corridor. The rapping in Caitlyn’s chest grew faster as more and more students crowded into the dead end. Pressing their faces against the glass doorway, students stared out across the courtyard at the large, glass building. “Are you sure we’re all in the right place?” Caitlyn asked Darcia, as she clawed her nails into her arms.

“Of course, we are,” replied Darcia with a chuckle. “Jay’s right, you really do worry about everything.”

“Do not,” Caitlyn objected, wrinkling her nose.

“Look,” sighed Darcia, pointing towards the glass doorway. “Through there is the entrance to all of the technology classrooms. Mr Shaw showed us yesterday,” she reminded her.

“No, he didn’t show us anything,” Caitlyn sulked. “We stood right there, like all those idiots, pressing their faces against the glass.” Her grip around her notebook and pencil case tightened. Turning to the group of boys who were pressing their faces against the glass wall, and exhaling a deep, loud gasp to leave a breathy smudge, Caitlyn sighed. ‘This is ridiculous,’ she fumed to herself. “We didn’t see a cooking classroom!” she ranted on. “Or a sewing room or a woodwork room or-”

“Hi,” came a squeak from Samantha as she neared them.

“Ugh!” Darcia groaned. Crossing her arms, she muttered, “Humph,” and twisted her torso away from them, protruding her nose in the air.

“Samantha, you found us!” gasped Caitlyn. “I was scared we were all in the wrong place or something.”

“She still is,” Darcia muttered.

“Well, why doesn’t a teacher open the door, instead of squishing us all in this tiny corridor, like sardines,” complained Caitlyn.

Digging her chin into her chest, Caitlyn snapped her eyes tight as the hurricane of students around her raced back and forth. ‘The width of the corridor could fit three people walking together, in a line, comfortably,’ Caitlyn decided. ‘But not this. This is torture.’ Four form groups filed into the narrow end of the corridor. Shoulders pressed up against other shoulders. Feet were trampled on. Backs were bumped into. Caitlyn’s chest trembled. Her throat tightened. Pressing her back up against the wall, she squished her right arm into a bin that hung from a bracket. Her brow creased as she flickered her sight to the wall opposite. Loitered with black blazers and bobbing heads, the powder-blue coloured wall was lost. Laughter bellowed. Chatter echoed around them. ‘I can’t hear myself think,’ Caitlyn cried, squinting her eyes.

A boy with spiked hair, flung all his force into shoving another boy away from him, with both hands. Staggering backwards, the chubby boy with a nest of dirty-blond hair, flapped his arms at his sides, desperate to steady his balance. A yelp escaped him, as he stumbled over someone’s feet, crashing into Darcia. Seeping in a squeak, Caitlyn snapped her eyes tight. “I’m so sorry,” Caitlyn heard the boy say, as she squinted her eyes open. “I didn’t mean t’ hurt you. Jamie pushed me.”

“It’s okay,” muttered Darcia, with reddening cheeks, rubbing her left arm.

“I’m really sorry,” the boy blurted out. “I’ll get him back for you,” the boy told her, pointing out the one who had pushed him. “I’m Bentley by the way. It was nice bumping into you,” he called over his shoulder as he fumbled his way back through the crowd. “Excuse me. Coming through. ‘Scuse me,” Bentley’s voice trailed as he disappeared into the marsh of bodies.

“Are you okay?” Samantha gasped, appearing by Darcia’s side.

“I’m fine,” muttered Darcia. “Stupid boy.” Despite her remark, Darcia’s eyes gazed over to the bumbling boy, Bentley. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Her blush brightened as she continued to stare.

“I told you waiting here was dangerous,” Caitlyn cried. “How do we know it’s even a door,” she went on, looking towards the glass wall that everyone was congregating by. “It could just be a window and we’re all waiting in the wrong place and we’re supposed to be in the next corridor, or something.”

“D’you wanna go look on your own, when half of our year group are all standing here, waiting?” Darcia told her with an amused smirk.

“They’re not waiting,” Caitlyn retorted, snarling her nose at the disgusting mass of boys, still taking it in turns to press their faces into the glass, and the boisterous herd who barged into their friends, causing them to crash into other students, in an attempt to start a mosh pit. “Look at them; they’re hunting down their prey, like wild animals.” Holding a hand to her mouth, Samantha sniggered.

“You’re funny,” she mused.

“She’s so dramatic,” Darcia muttered, rolling her eyes. “Seriously Caitlyn… we’re in the right place. Any minute now a teacher is going to come ‘round the corner, open the door and we’ll all find our classroom. It’s nothing to worry about.”

“Year sevens,” boomed a deep voice appearing from around the corner, as if answering to Darcia’s statement. A short male teacher, of colour, who stood at the same height as some of the taller year seven students, strode towards the door. “Make way! Make way!” he yelled, rattling a set of keys in his hands. Dividing into separation, students close to the centre of the corridor, pushed themselves back against their fellow peers, to create a walkway. The teacher’s bright, cobalt overalls lit the way through the crowd. “Jeez, are you boys trying to break the glass,” he sighed at the boys who were pressing their faces up against the window, desperate to see into the building beyond the door. “I don’t know where you’re from, but where I come from, doors open with keys,” he told them, jangling his set of keys out in front of them. Caitlyn and Samantha both giggled. Clattering the key into the lock, the teacher announced, “And as if by magic, hey presto, the door is open,” as he heaved the glass door ajar. Cheers and shouts of excitement echoed around them. Bodies zoomed through the doorway as though by opening the door, a suction was activated, dragging all of the students through.

“Hold up!” called the male teacher, striding up to the entrance of the technology block. “Do you kids ever learn?” he sighed. “What did I tell you a moment ago?” He paused in hopes of an answer, although received nothing but puzzled expressions. “Doors open with keys,” he exclaimed, as he unlocked the entrance to the technology block. Bodies trampled through the doorway. A roar of pupils pushed and shoved their way inside. “Were you kids raised in a barn?” the teacher raged. “‘Cause I sure wasn’t.”

To Caitlyn’s relief, DT3 (the room number which her form group were looking for) was the first classroom on their right. “Come in, come in,” encouraged a smiling lady with a silver perm and an ivory-coloured apron covering her clothes. A warm tingle of familiarity swirled inside of Caitlyn. She hummed to herself, uncertain as to why she felt this way. “Find a seat and we’ll make a start,” their teacher told them.

The warm tingle bubbled to a frown on Caitlyn’s forehead as she wondered, ‘Was she in here the whole time?’ As the teacher stood in the doorway, welcoming all of the students inside, the lines on Caitlyn’s brow deepened. ‘Was I right? Is there another entrance?’ she speculated. ‘Or did she lock herself in the classroom? She definitely wasn’t waiting in the corridor with the rest of us; I’m certain of that,’ Caitlyn told herself. ‘And why do I recognise her? Hmmm… it’s a mystery.’

Caitlyn placed her notebook and pencil case down on the first table, in the classroom, she came to. Having pulled the stool out from the desk, Caitlyn held a hand to the seat as she leapt up into it. “Goodness, these seats are high,” Caitlyn exclaimed.

“Yeah,” agreed Darcia, taking the stool on Caitlyn’s left.

“I can’t get up,” Samantha squeaked with a nervous laugh, hoisting herself up onto the seat beside Darcia. As Samantha shuffled into her stool, Caitlyn shot her eyes up to the boy who sat opposite her.

Prodding the corner of his mouth into his cheek, Artie murmured, “Hi Caitlyn.”

“Hi Artie,” she beamed back. “Are these your friends?” she asked as two boys appeared at their table, opposite Darcia and Samantha.

“Kinda,” he mumbled with a shrug.

“Kinda?! Kinda?!” exclaimed the boys at his side.

“Yeah, we are,” nodded the boy opposite Darcia. “I’m James, this is Lee,” he said pointing a thumb to the boy opposite Samantha. “And you seem to already know Artie,” he added patting a hand on Artie’s shoulder.

“Keeping the girl t’ yourself, already, are you?” teased Lee. “The cheek of it.” He tutted, shaking his head.

“Shut it,” Artie snapped, as his ears turned a deep scarlet. Folding his arms tight at his chest, Artie pressed his forearms into the desk, hunching his back. “You guys are the worst,” he muttered.

“We’re only messin’ with ya,” laughed Lee, as James nudged Artie.

“I’m Darcia,” Darcia announced, introducing herself to the boys. “And this is Caitlyn and Samantha,” she told them, pointing to the red-head and blonde sat either side of her.

“I see the girls have manners,” James said with a laugh, as he gave Artie another nudge. “They introduce their friends.”

“Ignore them,” Caitlyn whispered to Artie, lowering her head.

“Ooow, already got her stickin’ up for ya?” sniggered Lee.

“Sorry,” Artie mouthed to Caitlyn. Scraping her tongue against the roof of her mouth, Caitlyn’s brows slanted upwards. A knot formed in her stomach. As she folded her arms tight at her chest, Caitlyn flickered her sight to the table, hearing James and Lee sniggering.

“Right,” beamed their teacher, once everyone in their form group had found a seat. “My name is Mrs Hartwell. I’ll be your cooking teacher for the term. Here we will teach you how to bake cupcakes and muffins, before we move onto sweet and savoury pastries. We’ll end the term with a cake baking contest. Around you, you’ll notice cooking stations. This is where the magic happens.”

Arching her head around the room, Caitlyn noticed that cooking and preparation stations lined the one wall. The table, which Caitlyn was sat at, was in the centre of a mini, ‘u’ shaped kitchen. A sink and draining board were situated behind her. Cupboards were displayed both above and underneath the counter, while chopping boards of different colours were spread out over the granite surface. In front of Caitlyn, and behind the boys, were two built-in ovens, with hobs on the counter. An array of saucepans and skillets lined the table top. Each group of tables, sitting six students, had their own miniature kitchen. A row of four kitchen units lined the one side of the room, whilst another group of six students were sat opposite on the far side, near the teacher’s table.

“Three of you from each table will be cooking on our Thursday class, and the other three on our Friday class,” Mrs Hartwell announced. “Now, I’m going to mix friendship groups up a little, as in the past, I’ve noticed one friend doing all of the work for the others. Now, the only person you’re tricking there is yourselves,” she warned them. “I will sort you into group one and group two. Group one, you will have the kitchen every Thursday. Group two, the kitchen will be yours on Fridays. So,” Mrs Hartwell beamed, approaching Caitlyn’s table. “You three shall be group one,” she said pointing at Lee, James and Samantha. “And you three shall be group two,” she told Artie, Darcia and Caitlyn. Flickering a glance at Artie, Caitlyn gave him her biggest smile. “Oowh, forgive me, dear, but I feel as though I recognise you,” beamed Mrs Hartwell at Caitlyn. Cupping a finger to her chin, their cooking teacher let out a hum. “Oh, I remember now,” beamed Mrs Hartwell. “You were part of my taster session I did when you came for the day, back in the spring. I think we baked bread, didn’t we?”

“Yes,” Caitlyn replied with a smile. “I liked that.”

“Good. Then that brings us onto our demonstration for today,” announced Mrs Hartwell, clasping her hands together. “Once I have sorted you all into group one and two, I’ll show you how to bake bread. It’s a simple recipe, with simple instructions. If we start soon, we can get it in the oven before break time. Then when you return, it should almost be ready.”

Watching Mrs Hartwell divide up the rest of her form group, a warm smile prodded into Caitlyn’s cheeks. ‘At least cooking class doesn’t seem that bad,’ Caitlyn decided. ‘Mrs Hartwell is super nice.’ Dropping her sight to the table, Caitlyn’s insides began to churn. ‘I feel bad for Artie though,’ Caitlyn thought as her stomach flopped. To prevent herself from looking up at the boys, Caitlyn rummaged around in her pencil case. Gripping her pen, she flickered open her notebook and began scribbling down her cooking teacher’s name and the cooking group that she was in. ‘At least he’s in our cooking group,’ Caitlyn decided, poking her mouth into the corner of her cheek. ‘Then when Samantha’s stuck with the boys, Darcia and I can watch out for her.’

A warm, mouth-watering, fresh-bread scent lingered in the air. To Caitlyn’s surprise, as soon as the bread began baking, her form group calmed down. ‘Maybe everyone else likes the smell of bread just as much as I do?’ she wondered with a grin. ‘Or maybe everyone’s behaving in hopes that Mrs Hartwell lets them try some,’ she realised.

“Right,” cheered Mrs Hartwell. “If you’ve all finished your worksheets, numbering the order of steps to bake bread, I shall let you go to break. Anyone struggling, remain behind and I’ll give you a helping hand.”

With the class free to leave, Artie leapt off his stool and raced for the classroom door. Caitlyn’s stomach spiralled. Her heart jolted in her chest. Hopping out of her stool, she followed after him. “Artie,” Caitlyn called, spotting him plodding ahead of her. His back stooped and he slid his hands into his pockets. “Artie, are you okay?” Caitlyn asked as she caught up with him in the art corridor.

“Sorry the guys’re jerks,” he muttered with a shrug.

“It’s fine,” she told him. “So longs as you’re okay.” Prodding the corner of his mouth into his cheek, Artie gave Caitlyn another shrug. “I know you prefer your own company,” she told him as she continued to follow him, as they turned the corner into the next corridor, heading towards the canteen. “But if you ever want a friend, or someone to talk to… or to just get away from them for a bit, you’re welcome to hang around with me and my friends.”

“Where’s Caitlyn gone to now?” she heard Darcia huff, from around the corner, behind them. Caitlyn’s forehead puckered. “How dare she leave me? The nerve,” Darcia grumbled.

“Or maybe just me,” added Caitlyn with a nervous giggle.

“Thanks,” he muttered, slowing their walk to a stop. “I really appreciate it, Caitlyn.” Smiling back at him, Caitlyn felt a warmth tingle inside her, from seeing Artie’s face light up. His soft smile made Caitlyn’s cheeks flush a deep, rosy hue.

“Here he is,” sang Lee, shuddering Caitlyn and Artie out of their gaze. Caitlyn lowered her head, pinching her lips in. Scratching a hand to the back of his head, Artie forced a swallow as Lee and James appeared beside him.

“Couldn’t leave Caitlyn alone, could ya?” teased James. Caitlyn’s heart sank to her stomach. She shuffled away from them, staring at her shoes.

‘Did I just make things worse?’ she worried.

“Will you guys cut it out?” Artie sighed. “We were just talking. If I buy you a sausage sandwich, will you quit messin’ about.”

As Artie and his friends disappeared down the corridor, Caitlyn let out a sigh. “D’you think he’s okay?” Caitlyn asked, as Samantha and Darcia appeared at her side. Samantha shrugged.

“He’s got his own friends,” Darcia told her. “You don’t have to befriend everyone.”

“I know,” she sighed. “He just… doesn’t seem happy. I wish I could help him.” Gripping her right elbow with her left hand, Caitlyn stiffened her shoulder blades.

“You’re really nice,” Samantha squeaked, poking Caitlyn’s arm. “I think he knows that too. If he needs you, he’ll find you… just like I did.”

“Thank you Samantha,” replied Caitlyn as she relaxed her shoulders. “I need you too,” she whispered. Samantha’s cheeks turned pink. Placing an arm around Samantha’s shoulder, Caitlyn hugged her near. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Once the boys had been fed, both from their sausage sandwich Artie had bought them at break, and the bread that Mrs Hartwell had baked, both Lee and James quietened down. Caitlyn kept her head low. She did not want to give the boys a reason to pick on Artie again. ‘Samantha’s right,’ she told herself. ‘He knows he can speak to me, if he needed to.’

Their next lesson was maths. Folding her arms, Caitlyn glared at Darcia, as her friend boasted, “I’m going to be in top set,” when their teacher announced that as of Monday all students would be placed into maths groups based on their final examination result from primary school.

“Don’t worry,” Samantha had whispered, placing her hand on Caitlyn’s arm. “I’m not that good at maths either.” With a sigh, Caitlyn forced Samantha a smile.

A knot formed in Caitlyn’s intestines when Darcia continued to boast throughout their RE lesson. “I know,” Darcia had exclaimed, when their teacher, Miss Lehal, asked if anyone knew of any religious teachings. “I go to Sunday school,” Darcia had blurted out, wavering her arm in the air. Darcia’s grin grew as she explained to the class all of the activities that occur during her Sunday school and what the church services were like.

In English, Caitlyn folded her arms tight at her chest. Their English lesson was taught in their form room, by their form tutor, Mr Shaw. ‘Darcia’s good at English too,’ Caitlyn reminded herself as she sank deeper into her seat. ‘I wish there was something I was better than Darcia at,’ she sulked. ‘I just want to be good at something… just one thing.’

The hairs on the back of Caitlyn’s neck pricked up. Arching her head over her shoulder, to see the whiteboard, she felt as though she were being watched. Flickering her sight to her left, she locked eyes with Artie. She gave him a soft smile. His ears turned red as he shot his eyes down to the table. “Are we paying attention, Miss Flynn?” boomed Mr Shaw. Caitlyn jumped. Her heart panged. Her face grew red.

“Yes, Sir,” she replied with a nod.

“Then what was I just saying?” he asked with an unamused glare.

“That the author’s description of the old man having pain in his shoulder blades is used to emphasise his age and the severity of his condition,” explained Caitlyn. “Because the saying goes that when your shoulder blades hurt, it’s because your wings are trying to grow back. Some people believe that we start off as angels, you lose your wings when you’re born, but when you die, your wings grow back and carry you away to whatever afterlife you believe in.”

“Very good,” Mr Shaw grumbled. “I stand corrected.”

Dipping his head into his elbow, Mr Shaw blurted out three whooping coughs. “Right,” he muttered as he clicked the trap pad of his laptop several times. The extract disappeared from the presentation screen, on the board, and was replaced with the novel’s front cover. “Now has anyone read the book that we have taken the extract from?” he asked the class. Darcia shot her hand up. Feeling her insides swirl, Caitlyn protruded her finger in the air. “Yes, Miss Flynn?” nodded Mr Shaw. “And would you recommend it to the class – without giving away the ending?” he added.

“I would,” she told him, flickering her sight from her teacher to the whiteboard and back again. “It’s an interesting story about an unusual friendship, a mysterious creature and children taking matters into their own hands. It’s odd for a book to be aimed at children and for the message not to be report everything unusual a mysterious to your parents or a guardian.” Caitlyn’s tongue scraped against the roof of her mouth. Her heart hammered in her ribcage. As her fingers trembled, she balled her hands into fists, shoving them into her lap. “None of the adults in the book ever come into contact with the creature described in the passage,” Caitlyn continued as her stomach lathered. “I don’t think it’s all happening in the main characters imagination though. Maybe it’s saying that the older you get the more sceptical you become and less likely to understand or believe in the unknown? Maybe? The author uses a lot of life and death imagery throughout. I guess it’s what the creature represents.”

“Well put,” said Mr Shaw, with an approving nod. Rising from his chair, he paced the room, towards Caitlyn. “An interesting interpretation,” he told her. “I hope Miss Flynn’s brief summary of the text might entice some of you to pick up a copy. Your homework over the next month is to find a book, read it and write an essay, explaining what you found out, what you liked and why.” Forcing a swallow, Caitlyn shuffled in her seat. “Now, Miss Flynn’s summary of the text is a little vague compared to what I am expecting from you in terms of an essay, however, her personal interpretation is something I want you all to try and focus on. I don’t want you to recite a direct narrative of what the story entails. I want each of you to have a go at discovering running themes throughout the book and discuss how it made you think.”

“Well done,” Samantha whispered, nudging Caitlyn. “That was very brave.”

“Thanks,” gasped Caitlyn, as her heart continued to race. Her pulse trembled in her eardrums. Pressing the backs of her fingers into her cheeks, Caitlyn attempted to extinguish her flaming face. “I tried,” she mumbled.

“That was better than what I’d have said,” Darcia told her, joining in their whispered conversation. “You interpreted it in your own way. I’d have just told him what happened and probably gave the ending away,” Darcia said with a laugh. “I don’t get English,” she grumbled. “I know what happens in stories, but I don’t care why it happens or how it’s supposed to make you think.”

“I just told him what I thought of the story,” replied Caitlyn with a shrug. “I didn’t mean t’ do anything in particular.”

“I think you just did the thing teachers want you to do,” Samantha told her.

“I hope so,” Caitlyn murmured. “Not that I meant to,” she added. “I mean, I hope I did something right, for once.”

 

Struggling

“Ready?” Jay asked as he stood in the doorway to Caitlyn’s house, early on Monday morning.

“Not really,” she muttered, squinting against the rising sun. Looping the straps of her backpack over her shoulders, she closed the front door behind her. “It was hard enough finding my way around on Friday, when it was just us year sevens. How am I supposed to cope now, with the entire school in the building?”

“I know,” mumbled Jay shrugging. “Look, no one said this was going to be easy. If it were, all adults would be teachers or politicians or… astronauts.” Shaking her head at him, Caitlyn giggled. “See,” he chuckled. “We’ve just gotta try our best… and help each other out along the way.” Caitlyn gave Jay a firm nod. “Glad you agree.”

The volume of humming engines increased, as Jay and Caitlyn made their way down the road. Scratching a hand to the back of his head, Jay turned to his friend. “You know,” he muttered. “I don’t say it often enough, but I do appreciate you, Caitlyn.”

“Thanks,” she murmured, feeling her cheeks tingle.

“You don’t dig or pry,” he went on. “You just have a way of making me feel better about things… and I know I can talk to you.” Pinching her lips in, Caitlyn lowered her head, as a rosy hue washed over her cheeks. “And I know you’ve been struggling,” Jay told her with a shrug. “And I’m not the greatest with words, but I wanted to try and cheer you up.” A flutter exploded in Jay’s stomach as he slipped his right arm out of the strap of his backpack and swung his bag around to his front. Diving a hand inside his backpack, he hummed to himself. “Here,” he said, handing Caitlyn a palm-sized package, wrapped in fuchsia tissue paper. Lips parted, Caitlyn’s brows slanted upwards. A squeaky gasp escaped her. “Well…” he nodded, gesturing at the pink parcel. “Open it.”

A curious smile crept into the corner of Caitlyn’s mouth, as she peeled off the sticky tape. Fluttering tingled inside her. As she tugged on the tissue paper, the small parcel began to unravel. “Aww!” she squealed, as the contents rolled out of the wrappings, onto her hand. A fluffy, violet bear sat in her palm. Warmth tickled her cheeks as their hue deepened to a rosy blush. Caitlyn’s fingers sank into the soft plush of the fabric. She stroked a thumb against a cream felt patch that outlined the bear’s stomach. Fuzzy tufts of lilac protruded out of its ears. Sliding her finger into the metal keyring loop, Caitlyn held the bear out in front of her. “Jay!” she gasped. “I love him!” Gripping her bear and the wrappings tight, she flung her arms around Jay’s shoulders. A salty prickle crept into the corner of her eyes, as she hugged him tight. “Thank you so much!” she exclaimed as she let go of her friend and returned her attention to the bear. “He’s perfect,” she cooed.

“I’m glad you like it,” Jay blushed, running a hand across the back of his neck. “Here, I’ll take the rubbish,” he added as they neared a bin.

Turning the corner, onto the stretch of street that passed by Kieran’s road, Jay spotted a group of older students crossing the road towards them. His cheeks glowed an identical hue to the tissue paper, as he realised these older students had witnessed Caitlyn hugging him. Jogging back to Caitlyn, on his return from the bin, Jay told her, “I thought you could attach it to the small pouch on your bag.” Her eyes widened as she turned towards him. “I know you have a texture thing,” he said with a shrug, as he watched Caitlyn stoke her thumbs across the plush. “And that way, you always have something soft with you.”

“You’re amazing,” she beamed.

“And when it rains,” he told her, “you can just tuck the bear inside the pouch.”

“Genius,” Caitlyn told him, as she made the bear clap his hands. Jay chuckled at her.

“Do you want me to attach it to your bag for you?” he asked.

“Please,” nodded Caitlyn, handing Jay her backpack.

The two friends slowed their walk, while Jay attached the keying loop of Caitlyn’s bear to the zip of her bag’s front compartment. Watching Jay fiddle with the keyring loop, a distant figure came into focus. The giggling tingle in Caitlyn’s cheeks faded. An icy shudder crept up her spine. Her stomach flopped. Parting her lips, she blinked several times as Kieran stopped at the cul-de-sac corner on the opposite side of the road. “Oh,” Caitlyn blurted out. “Kieran’s here,” she projected, pointing across the street.

“Good timing,” smirked Jay, as he handed Caitlyn her bag back, with her new keyring attached.

“Yey!” she sang, throwing her arms around Jay once more.

Closing his eyes, Jay chuckled to himself as Caitlyn hugged him. A warmth tingled at his chest. Flickering his eyes open, he met Kieran’s daggered glare. Rubbing a hand on Caitlyn’s shoulder, Jay forced a swallow.

Leaning out of their embrace, Caitlyn hugged Jay’s right arm, as Kieran appeared on Jay’s left. “Jay’s the best!” Caitlyn exclaimed, pressing her cheek into his shoulder with a hum. Blushing, Jay scratched his left hand across the back of his head.

“What’s goin’ on?” Kieran growled.

“Look!” exclaimed Caitlyn, letting go of Jay’s arm. “Look what Jay got me,” she insisted with a bounce. Slipping her right shoulder out of her bag’s strap, she swung her backpack around. A giggle escaped her, as she gripped her purple bear, making its hand wave at Kieran. “It’s the best present I’ve ever had,” she told Kieran, as she swung her bag back on her back. “I love him.” Snarling his nose, Kieran glared at Jay. “Sorry for hugging you so much,” apologised Caitlyn, noticing Jay’s flushed cheeks. “I can’t help it,” she confessed. “I’m just so happy.”

“I’m just glad I could help,” Jay muttered. A shudder crept up his back, as he caught Kieran’s continued glare out of the corner of his eye. Sliding his hands into his pockets, Jay hunched his back.

 

*

 

Pressing her back against the wooden wall, Caitlyn slid down to the floor. Her intestines knotted as she glanced up the maths corridor. There was still twenty minutes to go until the first lesson of the day started. Darcia was stood, three classrooms away, talking with a bunch of people outside of her classroom. Rummaging in her pencil case for her multicolour ink pen, Caitlyn flicked open her notebook and began writing. ‘Why can’t I stand with her?’ Caitlyn wondered as the group’s bellowed laughter echoed down the corridor towards her. ‘I could come by my classroom closer to lesson time.’ Sniffing, she twisted her posture, turning her back towards them.

“No, you can’t,” Darcia had shouted when Caitlyn has suggested that they wait together. “Your classroom is down there,” she sneered, pointing. “I’m in top set.”

‘I was only one mark off getting the same grade as her,’ sulked Caitlyn as she doodled a flower in the top corner of her page. ‘And I had the flu during exam week,’ she fumed. ‘I bet I can be just as good as Darcia.’ Clicking the black ink on her pen, the pink retracted, as Caitlyn returned to writing.

As Darcia’s group began laughing once more, Caitlyn flickered a glance in their direction. Her intestines knotted. Samantha was now standing with them. ‘That’s not fair,’ Caitlyn sulked. ‘Samantha’s not in her class. She’s in the bottom set, next door.’ A salty sting prickled into the corner of her eye. She sniffed. Her stomach winced. ‘What’s up with Darcia?’ Caitlyn pouted, as she pressed her pen harder into the page. ‘She didn’t even like Samantha last week, now look at them,’ she grumbled, flickering her attention back to Darcia and her new friends. Leaning against Samantha’s shoulder, Darcia whispered into her ear. The two giggled, as Samantha pointed at the tallest boy in the group, who squealed, “What? Why me?”

Sighing to herself, Caitlyn arched her head around. No one was outside her maths classroom yet. ‘They’re probably with their friends,’ she realised as she wrinkled her nose and scribbled out an adverb she had written down.

The floor vibrated. She gasped. Hugging her knees to her chest, Caitlyn scrunched herself up as a stampede of boys, much older than her, hurtled down the corridor. “That was close!” exclaimed a girl, with jet-black hair tied in a short ponytail, as she perched beside Caitlyn. Letting out a nervous exhale, Caitlyn’s spine shuddered with a chill as she nodded. “Are you Caitlyn?” asked the girl.

“Yeah,” replied Caitlyn with a frown.

“Is this maths room number forty-three?” the girl asked.

“Yeah,” Caitlyn nodded.

“Good,” the girl beamed, curling her legs underneath herself. “Jay said I’d find you here.”

The more the girl spoke, the deeper the creases on Caitlyn’s forehead became. “Sorry,” the girl giggled. “My name’s Aisha. I was put in red band, in the same form group as all the bullies from my old school,” she explained.

“That’s awful!” Caitlyn cried.

“My dad came down after school on Friday and we spoke to the lady on reception, Mrs Doherty,” Aisha told Caitlyn. “He went mental – I’ve never seen him so angry. Anyway,” she shrugged. “I get to move to blue band from today. I didn’t know where my class was, but Jay, who was in my old form, said you’re his friend and are in blue band and were in maths room forty-three, like me – he pointed you out, so I ran over here.”

As Aisha babbled on, the shudder Caitlyn had felt upon her arrival faded. ‘Maybe it was from the boys that ran by,’ she decided. ‘Aisha may be a bit of a chatterbox, but she seems nice,’ Caitlyn told herself.

“So, what’cha writing?” Aisha asked, peering over Caitlyn’s notebook.

“I dunno,” shrugged Caitlyn, pulling her notebook nearer. “It’s just a silly story.” Aisha nodded her head with an inquisitive gleam.

“So, why’re you on your own?” she asked.

“Jay’s my best friend,” Caitlyn mumbled with a shrug. “But we got separated into different bands.” Shifting a glance over to Darcia and the group surrounding her (that Caitlyn noticed had almost doubled in size) Caitlyn closed her notebook and stared at a thinning patch of carpet in front of them. “I guess I’m just not good at making friends.”

“But I just came from Jay’s class,” Aisha gasped, tugging on Caitlyn’s arm. “That means there’s a space. You could transfer into red band and take my place!” she explained with an excited squeal.

“I don’t know,” Caitlyn mumbled. She expected her intestines to swirl into knots, however, to Caitlyn’s surprise an excited flutter buzzed inside her. Squeezing her biceps, Caitlyn attempted to make herself as small as possible.

“I can go with you at break,” Aisha insisted. “I’ll introduce you to Mrs Doherty – she’s super nice. She’s the guidance councillor too, as well as the receptionist.” Aisha’s excitement caused her to speak so fast that Caitlyn felt her brain ringing, as she tried to follow what her new friend was saying. “When you tell her what happened, I’m sure she’ll be happy to help.”

“Are you sure?” Caitlyn asked, snapping her eyes tight as another racing ramble of boys ran past. Squinting her eyes open, a squeak escaped her.

“Of course,” Aisha cheered, oblivious to the chaos that raged around them. “And I just came from that class, so there’s room for you to move.” Caitlyn prodded her mouth from the right corner, to the left and back again. “We can go at break and ask,” Aisha insisted. “I’ll go with you.”

“Okay,” agreed Caitlyn with a giggle as a warmth spread from her chest. ‘Maybe things are looking up,’ Caitlyn told herself.

Chatter echoed around them. Bodies bustled by from left to right. Footsteps thundered the ground. Caitlyn’s heart rattled in her ribcage. A teacher’s yelled warning disappeared into the mass of noise. A paper aeroplane shot overhead. Bellowed laughter exploded from a nearby group. Stiffening her shoulders, Caitlyn’s eyes froze on the small patch of warn carpet, with a dark chewing gum circle, in front of her. “We’d better stand up,” Aisha warned Caitlyn, tugging on the red-head’s blazer. “We don’t wanna be stepped on.” Nodding, Caitlyn agreed. Flickering her sight to Aisha, Caitlyn found herself smiling.

“Thanks,” Caitlyn told her.

“For what?” frowned Aisha.

“For helping me,” Caitlyn replied with a shrug. “I appreciate you talking to me and I’m not very good at making friends,” she muttered, flickering her sight to her shoes.

“No problem!” cheered Aisha with a big grin. “I’m happy to be your friend. We’re gonna crack you outta that shy shell and set you free.” Throwing a hand to her mouth, a nervous laugh escaped Caitlyn. “What? You think I’m joking?” Aisha exclaimed. “Nuh-uh. You’re gonna be Confident Caitlyn in no time an’ everyone’s gonna wanna be your friend.” Caitlyn’s nervous laughter turned into a bubble of giggles.

“I don’t know about that,” Caitlyn told her new friend, as she gripped a hand to the back of her neck.

“Nonsense. You’ll be happy an’ bouncy, like me, in no time,” Aisha beamed.

 

*

 

The trembling in Caitlyn’s chest eased as her maths lesson began. Her teacher, Mrs Arendas, a blonde cheerful lady with a warm voice, was nowhere near as frightening as Mr Penn or as disgusting as spluttering Mr Shaw. The work was not as hard as Caitlyn had anticipated either and Mrs Arendas let them work in pairs. Skimming her eyes down the list of equations, on the handout in front of her, Caitlyn felt a smile poke into her cheek. “You’re really good at maths,” Aisha told Caitlyn from across the table.

“D’you think so?” replied Caitlyn with a furrowed brow.

“You seem a lot more confident doing maths that you did back there, in the corridor,” Aisha pointed out.

“Thanks… I think,” smiled Caitlyn. “I do like maths, but I think English is my favourite subject. What about you?” Wrinkling her nose, Aisha shrugged.

“I dunno,” she sighed. “A lot of lessons are boring. I heard you get to do science experiments at secondary school though – now that sounds exciting!” Caitlyn giggled as her friend’s eyes widened with excitement. Despite Aisha’s forward self-introduction and Caitlyn’s discomforting shudder when they met, Caitlyn was beginning to warm to Aisha.

A small flutter flickered in Caitlyn’s chest as her confidence that built during her maths lesson followed her to her geography one. Arriving outside her classroom, the frosty shudder returned to Caitlyn’s spine as she discovered that her new friend, Aisha, shared her timetable and her form group. ‘How odd,’ Caitlyn noted at her shuddering sensation. ‘Maybe I’m nervous about geography,’ she concluded. ‘I’m sure Aisha’s nice. She’s helping me move bands and she’s being friendly.’

“Hi!” came a yelp from a familiar voice, bringing Caitlyn out of her thoughts. A head of ebony-brown hair appeared in front of her.

“Hi Darcia,” Caitlyn murmured, forcing a swallow. “Hi Samantha,” she added, spotting her shy friend beside her. Caitlyn’s stomach knotted as Darcia abandoning her, before maths, slid to the front of her mind. Gripping her books tight at her chest, Caitlyn’s eyes flickered to the floor. Another pair of shoes appeared beside Darcia’s. They were leather, lace-up, nurses shoes and were much larger and wider shoes than Samantha’s petite ballet pumps or Darcia’s Maryjane’s. Shifting her sight towards the third girl, Caitlyn’s eyes widened as the girl towered several inches over her and her friends. Lingering beside the group, the girl hugged her orange notebook to her chest. Caitlyn smiled at her and the girl smiled back.

Conversations swirled around them as bodies of students filled the corridor. The floor vibrated. Students raced from one end of the humanities corridor to the other. Forcing a swallow, Caitlyn pressed her back up against the wall. “Is this our geography room?” Darcia asked, pointing at the classroom door that they were waiting outside.

“Yeah,” Caitlyn replied. “And this is Aisha,” she told Darcia and Samantha as she pointed towards her new friend. “She’s just transferred bands, into our form group. Aisha, this is Darcia and Samantha; they’re in our form,” Caitlyn explained, pointing to each of the girls in turn. “Darcia I know from primary school and we met Samantha last week.”

“Cool!” Aisha exclaimed, waving her hand fast, with wide eyes and a huge grin, at Darcia and Samantha. “Great to meet you.” Turning towards the tall blonde girl who remained at Darcia’s side, she asked, “And who are you?”

“Oh,” the girl blushed, shimmying back a step.

“I found my friend, Emily,” Darcia told them, pointing towards the tall blonde. “Her dad’s on the school governing board too,” Darcia explained. “I’ve met Emily at some of dad’s boring meetings.”

“Nice to meet you,” said Caitlyn.

“You too,” beamed Emily. “My dad’s a teacher here,” she told them. “He’s Mr Durrant. He teaches resistant materials and graphic design. So, I know this school quite well.”

“Who’s your form tutor?” asked Aisha.

“Miss Vines,” Emily told them. “She teaches maths.”

“Year sevens?” called a female voice from the doorway. The chatter outside the classroom quietened as heads turned towards the teacher. “Would you like to come in and find a seat?”

“Will you wait for me at break?” Emily asked, tugging on Darcia’s sleeve. “My classroom’s opposite yours.”

“Of course,” the girls agreed as Darcia, Samantha, Caitlyn and Aisha entered their geography classroom.

Following Samantha and Darcia inside, the group approached a four-seater table, to the left of the whiteboard. Caitlyn’s stomach churned. A hand squeezed her elbow. Caitlyn jumped, throwing her head over her shoulder. “Sorry,” Aisha giggled. “Didn’t mean t’ make you jump.”

“It’s okay,” replied Caitlyn with a nervous laugh. Pressing a hand to her chest, Caitlyn inhaled several shaky breaths as she sat down next to Darcia.

“How was maths?” Darcia whispered, as their class fumbled into the room.

“It was okay,” replied Caitlyn with a shrug. The spiralling in her stomach swirled around faster. ‘Are we still friends?’ Caitlyn wondered. Her brow puckered. “It was a lot easier than I thought it would be,” Caitlyn added, wanting to prove to Darcia that she was good at maths, like her. “What about you?”

“It was fun!” Darcia exclaimed. “The boys in our class are so funny.” Caitlyn shot her eyes to the desk. Wrapping her arms around her stomach, the churning increased. “Sam, isn’t Matt hilarious?” Darcia went on with a chuckle.

“Yeah,” muttered Samantha with a nod, as her cheeks turned pink. Caitlyn flickered a glance in her direction. Seeing Samantha and Darcia get along made a smile prod into Caitlyn’s cheek.

‘I’m glad Darcia seems to like Samantha now,’ Caitlyn told herself, as their teacher asked for silence. ‘I have no idea how it happened, but I’m glad it did.’

Clearing her throat in a cantankerous manner, their teacher waited for silence. Caitlyn shot her eyes to the front of the classroom. A worrying tremble vibrated Caitlyn’s bottom lip and her brow shot up as she examined the woman that stood before them. Their teacher’s charcoal pencil skirt clung to her bones. Her ivory blouse hung from her skeleton. Propping herself up against the back of her chair, their geography teacher introduced herself as Ms Tata. Her cheek bones protruded to the surface of her skin as she smiled at them. “As you can see, I’m not up to full strength,” she told the class. “You’re my first class back after my operation.” Gasps sounded. “I am well enough to be back at work,” she added, seeing a few puckered brows amongst her students. “I’m sharing this with you, as I’m hoping you’ll be kind and try not to be too disruptive,” Ms Tata explained with a weak grin. Caitlyn beamed a warm smile in Ms Tata’s direction. “Thank you,” Miss Tata nodded, taking her class’ silence as them accepting her request. “Now, we’re going to start with something some of you might find exciting: volcanos.”

 

*

 

Break time arrived. Chatter boomed down the humanities corridor as year seven raced out of their classrooms. Fumbling her way out of the classroom, Caitlyn staggered forwards as someone barged her out of the way. “You okay?” gasped Emily as she reached out to grab Caitlyn.

“Yes, thanks,” Caitlyn panted, steadying her balance. “Ms Tata seems nice,” Caitlyn told her friends, arching her head over her shoulder to include Samantha, who trailed behind.

“Yeah,” nodded Samantha. “I’m not sure I like volcanos though,” she muttered. “They’re dangerous.”

“So, we ready to go to the canteen?” Darcia asked, leading the group down the corridor.

“Actually…” Caitlyn hesitated, flickering her glance from Aisha to Darcia and back again. “Aisha said she’d go with me to talk to Mrs Doherty.”

“Oh,” muttered Darcia.

“Mrs Doherty? Why are you going to see her?” asked Emily.

“There’s something I need to do,” Caitlyn confessed. Admitting this out loud, the tightening in her shoulders relaxed. Her chest released a breath Caitlyn had not noticed she had been holding in. ‘I know I’m doing the right thing,’ Caitlyn told herself. ‘Something just hasn’t been right since I started at this school and rather than stand by and struggle, I’m going to be brave and fix it myself… well, with Aisha’s help.’

Having parted ways with Darcia, Samantha and Emily, Caitlyn and Aisha made their way towards the reception area, at the front of the school. “Are you ready?” Aisha asked, skipping down the stairs.

“I’m kinda scared,” Caitlyn confessed, twisting her studded earring.

“You know you’re doing the right thing though, right?” asked Aisha.

“Definitely,” Caitlyn nodded. “It’s the only thing that doesn’t make my stomach spiral into loads of knots.”

“Good,” Aisha nodded as they approached the main hall. Biting her bottom lip, Caitlyn dropped her eyes to the floor. Her pulse pounded. Cupping her hands around the cuffs of her blazer, Caitlyn attempted to scrub the sweat from her clammy hands. Seeing Caitlyn’s lowered head, Aisha asked, “Do you want me to do the talking?” Pinching her lips in, Caitlyn nodded.

“Yes please,” she squeaked.

“Okay,” Aisha giggled, as the girls stood in the doorway to the reception room. “Mrs Doherty…” Aisha called from the doorway. A tiny lady, with a frosty perm, sat at a desk that peered out through the wall hatch, into the visitors’ area. Acknowledging the girls, Mrs Doherty, smiled and nodded in Caitlyn and Aisha’s direction. “My friend needs to speak to you about changing bands. She’s all on her own in blue band and her friends are all in red band.” Clinging to Aisha’s side, Caitlyn pressed her chin to her chest.

“Okay dears,” Mrs Doherty sang. “Just wait there,” she called as the phone rang. “I’ll be with you in a moment.”

Giving Aisha’s elbow a squeeze, Caitlyn whispered, “Thank you.”

“No problem,” Aisha shrugged. “I’d hate seeing you upset if there was a simple solution to make you happy.” As the girls giggled a set of footsteps appeared from behind.

“Morning girls!” boomed the deep voice of Mr Penn.

“Hi Sir,” the girls replied. Shimmying towards Aisha’s side, Caitlyn clawed her fingers into her friend’s arm as the creeping shudder, Caitlyn sensed the first time she met Mr Penn, crawled up her back once more.

Mr Penn passed the girls as he entered the reception area. He plonked a stack of papers into a crimson-coloured tray labelled, “Bills.” Scratching a hand to his head, a growled sigh escaped him as he shook his head. Caitlyn trembled. As Mr Penn turned around, he smiled at Caitlyn and said, “I hope you’re settling in well,” locking eyes with her. Lowering her sight to his shoes, Caitlyn hunched her shoulders.

“Kind of,” she muttered as he strode back through the doorway.

A sinking thud dropped in Caitlyn’s stomach. Her eyes shifted from right to left. ‘Something’s not right,’ she warned herself. Mr Penn’s footsteps stopped. She widened her eyes. Her ears pricked up. She held her breath.

“Right,” announced Mrs Doherty as she appeared beside the girls. Caitlyn flinched. She shook her head, freeing herself from her thoughts. “What are you new students bothering me about now?” she snapped. Caitlyn’s eyes shot open, as her heart skipped a beat. Gripping Aisha’s elbow, Caitlyn’s tongue scrapped against the roof of her mouth.

“My friend, Caitlyn, got put in blue band on her own, Miss,” Aisha explained. “Her friend’s in red band – the form group I moved from. Might she be able to swap?”

“I’d really appreciate it,” Caitlyn squeaked. Keeping her head low, she shifted her sight to the receptionist, who stood a few inches taller than her.

“And why must I listen to two whiny, little schoolgirls?” raged Mrs Doherty. Both Caitlyn and Aisha flinched. A gasp escaped Caitlyn, as Mrs Doherty roared, “You do not tell me how to run the school. Be gone with you,” she ordered, pointing her arm down the corridor.

“B, but,” stuttered Aisha.

“You dare defy me, girl,” Mrs Doherty snarled. “Be gone at once or it’s consequence three for both of you.” Letting out a squeal of fright, Caitlyn and Aisha power walked away from the receptionist as fast as they could, without risking receiving detention for running.

“I don’t understand,” Aisha cried, as the two of them leant against the corridor wall, outside of their geography classroom. “She was so nice just a moment ago,” she panted.

“I know,” Caitlyn breathed. “She snapped – just like magic.”

“I’m really sorry Caitlyn,” muttered Aisha, rubbing a hand on Caitlyn’s shoulder. “I was only trying to help.”

“I know,” Caitlyn shrugged. “It’s not your fault,” she insisted. “I’m starting to think this whole building is cursed,” she told Aisha with a nervous chuckle. “Ever since that guy, Mr Penn, showed Jay and I inside, things have just continued in a downward spiral.”

 

*

 

Bodies pushed and shoved their way through the drama studio door. Ducking as an elbow rammed towards his head, Jay escaped a black eye. With his friend, Sean, at his side, the two of them spotted an empty space in the drama studio hall and sat down on the carpeted floor. “Where’s Kieran?” Sean hissed, as year sevens filed inside and sat down, ready for their year group’s assembly.

“No idea,” shrugged Jay. “I haven’t seen him since break.”

“Yo!” exclaimed a guy, from their form group, as he sat down beside them. “D’yer hear, some kid smashed a ball into Mr Llywelyn’s office window, during break?” he asked with a booming grin.

“No way!” gasped Sean with a laugh. “Did they catch who did it?”

“Dunno,” the guy shrugged. “I bet he gets expelled though. Can you believe it, we ain’t even been here a week?” He smirked, shaking his head. “Whoever it is, that kid’s got guts.”

“Yeah man,” Sean agreed, as the two fist bumped. Jay rolled his shoulders and arched his back, keeping his head low.

‘Why are they excited?’ Jay wondered as grins remained on the faces of the two boys at his sides. ‘Someone’s destroyed the deputy head’s office window, they’re gonna be in serious trouble, yet these guys think it’s cool.’ His insides churned. Whispered murmurs spread around them.

“That’s scary,” he heard someone say.

“Why would anyone do that?” gasped another.

‘Great,’ Jay thought as his shoulders sank lower. ‘Why are my friends the only ones that think damaging school property is cool?’

Chatter increased in volume as the drama studio hall filled with year sevens. Clambering onto the floor, elbows jabbed in people’s sides and knees prodded into the backs of the person in front. “Settle down year seven,” yelled the female PE teacher, Miss Ferguson, who stood at the front of the drama studio hall. The loud chatter lowered to mumbles and whispers.

“Quiet!” Mr Bruges roared, cupping his hands around his mouth. Silence. Students shuddered at the intensity of his roar.

“Much better,” grinned Miss Hirons, at his side. “And welcome all to your first drama studio assembly,” she announced. “Once a week you will meet here, where all of the year seven form tutors will share any information that we need to pass to you all.”

The entrance to the drama studio hall creaked open. Heads spun around, eager to see the disruption. The school’s deputy head teacher, Mr Llywelyn, stood in the doorway (at the back of the drama studio hall) with Kieran at his side. A smug grin etched on the boy’s face, as his eyes searched the pool of students. “Sorry to interrupt,” Mr Llywelyn told them. “But can I borrow James Hilton for a moment, please?” Gasps, whispers, and a chorus of, “Oooow!” rang out around the room. Eyes turned towards Jay as he rose to his feet.

Jay’s heart sank to his stomach. Forcing a swallow, he clambered through the mass of bodies. Pulse pounded in his ears. Sweat clammed up his palms. His eyes locked with Caitlyn’s as he neared her. “What’s happening?” she mouthed. Shaking his head, Jay shrugged. Reaching the back of the hall, Jay’s heart rattled in his ribcage. His bottom lip trembled. Swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, a shudder drained the colour from his face.

“Thank you,” Mr Llywelyn nodded to the front of the room, as he led Jay into the corridor.

 

*

 

Since the incident that morning with Mrs Doherty, Caitlyn had been on edge. Not knowing what had happened to Jay earlier, when he got called out of the drama hall assembly, made her stomach spiral even more. Throughout the day, she jumped every time her name was called. She kept her head down in attempt to not draw attention to herself. Even Darcia noticed something was wrong and proceeded to poke Caitlyn at regular intervals during double science, last lesson.

Once their science teacher, a broad, bald man, named Dr McAuley, dismissed them for the day, Caitlyn hurried out of the science block. Racing to her locker, Caitlyn pulled her bag out and squeezed her bear keyring tight. The hammering in her chest eased, as she exhaled. The swirling in her stomach subsided. A tightness loosened around her temples. With a groan, she rolled her shoulders back, hearing her joints crack.

Fumbling her way through the crowd, Caitlyn scrambled past the bodies to safety, at the fir tree on the far side of the grassy area, known as the quad. She scanned the crowd for Darcia, having agreed to walk home together. A different brunet caught her attention. “Jay!” Caitlyn called, as she waved him over. Turning to face Caitlyn, Jay gave her a nod of acknowledgement, before plodding towards her. “Do you want to walk home together?” she asked. Prodding the left corner of his mouth into his cheek, Jay nodded. “Yey!” exclaimed Caitlyn. “Let me just tell Darcia I’m walking home with you instead.”

“Don’t abandon Darcia on my account,” muttered Jay.

“Don’t be silly,” Caitlyn told him. “You’re just as important to me as Darcia is – more so, even. Wait here. I won’t be a sec.”

As soon as Caitlyn had spoken to Darcia, she returned to Jay’s side and the two of them walked back through the school and out of the main entrance. Caitlyn found herself pouting as her eyes lingered on Jay. Dragging his feet, Jay’s shoulders deflated as he slid his hands into his trouser pockets. The corners of his mouth arched down, and his chin sank towards his chest. Caitlyn’s heart panged. ‘Something’s wrong,’ she realised, as Jay kicked at a stone, lobbing it across the street. “So, how was your day?” she asked as they exited the crescent and turned onto the main road.

“Alright,” mumbled Jay, his voice no more than a whisper, almost lost amongst the nearby chatter and traffic.

“Sounds like my day,” Caitlyn told him. “Aisha started in blue band today.” Keeping his eyes on the ground, Jay hummed in acknowledgement. “She said you pointed her in my direction,” Caitlyn continued as Jay kicked at another stone. “She thinks very highly of you,” she added, twisting her studded earring around in her ear. “She went with me to see Mrs Doherty. She tried to help me change band, into your form group, but erm…” Caitlyn forced a swallow and her brow puckered before continuing. “Er, Mrs Doherty kinda screamed in my face and we ran away.”

“That sucks,” Jay muttered, still staring at his shoes.

“Having my bear has made me feel better though,” Caitlyn told him, giving Jay a big smile.

A twinge in her heart caused Caitlyn to sigh. Her shoulders drooped. ‘I can’t bear to see Jay like this,’ Caitlyn cried to herself. Watching Jay’s hunched posture and his glum expression made her stomach swirl. “So,” she chimed, in an attempt to change the subject. “Did you get a lot of homework?” Jay shrugged. ‘This isn’t going well,’ she exhaled in defeat. Fiddling with her earrings, Caitlyn’s eyes danced around at their surroundings. Several groups of students congregated outside the chip shop, newsagents and pastry shop. Spotting three boys bounce out of the newsagents, with handfuls of sweets, a smile prodded into the corner of Caitlyn’s cheek. “You know what I wanna do?” Caitlyn asked with a curious grin.

“What?” muttered Jay, not taking his eyes off the ground.

“Make an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink sundae,” she giggled. Jay smirked an exhale through his nostrils. “I think we deserve it,” she beamed. “Well, you definitely do,” she added, “as a thank you for my bear.” Humming, Caitlyn pressed her palms into one another, tapping the tips of her fingers together. “I want chocolate ice cream… and strawberry,” she daydreamed. “Caramel sauce, gummy bears… oow and those chocolate buttons that have sprinkles on one side.”

“Don’t forget the chocolate flake,” Jay added as he turned towards her with a grin. “That’s the best bit.”

“Yeah!” agreed Caitlyn. “What d’ya say? Wanna come over and make one?”

“I dunno,” Jay shrugged, as his smile drained.

“But you were excited a second ago,” muttered Caitlyn, pouting. With a shrug, Jay grunted. “It’s okay,” Caitlyn sighed, as she stiffened her shoulders. “We could watch a film… or maybe start on homework.”

“I dunno,” Jay grumbled again.

“I won’t be hurt if you’d rather be alone with your thoughts,” she told him, lowering her voice to a whisper. “I understand. Sometimes I need to be alone to think.”

“Thanks,” Jay muttered, forcing a half smile.

They walked on in silence of some time. As they entered the park, Jay arched his head over his shoulder. Forcing a swallow, he glanced around, taking note of everyone nearby. The lathering in his stomach subsided. He straightened his back and faced Caitlyn. Running a hand across the back of his neck, he muttered, “Erm… Caitlyn?”

“Yeah?” she replied with a soft breath.

“If I tell you something, you have to swear not to tell anyone,” Jay warned her, puckering his brow. “Not Darcia, not Aisha – not even your mum… or mine.” His shoulders rose, as he forced a swallow, waiting for Caitlyn’s response.

“Okay,” Caitlyn nodded, wide eyed. Taking in a shaky breath, Jay hooked a hand to the back of his neck and squeezed tight.

“Kieran tried to get me suspended,” he muttered, shifting his sight back to his shoes.

“What?” she gasped. “Why?” Unable to look at her, Jay shrugged.

“I dunno,” he mumbled. “He and Sean were caught by the old guy, Mr Llywelyn, for kicking a football through his office window, at break.” Caitlyn gasped. “Sean pretended he hadn’t seen anything, and Mr Llywelyn let him off with a warning.” Shaking his head, Jay let out a sarcastic laugh. “I wasn’t even there!” he exclaimed, spiking his fingers out in front of him, in frustration. “I went to the toilet. I didn’t know anything about it until Mr Llywelyn called me out of assembly.” Caitlyn stiffened her shoulders. Folding her arms, she squeezed herself tight, as Jay went on, “Kieran told Mr Llywelyn it wasn’t him – even though he caught him, and Kieran said it was me.”

“What?!” Caitlyn cried.

“That’s when I got called outta the drama assembly,” Jay told her, as he flickered his sight to Caitlyn’s.

“He’s not getting away with it, is he?” Caitlyn squeaked. “Why would he do such a thing?”

“I dunno,” Jay shrugged, returning his hands to his pockets. “I spent the afternoon in Llywelyn’s office,” he muttered. Throwing his head over his shoulder, Jay scanned the area to check who was behind them. “Luckily, there’s a camera in reception,” Jay went on, as he returned his vision to where he was going. “And it caught Kieran and Sean runnin’ by, kicking the ball, so I think I’m in the clear… but Mr Llywelyn just kept yelling: “Why would this boy frame you?” at me over and over.”

Jay flickered a glance at Caitlyn. Reaching a hand out towards Jay, Caitlyn retracted it as their eyes locked. She shrugged and gave him a half smile, lost with what to say. A flutter from his heart sank to his stomach. His eyes began to sting. Lowering his line of vision to his feet, Jay sniffed. “I dunno,” he sighed. “Guess he didn’t get what he wanted an’ blamed me.”

“What?” Caitlyn murmured, with a frown. “I don’t understand. What did Kieran want?”

“Forget it,” Jay shrugged, shaking his head. He took a quick glance at Caitlyn, before shifting his sight back to the ground. “I shouldn’t have told you,” he muttered, as the swirling in his stomach returned.

Nearing the end of their walk together, Caitlyn and Jay turned onto their road. Since Jay’s reveal of his fall out with Kieran, he and Caitlyn had remained silent. Caitlyn’s chest jittered, as she attempted several times to start up a conversation with Jay, but failed. Her intestines knotted. ‘I wish there were something I could do,’ she sobbed to herself. Folding her arms tighter into her torso, Caitlyn hunched her shoulders and turned to face Jay. “What’s going to happen at school now?” she asked him. “Are you gonna be okay?”

“I don’t know, Caitlyn, okay?” he growled. “I don’t know.” Caitlyn’s eyes darted to the ground. Her heart crashed against her ribcage. Her stomach flopped. Blinking several times, she forced a swallow.

“You don’t have to call for me in the morning if you don’t want to,” she mumbled. Lowering her head, she felt the inner corners of her eyes sting. Silence. She sniffed. Stepping towards the curb, she formed a distance between them.

“I’m sorry,” Jay sighed. “I didn’t mean t’ yell,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay,” she muttered, sliding an arm out of her backpack. “Looks like you need Mr Bear as much as I do,” she told him. Having swung her bag around to her front, Caitlyn gripped her bear keyring and made the bear’s paw wave at Jay. He smirked, exhaling through his nose.

“Thanks,” he muttered, with a little chuckle.

“If you ever want to talk… about anything, it doesn’t have to be this… you know where to find me,” Caitlyn told him, as she stood in her driveway. Prodding the right corner of his mouth up, Jay nodded.

 

*

 

Flicking through her notebook, Caitlyn paused the page at her timetable. A sigh escaped her as she gazed down at the grid of subjects and break times. It was Wednesday. She had maths first lesson again. Darcia and her maths group could be heard laughing from the opposite end of the corridor. Staring down at her notepad, Caitlyn’s writing blurred. Letters danced around the page. Her stomach spiralled. Snapping her book shut, Caitlyn closed her eyes. “Why are you on your own?” asked a familiar male voice. Caitlyn shot her eyes open. “And on the floor?” Jay added with a chuckle. “If you’re not careful, you’ll get trampled on.”

“I know,” muttered Caitlyn. “It’s just, Darcia doesn’t let me wait with her when we have maths – I have no idea why,” Caitlyn told him with a sigh. “She’s only there.” As Caitlyn pointed towards Darcia’s group, three classrooms away, Jay shook his head. “She lets Samantha wait with her, and her friend Emily’s in that class too,” she added. “I can hang around with them any other time, just not before maths.”

“How odd,” replied Jay with a shrug. “What about Aisha?”

“Her dad doesn’t drop her off until right before lessons start,” Caitlyn sighed. “He sounds cautious of her making friends.”

“Too bad,” Jay muttered. “Well, I’m heading to music for twenty minutes,” Jay told her. “I start in my new form group today and I’m meeting some of the guys there.”

“That’s great!” gasped Caitlyn. Her eyes sparkled as her grin grew. Following Kieran framing Jay for breaking the deputy head teacher’s office window, on Monday, Jay no longer felt safe in the same form group as his former friend. Mr Llywelyn agreed that it was best for the two boys to distance themselves. Caitlyn had suggested that Jay transferred to her form group, however, after discovering the motive for Kieran’s actions, Mr Llywelyn did not want to place Jay in a situation that could aggravate the tension between the boys further. After being introduced a group of guys during PE, Jay decided to transfer form groups to Mr Ferrante’s class. “Well good luck,” Caitlyn told him.

“Thanks,” replied Jay. “You too. Catch ya later,” he sang with a wave.

Watching Jay grow smaller, the further along the corridor he traversed, Caitlyn’s heart sank. ‘I’m happy for him,’ she told herself as she shifted her sight to the chewing gum stain in the carpet in front of her. ‘I just… I wish things were different.’ Fanning the pages of her notebook with her thumb, Caitlyn gazed up the corridor, towards Darcia’s maths group, congregating outside the classroom. ‘So much feels different,’ Caitlyn sighed. ‘But not new different.’ Her intestines spiralled into knots. ‘Changed different. There aren’t words to explain it. It’s like magic,’ she decided. ‘Things were supposed to go a certain way. People always act a certain way… but then some thing happened… and the future got changed… somehow.’ Her heart dropped to her stomach. Her mouth froze open.

Leaping up, Caitlyn stepped towards the window opposite her classroom. She gazed out. As gleams of sunlight rose over the building, a shimmer caught Caitlyn’s eyes. The black tower. ‘Does that have something to do with this?’ she wondered. ‘This odd feeling that I’ve had ever since I stepped foot inside this school. That something odd and strange is happening.’ Shaking her head, Caitlyn laughed to herself. ‘Have I gone mad?’ she chuckled. ‘There’s no such thing as magic. It was a nice thought though,’ she mused, coming out of her daydream.

Turning her attention back to Darcia’s maths group, she stared at a student lingering nearby. A boy, with scruffy brown hair, stood outside of the friendship group. Leaning against the window, with his hands in his pockets, he gazed down the corridor. Caitlyn’s lips parted as her eyes met his. She shot her eyes to the floor, feeling her cheeks tingle. ‘Maybe I should be more like Artie,’ Caitlyn told herself, as her smile poked into her cheeks. ‘He’s not afraid to do his own thing and be on his own… I admire that.’ Flickering another glance in his direction, Caitlyn’s shoulders relaxed as she saw Artie staring out the window. ‘He’s really brave,’ she admired. ‘I wish I could be more like him.’

 

Naeniam Exponentia

Throughout the week, both Caitlyn and Jay began settling into their new school. Caitlyn felt she coped well in her maths, English and science lessons, which were the most important subjects. She liked her maths teacher, Mrs Arendas, and her science teacher, Dr McAuley, made her laugh when he dumbed down his explanation of a chemical reaction for a member of her class that did not understand. “Just imagine I bashed your two heads together,’ Dr McAuley explained to the two boys, while swinging his hands together, with an echoing clap. “Well, you wouldn’t just sit there and take it would you? You’d react.” Most of the class hid sniggers behind their hands.

Despite Caitlyn’s immediate disliking to her form tutor, Mr Shaw, she warmed up to him during her form group’s English lessons. ‘He’s a good teacher,’ Caitlyn decided as she hopped out of her English classroom on Wednesday afternoon. Mr Shaw had praised Caitlyn for her observation in the author’s choice of words, in the passage that they were reading. ‘However,’ he warned her. ‘How you interpret it, may not be the same as how I or your friends might interpret it. That doesn’t make you interpretation wrong, nor does it make mine invalid. You see class,” Mr Shaw went on. “Although the author’s intent may be to make you feel one way, if you were to experience a different feeling, or emotion, that is valid too. Each of you brings your own life experiences to the table. That’s the fun of creative writing and is what makes each of us unique. Feel free to harness that unique view point that you hold and use it to your advantage in your essay, when telling me how the novel affected you.”

‘I think I’m starting to like English,’ Caitlyn decided. ‘Mr Shaw makes everyone feel like their opinion is valid. I wish other teachers made you feel this way.’

Caitlyn’s geography teacher became her history teacher too, when the school got a phone call, on Wednesday morning, to say that the teacher who should have been teaching Caitlyn’s class had gone into labour. “Please don’t push yourself too hard,” Caitlyn had pleaded to Ms Tata, once her history lesson was over.

“Thank you for your kind words, Caitlyn,” Ms Tata praised. “I’m happy to help out. Besides, if it becomes too much, Miss Lehal, your RE teacher, has offered to assist.” Caitlyn gave Ms Tata her kindest smile as she nodded. “If only more students were like you,” Ms Tata praised.

To Darcia’s dismay, Miss Ferguson’s PE lessons were even harder than she had imagined. “Does she think this is a fire drill?!” Darcia exclaimed to Caitlyn, while Miss Ferguson screamed, “Go! Go! Go! Faster now! Faster!” as the girls ran an obstacle course around the gym.

Arcturus High had many subjects on their timetable that Caitlyn was unfamiliar with before. German, art, music and design and technology. Apart from her strict art teacher, who made the class work in silence while they drew the plain ivory cup in front of them, Caitlyn enjoyed her other lessons.

In music, Mr Wye, taught them how to play a simple tune on the glockenspiel. He let out a playful chuckle when Caitlyn continued to mix the glockenspiel and xylophone up, no matter how many times he told her which was which. “You amuse me, Miss Flynn,” he told her with a gentle smile, as he dismissed the class. “I hope you do not think I am being unkind,” he warned. “Your way of learning intrigues me. You see, usually I’m the one setting the tasks for my students to follow, but you, my dear, have set me with an interesting venture – to discover new ways of teaching, as opposed to the traditional textbook standard. Textbook jargon bores me, hence, why I became a music teacher.” Caitlyn felt her cheeks tingle as she held her breath, to conceal a giggle. Mr Wye’s vision hazed as he stared out of the window at the clouds. His eyes widened as he clicked his fingers. “By Jove, I’ve had a fabulous idea,” he blurted, as he shuddered out of his daydream and returned his attention to Caitlyn. “Thank you, Miss Flynn. Thank you indeed!” he exclaimed, shaking her hand.

Even her IT class was much different to what she was used to. “We actually get to learn what all of the buttons and menus do,” Caitlyn gasped as she explained to Emily how their double IT lesson went, during lunch. “In our old school, we just typed up our English essays and that was classed as an IT lesson.”

Jay, too, had begun to settle into secondary school. His new group of friends all played musical instruments. Before and after school they met up in the music practice rooms to practise their instruments and hang out with other likeminded people. Caitlyn had caught a glimpse of Jay and his new group of friends a few times around school. A warmth engulfed her when she saw him smiling and laughing with them.

Walking to school with Jay on Friday morning, Caitlyn questioned him about his week, determined to make sure he was okay. A knot in her stomach formed when she wondered if he was pretending to be happy whenever he spotted her.

“You have to stop worrying,” Jay told her, with a chuckle, as they entered the park. “Everything’s fine.” Shifting her sight to the gravel underfoot, Caitlyn gripped her right elbow with her left hand. “How about we walk home together, later?” he suggested. A smile poked into Caitlyn’s cheek as she faced him. “I’m going to music club after school; you’re welcome to join.”

“I don’t know,” Caitlyn shrugged. “I don’t play an instrument.”

“You can learn one,” Jay replied. “I’m taking up cornet. Why don’t you join me? We can learn together.”

“You know my parents won’t pay for lessons,” Caitlyn sighed. “My dad says, “If school want you do something it should be free.” He doesn’t care that I want to learn the ukulele and piano.” Rolling her eyes, Caitlyn’s shoulders drooped.

“Maybe my parents should adopt you,” Jay joked. “They’d let you learn whatever instrument you wanted. Will plays trombone and guitar – he’s taking up drums this year too. I think he wants to be a one-man band.” The two laughed as they imagined Jay’s older brother parading around the school playing as many instruments, at once, as he could. “At least I made you laugh,” Jay pointed out, screeching open the park gate.

“Thanks,” Caitlyn smiled.

Arching her head over her shoulder, a flutter tingled in Caitlyn’s stomach as a row of three older girls walked in their direction. The middle girl wore a long rainbow striped woollen scarf, with tassels at the ends. ‘She looks so cool. I wish I could be like her,’ Caitlyn thought with a deep sigh. ‘I bet she has lots of friends.’

“All clubs are having an intro day, after school today,” Jay told Caitlyn, bringing her attention back to the direction she was walking. “I’m sure you can find another one to join.”

“Apart from music and art club, aren’t all the others sports?” she muttered, stiffening her shoulders.

“Maybe,” Jay shrugged. “Why not try art then?”

“You know I can’t draw,” sulked Caitlyn with a nervous laugh, twisting her studded earring.

“You can,” Jay insisted. “Stick people count.”

“Do not!” she laughed, giving Jay a playful shove.

“Do too!” he exclaimed. “I bet somewhere in the world there’s a museum dedicated to stickmen drawings.” Caitlyn cupped a hand to her mouth as she burst out laughing. Influenced by Caitlyn’s laughter and amused by his own statement, Jay chuckled at Caitlyn’s side. “See, I bet you’ll be world famous.”

“Look Jay,” Caitlyn sighed, once they had run across the busy main road. “I’m struggling to keep up with classes as it is. Six classes a day, six lots of hour-long homework. My dyslexia isn’t helping matters, especially since my dad stopped the help I was getting, once he found out it cost money.” Giving her shoulders a wriggle, Caitlyn adjusted the weight of her backpack. “I don’t think I have time for a club,” she went on with a sigh. “I’ll go to the library after school, to make a start on my homework and I need to find a book to read for English. Maybe I can meet you there, after music club.”

“Okay,” Jay shrugged. “If you’re sure.” Caitlyn nodded. “Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

“Thanks,” she smiled.

As Caitlyn and Jay crossed over a side road, Darcia raced towards them. “Morning!” she cheered, waving at Caitlyn.

“See you later,” Jay muttered, with a nod to Caitlyn as he strode on, sliding his hands into his pockets.

“Promise you won’t forget me!” Caitlyn called after him, feeling her insides sink to the depths of her stomach.

Turning around, Jay’s cheeks turned pink as he replied, “I promise.” A giggle escaped Caitlyn as she waved to him.

“What’s that all about?” Darcia hissed, once Jay was out of earshot.

“Nothing,” mumbled Caitlyn, looping her thumbs beneath the straps of her backpack. Holding her head high, she watched Jay disappear into the crowd of students ahead.

“Is something going on?” asked Darcia, with a hint of excitement to her voice. Her eyes pierced open as she bounced up and down on her toes. “Oh Caitlyn, what is it? Is it a secret? You can tell me.”

“It’s nothing,” Caitlyn shrugged.

“Please,” begged Darcia. “I won’t tell.”

“Jay’s just meeting me after school, that’s all,” Caitlyn replied with a shrug.

“Oh,” muttered Darcia, as her heels sank to the pavement. Her head bounced up as a smile poked back into the corner of her mouth. “Why is he meeting you?” she asked with a gleam in her eye.

“We often walk home together,” Caitlyn told her with another shrug. “It’s no big deal.”

“This was different,” Darcia insisted, tugging on Caitlyn’s sleeve. Ignoring Darcia’s odd behaviour, Caitlyn continued walking. Darcia gasped, frozen to the spot.

“You okay?” asked Caitlyn, turning back to see why Darcia had stopped. Racing up to Caitlyn’s side, Darcia tugged on her friend’s sleeve once more.

“He likes you, doesn’t he?” she beamed.

“Jay’s my friend,” replied Caitlyn. “Of course he does.”

“No,” Darcia sighed. “He likes you. I can tell.”

“Darcia,” sighed Caitlyn, rolling her eyes. “Jay and I are just friends, you know that. Just because he’s a guy, it doesn’t mean we can’t be just friends.”

“Whatever you say,” mused Darcia with an increasing grin.

 

*

 

As double English finished at five-past-three, a group of five girls lingered on the corner of the English and art corridor. “Are you sure you’re not coming to art club, Caitlyn?” Samantha whined. “It won’t be the same without you,” she pouted.

“Sorry Samantha,” murmured Caitlyn with a puckered brow, “but I can’t draw. You saw Mrs Bevin frown at my cup drawing. I think she hates me.”

“Stop being silly,” Darcia sighed. “Yours was the best. Mrs Bevin just didn’t like how realistic you made it – adding in the crack an’ everything.” The girls laughed. “Mrs Bevin hates all of us,” Darcia went on. “I think she hates everybody, including the teachers,” she added with a snigger. “Did you see her scowl at Mr Heekin when he came to check on us? I thought she was going to gouge his eyes out.”

“Darcia!” gasped Caitlyn and Samantha in unison.

“What?” Darcia shrugged. “It’s true.”

“So, why are you two going to art club?” asked Caitlyn as her forehead furrowed. “I couldn’t cope with Mrs Bevin glaring at me for another hour,” she told them as she wrinkled her nose.

“Mrs Bevin isn’t running it,” Samantha told her. “Miss Atkins and Mr Lockley are.”

“They’re only going because Darcia has a huge crush on Mr Lockley,” Emily added with a snigger.

“Em!” screeched Darcia.

“Don’t worry,” Aisha laughed. “It’s not a secret. We’ve seen you drooling over him every time he walks past.” While Aisha, Emily and Samantha burst out laughing, Caitlyn shot her eyes to the floor.

The talk of crushes made Caitlyn’s stomach lather with unease. Mr Lockley was a tall, slim man, with shoulder-length blond hair swept back in a ponytail. ‘I don’t see how he’s that different to anyone else,’ Caitlyn shrugged to herself, while the girls laughed. ‘What’s with their sudden interest in boys?’ she wondered. ‘Darcia seemed to think something was going on between Jay and I this morning.’ A frown fixed on Caitlyn’s forehead, as her friends continued to laugh.

“Wish I’d asked my dad to let me stay longer,” Aisha sulked. “He’s picking me up any minute.”

“Well, I’m going to music club, if you want to join,” Emily told Caitlyn. “And I’m not going because I’m garh-garh over some teacher,” she added with a chuckle. “I’m a drummer. I wanna see if I can join the percussion group. Oh, and I wanna join choir too.”

“Choir sounds fun,” admitted Caitlyn. ‘And Jay is going to music club too,’ she reminded herself. Flickering her sight between her friends, a knot formed in her stomach at the thought of picking sides. “I think I’ll just go to the library,” she decided. “I need a reading book for English and I should probably find a textbook to help me with my science homework.”

“Okay, have fun,” Darcia told her. She and Samantha waved to their friends, before skipping over to one of the art classrooms.

As Aisha waved goodbye and headed towards the school’s main entrance, Emily and Caitlyn continued down the corridor. “All clubs let you join whenever you want,” Emily explained. “Today’s just a taster session, so if you change your mind, once you know what day the club meets, you can join whenever you like.”

“Thanks,” smiled Caitlyn. “It’s helpful having a friend who knows a little about the school.”

“You’re welcome,” Emily replied with a warm smile. “Have a nice weekend,” she said with a wave as they reached the staircase that led up to the humanities and music departments.

“You too,” replied Caitlyn, beaming back.

“I’ll meet you at the lockers, first thing on Monday morning, okay?” Emily asked.

“Okay,” nodded Caitlyn with a giggle, as they parted ways.

Entering the library, Caitlyn flickered her attention from right to left, then back again. Looping her thumbs through the straps of her backpack, she gripped them tight. To her immediate left, a lady with dark curly hair sat behind a desk, typing away on a computer. She glanced up at Caitlyn and gave her a nod of acknowledgement, as she ventured inside. Caitlyn returned the nod before examining the aisles of books.

A line of wooden bookcases outlined the walls on the far-left and far-right side of the room. They towered over Caitlyn at six shelves high. A further two rows of bookshelves created a narrow walkway on both sides of the room. A collection of tables and chairs lay in between. Towards the back of the library, a group appeared to gather around a large table. A small handful of computers lay against the walls, on either side of the congregated group. Keeping a low profile, Caitlyn dipped her head as she headed towards the furthest bookcase on the right-hand side of the library. Above, Caitlyn had spotted the sign that read, ‘Fiction’. Glancing through the shelves, Caitlyn sighed to herself. ‘This would be easier if Darcia were here.’ Having traipsed her index finger along the top two rows of novels, Caitlyn’s shoulders sank. ‘Where do I even start?’ she wondered. ‘How do I know if I’ll like one?’ Taking her backpack off, Caitlyn dropped it to the floor, with a thud. Flickering her sight to the spot where her bag landed, she noticed a handful of books poking out of the shelf. Caitlyn exhaled a sigh with a hum as she crouched down and began prodding the books back inline on the shelf. A frown fixed to her forehead. The books would not budge. She tilted her head to one side, squinting towards the back of the shelf. ‘Something seems to be blocking them,’ she realised, seeing a murky stone rectangle against the back of the cinnamon-coloured wood.

Dropping to her knees, Caitlyn began pulling out the books that were hanging out of the bookcase. As she pulled out the last book, the stone-coloured rectangle flopped. She grunted as she stretched her hand to the back of the bottom shelf. Examining her find, she hummed at the book in her hands. The words: ‘The Masked Detective Series,’ lined the top of the book, with the image of a young man in a trilby hat and eye mask etched in the centre. Holding a hand to her mouth, Caitlyn tried to hide her excited gasp. ‘The Iron Face Crusade by SK McCyanth,’ was etched on the bottom. Fanning the worn, yellowed pages, Caitlyn turned to the back of the book. ‘Follow the first of Detective Dean Franklin’s adventures in ‘The Iron Face Crusade’ as he follows smugglers, escapes a bank heist and races his automobile to the death, all to clear his name. Read the one that started it all,’ Caitlyn read. ‘This seems interesting. I think I’ve found my book,’ she beamed. ‘That was easy.’

Placing the book to one side, she returned the others, which she had pulled from the shelf, back into the bookcase. A musty smell filter into the air, as Caitlyn returned her attention to the weathered, old book. Flicking open the front cover, she glanced through the library return dates sheet in the inside cover. “No way!” she gasped out loud. ‘This book hasn’t been taken out since I was born,’ she realised. ‘Has it really been sat at the back of the shelf for eleven whole years? That makes it all the more special,’ she decided with a gleam in her eye. ‘It’s like it was meant to be. Maybe things are starting to go right after all.’

Hearing a familiar, deep, male voice, Caitlyn shuddered out of her thoughts. “Bert, why’s there a mop on your head?” came an odd question from Mr Penn. Instead of the unsettling, icy shudder creeping up her spine that she sensed whenever she was around Mr Penn, this time, Caitlyn could not help but laugh. Turning to face the group that had congregated around the large table towards the back of the library, Caitlyn began to watch.

“I’m growing my hair out,” exclaimed a tall boy with a sandy-brown long fringe that swept across his face. His hair curled out at his ears and down his neck. “Well Ariel seems to like it,” he declared, puffing out his chest. A girl with long, coffee-coloured hair giggled.

“You look like a hippie,” remarked Mr Penn, scrunching up his nose. Many of the others at the table began laughing too. Caitlyn had to press a hand to her mouth, in fears that they would hear her giggling along with them.

“You’re one to talk, Sir,” scoffed Bert. “Your hair comes past your shoulders.”

“The difference, Bertie, is mine is a gorgeous mane of locks,” he proclaimed. “Whereas yours is a mop,” he said simply. “Now folks, are we here to tease Mr Cador about his hair?” he asked the group, before adding, “Although we all know he deserves it,” in a mutter. “Or are we here to talk about magic?”

“Magic?” Caitlyn gasped, dropping her book. Mr Penn and Bert turned towards her. Bert gave Caitlyn a big smile and waved at her. Caitlyn smiled back, before dropping her eyes to the floor. Feeling her cheeks tingle, she scooped up her book and grabbed her backpack, swinging a strap on her shoulder. As she returned to glance in Bert and Mr Penn’s direction, Mr Penn had continued with the group’s conversation.

Caitlyn’s heart skipped a beat, as she wandered towards the other side of the library. ‘Magic,’ she relayed the word over in her mind, as she stared at the science section of books. ‘Stop being silly,’ Caitlyn scolded herself, with a stern expression. ‘Mr Penn is a science teacher. He believes in logic and facts. He couldn’t possibly have said the word magic.’ Flickering her eyes across the titles on the side of the books, Caitlyn spotted the fire flame design on the spine that she recognised as the book her science teacher, Dr McAuley, had used. As Caitlyn stretched up to reach the textbook, she heard Mr Penn’s voice again and could not help, but peer through the gap between the bookcases and watch.

“I see none of you are interested in sleight of hand this afternoon,” Mr Penn huffed, as he dropped his deck of playing cards down on the table. The cards scattered, drifting towards the students sat opposite him. “Did any of you practise anything I taught you over the summer break?”

‘Ooh,’ Caitlyn realised, feeling her cheeks tingle with embarrassment. ‘They meant magic as in card tricks, of course. How silly of me.’ Shaking her head at herself, Caitlyn continued to watch. ‘I’d love to learn card tricks,’ Caitlyn thought as her eyes widened. A warm tingle spread inside her. ‘And this looks like a club meeting up. I wonder why no one ever mentioned it.’

“I practised, Mr Penn,” said a boy with scruffy blond hair. Sat facing Mr Penn, the boy had his back to Caitlyn.

“I’m sure you did Fabian, which is why you’re one of my favourites,” Mr Penn praised. “As for the rest of you,” he growled, “I guess I can take a gander as to why you are here… Frandadis fruits, I presume.” The unamused tone in Mr Penn’s voice, as he rolled his eyes, caused Caitlyn to avert her eyes from the group.

‘Mr Tall-Dark-and-Scary seems to be in a bad mood,’ Caitlyn decided as she crept away from the group. ‘I wouldn’t want to see him lose his temper.’ With her science textbook and novel in hand, Caitlyn made her way towards the lady at the desk, who acknowledged her when she first came in.

Forcing a swallow, Caitlyn edged closer to the librarian at the front desk. “Erm… hi,” Caitlyn muttered, lowering her head. “I’d like to borrow these books, please.”

“Of course,” smiled the librarian, peering over her moon-shaped spectacles. “You’re a new student, aren’t you?” she asked. Caitlyn nodded. “Right. I just need you to fill in this form,” she explained, passing Caitlyn an A5 sheet of paper. Dropping her bag to the floor, Caitlyn popped open the flap and dove her hand inside to rummage for a pen. A bellow of laughter rang out from the back of the room. Twisting her head over her shoulder, Caitlyn looked towards Mr Penn’s group. “I apologise for the noise,” the librarian told her as her brows slanted upwards. “I only agreed they could stay, as the library is usually empty after school on a Friday.”

“That’s okay,” Caitlyn shrugged. “I’m just going to start on homework while I wait for my friend to come from music club, if that’s okay?” she asked, as she filled out the form.

“Of course, dear,” the librarian replied. “We do close at four o’clock,” she warned.

“That’s fine,” replied Caitlyn as she slid the form across the table towards the librarian.

“Thank you,” the librarian smiled. Taking Caitlyn’s books, she stamped the return date on the inside cover. “I did forget Mr Segoe and Mr Wye hold their big music club induction on the first Friday of the school year,” she muttered. “That’s why I’m stuck with this lot.” Caitlyn’s eyes widened as the librarian ranted on. “I thought Mr Penn had fallen out with Mr Wye again – it wouldn’t surprise me. Why Wye lets him use his music classroom for such a thing is beyond me.”

“Sorry, Miss,” Caitlyn murmured with a puzzled frown. “I thought Mr Penn was a science teacher. Why can’t he hold his club in his classroom?”

“Mr Penn’s club,” she snarled her nose, as though the world ‘club’ disgusted her. “Is not approved of by the science faculty – or many others to be frank,” she muttered under her breath. “Music is the farthest, oldest part of the school, if you don’t count that unsightly turret.” Caitlyn shot her eyes down to the table. Inhaling through her nose, she held a shaky breath. “You’re welcome to stay, dear,” the librarian told her as she returned the books to Caitlyn. “Just try and steer clear of that lot.” Feeling a lump form in her throat, Caitlyn’s bottom lip quivered, as she locked eyes with the librarian.

“Thank you,” Caitlyn mumbled. Taking her books, Caitlyn stooped her head and dragged her feet as she shuffled towards the seating area, in the centre of the room.

Picking a desk that was hidden from the librarian’s view by an angled bookcase, Caitlyn dropped into the seat. A shaky breath escaped her as she fluttered her eyes closed. Relaxing her shoulders, she glanced over to Mr Penn’s group. “Now you must be careful,” he warned the students surrounding him at the table, as he stirred a stick around in a glass beaker. “If you splash any of this on you, the consequences could be fatal.”

‘That sounds dangerous,’ Caitlyn squirmed. ‘What magic trick involves a dangerous liquid?’ she wondered as she rummaged in her bag for her science exercise book and her pencil case. ‘Maybe he’s doing a science experiment,’ she decided.

“Hannah, we’re going to need Monsieur Ducky for this one,” announced Mr Penn. A frown furrowed on Caitlyn’s brow as she hummed a giggle. Digging her elbows into the table, Caitlyn stretched her neck, in attempt to see what was happening. Around a dozen heads gathered around the table as a girl with toffee coloured, curly hair in two braids that hung from her ears, hooked her hands behind the back of her neck to remove her necklace.

“You better not break it,” grumbled the girl, as she fumbled with her necklace clasp.

“Yee of little faith,” Mr Penn sighed. Refastening the chain together, having removed it from her neck, the girl handed her cord with a dangling head of a rubber duck to Mr Penn. “Pay attention now,” he told the group, “as I’m only going to do this once.” Caitlyn’s eyes widened. Her heart raced in her chest. Holding Hannah’s necklace in one hand, Mr Penn dipped a pipette into the beaker he had been stirring. He squeezed the pipette bulb, extracting a pinch of liquid. The strict stare he had worn changed to a smug grin as he allowed three droplets to fall. The duck’s smooth plastic wrinkled. Its beak opened.

“Quack!” squawked the duck head, blinking as it swung from its cord. “Quack! Quaa-ack!”

“Wow!” Caitlyn gasped out loud. Her mouth froze open and her eyes widened as big as they could. The group broke into a chorus of cheers and applause. Caitlyn joined in, clapping as the rubber duck’s features faded back to its smooth plastic and its beak closed.

Returning Hannah her duck necklace (who had lost her grumbling frown and was now smiling with the rest of the group) Mr Penn leant towards Bert, who stood on his left and began to whisper. A warm bubble of excitement swirled around in Caitlyn’s stomach. She felt her cheeks tingle as she returned her attention to her science book. ‘Now that really was magic,’ Caitlyn beamed an astounded grin. ‘Oh, it looks so much fun.’ Skimming her eyes across the page of her science textbook, Caitlyn fidgeted with the lid of her pen. ‘How can I concentrate now?’ she sighed to herself. ‘Science is so boring compared to whatever it is they’re doing.’

A shadow hovered over her book. Caitlyn flinched. Shooting her head up, she felt her face flush as Bert, the boy from Mr Penn’s group, stood in front of her. “Hi,” he smiled. “I’m Bert. I’m from the Naeniam Exponentia club, led by Mr Penn,” he told her, pointing towards the group behind him. Pinching her lips in, Caitlyn flickered her eyes from the boy in front of her, down to the table. “You seem to have taken an interest in our club?” he phrased this more as a question than a statement.

“I’m sorry,” muttered Caitlyn, returning her sight to Bert. She inhaled a sharp sniff as Mr Penn appeared at his side. “I, I… I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Nonsense,” laughed Mr Penn. “What’s your name, kid?”

“Caitlyn,” she replied, forcing a swallow.

“Glad to meet you, Caitlyn,” beamed Mr Penn. He extended his hand out towards her, to shake. Shifting her sight from Mr Penn to Bert and back again, Caitlyn bit on the inside of her cheek as she rose from her seat and reached a hesitant hand towards his. Mr Penn’s hand engulfed hers, as he yanked a firm shake. “I’m glad you have taken an interest in our activities,” he told her as he released her hand from his grip. “As I have taken an interest in you.”

Clasping her hands to her chest, the hairs on the back of Caitlyn’s neck prickled. Her stomach whirlpooled. Pulse pounded at her temples. Her palms dampened with sweat. Feeling her heart hammer in her ribcage, creases lined Caitlyn’s forehead as she looked to Bert.

“That’s a good thing,” he whispered, leaning towards her. Lowering her sight to the table, Caitlyn shuffled back a step. “So, will you join us?” Bert asked, holding his hand out towards her.

“Erm…” muttered Caitlyn, flickering her sight to the large table behind him. Eyes stared at her. Aside from the girl with a tanned complexion and dark hair in a braid over one shoulder, who snarled her nose at Caitlyn, the table was full of welcoming smiles. Scanning the group, Caitlyn noticed, there appeared to be eight guys and three girls sat at the table. She hummed to herself, as she returned her sight to Bert and Mr Penn. “Well, there are thirteen of you… and the first to leave is the first to die,” Caitlyn pointed out. “So, if I join you, that’ll make fourteen and no one has to worry.”

“I like the way you think,” nodded Mr Penn.

With a newfound grin on his face, Mr Penn took his place at the centre of the table, with Bert as his side. Having grabbed her bag and slid her books inside it, Caitlyn followed Bert and Mr Penn, perching on an empty chair at the end of the table, opposite the girl with long coffee-coloured hair, who Caitlyn saw laughing at Bert, earlier. ‘I’m guessing she’s Ariel,’ Caitlyn decided, having heard the name mentioned. Beside Ariel sat a shorter boy, with spikey, dirty-blond hair. Next to the short boy, sat Bert and next to Bert was Mr Penn. On Mr Penn’s right, sat the girl named Hannah, who wore the necklace with the head of a rubber duck. Beside her sat two similar looking boys, with jet-black hair, parted down the centre. The boy farthest from Caitlyn straightened his posture and brushed part of his fringe from his face, curling it behind his ear. Opposite the identical boys sat the girl who had snarled her nose at Caitlyn. Beside her sat a boy with deep burgundy hair. The snarling girl linked her arm through his. ‘Clearly marking her territory,’ Caitlyn noted, rolling her eyes. The next four seats were all taken up by boys. The first boy’s hair was curled and a slight golden brown; he gripped the cuffs of his blazer around his wrists and lowered his head from the group. Next to him, and opposite Mr Penn, was the scruffy haired blond, whom Mr Penn had called, one of his favourites. Next to the blond was another brunet, but his hair was a deep ash, similar to Mr Penn’s. Beside him, and next to Caitlyn, was a boy with a similar hair colour to herself, except his had a more copper glow than her bronze hue.

“Right,” boomed Mr Penn, retrieving the deck of cards from his pocket. “This, here, is our honorary member, for the afternoon, Caitlyn,” he announced, holding a hand over, towards her. As heads turned to gawk at her, Caitlyn felt her cheeks tingle. Pinching in her lips, she shifted her sight to the various faces, making sure not to linger on one person for longer than a second. “Now I want you all to make her feel welcome,” he told them, as he skimmed the empty card box across the table. Cutting the deck of cards up, between several fingers, and sliding them back in place, Mr Penn asked the group, “Who’d like to show our guest some real magic?” Several hands shot up and murmurs muttered amongst them. “Now we all know sleight of hand is where the real work lies,” he told them, as he placed the cards on the table. Cutting the deck in half, Mr Penn placed the two stacks parallel to each other. “Hmm, let’s see,” he muttered to himself, debating which member of the group to select. Whilst he pondered, he placed his thumbs on the inner corners of both piles of cards. Sliding his thumbs from bottom to top, the cards slotted inside one another.

A warmth bubbled inside of Caitlyn as she watched the cards dance between Mr Penn’s fingers. ‘I wish I could shuffle like that,’ she yearned. ‘If he can shuffle cards this well, I can’t wait to see what sort of tricks he teaches.’

“Fabian,” beamed Mr Penn, at the blond boy opposite him. “Would you do me the honour, no, the group, the honour and demonstrate to Caitlyn what we can do?”

“Sure,” Fabian shrugged. Rising from his seat, he reached over to take the shuffled deck from Mr Penn.

“Nothing too difficult,” warned Mr Penn, as he sat back down. “We don’t want to scare her off. Think exciting yet simple. Think amaze yet super easy to teach, in a single session.”

Feeling his heart rattle in his chest and his ears beginning to burn, Fabian nodded. He turned his attention to the new girl, sat on the end of the table. As he stared at her, the bodies around him blurred into the background. He gave her a warm smile, as he shuffled the cards from his right hand to his left. As she gazed back at him, a flutter tingled in his stomach.

“Why don’t we ask Caitlyn to show us what she can do?” snarled the girl on the farthest end of the table, before a sound came out of Fabian’s mouth.

‘Oh no!’ Caitlyn cried to herself as her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach.

“Excellent idea Beth!” exclaimed Mr Penn, as he leapt out of his chair. “Hand the cards to Caitlyn, my boy,” Mr Penn instructed, rubbing his palms together. “Let’s see what we have to work with.”

“That’s not really fair,” Fabian objected, as he watched Caitlyn’s smile drain from her face. “I doubt Caitlyn’s had a teacher as good as you,” he went on, being careful how he phrased his frustration. “You don’t want to embarrass her, do you?” He clutched the cards tight, in his right hand, as he spoke; his wrist trembled.

“Although I do agree with you, Mr Hayes, I think our Bethany is right,” explained Mr Penn. “Every magician must be comfortable presenting to a crowd. It’s all about confidence.”

A terrifying shudder prickled the hairs on the back of Caitlyn’s neck. Her breathing grew heavy. Sweat clung to her palms. A lump tightened at her throat. Lowering his head, Fabian shrugged and grumbled under his breath as he approached Caitlyn. “I’m sorry,” he whispered as he handed her the cards.

“Thanks,” she breathed, staring at the deck in her hand.

“Whenever you’re ready,” said Mr Penn, as he took his seat. Leaning forward, he pressed his elbows into the table, laced his fingers together at the top of his chest and placed his chin upon them.

Inhaling a shaky breath, Caitlyn shuffled in her seat as she stared at the cards. ‘I can do this,’ she told herself as her cheeks began to heat up. ‘I can do this,’ she repeated. Her heart rapped in her ribcage. ‘I know one trick… it may not be that good, but at least it’s something.’ Forcing a swallow, she shuffled the cards from her right hand to her left. Her intestines churned. Her eyes darted between the faces, all focused on her. Dropping her sight back to the cards, she fanned the deck out in front of her. She closed her eyes. Exhaling a long, slow breath, Caitlyn steadied her nerves, before turning her attention to the girl sat opposite her. “Would you like to pick a card?” she asked the girl, holding the fan of cards out towards her. The girl’s soft smile helped Caitlyn exhale another long, slow breath. “Anyone you like,” Caitlyn added, as she tried to spread the stack wider.

“Okay,” replied the brunette, as she slid a card out from the pile.

“You can look at it,” Caitlyn told her, “but don’t let me know what it is.” As the girl nodded, Caitlyn slid the cards back into one pile and made a cut.

“Aahh-chooo!” bellowed Mr Penn, snapping his eyes shut, he dipped his head into his elbow as he sneezed. Caitlyn flinched, as did many others. While everyone turned see Mr Penn’s colossal sneeze, Caitlyn snuck a peep at the bottom card of the pile in her right hand.

As everyone’s attention returned to Caitlyn, she asked the girl whom she thought was named Ariel, “Would you return the card, please?” holding out the half of the deck, in her left hand. The girl nodded, placing her chosen card on the top. Caitlyn placed this half of the cards on the table, putting the other half of the cards, in her right hand, on top of it. “Would you cut the deck for me, please?” Caitlyn asked, as she stared at the navy diamond design on the back of the deck. The brunette selected a chunk of the cards, lifted them from the pile and placed them on the table, beside the remaining stack. “And complete the cut,” Caitlyn instructed, keeping her vision between the girl opposite her and the deck of cards. Placing her fingers around the remaining cards, the brunette placed them on top of the pile that she had removed. “Thank you,” Caitlyn told her as she retrieved the pile.

Caitlyn’s fingers trembled. Her heart raced. ‘I can do this,’ Caitlyn reminded herself. ‘I can do this.’ Closing her eyes, Caitlyn took in a slow, deep breath. As she opened her eyes, she placed the top card, from the deck, face-up on the table. It was the five of clubs. “I know that isn’t your card,” Caitlyn told the girl opposite, noticing her puckered brow. “Nor is it the next card,” Caitlyn told her as she placed the two of diamonds on the pile. “Or the next one.” As the seven of spades was placed on top. With another five cards added to the pile and the Jack of clubs now on the top, Caitlyn announced, “I know that the next card is your card.” Her insides swirled and her heart thudded as she placed the three of clubs down on the pile. A nervous gasp escaped the brunette, as she looked from the card to Caitlyn.

“It is,” the girl told her. “Well done,” she added with a giggle.

“Thanks,” muttered Caitlyn. Dropping her eyes to the table, she placed the rest of the cards beside the pile.

“Good job,” beamed Mr Penn with a slow clap. Others around the table applauded along with him. “Nice card choice by the way,” he winked at the brunette. She chuckled at him. “Caitlyn, not bad for your first try,” Mr Penn told her. “A little rusty around the edges, but full of potential… and you actually have an interest in cards. That’s more than I can say for Mr Cador over here and some a his friends.”

“Hey!” Bert exclaimed, clenching his fists.

“Calm down, Bertie boy,” sang Mr Penn. “I’m only teasing. Now something we need to work on, Caitlyn, is our ability to misdirect.” Feeling the attention return back to her, Caitlyn sank in her seat as she lowered her chin to her chest. “That wasn’t sneezing, gang,” projected Mr Penn with a growing grin. “That was misdirection.” Cupping her fist to her mouth, Caitlyn giggled. “I was just giving Caitlyn a little helping hand there,” Mr Penn explained, as Caitlyn looked up towards him.

“Yeah,” muttered the girl on the far side of the table. “She needed the help.”

“Now Beth,” Mr Penn raised his voice, using a condescending tone. “If I remember right, when you joined my club less than a year ago, you couldn’t do a single card trick. You were only interested in the glamourous role as a magician’s assistant.” As several people laughed, Caitlyn held her breath, in hopes of swallowing a snigger.

“Ooow look at me,” mocked one of the boys opposite Beth. “I’m Beth and I think I’m so good looking. I don’t need to work hard.”

“No,” mimicked the other boy, “I’m too glamorous to do card tricks,” he laughed, fanning his fingers out and placing the back of his hand to his forehead. The library broke into laughter. Snarling her nose, Beth folded her arms tight at her chest.

“Shut it Stuart,” she snapped. “Jamie,” she muttered rolling her eyes. The boy who has started the teasing stuck his tongue out at her. “Bite me!” she growled.

“Enough!” roared Mr Penn, bringing silence to the room. “Now I’m sure we can all agree, Bethany deserved that,” Mr Penn told them. “But let’s not lose focus on why we’re here,” he warned. “There's production, vanish, levitation, suspension, transformation, transportation, transposition, restoration, penetration, prediction and escape all to cover, as well as discovering the mystifying properties of the Frandadis fruits, which are these colourful things here,” he announced, revealing a bowl of coloured berries from underneath the table. “These fruits have magical properties, yet to be explored by science. They can produce effects far greater than you can imagine. That demonstration I gave earlier, with the duck… that was using these.”

“Wow!” Caitlyn gasped.

Stretching her neck up, Caitlyn strained to see inside the lemon-coloured bowl that housed a rainbow of fruits shaped like raspberries and limes, but varying in size and texture. Some of the berry-shaped fruits reflected a glossy hue, resembling the peel of an orange, whereas some of the lime-shaped ones appeared to have mushed together and a current sap rolled around the bowl, as Mr Penn wavered it towards Caitlyn.

“I guess since it’s the first day back and you’re not all here,” Mr Penn said with a grumble. “As some of you decided you’d rather be at music, art or athletics club,” at this he rolled his eyes. “It’s pointless for me to teach you something new. We’ll break off into groups and you can get yourselves familiar with the properties of Frandadis fruits again,” he announced. “But you’re only getting the scraps. These things cost me a fortune,” he grumbled. “I’ve charged it to the school budget for now, but who knows how much longer they’ll keep funding our cause,” he warned them.

“Right, Jamie, Stuart and Hannah, you’re one group,” he told the three students on this right. “Beth, Caleb, Reuben, you’re another,” he instructed the three students sat opposite the first group. “Fabian, Oscar and Pete, another,” he told the line of boys to Caitlyn’s left. “Bert, Robin and Ariel, can I entrust you to watch over Caitlyn?” he asked the group to his left, opposite Caitlyn.

“Yes, Sir,” the group agreed.

“Good,” nodded Mr Penn. “Ariel, do make sure the boys don’t over complicate things. I’m not looking for anything showy. Perhaps show Caitlyn how to change the colour of this pencil,” he instructed, sliding a yellow and black striped pencil towards the group. “In fact,” Mr Penn announced. “Why don’t you all demonstrate some of the skills you learnt last year on these pencils? I don’t want you destroying library books.” Fishing his hands into his pockets, Mr Penn pulled out three more pencils and rolled one towards each of the groups. “And no flying bumble bee pencils,” Mr Penn warned, glaring at Jamie and Stuart, the two identical boys in the far corner. “Do you know what will happen if we fail to catch them? They will multiply… and poor, sweet Mrs Eleanor, our kind librarian, will come back to a swarm of them, on Monday morning. That is no way to treat someone who has been so kind as to let us borrow her place of work for the afternoon.” Clasping her hands to her mouth, Caitlyn hid another giggle.

‘Is he serious?’ she wondered, flickering glances at the others. Everyone’s expression remained stone.

As the groups dispersed, into different corners of the table, Mr Penn distributed an array of equipment. Beakers, stirrers, pipettes, scalpels, tweezers and cutting boards were handed out to each group. ‘I guess it is like a science experiment,’ Caitlyn realised as she stared at the apparatus in front of them. Flickering her attention to Mr Penn, Caitlyn watched as he sorted the colourful fruits into four piles.

“I’m trusting you, Robin,” Caitlyn heard Bert say to the other boy in their group, as he pointed a finger at him. “No funny business, you hear?”

“Jeez,” exhaled Robin. “You can trust me, you know.”

Ignoring Robin’s remark, Bert approached Caitlyn and asked her, “Can I talk to you for a moment? We’ll leave Ariel and Robin to make a start.” He jabbed his thumb to Caitlyn’s right. Nodding, she followed him over to a nearby bookcase.

“Mr Penn asked me to see what you think so far,” Bert told her, once they were out of earshot. “I know it’s literally been five minutes, but he’s wary of letting outsiders into the group. He’s eager for you to stay, but we won’t keep you if it’s not your thing.”

“It seems like fun,” Caitlyn told him with a giggle. “It’s the first thing I’ve actually enjoyed since starting school.”

“That’s great,” beamed Bert. His smile dropped to a frown, “Not about the not enjoying school thing,” he told her. “I mean you liking what you’ve seen so far. We meet up every Tuesday after school, up in music… and sometimes on Fridays, especially when we’ve got a lot of practising to do for a show.”

“You put on shows?” asked Caitlyn as her interest in what the group did grew.

“Yeah,” Bert replied with a nod. “The music department usually do a concert at the end of every winter and summer term, where all of the big bands perform: wind band, swing band, string band, jazz band, choir and aspiring singers, usually there’s a few rock bands too. Mr Penn convinced the head teacher that we could do the same. So, we get to perform at the end of every autumn and spring half-term. It’s lots of fun. We get to demonstrate the tricks we can do, not just with cards, but other illusions too and we get to show the school what Frandadis fruits can do.”

“What can they do, exactly?” Caitlyn asked with a puckered brow.

“They’re kind if frowned upon by a lot of staff, students and parents, but it’s only ‘cause they’re scared and don’t understand them,” explained Bert. “Imagine a fairy tale, medieval alchemist crossed with Merlin the magician – the potion kind of magic, not the magic words and a pointed stick kind, although I’ve read that pointed sticks can be useful. Anyway, that’s how it appears to outsiders and they come after us like an angry mob with pitchforks and flaming torches.” Caitlyn giggled. “The imagery may be funny, but it’s no laughing matter,” Bert warned her. “If this were strictly card tricks and sawing people in half, we wouldn’t have to keep things so secretive. It’s the magical, un-researched and undocumented effects of the Frandadis fruits that have people worried. With all the smoke and lights, people think it’s just a trick of the eye and they’re fine with being fooled, but as soon as someone sees Frandadis fruits, the unknown triggers fear and they act like an old-fashioned mob.”

“We just have to find ways to hide what we’re doing. What we’re doing isn’t wrong,” he warned her. “It’s science, really. We record all of our findings and experiments as we go along. It all helps Mr Penn with his book. He’s been trying to bring the science of Frandadis fruits to the governing board for years, but without enough research they dismiss him as some sort of crazy alchemist. They think what he’s doing is wrong – allowing students to practise with substances that the world knows very little about. The problem is the world is full of old-fashioned fears and scaremongering. They see something they don’t understand, so they stick their heads in the sand and pretend it doesn’t exist. Or they dismiss its existence and spread wild rumours, scaring people even more.”

“Our club could be the start of a whole new science class, for future generations. Imagine being a part of that. Frandadis fruits really can do magical things – that’s why half the people are here. Yeah, we learn your standard magic too, that’s the only way Mr Penn could get the school to let him run the club. Good job he’s a great magician too,” Bert told her. Smirking, he added, “You surprised both Mr Penn and myself when you showed you know your way around a deck of cards.”

“I’m not very good though,” worried Caitlyn, hunching her shoulders.

“Everyone has to start somewhere,” Bert insisted, holding a hand on her shoulder. “You’ve got great potential to do well here, I can feel it… and not just because you took an interest in our club. I can sense there’s something special about you,” he confessed, lowering his voice. Caitlyn’s lips parted as she stared at him, frozen to the spot. “I don’t mean t’ scare you off,” he added with a nervous laugh, running a hand across the back of his neck. “It’s just, Mr Penn and I started this club together. Everyone we recruited, we feel has something special about them, or something unique that they can offer the group; you’re no different.”

A frown formed on Caitlyn’s forehead. Her brain raced for words, but nothing could find its way to her mouth. “I don’t know whether you coming here today was some kind of destiny – if you believe in that sort of thing,” Bert added. “But I knew there was someone in this room that had something, before I even saw you.”

“To anyone else, they might think you’ve gone mad,” Caitlyn told him, with a serious stare, “but to me, that kind of makes sense… it’s hard to explain… I think you’re having trouble explaining it too.” She paused as Bert exhaled a nervous laugh.

“Kinda,” he chuckled. “Glad we’re on the same wavelength.”

“Something’s felt strange to me since I started here,” Caitlyn told Bert. “I don’t know exactly why or what it is, but strange things have happened, like the future’s changed, if that’s even possible,” she told him with a nervous laugh.

Feeling Bert stare at her, Caitlyn shifted her focus to the others, at the table. Her eyes widened as she stared at the tall teacher, with a mane of dark curls, as he strode from one group to another. “Who is Mr Penn, exactly?” asked Caitlyn returning her attention to Bert.

“Mr Penn? He’s just my form tutor and chemistry teacher. Why?” Bert asked with a flinch, as he straightened his back. “Is something wrong?”

“It’s just…” Caitlyn paused, dropping her eyes to the floor. A lump formed in the hollow of her throat. Her chest trembled, as her throat tightened. “I get a creepy shudder sometimes that makes me feel uncomfortable around him. Not now, not since I’ve been in the library… but I’ve seen him around school several times and… it’s like an ice, cold chill.” Caitlyn snapped her eyes tight, disturbed by her memories as she explained it.

“Do you get this often?” asked Bert in a whisper.

“Only when I sense someone’s bad,” Caitlyn explained with a shrug, returning her attention to Bert. “Like really bad,” she continued. “Like a bully or they’re not really my friend, only pretending. It’s like, I know someone’s going to be bad or something bad’s going to happen before it does.” Watching the creases on Bert’s forehead deepen, Caitlyn’s shoulders sank. “I sound weird, don’t I?” she sighed. “I’ve never told anyone, other than my parents, before,” Caitlyn added. “It just felt right to tell you… like you’d believe me.” She lowered her head. Silence. Her palms dampened. The thudding in her chest trembled louder, the longer the silence between them grew.

“I believe you,” replied Bert, staring straight at her. “If this were anyone else, I’d defend him,” he told her. “Mr Penn’s my mentor. Yes, he’s tall and can act kinda scary sometimes, but he’s a real teddy bear.” As Caitlyn looked away, dejected, Bert added, “Maybe you sense something I don’t… that’s why I’d really appreciate it if you’d stick around.” As Caitlyn flickered her eyes back to him, he added, “Also, come ‘n’ tell me if you get that cold shudder again, will you? About anyone. It doesn’t have to be Mr Penn.” Caitlyn nodded. “Promise?” Bert asked.

“I promise,” she replied, with another slight nod.

Bert’s stomach churned. Shooting his head towards Mr Penn his mind grew fuzzy. A cloud hazed inside his brain. ‘I’ve trusted him for two full years,’ he told himself. ‘Me of all people… could I be wrong? Is she more powerful than me?’ He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. “Before we head back,” Bert blurted out. “Is anyone in your family magic?”

“What?” Caitlyn frowned at him, with a nervous chuckle. “There’s no such-”

“Okay!” exclaimed Bert, holding up his hands in surrender. ‘So that’s not it,’ he grumbled to himself. ‘Could it skip a generation?’ he wondered. “Does anyone else in your family experience a similar thing?” he rephrased. “The shudder you mentioned?”

“No,” Caitlyn told him with a scornful laugh. “They all think I’m mad. I keep being told to ignore it and to stop being silly. My dad’s parents keep telling my dad they should give me away… and I know they’re not joking half the time.”

“That’s not right,” Bert declared. “But don’t ignore that feeling that you get,” Bert told her. “And you’re not being silly. If you consider joining our club, I’ll help you enhance it and use it to your advantage.”

“Really?” gasped Caitlyn as her eyes widened. “You mean it? You believe me?”

“Yes, yes and yes,” he chuckled. “But it’s our little secret, for now,” he told her. “Okay?”

“Okay,” she nodded.

“So, what d’ya say? Shall we see what Ariel and Robin are up to?”

“Yes, please,” she nodded.

Returning to the group, Bert winked at Mr Penn, who gave him a big grin back. Caitlyn’s curiosity returned as she neared Ariel. “We’ve done all the prep work,” Ariel told Caitlyn, pointing to the array of chopped up fruits in front of them.

Caitlyn’s eyes widened as she examined the table. Spread over the chopping board were a colourful collection of peeled, diced, and crushed fruits. A pile of peel that resembled orange peel, but was a bright cyan and deep amethyst, lay in a clump on the far right on the board. Segments of, what looked to Caitlyn to be a mauve and turquoise-coloured lime slices, lay in a line along the bottom. On the left-hand side of the cutting mat, an array of warm burgundies, deep reds and fiery oranges, as well as a fierce lime green array of berries appeared in various forms. To the top left of the chopping mat, they appeared whole and looked like the coloured raspberries that Caitlyn had seen in Mr Penn’s bowl. Below, the berries appeared to have been smushed into the board. Chunks of fruity flesh clumped together around the edges of the mushed puddles. Underneath the crushed berries, each round segment of the berry appeared to have been separated, as small balls of matching hues were piled in clusters.

Spiking out, towards the top of the board, lay a mound of earthy vine-like stalks, identical to the stem of a grape. Beside the vines were a collection of salmon and fuchsia-coloured grape-looking ovals, with a shiny skin. Many of these grape-like fruits had been sliced into small discs. As Caitlyn examined them, they appeared to have the same juicy and veiny details as the inside of a grape.

Underneath the stalks and grape-like fruits were a line of small, round balls that had the same colour, shape, size, and clouded shine as a blueberry. ‘I suspect they aren’t,’ Caitlyn warned herself as she spotted identical berries, but in sunflower-yellow, piled beside them. Beneath the round berries lay lemon and lilac-coloured thin strips. Upon closer inspection, Caitlyn realised that these were sliced into narrow triangular prisons and appeared to have the same texture to the inside of a cucumber. The same fruit appeared to be diced and towered into small piles beneath the stripes. Adjacent to the diced lemon and lilac-coloured pieces were chunks of carrot-coloured cubes, with a waxy shine. They were cupped inside a leaf-green skin.

The last fruit on the cutting board reminded Caitlyn of a kiwi, but as with most of the other fruits, the colours were rather different. As opposed to an earthy brown skin, this fruit was covered with a mossy fur. Having been sliced into thin discs, the khaki colour created a ring around the soft fleshy interior. Instead of the bright chartreuse-green of a kiwi, the inside of this fruit was a deep raspberry-pink, with a creamy centre and tiny black seeds.

As Caitlyn’s eyes danced over the dissected fruits in front of her, a gasp escaped her. “These are amazing,” she breathed.

“I know,” cheered Ariel, at her side. “Aren’t the colours so vibrant and beautiful?” Nodding, Caitlyn agreed.

“It looks like you’re ready to assemble a fruit salad,” Caitlyn chuckled.

“Whatever you do, don’t eat them,” warned Robin, the short boy with spiked blond hair. “No matter how tempting they look.”

“I won’t,” Caitlyn replied with a nervous laugh.

Returning her attention back to the chopping board full of a magical rainbow of fruits, Caitlyn’s mind buzzed with excitement. ‘They’re so colourful,’ she beamed. ‘I’ve never seen anything like it. And there’s so many. They look so familiar, yet so foreign all at the same time. I wonder what they’re all called… and what do they all do? Why do those ones look just like blueberries?’ she wondered, gazing at the rounded, deep indigo fruit. ‘And those bright purple and blue peels… they’re well… I don’t have words,’ she gasped.

“A lot to take in, isn’t it?” Bert chuckled at her side. “You remind me a lot of Ariel, when I first showed the fruits to her.” Ariel giggled.

“I wanted to learn absolutely everything I could about them,” beamed Ariel, with wide eyes as she watched Caitlyn’s overwhelmed grin grow. “I still do,” she exclaimed, as Caitlyn turned towards her.

“Looks as though you two did a great job,” Bert praised Ariel and Robin’s preparation skills. Robin gave Bert a nod of acknowledgment, while Ariel let out a dreamy hum. Bert chuckled, as he gazed back at Ariel. Arching her head from Ariel, on her right, to Bert, on her left, Caitlyn ducked her head, worried she was caught in the middle of something. She felt her stomach flop as she hunched her shoulders, wishing she could trade places with Ariel.

Returning her attention to the chopped, sliced, diced, peeled and mushed Frandadis fruits on the table, Caitlyn heard Bert tell her, “Don’t worry about learning all their names and properties just yet. We’ll just do a few simple demonstrations, today, so you can see what they do and if you do decide to join us, no pressure by the way,” he added. “Then we’ll begin teaching you all there is to know.”

“Great,” grinned Caitlyn.

Taking control of the group, Bert strode past Caitlyn to stand between Ariel and Robin. He swiped his hand out to grab the beaker with a stern glare. Caitlyn inhaled a sharp sniff, as Bert appeared to race Robin for the tweezers. “I’ve got them,” Bert grumbled, flickering Robin another sharp glare. Shuffling to her left, Caitlyn attempted to distance herself from the tension between the boys. A concoction of peel, berry spheres and fruit chunks were added to the beaker. The mixture fizzed. Smoke clouded. As Bert pinched some of the ingredients up in the tweezers and dropped them into the beaker, Robin stretched his neck up to get a closer look at Bert’s mixture.

“Not too many,” Robin sneered, watching Bert drop a cluster of lemon-coloured sticks into the clouded liquid in the beaker. “We’re changing the colour of a pencil, not the entire table.”

“I know what I’m doing,” Bert barked back.

Tightening her arms at her chest, Caitlyn’s brows slanted towards one another, as she watched Bert and Robin bicker. A rhythmical clank caused Caitlyn to snap her eyes shut. She seeped a breath through gritted teeth. Squinting her eyes open, she watched as Bert swirled the mixture in the beaker, with a metal stick, clonking it against the side of the glass with his speed. “Watch it Bert,” boomed Mr Penn as he neared them. For once, Caitlyn’s shoulders relaxed, and she released her breath, as Mr Penn appeared at her side. “Don’t go breaking that glass or that’s one more thing I’ll need t’ buy,” Mr Penn growled, glaring at the boys.

“Sorry, Sir,” Bert muttered. Lowering his arm, he rested the stirrer on the rim of the beaker.

“Now, your mixture looks about done,” said Mr Penn with a nod. “Let’s have Caitlyn choose what colour we’re changing the pencil to.”

“What’s your favourite colour, Caitlyn?” Ariel asked, with her brightest smile.

“Erm, green,” replied Caitlyn, squeezing her right elbow with her left hand.

“Oowh, we harmonise each other,” Ariel exclaimed. “Mine’s purple, that purple to be exact,” she told Caitlyn as she pointed to the amethyst-coloured peel on the right-hand side of the board.

“Right,” Bert nodded as he reached out for a pipette. “We’ll just use the generic green for now. Two drops of the pigment should be enough.”

‘That sounds like it’s more a dig at Robin than for my benefit,’ Caitlyn assumed. ‘Mr Penn must know that, right?’

“You can mix the different colours together, like a paint pallet,” Ariel told Caitlyn. “So, if you wanted to make it darker, you could mix some darker blue juice to it.”

“Won’t adding different juices change the mixture?” asked Caitlyn with a frown.

“Good question,” Mr Penn beamed at her side. “I’m impressed you asked. We dip the pipette into a tub of iced water. The temperature freezes all of the other properties, leaving us with just the pigment.”

“But won’t the chemicals react once they’re added to the room temperature mixture?” asked Caitlyn, puzzled, tilting her head up towards Mr Penn.

“Wonderful! I love this kid!” Mr Penn exclaimed with a grin, thumping Caitlyn a pat on the back. She jolted forwards, rubbing a hand to her shoulder. “These are the questions of someone who wants to learn. The simple answer is, we must act quickly. If you mix it in whilst the juices are close to freezing temperature, it acts just like paint or food dye. The magical properties are frozen. It’s a simple enough mixture, providing you follow the instructions to a tee – just like a science experiment or baking a cake.” The frown on Caitlyn’s forehead lifted, as she nodded back at Mr Penn. “Caitlyn, would you like to be the one to make the magic happen?”

“Can I?” gasped Caitlyn. Her eyes sparkled with excitement at the thought of assisting with such a thing.

“Of course. Bert hand her the pipette,” Mr Penn requested.

Turning her attention to Bert, Caitlyn noticed a palm-sized glass bowl, full of water and floating ice cubes. Bert stopped swirling the pipette around, as he turned towards her. “Be quick,” Bert told Caitlyn with a smile. “But be careful, it’s really cold. Here, take the pipette, hold it over the green juice,” he said holding the plastic tube towards her. As Caitlyn gripped it, Bert instructed, “Give the bulb just a little squeeze; we only want two tiny drops.” Nodding, Caitlyn held the pipette out over the mushed lime-green berry. She gave the air-chamber a slight pinch. Several bubbles of green pigment slurped inside. “That’s it. Now add two drops of it in here,” he instructed, nodding his head towards the glass beaker, which he had returned to stirring. Caitlyn nodded. Pressing herself up on tiptoes, she stretched her arm towards the beaker. Her hand trembled. She held her breath. Steadying her grip, she gave the pipette bulb a tiny pinch. One drop splashed into the mixture. She pinched it again. A second drop fell in. Clanking the stirring stick around in the glass, Bert swirled the mixture around, until it whirlpooled.

“Robin, hand Caitlyn a clean pipette,” Mr Penn instructed. Robin nodded. He waved his hands together then pressed the inside of his fingers into his palms. Sliding his hands into separation, a pipette appeared. Caitlyn gasped and began clapping.

“Appearing a pipette otta nowhere, bet he’s seen it a million times,” Bert muttered, snorting a puff of air from his nostrils. “Right, Sir?”

“Well,” Mr Penn, paused, glancing between the boys. “Even if I have, at this point, I’m just grateful Robin hasn’t forgotten everything I taught him, over the summer.”

Holding a hand to his mouth, Mr Penn cleared his throat in a loud, belligerent manner. “Right, that ought t’ do it,” he announced, peering down at the beaker. “Caitlyn, take the clean pipette and extract a drop from the beaker. A pencil is a small surface area, so providing the mixture is correct, which I dare say it is,” Mr Penn added, looking at Bert. “One drop is all you will need.” Caitlyn nodded at Mr Penn, before edging closer to the mixture. Inhaling a shaky breath, Caitlyn tried to steady her trembling hand.

The tingling in Caitlyn’s stomach returned, as she neared the beaker. Dipping in her clean pipette, she pinched the bulb, extracting one bubble of a chartreuse hue. Her eyes widened. She held her breath. Hovering her hand over the yellow and black striped pencil, Caitlyn gave the pipette a tiny pinch. Time slowed. A droplet descended from the plastic tip. Caitlyn’s heart thudded in her ribcage. The green drop splashed onto the centre of the pencil. The magical drop absorbed into the wood. Seeping towards the ends of the pencil, a chartreuse streak swallowed the black and yellow stripes. Caitlyn gasped. Her hands trembled. “Wow!” she breathed as her eyes widened. “That’s amazing.” The colour lingered for five seconds before fading back to the yellow and black stripes.

“It’s good to see an eager face,” Mr Penn chuckled. Caitlyn blushed. Turning towards Ariel, Caitlyn’s wide eyes and grin remained.

“Isn’t it amazing?” Ariel exclaimed. “The rest of the school don’t get to see things like this.”

“That’s right,” added Mr Penn. “You’re a talented lot. Right, Ariel, can I entrust you with clean up and safe transferal of the non-reacted fruits into airtight containers?”

“Yes, Sir,” Ariel nodded.

As Mr Penn strode over to Hannah, Stuart and Jamie’s group, Caitlyn flickered a glance around between each of the group’s projects. The boys, who she had sat beside earlier, were still stirring their mixture. Further up the table, Beth and the two boys had split the pencil into small sections. Making the segments balance on top of one another, the group created steps. Caitlyn’s eyes widened. One of the identical boys, from Hannah’s group scoffed, “Show off,” at Beth. It was Beth’s turn to stick her tongue out.

“Now then,” boomed Mr Penn, hovering behind Hannah. “What have you boys concocted this time? It had better not explode,” he added in a mutter.

“Don’t worry,” Hannah reassured him. “The boys are under control.” Dipping the pipette into the beaker, the boy closest to Hannah, extracted a suction of mixture. A smirk prodded into the side of his mouth. With a quick swipe of his wrist, the boy saturated the pencil in liquid. Two spindly limbs stretched out either side of the pencil. Bending its joints, the pencil leapt across the table. Jamie and Stuart burst out laughing. Hannah clasped a hand to her mouth, concealing a giggle.

“You said no bumble bee pencils,” the deeper voiced boy reminded Mr Penn, as the pencil leapt into the air once more. “You said nothing about grasshopper pencils.” Watching the pencil bounce across the table, Caitlyn’s eyes grew. She giggled, clasping her hands to her chest as the pencil leapt off the table.

“Very funny Stuart,” grumbled Mr Penn. “Now go find it before I turn you into a grasshopper.”

As the boys scurried in search of the bouncing pencil, Mr Penn approached Beth’s group. Hearing voices nearby, Caitlyn was shuddered out of her concentration. “You are not,” she heard Bert growl. “If you were an honourable man, you’d leave Ariel alone.”

“She has her own thoughts and feelings, you know,” Robin barked. “She could choose me.”

“Ha!” spat Bert. “Only if you were to spell her.”

“I would never!” Robin gasped. “I swear!”

“Fine,” replied Bert with a shrug. “Come with me to visit my great-gramps tonight and we’ll make sure you can never go back on your word.”

Caitlyn’s intestines churned. Wrapping her arms tight around herself, she forced a swallow. ‘Something’s going on,’ Caitlyn warned herself. ‘And where’s Ariel?’ The lines on Caitlyn’s forehead deepened, as she arched her head around, searching for the girl with long coffee-coloured hair. Her head spun left then right. Her heart pounded. Throwing her hand to her stomach as it winced, Caitlyn let out a breath, spotting Ariel rummaging through a bookshelf at the back of the library.

“Come on boys, let’s see what you’ve got,” Caitlyn heard Mr Penn cheer. Turning her attention to the group of boys beside her, Caitlyn held her breath as the red-head pinched the bulb of the pipette, extracting a waterfall of liquid onto the pencil. The pencil tremored. A bend appeared in the side of the pencil. Then another and another. Curves arched in the wood. The pencil slithered forwards, dancing across the table. With the graphite tip leading the way, the eraser end prodded up, shaking from left to right. Cupping a hand around the side of his mouth, the brunet in the group, pressed his teeth together hissing a rattling sound. The snake pencil slithered towards Caitlyn. Stopping in front of her, it lifted its head and nodded. Exhaling an astounded breath, Caitlyn applauded them. She flickered her glance from the snake to the boys. The red-haired boy and the brunet stood beaming at their creation, whilst the blond kept focus with their snake, muttering under his breath.

“We wanted to change its colour, to make it look more snake-like,” the red-head explained, as the snake pencil circled around the table, returning towards them. “But Bert hogged all the ice.”

“A great job boys,” praised Mr Penn. “I’m impressed. I’m impressed with all of your efforts,” he added looking around the table at everyone. As the snake slowed in pace and returned to its pencil state, the blond boy came out of his trance and shot Caitlyn a smile.

‘Could he control the pencil?’ Caitlyn wondered as she giggled back at him. ‘How could he do that?’

“Maybe there is hope for this club yet,” cheered Mr Penn, patting a hand to his favourite’s back. A smirk escaped Caitlyn.

‘He has very little faith in them,’ Caitlyn mused. ‘Everyone here is so talented. I want to learn everything,’ she told herself. Flickering a glance around the library, Caitlyn spotted Ariel returning to the group with a pile of books in her arms. ‘I wonder if Mr Penn teaches other magic tricks, aside from card tricks and the magic fruit?’ Caitlyn wondered, as she glanced around the table, observing everyone around her. ‘I’d love to learn the trick where you wrap a scarf around someone’s neck and pull the ends, but instead of squeezing their neck, it magically goes through their neck… or how you separate someone’s body parts in a big box and reassemble them. I know it’s not the same as sawing someone in half,’ she told herself. ‘Because a whole person can’t possibly fit in a box the size of your head – even the world’s best contortionist can’t do that.’

“Right,” she heard Mr Penn announce, shuddering Caitlyn out of her thoughts. Footsteps thudded towards the table.

“The grasshopper’s dead!” projected one of the identical boys, waving a pencil towards them.

‘The potion must have wore off,’ Caitlyn told herself.

“Good,” nodded Mr Penn. “I wish to congratulate you all on your achievements over the last year. Never would I have imagined that a group of youngsters would pay so much attention to an afterschool club about magic. This session today has warmed my heart.”

“You’ve just got a room full of people who actually want to learn,” scoffed the boy who had linked arms with Beth earlier.

“Now Caleb,” Mr Penn warned. “Let’s not get cocky. We’ll give the others a chance to demonstrate their skills, when we meet up on Tuesday. Then I’ll re-allocate the assistant and secretary positions.”

“Like he hasn’t already picked his favourites,” muttered Caleb with a scornful exhale. Caitlyn’s eyes widened at his remark and she clawed her nails into her palms.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that, Hartwell Junior,” Mr Penn warned. Scrunching his nose, Caleb folded his arms at his chest, hunching his back.

‘Those two are made for each other,’ Caitlyn mused, rolling her eyes at the grumpy couple on the far end of the table.

Clearing his throat, with a loud cantankerous cough, Mr Penn strode around the table, towards Caitlyn, as he told the group, “Once we’re all back together again, I was thinking we would focus on some larger illusion props, like escaping from a locked box or sawing your assistant in half.” Turning back to the moody couple, he added, “You’ll love that one, Beth,” with a wink. Beth joined her boyfriend with a sour, scrunched up facial expression.

“Maybe we can saw Beth in half,” chuckled the red-haired boy, beside Caitlyn.

“Good one, Pete!” his brunet friend exclaimed, holding his palm out towards the red-head. The boy clapped his hand against his friend’s. Caitlyn giggled at them.

“Where are we meeting on Tuesday?” asked Robin. Folding his arms at his chest, Robin pressed them into the table as he leant forwards.

“Music,” Mr Penn replied.

“Where in music though?” Robin enquired, as his brows slanted. “Mr Wye’s classroom? Or-”

“It’s too cramped,” one of the identical boys cried, seeing Mr Penn’s shoulders sink.

“I agree,” Ariel sighed. “You can’t squish all twenty of us into that tiny room and expect us to be able to learn anything,” she complained clenching her fists.

“Yeah,” came a chorus of voices, agreeing with her. Mr Penn lowered his head. His expression drooped. Cupping a hand to his forehead, he let out a dejected sigh.

“The location’s not ideal” Mr Penn told them. “But beggars can’t be choosers. At the moment it’s all we have. Mrs Eleanor only agreed we could use the library for this afternoon,” he sighed. “And before any of you ask, I already tried using the ol’ Penn charm on her, but sadly my looks, wit an’ a couple of card tricks weren’t enough to woo her,” he added with a hollow chuckle. “Come on now,” he boomed. “Let’s commence operation clean up. We might have time for one more illusion before you go.”

The clonking and clanking of glass beakers and metal instruments echoed off bookcases, as the group dropped their equipment back into large plastic containers that were stacked up behind Mr Penn’s chair. Caitlyn sat in her seat. She forced a swallow. Flickering her sight around at the bodies clearing up, a twang of guilt tugged at her stomach. ‘Maybe I should offer to help Pete’s friends tidy up,’ Caitlyn wondered as she watched them. ‘Ariel’s already done ours.’ Turning towards Ariel, Caitlyn watched as she and Bert huddled over a book. Beside them, Robin flickered them a glance as he jabbed his thumbs into the buttons of his mobile phone. A thudding pounded in the pit of Caitlyn’s stomach. ‘Something’s definitely going on between them,’ Caitlyn warned herself. She forced a swallow before flickering a glance back to the rest of the room.

Having returned all of the equipment to its containers, everyone had returned to their seats. All eyes turned towards Mr Penn, as he stood at the head of the table, between Beth and the twins. Silence. Breaths were held. Mr Penn brought his right hand out, from behind his back, and showed the group a grape between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand. Bringing it towards his left, he cupped his left hand around the grape. With his left hand in a fist, he lifted his arm up and thumped himself on the top of the head. His mouth popped open and a grape shot out. Caitlyn clasped both hands to her mouth, trying to hide her giggle. “Excellent,” beamed Mr Penn. “I made you laugh,” he said as he clicked his fingers pointing at Caitlyn. “Magic is all about telling a story and making people happy. Seeing the joy on their faces when I perform even the simplest of tricks, is what keeps me going… and I hope it does to all of you here. Whether you know how to do this simple palming trick or not, what I love about teaching you guys, is you all have your own interests, your own niches and unique quirks. Some of you love card tricks, others are brilliant at coin manipulation, or the cup and ball tricks. This year, I intend to escalate your knowledge by bringing in some of the big boys, putting your performance skills to the test. Now, you don’t need to learn everything,” Mr Penn added with a soft chuckle, as he looked at Caitlyn. “Once you know a few simple principles, you can build a whole magic routine. It’s just like learning a few simple chords on a guitar; you only need to learn four chords and you can play so many songs. It’s the same with magic.” A warm tingle fluttered to Caitlyn’s cheeks. “No pressure, Caitlyn, but it would be nice to see you on stage performing with these guys when we put on our half-term show.” As heads turned towards her, Caitlyn lowered her head, feeling her face redden. “You like helping people, I can tell,” Mr Penn told her. “And what better way to help people, than to make them smile?”

Shuffling in his seat, the boy closest to Mr Penn raised his hand. “Sorry to interrupt, but we’ve gotta go,” announced the soft spoken boy.

“Yeah, Jamie’s right,” agreed the other boy who had a hunched posture and a deeper, raspier sounding voice.

‘Okay, so the slightly taller boy with the softer voice is Jamie and that must be Stuart,’ Caitlyn realised, trying to figure out which boy was which. Sliding back his chair, it screeched against the laminated flooring as Stuart clambered out of his seat.

“We’ve gotta meet Alison from art club,” Stuart told them. Grabbing his messenger bag from under the desk, Stuart was the first of the group to leave.

“We don’t wanna miss the ten-past-four bus,” exclaimed Jamie as he leapt from his chair and tugged on Hannah’s arm. “If we won’t get to the Baldwin chippie before five, all the scallops will be gone,” he sulked, hauling his bag onto his arm and racing after his twin. “It is fish ‘n’ chip day, you know.”

“Typical Jamie,” Hannah chuckled, shaking her head, as she, too, rose from her seat and slipped her bag onto her shoulder. “Bye everyone,” she waved, as she followed after the boys.

A chorus of, “Bye!” and, “Bye Hannah!” rang out amongst the group.

“And nice to meet you Caitlyn,” Hannah added with a wave, as she walked past her.

“You too,” nodded Caitlyn with a big smile.

“Bye Stuart! Bye Jamie!” the group called as the boys departed.

“Tell Alison we hope to see her on Tuesday,” Mr Penn called after them.

“Will do,” sang Jamie, turning back to wave to the group.

The warmth and excitement Caitlyn had felt since joining Mr Penn’s group, pulsed through her body. A smile remained etched into her cheeks as she watched Jamie, Stuart and Hannah disappear around the corner. Her grin grew, as she spotted Jay walking towards the library entrance. Rising from her seat, Caitlyn told the group, “I have to leave too. It was nice meeting all of you.”

“Perhaps you’ll consider becoming more than just an honorary member?” Mr Penn asked Caitlyn. “We meet up in music on Tuesday, after school. If you’re interested, we’ll be happy to welcome you to the club.” Grabbing her backpack, Caitlyn looked towards the library door, to see Jay waiting for her. A buzz of excitement pulse through her as she turned back to Mr Penn and nodded. “And there will be more than thirteen of us next time,” he added. Caitlyn giggled.

“Promise you’ll think about it?” asked Bert. Caitlyn flickered a glance around the table. Smiles beamed back at her. Even moody Beth softened her expression to a smile as she looked back at Caitlyn. Returning her sight to Bert, Caitlyn nodded.

“Bye Caitlyn!” everyone sang, waving, as she departed.

Tugging the library door open, a warm giggle escaped her. “It’s good to see you smiling,” Jay grinned at Caitlyn.

“Thanks,” she beamed back. Arching her head over her shoulder, she took one final look at the magic group, gathered around the table. ‘That was so much fun,’ she thought with a dreamy sigh. Mr Penn’s eyes locked on her and Jay. His warm smile faded. A cold shudder trickled up Caitlyn’s spine. Her eyes widened. Throwing her head over her shoulder, she looked from Jay then to Mr Penn and back again. Her stomach churned. Biting the inside of her cheek, she stared back at the group in the library. Her feet froze. She rooted to the spot. ‘What’s going on?’ she worried. ‘Something’s not right. Who is it?’

“You okay?” asked Jay, placing a hand on her arm.

“Yeah,” muttered Caitlyn shuddering out of her thoughts. A frown fixed on her forehead as she walked alongside Jay. She exhaled a confused hum as her thoughts wandered to each member of the group, in turn. ‘I really don’t think it’s Beth,’ Caitlyn told herself. ‘And after spending time with Mr Penn, I don’t want to believe it was him this time either,’ she decided. ‘Maybe the librarian?’ she wondered, arching her head over her shoulder. Lines wrinkled her forehead as she glanced at the empty corridor behind them.

“You sure you’re okay?” Jay asked, leading Caitlyn out of a door and into the courtyard.

“I’m fine,” muttered Caitlyn shaking her head.

 

*

 

His brow puckered. Having seen the alarm on Caitlyn’s face, worry churned in Bert’s stomach. He turned towards his mentor, Mr Penn, with a stone stare. Catching Mr Penn shudder out of a glare, as he returned his attention to the group, having gazed off towards the front of the library, Bert’s lips parted. ‘Maybe she’s on to something,’ Bert pondered as Caitlyn disappeared down the corridor, out of sight. He hummed to himself, as he cupped his hand around his chin.

Dismissing the magic club for the weekend, Mr Penn trudged towards the back of the library. A grumble escaped him as he heaved one of his plastic containers on top of a nearby chair. “Need a hand?” asked Robin, appearing at Mr Penn’s side.

“Thanks,” Mr Penn chuckled. “You really do appear like magic, don’t ya?” Robin smirked with a shrug. “I do appreciate it,” Mr Penn told him. “My knees aren’t what they used t’ be.”

“No worries, Sir,” smiled Robin. “I’m happy to help.”

With Mr Penn out of earshot, Bert glanced around at the remaining Naeniam Exponentia members. Excluding himself and Robin, seven students lingered around the library. Sat on the edge of her chair, Ariel had her head in a book. A smirk poked into the corner of Bert’s mouth as he watched her, captivated. ‘Focus,’ he warned himself, flinching. ‘You can talk to Ariel later,’ he told himself. Caleb, Reuben and Beth swung their bags onto their shoulders as they conversed at the opposite end of the table. ‘Just the three I wanted to talk to,’ Bert mused as Pete, Oscar and Fabian remained. Perching himself on the edge of the table, where Caitlyn had been sitting, Bert called out the boys’ names, “Pete, Oscar, Fabian.”

“Yeah, Bert?” replied Pete and Fabian, turning around to face him.

“What’s up?” Oscar asked, as he arched his head over his shoulder.

“Can you three do me a favour?” Bert asked. Resting his right ankle on his left knee, Bert leant closer towards the boys, lowering his voice. “Can you keep an eye on Caitlyn for me?”

“Sure,” muttered Pete with a shrug.

“Why?” asked Ariel, appearing at his side.

“Why?” Bert repeated, with a frown, flustered by Ariel’s arrival. “I erm… I just want to make sure she joins the club, that’s all,” he told them, running a hand across the back of his neck. Fabian shot him a glare. “Look,” Bert sighed. “I’m just worried about her, that’s all,” he confessed, as his shoulders deflated. “Caitlyn seems to be struggling with school and I’d hate for her to miss out on something she clearly enjoys,” he told them with a shrug.

“That’s fine,” Oscar told him. “Year seven share loadsa breaks with year eight. If we spot her, we’ll tell her you said hi.”

“Why them?” pouted Ariel, tugging on Bert’s sleeve. “I really like Caitlyn. She seems nice. Can’t I look out for her too?”

“Of course,” Bert smiled, hooking an arm around Ariel’s shoulder. “Can I entrust the four of you with this?” he asked, arching his head from Ariel on his left, to the boys on his right. “If she changes her mind about Naeniam Exponentia, let me know.” The boys nodded.

“And why do they get the special job?” asked Beth, placing her hands on her hips, as she appeared behind Fabian.

“Beth,” Bert chuckled. “You frown upon people making friends outside of their year group, despite doing it yourself, and you’re jealous of anyone who goes near your boyfriend. Why would you want me t’ even ask you to look out for a year seven – especially a girl?”

“Alright, you have a point,” Beth huffed. “I’m not worried about her getting’ her hands on Caleb though,” she told them, as Caleb and his friend appeared beside her. “Why not ask Reuben, though?”

“One, no offence Reuben, but you’re kinda shy and I wouldn’t expect you to go out of your way to introduce yourself to her,” Bert explained with a shrug. “And two, by asking Reuben to look out for her that would mean Caleb’s likely to be involved too. I was only looking out for you, Beth. I didn’t want you getting jealous and go scaring Caitlyn away.”

“Fine,” Beth grumbled, folding her arms. “Whatever. What about Shorty, over there?” she asked, nudging her head towards Robin, who was still assisting Mr Penn.

“Let’s keep this our little secret for now,” he told the group, glancing over his shoulder towards Robin and his mentor. “It’s best we keep Robin outta this,” Bert said, looking from Caleb, to Reuben, to Oscar, Pete and Ariel, making sure he skipped locking eyes with Fabian. “I’ve already got enough on my plate with him,” Bert muttered prodding a thumb over his shoulder, in Robin’s direction. “Besides,” he added with a shrug. “He blabs everything to Penn, like he’s his little assistant or something. I don’t want that. I don’t think Caitlyn would either. Let’s just keep this between ourselves, okay?”

“Okay,” muttered Beth with a shrug.

“Sure,” Caleb replied. Reuben nodded beside him.

“Okay,” Pete, Oscar and Fabian agreed.

“Fine by me,” added Ariel. “If that’s what’s best for Caitlyn.”

“It is,” Bert told them with a nod. “Right!” he projected as he leapt off the table. Stretching his arms out over his head, Bert said, “Have a nice weekend guys. See you next week.”

“Yeah,” they all agreed.

“See you next week,” Beth called as she led the way out of the library.

“See you next week,” Caleb and Reuben echoed, following after her.

Grabbing their bags, Pete, Oscar and Fabian waved goodbye to their friends and trudged towards the library entrance. Striding after them, Bert placed a hand on the blond boy’s shoulder. Peering his head over his shoulder, the boy’s expression hardened to a stern glare. He tugged his shoulder out from Bert’s grip and turned around to face him. “Watch out for her,” Bert whispered. Silence passed between them. Unspoken conversation carried through their glares. The blond nodded.

“I’m doing this for her, not you,” Fabian warned him. A smirk prodded into the corner of Bert’s mouth.

“I see you’ve taken an interest in her too,” mused Bert. “Magic’s a powerful thing.” Fabian snarled his nose, shaking his head.

“She’s not a trophy,” Fabian growled deep and low, in hopes no one else would hear him. “I won’t let you control her.”

“And I won’t,” warned Bert. “She has free will, just like you do.” The two stared at each other once more. Dropping his gaze, Fabian’s expression softened. Bert’s smirk returned. “Protect her,” whispered Bert.

“I will,” Fabian nodded.

“Ber-ert!” Ariel sang, as she appeared at Bert’s side, tugging on his left arm. “Are you gonna walk me to the bus stop?” she asked. With her bulging bag looped over her shoulder, Ariel held a stack of books in her left arm.

“Sure,” Bert smiled at her, resting a hand on her back. “See you next week, Fabian,” Bert added, turning to the blond with a smile. Pinching in his lips, Fabian nodded back.

“See you, Ariel,” Fabian muttered with a nod. “Bert,” he added, nodding towards Bert.

 

*

 

Caitlyn remained silent, deep in her thoughts, as she and Jay exited the school. Pressing her palms together, she slid her thumbs underneath her chin, resting the tip of her nose against her forefingers and hummed. ‘If I keep thinking about it, I’m going to drive myself mad,’ Caitlyn sighed in defeat. ‘I’ll just have to be more alert next time,’ she warned herself with a slow exhale.

Dropping her arms to her sides, Caitlyn looked towards Jay, as they trudged up the hill, exiting the crescent that their school was on. “Sorry I’ve been quiet,” she told him.

“It’s okay,” Jay replied with a shrug.

“I was deep in thought. So, did you have fun in music?” she asked, as they waited to cross over the road. An engine rumbled as the car slowed down. The driver waved a hand towards them, allowing them to cross. Jay and Caitlyn held up a hand, thanking the car, as they raced to the other side of the road.

“Music was great!” Jay told her. “Me and Rajinder joined the jazz band, with Will. We get to practise, like a proper big band.” The excitement in his voice caused Caitlyn to grin from ear to ear. “Each instrument gets their own part to learn and we all come together to perform a big concert at Christmas. I’m so excited,” he buzzed. “Will’s mate, Lee, said he’ll teach me how to play bass too, if I want. How cool is that?” Caitlyn could not help but giggle at Jay’s enthusiasm. Her heart drummed with warmth.

“It’s great to see you this happy,” she beamed. “I… you… I like seeing you like this,” stuttered Caitlyn, speechless at Jay’s transformation. A swirl spiralled in her stomach as memories of Jay’s sunken posture and glum expression, from earlier in the week, fluttered to the front of her mind.

Gazing back at her best friend, Caitlyn’s grin grew. “Seeing you like this makes me so happy.”

“Thanks,” grinned Jay. “So, how was the library?” he asked with a puckered brow. “Sorry, guess it was kinda boring.”

“Actually, it was really fun,” Caitlyn told him.

“Fun?” frowned Jay. “Since when do you love reading?”

“Well I like books when I can find a story I like,” she told him. “Even if it takes me forever to read it. I found this really cool looking, old book about a masked detective. It hadn’t been taken out of the library in eleven years. Can you believe it? It had just been sitting there, at the back of the shelf all this time – well, I’m guessing it was,” she added with a giggle. Jay smirked at her. “Then, I saw Mr Penn and he was holding a club in the library. He teaches card tricks and there’re these things called Frandadis fruits that do… well, magic. He mixed them together, like he was making a potion or something. He made this girl’s duck necklace come to life and quack, like he literally transformed from a piece of rubbery plastic into a real duck, for like five seconds, before it changed back. It was so cool!” Caitlyn gasped for air, having explained most of her story in one breath. “They let me sit and watch them. I wish you’d have been there.”

“I thought you said you weren’t interested in joining a club,” Jay grumbled. Caitlyn’s lips parted. Her heart dropped to her stomach.

“Er-er, I, I wasn’t,” she stuttered. Seeping in a shaky breath, Caitlyn folded her arms tight at her chest. ‘Why’s he annoyed with me?’ she worried. ‘Did I say something wrong? I thought he’d be happy for me… I’ve finally found something that I like about school.’

Taking in a slow steady breath, Caitlyn tried to clear her thoughts. ‘Stop being negative,’ she warn herself, inhaling a long, slow breath. ‘Positivity is contagious,’ she remembered. With her smile back on her face, Caitlyn told Jay, “Mr Penn’s club was so much fun. No one mentioned that our school has a magic club that teaches you cool card tricks. You should see Mr Penn shuffle a deck of cards,” Caitlyn told Jay with a chuckle. “His fingers are like an octopus. He divided a deck of cards into several piles using just his fingers. That on its own was cool enough.” Twiddling her fingers around her studded earring, Caitlyn went on, “But then the colourful fruits… they were like something from another world. They literally changed things into other things. One group of boys turned a pencil into a snake and made it slither around the table. It was amazing,” she beamed. “I wish you could have seen it. Bert asked me if I’d consider joining them on Tuesday.”

“Look, Caitlyn,” Jay sighed. “I didn’t wanna have t’ tell you this, but you need to watch out for that guy?”

“What guy?” murmured Caitlyn with a frown. “Mr Penn? Bert?”

“The whole group,” Jay warned her. “Will says they’re trouble. You don’t wanna get yourselves mixed in with their lot.”

“What?” Caitlyn exclaimed. “Jay… you’re not making any sense,” she said with a worrying tremble to her voice. “You’re telling me, you already knew that Mr Penn held a secret club in the library, where he teaches magic tricks and Will told you to stay away from them because… why? Are they going to turn all of the classroom door handles into rubber and someone’s going to point and laugh at you when you can’t open the door?” asked Caitlyn with a nervous chuckle. Jay scowled at her. “I’m sorry, but I don’t understand. Jay you didn’t even know about this club until I told you, a few seconds ago,” she cried. Her chest grew tight. Her bottom lip trembled. “What’s gotten into you?”

Caitlyn’s stomach churned. The raging traffic that surrounded them, blurred into a fuzz as her mind raced. Her heart rapped in her ribcage. Her throat grew tight. “I thought you’d be happy for me,” she muttered, with trembling hands, dropping her sight to the pavement. “I found something I like,” she told him, her voice no more than a whisper. The swirling in her stomach made Caitlyn’s legs trembled. “I thought it seemed fun.”

“Yeah,” snarled Jay. “That’s what they want you to think. Look just trust me. Don’t get yourself involved with their kind.”

“What?” Caitlyn gasped. “You can’t tell me who I can and can’t be friends with.”

“Caitlyn,” Jay sighed.

“No,” she cut him off. “I didn’t tell you that you couldn’t be friends with Kieran and Sean, even though I knew they were troublemakers,” she cried. Pain stabbed through her temple. She clenched her fists. “You can’t dictate to me who I can and can’t be friends with,” she raged. “I can figure out the bad people for myself.”

“Whatever,” Jay muttered with a shrug. Snarling his nose, he shot Caitlyn a glare. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

They continued their walk, along the main road and through the park, in silence. Fear bubbled in the pit of Caitlyn’s stomach. ‘That wasn’t Jay,’ she told herself. ‘No way was that Jay.’ Looping her thumbs beneath the straps of her backpack, Caitlyn squeezed her hands tight around the padding. Her nails daggered into her palms. ‘Did Will really warn him about Mr Penn’s club?’ she wondered. ‘Bert did say some people don’t take well to Frandadis fruits… but that doesn’t feel like Will either – he and Jay are so similar. Neither of them are judgemental like that.’

She chewed the inside of her cheek, as her mind spiralled over what had happened. Lathering bubbled in her stomach. Her intestines knotted. ‘The future’s changed again,’ Caitlyn warned herself, as her lips parted. ‘That shudder I felt as I left the library… something’s caused Jay to react that way, but who? And why?’ Her mouth remained open as creases lined her forehead. ‘I trust Bert,’ she told herself. ‘Despite his and Robin’s bickering. Nothing felt odd about anyone while I was there.’ Thinking back to her time in the library, Caitlyn squinted as she racked her brain for any feeling of unease or discomfort she felt before Jay appeared. ‘Beth and Caleb seemed to be the only people that were a little unpleasant, but I didn’t feel uncomfortable around them. I think they were just wary of letting an outsider join the group,’ Caitlyn reasoned. ‘Could it be Mr Penn?’ she wondered. ‘Up until the magic tricks, I have felt there’s something strange about him… but I didn’t feel it the whole time I was there. Bert was right; Mr Penn may appear scary, but he’s a teddy bear, really.’

As they exited the park, Caitlyn’s shoulders sank. ‘I can’t fall out with Jay over something so silly,’ she told herself. ‘I don’t know what I’d do without him.’ Fluttering her eyes, Caitlyn inhaled a slow, deep breath. ‘I’ll just forget about Mr Penn’s club, for now,’ she told herself, as she exhaled. ‘Maybe, I can join later, if I can convince Jay there’s nothing to worry about. Maybe I could introduce him to them… once he’s had time to cool off about whatever this was.’

Having slowed her racing heart, Caitlyn blew out one final breath, before turning to Jay. “If it means so much to you,” Caitlyn murmured. “I won’t join Mr Penn’s club,” she told Jay as she shook her head. The spiralling in her stomach slowed. “I’ll stay away from everyone I spoke to there. I promise,” she added in a whisper. A fluttering tingled in her chest, as she hoped to see Jay’s smile return.

“Whatever,” grumbled Jay with a shrug. A lump lodged in Caitlyn’s throat. The knot in her intestines squeezed tighter. Her mouth dropped open. A squeak remained stuck on the tip of her voice box. She forced a swallow. Drumming raged in her ribcage. Her chest trembled has her breaths grew shallow and shaky.

Caitlyn remained silent. Stiffening her shoulders, she dropped her sight to the floor. Despite their disagreement, Jay remained at her side. Having retrieved a rustling packet of sweets from his backpack, Jay rummaged a hand inside. Caitlyn shifted her sight towards him. Swinging his hand out, he lobbed a sweet at the street sign. A clonk rang out, echoing in Caitlyn’s ears. “What did you do that for?” Caitlyn shrieked, as her brow darted up her forehead.

“What?” Jay growled. “Chill will ya.” He scowled at her. An icy shudder crept up Caitlyn’s spine. A gasp escaped her. ‘No!’ she cried. Her insides lathered. Her feet rooted to the spot. ‘I’ve never felt that around Jay before.’ Frozen, her lips parted as she stared at Jay’s back. Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach.

 

 

Finding the Way

Break time arrived on Monday morning. Folding her arms tight at her chest, Caitlyn’s mind began to wander. Flickers, from Friday, flashed to the front of her mind. Hannah’s rubber duck quacking. A deck of playing cards. A collection of new faces, staring back at her. The chopping board full of odd and unusual coloured fruits. Beth’s daggered glare. Jay’s disapproval. His warning of the magic club and the scary shudder she felt from her best friend. Her stomach swirled. ‘I really enjoyed the magic club,’ Caitlyn reminded herself. ‘And for once, I felt comfortable around Mr Penn.’ The churning of her intestines caused Caitlyn to wince. ‘But it’s not worth losing Jay over it,’ she decided, ‘even if it’s the only thing that’s felt right about this school.’ A grumbled murmur escaped her. ‘But Jay…’ she worried with a melancholy sigh.

A hand clasped on Caitlyn’s shoulder. She shuddered out of her thoughts. “You okay?” Emily asked, at her side. Caitlyn’s organs swirled to the depths of her stomach. “You zoned out for a minute,” Emily told her. “You had us all worried.”

“Sorry,” muttered Caitlyn, looking towards her friends, as they neared the canteen. “I’m miles away,” she added with a nervous laugh.

“We can tell,” Aisha chuckled.

“You can tell me if something’s wrong,” Darcia told her.

“Me too,” added Samantha, as Emily hauled open the canteen doors.

“I’m fine, really,” Caitlyn insisted. “Just daydreaming, that’s all.”

Noise blared through Caitlyn’s eardrums. She squinted her eyes, as her mind adjusted to the sharp increase in volume. Glancing around the canteen, hundreds of bodies bumbled about. “I think we’re on break with year eight today,” Emily told them as they approached an empty table. Darcia dropped into a seat and Caitlyn slid into the chair opposite. As Samantha perched in the seat next to Darcia, Aisha crashed into Caitlyn’s side and squeezed up beside her, in between the two seats, as Emily sat on the end.

“Can’t we use that table too?” asked Aisha, as the four-seater table adjoining theirs was empty.

“It’s kinda table hogging,” Emily warned her.

“So?” sulked Aisha. “We can’t do this every break and lunch for five years.” Caitlyn’s brow puckered and she twiddled with the stalk of her apple, as she looked from Aisha squished between herself and Emily, to Darcia and Samantha.

“We’ll take turns sitting in the middle,” Darcia announced, tugging at the peel of her banana, as a group of year eight boys slid into the table next to them.

Flickering her sight to the three boys who sat at the adjoining table, Caitlyn felt a warm flutter tingle in her cheeks as she recognised them. The red-headed boy that sat next to Darcia was whom she had sat next to in the magic club, in the library, after school, on Friday. Beside him sat a boy with a dark brown sweeping fringe and next to Caitlyn sat the blond boy, whom Mr Penn had called one of his favourites.

“Hey Caitlyn,” beamed the red-headed boy, as he waved at her.

“Hi,” Caitlyn giggled at him as she waved back. She flickered her sight from Pete, to the boy who sat beside him, before flickering a glance to the blond boy who sat beside her. As the blond’s eyes met hers, he smiled at her. Feeling her cheeks tingle, Caitlyn dropped her sight down to the apple in her hands.

“I’m Pete, do you remember me?” the red-head introduced himself. “We were at Naeniam Exponentia, in the library, on Friday?”

“Yeah,” replied Caitlyn with a nod, looking up at him.

“I went to your primary school too, d’you remember?” he asked her.

“Yeah,” replied Caitlyn with another nod.

“Good,” sighed Pete with relief, relaxing his shoulders. “If you said no, that woulda been embarrassing,” he laughed. Curling a hand towards her mouth, Caitlyn giggled at him. “These are my friends. This is Oscar,” he said holding a hand towards the brunet on his right.

“Hey,” nodded Oscar, waving a couple of fingers in Caitlyn’s direction.

“Hi,” Caitlyn mumbled. Her cheeks began to burn as the boys singled her out, ignoring her friends sat right beside her.

“And this is Fabian,” Pete told her, pointing to the blond boy opposite him, on Caitlyn’s left.

“Hi,” beamed Fabian.

“Nice to meet you,” Caitlyn replied, feeling her blush brighten even more.

Aisha jabbed her elbow into Caitlyn’s side. “Ouch,” Caitlyn flinched. Snapping her head around towards Aisha, Caitlyn rubbed a hand to her side. “What was that for?” she gasped.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us to your friends?” Aisha asked.

“Of course,” Caitlyn told her with a nervous laugh. “This is Darcia, Samantha, Emily and Aisha,” Caitlyn told the boys, as she pointed around the table in a clockwise direction, to each of her friends in turn. “Pete, you might remember Darcia; she went to our primary school.”

“Yeah!” exclaimed Pete, as he grinned at Darcia. “I remember you.” He held up his hand in front of Darcia, to give her a high-five. Darcia’s cheeks turned red, as she placed a hesitant tap on the boy’s hand.

“Caitlyn,” Oscar began, ignoring the rest of the girls. “We wanted to ask you if you’ve thought about joining NE.” Caitlyn’s stomach began to swirl again. Fiddling with the stem of her apple, Caitlyn plonked the fruit down on the table. “Bert’ll be hurt if you don’t,” Oscar added as Caitlyn forced a smile at him.

Leaning towards Caitlyn, Fabian told her, “NE’s short for Naeniam Exponentia. Saves you trying to pronounce it.” Turning to face him, Caitlyn let out a nervous giggle. As Fabian chuckled alongside her, Caitlyn felt her anxiety flutter away. Warmth prickled into her cheeks as her glowing smile, from Friday, returned. Reaching out for her apple, Caitlyn took a bite.

“How d’you guys know Caitlyn?” Aisha blurted out, in a demanding tone. Scrunching the wrapper up, from her of cereal bar, Aisha crunched it in her hands, making as loud of a rustle as possible. All eyes turned towards her.

“Aisha,” Caitlyn sigh, as her shoulders deflated.

“It’s okay,” Pete cheered. “We met in the library, after school, on Friday.”

“Oh,” muttered Aisha and Darcia in unison.

“You never said,” Darcia whined. Lowering her head, Caitlyn shrugged.

“You never asked,” muttered Caitlyn, taking another bite of her apple.

As more questions bubbled between her friends, Caitlyn sank in her seat. The voices, and people became a blur, as her vision fuzzed. Focusing on the deepest rose-coloured spot on her apple, Caitlyn stroked her thumb across its waxy surface. “Are you okay?” she heard Fabian whisper at her side. Fluttering out of her trance, Caitlyn flickered her sight towards him and nodded.

“You know, Caitlyn,” announced Pete, noticing her attention to his group of friends had returned. “NE’s a lot of fun.”

“You’re Mr Penn’s first new recruit,” Oscar told her. “And he doesn’t let just anyone in.”

“Yeah, he’s taken a real liking t’ you,” Pete added.

“Bert has too,” said Oscar. Folding his arms, Fabian grumbled a hum.

The spiralling returned to Caitlyn’s stomach. ‘The magic club was so much fun,’ Caitlyn reminded herself. Biting on her bottom lip, she flickered a glance from Pete, to Oscar, then Fabian and back to Pete. “I don’t know,” she mumbled with a sigh. “I did enjoy myself,” she told them. “But…” her voice trailed, as she recalled Jay’s reaction to her talking about Mr Penn’s club. ‘He didn’t even seem to care when I told him I wouldn’t join. It was like he already hated me.’ Caitlyn hunched her back. Her heart panged.

“But?” she heard Pete repeat.

“A… a friend didn’t want me to,” she told them, flickering her sight from Pete, back to her apple. Her stomach churned.

“Oh,” muttered Pete. His shoulders sank as he flopped back in his seat. “That’s a bummer.”

“Friends come ‘n’ go,” sang Oscar with a shrug. “You enjoyed yourself, didn’t ya?” he asked. Looking up at him, Caitlyn nodded. “A real friend wouldn’t mind what club you joined, so longs as you’re not doing’ anything wrong and it makes you happy… that’s all that matters, right?”

‘He makes sense,’ Caitlyn realised. ‘All I want is for Jay to be happy… so why can’t I do something that makes me happy too? I’m not doing anything wrong or bad.’ Listening to Oscar’s reasoning, Caitlyn found her smile returning. ‘It’s only card tricks… and maybe a few stage illusions.’ As the swirling in her stomach settled once more, Caitlyn continued to eat her apple.

With Caitlyn smiling again, Pete told her, “We meet tomorrow, in the second music practice room.”

“That’s the old building at the back, just before the technology block,” Fabian explained in a whisper, as he leant towards her. Caitlyn turned to him and nodded. “It’s the only part of the school with a second floor,” he added, hoping to reduce her chances of getting lost.

“Turn up and see what you think,” said Pete with a slight shrug. “If you change your mind afterwards, at least you’ve given it a go.” Pinching her lips in, Caitlyn nodded.

“It’ll be great if you joined us,” added Oscar.

“And we’ll try to stop Beth from singling you out,” Fabian told her, running a hand across the back of his neck. “I can’t make any promises though,” he muttered as he prodded the right corner of his mouth into his cheek.

“That’s okay,” replied Caitlyn. “And… erm, thank you for sticking up for me,” she whispered. Dropping her sight to the table, she felt the tingling in her cheeks return.

“It’s okay,” he breathed.

A rattling thudded in Fabian’s chest. His palms dampened. He forced a swallow as his throat grew tight. Looking to Caitlyn, the tips of his ears began to burn. He shuffled in his seat. Pressing his fist to his mouth, Fabian cleared his throat. “You, erm, you did well, for your first try at a card trick,” Fabian announced, more to the group, than to Caitlyn. “Didn’t she, guys?”

“Yeah,” Pete and Oscar agreed.

“When it was my first time doing a card trick in front of everyone,” Pete began, as he leant forwards. “I dropped the deck, lost the card I was supposed to show, somehow my belt broke at the same time and my trousers nearly fell down,” Pete explained with a snigger. Shaking his head as he laughed at himself, Pete’s face turned red. Caitlyn found herself giggling along with him, as did her friends. “Compared t’ me, you did great,” he assured her.

“And that was after a couple of months training from Mr Penn,” Oscar pointed out.

“What I’m trying t’ say,” Pete went on. “Is… I don’t know about everyone, but when we first started, we knew nothing. Magic just sounded fun. Then Mr Penn showed us the Frandadis fruits and things became even more interesting… but you already have an interest in some o’ the basics.”

“It’s not a proper card trick,” declared Caitlyn, recoiling her hands to her chest. “I don’t know how to do it without looking at the next card.” Her brow puckered. “It kinda feels like cheating,” she muttered.

“But Mr Penn knew what you were doing,” Pete told her. “That’s why he did that huge, fake sneeze. You were doing something that an actual magician knew you were going t’ do.”

“You did better than Pete after he’s had Mr Penn’s training, is basically what he’s trying to say,” Fabian whispered to Caitlyn with a breathy chuckle, as he leant towards her.

Flickering a glance at his watch, Pete shuffled himself around in his seat, to face Caitlyn more. “If you wanna improve your card tricks, like us, you don’t wanna miss out on Mr Penn’s lessons. And if we’re lucky,” Pete added. “We might even get to saw Beth in half.”

“And even you don’t wanna miss that,” exclaimed Oscar.

“True,” Caitlyn giggled. Seeing the excitement on Pete’s face, Caitlyn wondered, ‘Maybe Mr Penn might use the Frandadis fruits to actually saw her in half?’ The image in her mind of Beth’s agonising scream, at being sawn in half, once she realised that her legs and torso had actually been separated, made Caitlyn laugh out loud to herself.

“Rumour has it, Mr Penn and his partner once performed at the famous Magic Tower,” Oscar told the group.

“No way?!” gasped Caitlyn as her eyes shot wide. “The Magic Tower?” Oscar smirked.

“You’ve heard of the Magic Tower?” Pete asked.

“Of course,” Caitlyn replied.

“She knows more than she lets on,” grinned Oscar.

“What’s the Magic Tower?” asked Aisha.

“It’s a place where world famous magicians perform,” Caitlyn explained, as she turned towards her friends. “You know you’ve made it, as a magician, once they ask you to put on a show there.”

“I’ve heard Mr Penn say he and his partner used to do full stage illusions together too, for huge crowds – not just the little sleight of hand stuff he’s shown us so far,” Pete told Caitlyn. “I tried asking him about it once, but he went silent on me.” Pete frowned with a shrug.

“Maybe that was a clue,” replied Caitlyn with a gleaming grin. “Maybe his partner was a mime or something,” she suggested. As Fabian beamed at her, Caitlyn’s cheeks turned a florescent fuchsia. She shot her eyes back to the table, embarrassed by her statement.

“You know, I never thought of it like that,” Pete said, cupping a hand to his chin, with a hum.

“Well, I think Mr Penn’s covering up a big, dark secret from his past,” Oscar declared.

“Nonsense,” scoffed Pete. “The man’s a teddy bear. The only thing he’s guilty of is scaring everyone to death when he shouts.” Caitlyn found herself trembling as she hugged her hands to her biceps, imagining Mr Penn’s tremendous roar.

As the end of break time for year seven drew near, Caitlyn and her friends clambered out of the table. “Bye Caitlyn!” Oscar projected, as he waved at her, swinging his arm high above his head. Turning back to face the boys, Caitlyn’s cheeks turned an identical glowing hue to the apple she had consumed.

“See you tomorrow!” Pete called as he, too, began waving. “And it was nice meeting your friends,” he added. Shaking his head, Fabian chuckled at his friends. He gave Caitlyn a soft smile. Caitlyn whimpered as her face grew redder.

Turning away from the year eight boys, Caitlyn raced out of the canteen. “Well that was embarrassing,” she muttered, pressing her palms into her face.

“Don’t worry,” chuckled Samantha, as she placed a hand on Caitlyn’s left shoulder. “I think they were funny.”

“Yeah, until they made the entire canteen stare at me,” she murmured. Pressing the backs of her hands into her cheeks, Caitlyn was desperate to hide her rosy face.

“It’s fine,” Samantha reassured her.

“Sam’s right,” said Darcia as she appeared on Caitlyn’s right. “The boys seem like fun!”

“What did we miss on Friday?” gasped Aisha, as the girls headed down the corridor, returning to their geography classrooms.

“Since when did you become friends with all the cute boys?” asked Emily. Shrugging at her friends, Caitlyn’s brow puckered.

“What club did you join?” came the next question, from Samantha.

“And why didn’t you tell me?” Darcia demanded.

“Guys?” gasped Caitlyn as their questions continued. “It’s nothing,” she muttered, hugging her arms at her chest. “I just went to the library to find a book to read for English,” she said with a shrug. “I didn’t know Mr Penn was teaching card tricks.”

“Card tricks?!” Aisha exclaimed, scrunching up her nose. “Who cares about card tricks?” Aisha stuck her tongue out, as though the words, “Card tricks,” left a nasty taste in her mouth.

“It was fun,” Caitlyn told them. A breathy laugh escaped her, as the memory of Mr Penn making the rubber duck quack fluttered to the front of her mind. Caitlyn prodded a smile into her right cheek, as the girls trudged up the stairs.

Footsteps thudded above. A girl appeared from the top of the staircase and raced towards them. Caitlyn’s stomach churned and her eyes widened as the girl dashed past them. ‘I think that was Beth,’ Caitlyn realised, as her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. “It wasn’t all fun,” Caitlyn confessed as she squeezed her arms tighter at her chest. “There was a girl that didn’t seem to like me. She said I had to do a card trick in front of everyone,” Caitlyn told them, as the spiralling in her stomach that she had felt when she was singled out by Beth, on Friday, returned. “Luckily, I knew one,” she muttered. “But apart from her, everyone else seemed nice.”

“I didn’t know you knew card tricks?” said Darcia, as more of a question than a statement.

“One,” Cailyn corrected her. “I know one card trick… kind of.”

As the girls arrived in the humanities corridor, Caitlyn told her friends, “I like figuring out magic tricks. When you see a magician perform, don’t they always amaze you?”

“Some do,” replied Emily with a shrug, as they arrived outside their classrooms.

“Not the stupid ones where they pretend to saw their assistant in half and you can always see the wooden legs sticking out the other side of the box,” Aisha scoffed.

Pressing her face up against the window in the door of their geography classroom, Darcia looked to see if their class had been let back in yet. There was no teacher in sight. As Darcia turned back to face her friends, Caitlyn told them, “You’re thinking of the really old magic shows. Magicians don’t do things like that anymore,” with a giggle. “Fine,” Caitlyn sighed, as she could see from the glare on Emily and Aisha’s faces that changing their minds was going to be difficult. “What about tricks where you don’t know how it’s done?”

“All magic’s fake,” Aisha huffed. Folding her arms, Aisha scrunched her face, protruding her nose in the air.

“That’s kinda the point,” Caitlyn laughed. “Magicians try to make their tricks and illusions look real, but that’s all they are: illusions,” she explained. Thinking back to her time in the library, on Friday, Caitlyn told herself, ‘Up until Friday, I would have believed that too.’ Memories of the bowl full of rainbow coloured berries and the chopping board covered with a collection of exotic and strange fruits, poked a grin in the corner of Caitlyn’s mouth. ‘I’m not sure if I should tell them about Frandadis fruits just yet,’ she warned herself. ‘Maybe Aisha would like them though,’ she reasoned. ‘She did say she likes science experiments and Frandadis fruits are kind of that… and they do real magic. Still,’ she decided as her intestines spiralled into knots. ‘It’s best I don’t say anything. Bert did say a lot of families are against them and Aisha’s dad is super strict. Emily’s dad’s a teacher here too – what if her family disapproves? I can’t lose all of my friends just because I like card tricks.’ Sighing, Caitlyn wandered over to her classroom door, and stared inside at the empty chairs. ‘I think I’d rather be in lesson right now,’ Caitlyn decided as the churning in her stomach made her legs tremble, ‘than have anyone ask me another question about magic or Mr Penn’s club.’

“I like it when magicians make flowers appear outta nowhere,” Darcia told her, having noticed Caitlyn’s sad sigh.

“I saw some guy on TV, once, float in the air,” added Samantha, nudging Caitlyn. “No one knew how he did it.”

“It’s just a camera trick,” sulked Aisha. “He didn’t really-“

“That’s the point,” Caitlyn sighed, rolling her eyes. “It’s an illusion.”

“Well I’m happy for you,” Samantha told Caitlyn. “You gotta teach us how to do all the magic stuff you learn.”

“Yeah,” agreed Caitlyn with a nod. “Well, I can try.”

 

*

 

As Caitlyn returned to geography, the discussion from break, with Pete, Oscar and Fabian raced around in her mind. ‘They make the magic club seem fun,’ Caitlyn beamed, as the warm fuzz she felt on Friday returned to her chest. ‘They seem fun too.’ The movement of tectonic plates that was being discussed by her class failed to filter into Caitlyn’s ears. Her mind was too busy worrying about making the right decision. ‘Oscar’s right… Jay wants me to be happy, I know he does. He gave me my bear,’ she told herself. ‘And I do get a super positive feeling when I’m around everyone from the magic club, including Mr Penn.’ A silent sigh escaped her as she sank in her seat. ‘If it were that obvious, why do I still feel guilty?’ she wondered as her heart pulsed a twinge.

No matter how hard Caitlyn tried to concentrate in class, a worrying panic washed over her. Sweat trickled down her back. Her heart rattled inside her ribcage. The roof of her mouth dried. Her palms grew clammy. Thoughts spiralled around in her mind.

As her maths group was dismissed, at midday on Tuesday, Caitlyn raced out of her classroom. Oblivious to the bustle of bodies that filtered into the corridor, Caitlyn kept her head low as she passed by the other maths classrooms.

“Caitlyn, you okay?” called a male voice. Her ears pricked up. Stopping in her tracks, Caitlyn spun around to face the familiar voice. “Caitlyn!” Artie called, as he jogged a few paces to catch up to her. “You okay?” he asked again, as he appeared at her side.

“Yes, thanks,” she replied. The racing in her mind eased up, as she smiled back at him. “Are you?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “You just seemed a little out of it yesterday, in double English and science,” he told her as they continued to walk out of the maths corridor. “Miraj was even talking to you in German, this morning, but you didn’t seem t’ notice.”

“Really?” gasped Caitlyn, as her face grew red. “Goodness! I’ve just been deep in thought,” she told him. “I hope Miraj didn’t think I was being rude?” she worried, with lines creasing her forehead.

“Nah, it’s cool,” Artie replied with a shrug. “Is something bothering you?” he asked.

“Kinda,” muttered Caitlyn as her brows slanted upwards. A sigh escaped her, as her shoulders drooped.

“You can talk to me,” he told her. “That is, you know, if you want.”

“Thanks Artie,” she beamed back. “That’s really sweet.” A puff of air snorted from Artie’s nose as his cheeks began to glow. He scratched a hand to his head, to scruff up his hair, in hopes of hiding his flushed face. “I’m just kind of having trouble deciding what the right thing to do is…” Caitlyn told him.

“Okay… you need t’ be a little more specific,” he chuckled. Cradling her books tight at her chest, Caitlyn let out a nervous laugh, as they walked along the corridor together.

“Well,” she began as they passed by the main hall. “I went to the library after school on Friday, to start on homework… and there was a club in there and they let me join them. It was fun and I really liked it.”

“I don’t really see the problem,” Artie chuckled, rubbing a hand to the back of his neck. “You don’t know if having fun and doing something you like is a good thing?”

“No,” she sang with a giggle, shaking her head. “My best friend didn’t really approve,” she muttered. “He seemed to be angry with me and I don’t know why. Out of respect for him, I didn’t want to join… but now he’s not speaking to me at all, even though I told him, I wouldn’t join. I’m just confused. Do I join, because I enjoyed it?” she asked. “Or do I stay loyal to Jay, even though he’s distanced himself from me?”

“No offence,” Artie muttered. “But this Jay sounds like an idiot.” Caitlyn sniffed as she hugged herself tighter. “It’s something you enjoy, right? And it makes you happy?” he asked. Caitlyn nodded. “Jeez, if I had friends an’ they didn’t like it that I play drums or that I didn’t wanna join the school football team, I’d tell them t’ get lost. None a that should matter. So longs as I’m happy and they’re happy, friends can have different interests.” The fluttering inside her that Caitlyn experienced on Friday, whilst at Mr Penn’s magic club, returned.

“Thank you, Artie,” Caitlyn squeaked with a sniff, as they neared their form room. “I really needed to hear that.”

“I didn’t say anything special,” he muttered shrugging. “So, what day’s the club?” asked Artie.

“Today,” she replied.

“Then go an’ have fun,” he told her. “In fact, I insist. You go an’ then you can tell me all about it, tomorrow, in tutorial. Whether I’m interested in it or not, I’ll listen to you. And if you don’t like it, you don’t have to go again, but if you do go and you enjoyed it, well, you know, stick with it.”

“Thank you,” Caitlyn beamed, bearing her biggest smile, as they stopped outside of their form room. “I don’t know what it is about you, Artie, but you’re good at making me feel better about myself,” she told him as she turned to face him. Artie’s ears reddened. With glowing cheeks, he flickered his sight to his shoes, before blushing back at Caitlyn.

“Right,” boomed Mr Shaw, opening the door to his classroom. “Inside now, we don’t want you loitering in the corridor.” Entering their form room, Caitlyn and Artie divided into separation as Caitlyn sat at the back of the room and Artie took his seat in the front corner of the classroom, by the window. As other members of their form group began to enter, Caitlyn flickered Artie a smile. He smirked back, his ears turning a deep scarlet.

 

*

 

Her stomach spiralled. Scrunching her cuffs around her wrists, Caitlyn clawed her nails into her palms. Her heart rattled in her ribcage. The corridor was silent. As she passed the main music classroom and the music teachers’ office, Caitlyn peered inside the windows. They were empty. Her intestines knotted. ‘Maybe I got the day wrong… or the place,’ Caitlyn told herself, as her eyes darted around the music corridor. ‘I did think they said after school on Tuesday… and the music department.’

Looping her thumbs through her bag’s shoulder straps, Caitlyn inhaled a shaky breath. She placed a foot forward. Laughter. She gasped. Straining her ears, Caitlyn squinted as she focused her attention on the direction that the laughter had sprang from. A door stood between the music office and the keyboard practice room. Nearing it, she raised herself up on tiptoes and peered through the window embedded in the door. A narrow corridor, containing four more cobalt blue doors, lay on the other side. Caitlyn’s hesitant hand hovered towards the door handle. Scrunching her hand into a fist, she snapped it back to her chest. ‘What were you thinking?’ Caitlyn sighed to herself. ‘You can’t go in there. Nobody wants you there. You don’t belong with them.’ Her shoulders drooped. Staring at the floor, she shuffled a step back. ‘I can’t do it,’ Caitlyn told herself. Lines creased her brow. Her chest tightened. A lump formed in her throat. She spun back around on her heels, facing the staircase.

“Hey!” beamed Pete, as he appeared on her left. “Looks like you decided to join us.”

“I, erm,” Caitlyn hesitated, flickering her sight to her shoes.

“Yey! Hi Caitlyn,” cheered Ariel, at Pete’s side, as she waved at Caitlyn. Looking towards them, Caitlyn pinched her lips in. Her cheeks tingled. A third head appeared, from behind them. The blond boy, Fabian, smiled at her.

“You can sit with us,” Pete told Caitlyn, taking a step towards her. “We’ll make room.”

“Erm,” muttered Caitlyn as she shuffled to the side, to let Pete get to the door. “Thanks,” she found herself saying. ‘Maybe I can do this,’ Caitlyn thought. ‘I can just sneak in with these guys and maybe no one will notice me.’

“I’m so glad you decided to join us, Caitlyn,” Ariel beamed. Caitlyn forced a smile back, blinking several times.

As Pete led the way through the doorway, into the corridor of doors, Ariel placed a hand on Caitlyn’s shoulder. Ariel nudged her head towards the door, encouraging Caitlyn to follow after Pete. With a swallow, Caitlyn nodded. Taking a slow step, she hunched her shoulders and lowered her head, in attempt to hide behind Pete. Behind her, Ariel placed her hands on Caitlyn’s shoulders, as she followed close behind.

The door swung open. Light from a window, on the opposite side of the room, engulfed them. “Sorry we’re late,” Pete sang as he entered the room.

“Now that you’re all here,” Bert began, as Pete took a seat on the piano stool to his left. “Oh Caitlyn,” he gasped, spotting her. “You decided to join us?”

“Yeah, she came with us,” Pete answered for her. Bert nodded at Pete, then at Ariel and Fabian as they entered the room. Ariel sat on the lap of a girl who was sat near Pete, on a chair, and Fabian scooted up on the edge of the piano stool, beside Pete, dropping his backpack at his feet.

Standing beside Bert at the front of the room, Caitlyn stared back at everyone. Crammed inside a room, that Caitlyn decided was smaller than her bathroom, at home, twenty pairs of eyes stared back at her. To the left of the door stood an upright, worn oak piano, where Pete and Fabian sat on a two-seater piano stool, facing the rest of the group. Leaning against the piano, in the lower left corner of the room, Oscar folded his arms on the piano’s rim, and began whispering to his friends. Beside Oscar, a girl with sandy blonde hair sat on a chair and Ariel was sat on her lap. Next to them in another chair sat a boy with short bright blond hair and another blond stood behind him, both of whom Caitlyn was yet to meet. On the floor, Robin sat cross legged, hugging his backpack to his chest. Behind him sat a boy, on the room’s last chair, with short walnut coloured hair and another brunet boy with scruffy hair stood behind him.

A window stretched the length of the wall, on the far side. Four students lined the window ledge. In the far left corner sat one of the twins, tapping his heels against the wall. At his feet, a blonde girl sat with her legs curled underneath herself. Next in line, on the window ledge, was the other twin, followed by a girl that Caitlyn did not recognise. Her hair was tied back in a bun and a fiery-orange and a grass-green pencil crayon spiked out of her hair. Hannah, who still wore her rubber duck necklace, sat beside the girl, in the far right corner of the window. Caitlyn smiled at her. On the floor, in front of the girls, sat Caleb and Reuben.

With her back to the door, to Caitlyn’s immediate right stood Bert. Behind him, a scratched rosewood block of wood, leant against the wall. Beside Bert, a boy with a head of curly cinnamon coloured hair, leant back against the wall, with his arms folded at his chest. Between the curly haired boy and Hannah on the window ledge, stood Beth, who was checking her appearance in a compact mirror.

Shifting her sight from the students surrounding her, down to her shoes, Caitlyn squeezed her left hand into her right elbow. “Everyone, this is Caitlyn,” she heard Bert announce to the room. She felt her cheeks flush, as all eyes turned towards her. Caitlyn focused her attention on Bert, as he told the group, “She’s a Septumiam. She watched us on Friday and Mr Penn asked her to consider joining.” Bert gave Caitlyn a smile. “Now, Caitlyn this is everyone. I will introduce them all in a moment, but first everyone, Mr Penn is running late. Mr Archimedes got rushed to the hospital after slicing open his thumb, who knows how you can do that in a maths classroom, but long story short, Mr Penn is stuck on detention duty. He’s trying t’ get out of it, but in the meantime, he put me in charge.” A chorus of mutters and groans rumbled between the students.

“Of course he picked Bert,” Caitlyn heard the scruffy haired boy grumble, as he slid his hands into his pockets.

“He is his favourite,” mumbled the boy sat in the seat, in front of him.

“Right,” sang Bert, silencing the mutterings and returning everyone’s attention to himself. “Introduction time.” He grinned at Caitlyn. Her heart pounded in her chest. The longer she stood beside Bert, in front of everyone, the louder her heart drummed. Glancing around the room, everyone appeared squished.

‘Maybe they’ll all hate me,’ she worried. ‘I’m an extra person taking up extra space.’ She took a hesitant step back, as if it gave people more room. ‘Maybe they don’t want a new member of their group.’ Her heart beat louder. ‘What if I’m not good enough to join them?’

“We’ll start with Novemiams,” Bert said, bringing Caitlyn out of her thoughts. “That’s those of us in Naeniam Exponentia who are in year nine,” he added, lowering his voice, as he leant closer towards Caitlyn. “Then we’ll move onto Octoniams, that’s year eight.” Hearing Bert use several strange words made Caitlyn’s brow pucker.

‘Novemiams, nine. Octoniams, eight,’ she repeated to herself.

“This is my best friend, Joe,” said Bert as he introduced the curly haired boy, who stood beside him. “And you already know Beth,” he told her, gesturing to the girl beside Joe.

As they turned towards the window, the trembling in Caitlyn’s chest eased, as she already knew three out of the four students who sat on the ledge. “You know Hannah,” Bert told her, holding a hand out towards her.

“Hey Caitlyn,” Hannah sang as she waved.

“Hi,” Caitlyn beamed back.

“Now, this is Alison,” said Bert, as he held a hand towards the girl with pencil crayons in her hair.

“Hi,” muttered Alison with a smile and a wave. Caitlyn giggled as she waved back.

“You already know the twins,” Bert announced, gesturing a hand to the next two people sat on the window ledge. “But which is which?” he asked her.

“That’s easy,” replied Caitlyn with a giggle. “That’s Jamie,” she said, pointing to the boy in the corner. “And that’s Stuart,” she told the group, pointing to the boy sat in between Jamie and Alison.

“What?” came a chorus of gasps.

“How did you know?” cried Stuart. “No one can tell us apart.”

“You’re fraternal twins, not identical,” Caitlyn told them with a chuckle. “Jamie has a straight posture, a more oval face and a softer voice. Stuart tends to slouch more, has a rounder face and a deeper voice.”

“Not fair!” sulked Stuart. “We even dye our hair black to make us look more alike.”

“Our form tutor’s known us over two years and even he still gets us mixed up,” Jamie told her. “I’m impressed,” he added with a grin.

“I’m not,” Stuart muttered, folding his arms and scrunching his nose. “We work hard to confuse people and make everyone think we’re the same. Even Hannah, Ali ‘n’ Judith get confused, sometimes.”

“True,” agreed the blonde girl, sat on the floor in front of Jamie, who swung his legs either side of her shoulders.

“And down here, we have Judith,” announced Bert, pointing at the blonde girl.

“I know you,” said Judith, as she tapped a pointed finger in Caitlyn’s direction. “I sometimes see you walking to school.” A gasp escaped Caitlyn, as her eyes widened.

“You’re the girl with the pretty scarf,” Caitlyn blurted out. Chuckling, Judith rummaged around in her messenger bag. She tugged out a chunk of her scarf’s bright rainbow striped yarn. “Yeah!” Caitlyn exclaimed. “I get so excited whenever I spot you.”

“Aww, thanks,” blushed Judith with a nervous giggle.

“That’s all us Novemiams,” Bert informed Caitlyn, as he took a step back. “The rest are all are Octoniams, again, most of whom you met on Friday.” Caitlyn nodded. “At our feet, here’s Caleb and Reuben,” Bert told her, gesturing to the boys, sat cross legged on the floor, in front of Alison and Hannah. “Ahead, we have Robin, who you’ve met. Tobias is sat on the chair and Rickie’s behind him.” Smiling, Caitlyn nodded at the boys. “Next, is Alex who’s sat down and his friend Charles is behind him,” Bert explained holding a hand out to two boys with short blond hair. “Next, you already know Ariel,” he said as Ariel waved at Caitlyn. “And this is Callista,” Bert told her, gesturing to the girl whom Ariel was sat with.

“Nice to meet you,” smiled Callista.

“You too,” Caitlyn replied.

“And you’ve already met Oscar, Pete and Fabian,” Bert told her, as he pointed to the group of boys who congregated around the piano.

“Right,” breathed Bert, placing his hands to his hips. “That’s enough of introductions. Oh and to anyone who dare question Caitlyn’s addition to the group, she is actually interested in card tricks, and with Mr Penn’s help showed us a little of what she already knows. She’s entitled to be here just as much as all of you.” Hearing a few grumbled murmurs, Caitlyn tightened the grip on her elbow. She dropped her sight to her shoes and shuffled a step back. Her chest trembled.

”Any questions before we make a start?” asked Bert, as he clapped his hands together and bounced on his toes.

“Yeah, we need a bigger club house,” Stuart complained. “It’s like we’re crammed in the tree house our dad built us when we were kids,” he grumbled. “Not fun.”

“I know,” sighed Bert. “It shouldn’t be for too much longer. Mr Penn’s tryin’ a get Mr Wye to loan us his classroom every Tuesday. Not much we can do when we don’t have Mr Penn, I’m afraid,” he told the group with a shrug. “A music practice room is better than nowhere at all though, right?”

As if mocking Bert’s comment, wood clonked. Someone, in the practice room next door, shouted, “One, two, one, two, three, four!” Drumming thudded. A bass line strummed. Chords blared through the walls.

“You were saying?” snarled Rickie, rolling his eyes.

“We’ll be fine,” Bert yelled, over the band rehearsing, in the adjacent room.

“Just pretend you’re at a rock show,” Judith chuckled with a shrug. “We’re at a free gig, where all the acts are cover bands. It’s not that hard to concentrate when you think of it like that.” Scrunching his nose up, Rickie muttered under his breath.

“Mr Penn’ll sort out the new assistant and secretary iam positions when he gets here,” Bert told them. “And it’s not based on who’s better at magic,” he warned. Turning to Caitlyn, Bert explained, “Each year group has an assistant and secretary person, who the rest of the year group can go to for help on their magic, instead of bothering Mr Penn all the time. Like all teachers, he’s busy enough with lesson planning and marking work, we can’t all be bothering him when we’re confused on a sleight of hand deck shuffle or coin appearance. The assistant and secretary spots are appointed to people who Mr Penn thinks are good listeners or teachers. They don’t necessarily have to be the best at what they do, they just have to be willing to help out their peers. It doesn’t put anyone at better rankings than the others,” he added. “And if you come up with better words than ‘assistant’ and ‘secretary’ feel free t’ let us know. We started off with ‘best’ and ‘second-best,’ but you can take a guess as to how well that went down. We tried ‘head’ and ‘deputy’ before we settled on ‘assistant’ and ‘secretary’. The assistant iam is who you turn to if you want assistance with a trick. The secretary iam is who you go to when you have ideas of something new you want to try; they compile all of the ideas into one list and present them to Mr Penn, usually at the beginning of the club.” Pinching her lips together, Caitlyn tried to conceal a giggle, as she imagined petty squabbles between certain members at the previous titles of ‘best’ and ‘second-best’.

‘That guy, Rickie, seems like one to start an argument,’ Caitlyn noted, sensing his short temper. ‘And Beth seems to hate everyone but Caleb.’

 “So, has anyone been practising or working on anything, over the summer, that they’d like t’ share?” Bert asked the group, as he grabbed the block of wood from behind him. Lifting the wooden block, two metal ‘u’ shaped brackets, on the narrow sides, lowered. The metal bars extended, towards the floor. Locking the legs into place, Bert pressed down on the wooden surface. He thudded a hand down on the rosewood, checking the stability of his assembled table. “I’m sure if we think highly of the performance, we’ll tell Mr Penn when he appears,” Bert added, in hopes of enticing a volunteer.

“I’ll go first,” said Rickie, shooting his arm in the air. All eyes turned towards him, as he rummaged around in his backpack. “I just need a couple of things,” he muttered. “I’ve been practising the cup and ball trick all summer,” he boasted, as he bounced back up, with a stack of three white, plastic cups and a crinkled sheet of tinfoil. “I’m a natural.”

“We’ll be the judges,” Bert mused. A cocky grin plastered on Rickie’s face, as he clambered his way to the front. With a nod of his head, the scruffy haired boy smirked at Caitlyn. “Take to the stage,” grinned Bert, as he traded places with Rickie, clambering into the space behind Tobias.

Rickie stood the other side of the foldout table, facing the group. Placing the three cups on the table, in a line, he scrunched the tinfoil up in his right hand. “You, new girl,” said Rickie, nodding his head at Caitlyn, who stood opposite. Her heart flinched. Her eyes widened. “Imma blow your mind. Watch.” Swallowing, Caitlyn hugged her arms to her chest, placing her hands on her elbows. She exhaled a slow, steady breath and watched, as instructed. Rickie scrunched the tinfoil tighter, creating a rough, jagged ball. “Watch the ball,” he told her, as he placed the ball in his left hand and lowered it towards the middle cup. Rickie lifted the centre cup with his right hand, obstructing the tinfoil ball. He lowered the cup. Placing his hands on top of the centre cup and the cup to Caitlyn’s left, he dragged them across the table, switching their places. Grabbing hold of the cup on Caitlyn’s right, Rickie slid it across the table. As the cup traded places with the centre one, Rickie’s motions increased in pace. The cups swivelled faster. White blurs raced around in spirals. Tilting her head a little, to her left, Caitlyn pursed her lips as she focused on Rickie’s hand movements.

As the dancing cups swirled to a stop, a smirk etched into Rickie’s face as he asked, “So?” punching his fists to his hips. “Which one’s the ball under?”

“That’s easy,” Caitlyn replied, keeping her lips pursed.

“No, Caitlyn,” she heard Pete sigh, behind her. Ignoring Pete, Caitlyn’s grin grew as she stared at Rickie’s smug smirk.

“The ball’s in your left hand,” Caitlyn told him, flickering her sight from Rickie’s eyes towards his fist, balled at his hip.

“What?” he muttered, scrunching his face.

“You palmed it before you lowered the cup,” Caitlyn told him.

“Did not,” exclaimed Rickie, puffing out a breath.

“Did too,” Caitlyn replied.

“Rickie, play fair,” Bert warned him. “Open your hand. Show her.”

“Fine,” he grumbled. “But how’d you know?”

“I watched you do it,” she told him with a shrug, exhaling a laugh. “Also, the ball’s made of tinfoil and it isn’t exactly scrunched up very well. If it were really under the cup, we’d have heard it scratch against the table and the flimsy plastic of the cup.” Shaking his head at her, Rickie snarled his nose with disgust as he swiped his cups from the table. “You may have succeeded had you used a foam ball, like the trick’s designed. You moved the cups fast, but I could tell you were hiding something uncomfortable in your hand. You also need to work on your timing,” she added, feeling her heart tingle and she braved to continue. “You palmed the ball before fully lowering the cup.” A chorus of, “Oooowh,” sang out around the room, as Rickie’s face turned a deep scarlet.

“Fine,” he growled. “You win this time, but I’ll get you,” he told her through gritted teeth. Trudging past Caitlyn, he barged his shoulder into hers. A gasp escaped her, as she staggered back. Pain stabbed in her arm. She gripped it tight. Snapping her eyes shut, she seeped a breath.

Bert’s eyes widened. He leapt back to the front of the room. “Right… erm, Robin, have you got a deck of cards on you?” Bert asked, as he ran a hand across the back of his neck.

“You bet,” nodded Robin.

“Why not refresh everyone’s memory with some easy tricks, whilst I talk to Caitlyn outside for a minute,” he suggested. Robin nodded again as he clambered to Bert’s side.

As Bert and Caitlyn exited the second music practice room, Bert grabbed the handle of the door, leading into the main music department corridor. “I’m sorry about Rickie,” Bert told her, as he forced a swallow. Closing the door behind them, the two stood beside it. “He’s not good with girls… especially those he feels threatened by.”

“I can see,” muttered Caitlyn, rubbing her left shoulder.

“My bad,” Bert mumbled with a shrug. “I shoulda known he was gonna be so obnoxious. Good f’ you for figuring it out, though. I didn’t know you had it in you t’ stand up to someone like Rickie,” he told her with a chuckle. “That oughta put him in his place.”

“Thanks,” replied Caitlyn with a nervous laugh. “I think.”

“We’re not all like him, I can promise you that,” Bert insisted. “He hasn’t put you off, has he?” Caitlyn shook her head. “Good,” Bert beamed. “I know it can be a lot to take in on your first day,” Bert admitted, as he hunched his shoulders. “Meeting that lot an’ in such a small space isn’t exactly pleasant, is it?”

“Yeah,” replied Caitlyn with another nervous laugh.

“I hope I didn’t embarrass you too much with the introductions,” Bert told her. “It’s hard trying to explain all the basics t’ you, without singling you out – or boring everyone else,” he added.

“It’s okay,” replied Caitlyn with a shrug. “I think I get it. Naeniam Exponentia is what you call the magic club – Fabian taught me that. Then, Novemiams are year nine, Octoniams are year eight… and is it Septumiams for year seven?” she asked.

“Great,” Bert nodded. “You even nailed the pronunciation. Good job! There’s a bit of Latin mixed in there, which I’m sure you picked up on.” Caitlyn nodded. “We use Naeniam Exponentia, or NE for short, instead of saying magic club, because we don’t want trouble for using the ‘m’ word,” Bert explained. “Oh and funnily enough Naeniam Exponentia doesn’t even translate properly. Mr Penn put Oscar in charge of coming up with a code name for us. It took him a few weeks, but he turned up one day all excited, saying he’d figured it out. As soon as he said, “Naeniam Exponentia,” we loved it. Oscar claimed it meant tricks and spells, in Latin, or something like that. We liked it. Magic tricks for the illusions and sleight of hand stuff, and spells for the Frandadis fruits – it sounded perfect… that is until I took to a translating website and discovered that somehow he musta mistyped something when he was translating words online, because Naeniam isn’t a word… in any language. We were stupid to blindly trust him and base all of our club year group names on Oscar’s supposed translations, anyway,” Bert sighed. “That’s the name’s backstory.”

“Okay,” giggled Caitlyn. “So, what about years ten and eleven?” she asked. “Would they be Decemiams and Undecimiams? And when do I meet them?”

“Spot on,” Bert beamed, “However, we don’t actually have any. Mr, Penn started the club just for Septumiams and Octoniams, last year. He’s continuing to teach us all this year, but you’re the first he’s added to the group since we formed last September.”

“Wow,” Caitlyn breathed.

Caitlyn’s bright eyes dropped to a frown. “What’s wrong?” asked Bert.

“Are you guys against outsiders?” she asked Bert. “This isn’t like a cult, is it?”

“No, of course not,” he told her shaking his head. “In fact, we encourage you t’ befriend as many non-NE members as you like. We’re trying to show the school that magic is safe and fun. Mr Penn’s just wary of who he trusts with Frandadis fruits, they can do some pretty powerful stuff. If they get into the wrong hands, it’ll be more than angry parents at the door,” Bert warned her. “Think law suits. Think fines. Think prison sentencing.” Stepping back, Caitlyn’s brow shot up, as she clutched her hands to her chest. “I didn’t mean to scare you,” Bert told her. He exhaled a nervous breath. “But you saw what the fruits could do, last Friday, right? We did that stuff in controlled environments, with science equipment. If we got the Frandadis juices on our faces, for example, it might cause deformity and who knows how long for. The human body is made up of cells and organisms that are far more complex than a wooden pencil. Imagine the most troublesome kid in your class,” Bert began. “I’m sure you’ve got one, I think everyone does, at some point. You know, someone who can’t help but goof off, throw things across the classroom, draws all over their exercise book, you get the picture. Imagine what would happen if they got a hold of the Frandadis fruits.” Caitlyn shuddered. “Exactly,” he told her. “I’ve got mates who aren’t apart of NE. Most of us do. Not everyone wants to learn the secret behind magic. They love being amazed and believe we really can conjure a rabbit out of a hat or levitate a body on stage. People like to be fooled,” he told her with a shrug. “Once the secret’s out, and they know how to make a card appear from a deck, or make a coin disappear, it doesn’t appear magic anymore. But, if you’ve got friends that are interested, and trustworthy, I’m sure Mr Penn’ll love t’ meet them.” A warm glow returned to Caitlyn’s chest, as a smile broke across her face.

‘Maybe the girls can learn magic too,’ Caitlyn wondered. ‘It’s something we could all do together. Darcia and Samantha seemed interested. I bet Emily would too, once she sees how cool Mr Penn is. And I bet Aisha would love to experiment with Frandadis fruits; it might change her mind about magic too.’

Clicking his fingers, Bert’s brow shot up as he slid his hand inside his blazer. “Almost forgot,” he told her. “Mr Penn told me to pass you an exercise book.” Retrieving his hand from his blazer, Bert presented Caitlyn with an A5 sized book. It was identical to the ones she was given in all of her classes, however instead of her tangerine-orange maths book, dandelion-yellow science book, blush-pink English book, sky-blue German book and sea-green humanities book, this one was charcoal-grey. “We all have one,” Bert began. “The name given to each trick, illusion or Frandadis experiment we cover, is at the top of the page,” he told her. “You can fill it in as you see fit. Some of us make notes, others draw pictures. Whatever helps you to remember. There’s no right or wrong answer.” As Bert handed the book over, Caitlyn flicked through the pages. “You can fill it in at your own pace,” he told her. “And don’t worry about filling the whole thing in. No one’s expecting you to catch up with the Octoniams or Novemiams. If it’s too much to take in, just tell me. The guys joke I’m a walking, talking encyclopaedia of magic. My great grandfather’s a stage four warlock; I’ve had this stuff drilled into me since I was this big,” he told her, tapping his hand to his waist.

“What?” frowned Caitlyn with a giggle.

“That part’s a secret,” he told her with a wink. “Not many in there know I have real magic running through my blood,” Bert told her as he jabbed a thumb towards the music practice rooms. The lines on Caitlyn’s brow deepened. “I know you know,” he told her with a chuckle. “You do too, I can feel it. I knew as soon as I met you.” An explosion of fireworks erupted in Caitlyn’s stomach. Her pulse tingled through her limbs. Her eyes widened as a shaky laugh escaped her. “The icy shudder you get,” Bert told her. “The way you’re drawn to certain people and things… the way no one else seems to understand you when you explain it.” Swallowing Bert’s chest trembled as he awaited Caitlyn’s response.

Caitlyn stared back at him. Her lips parted. The thumping in her chest beat slow and loud. The word, ‘Magic?’ echoed in her mind. Her icy shudder. Knowing that someone’s bad before they are. Sensing that something bad is about to happen. She and Jay being separated. Stuck learning German, instead of French. Mrs Doherty’s sudden personality change. Jay turning against her on the way home. All of these memories spiralled around inside her. ‘Magic?’ she thought. ‘Me? My parents say I’m just being stupid,’ she told herself as her brow creased. Flickering her sight to Bert, he gave her a weak smile, as his brow slanted upwards. ‘Could he be right?’ she wondered. ‘Could he really be magic? Could I really be magic?’

“Has a light ever flickered when you were over emotional?” Bert asked her. “Like really angry, or really upset?” The corners of Caitlyn’s mouth poked up, as she recalled the light flickering above her head, during her first day in her form room, and before that, in the main hall. “Have you ever wondered why no one else can instinctively feel someone’s presence in the way that you can? Why you’re such a good judge of character? This is our little secret,” Bert told her. “Yours, mine and Mr Penn’s.” Feeling her cheeks tingle, Caitlyn found herself nodding. “It’s unusual for the gene to skip a generation or two,” Bert told her with a shrug, “But Mr Penn and I are happy to guide you, if you want us to.”

“Magic?” Caitlyn whispered with a grin. “Is that what this is?” Smiling back at her, Bert nodded.

“This really is just our little secret,” Bert told her. “No one in there knows, about me or Mr Penn.” Caitlyn’s heart flickered. “If anyone else has magic in their blood too, they’re keeping it a secret.” Caitlyn nodded.

“Is it a bad thing?” Caitlyn asked.

“Not if you don’t want it to be,” Bert told her with a shrug. “Consider it a super power. Joining NE will help you to keep it under control and use your senses to your advantage. I used t’ be terrible at controlling my anger,” Bert began. “When I was your age, I used t’ get so frustrated with teachers that I’d cause light bulbs to shatter all the time.” Caitlyn flinched. “I know,” Bert chuckled. “Mr Penn helped me t’ control it. Right now, I’ve gone a whole nine months and no broken bulbs.” Nodding, Caitlyn found herself laughing back at him. “You seem a lot better than me at keeping yourself calm,” Bert told her.

“I have my ways,” replied Caitlyn, as she rubbed her thumb and fingers between the silky texture of her tie.

Beaming an admiral smile at Caitlyn Bert nodded at her. “So, what d’ya think? Are you still interested in joining NE?” Bert asked her.

“Yeah,” Caitlyn nodded, eyes wide.

“So, I haven’t scared you off then?” Bert chuckled.

“I should hope not,” boomed a voice down the corridor.

“Mr Penn!” Bert exclaimed. Caitlyn spun her head over her shoulder, to see the tall man with a mane of curls striding towards them.

“Caitlyn, is Bertie, here, bothering you?” asked Mr Penn.

“No, Sir,” Caitlyn giggled, at hearing Mr Penn calling Bert, Bertie. She shook her head.

“’Cause if he is, I can turn him into a toad for a little while,” Mr Penn mused.

“I think we’re all good,” Bert said with a nervous laugh. “Right Caitlyn?” Bert’s voice grew high, as he flickered a glance at her.

“Right,” Caitlyn nodded with a chuckle. ‘I wonder if Mr Penn could really do that?’ Caitlyn pondered. ‘Maybe we could get him to turn Rickie into a toad for a little while.’

“Good,” Mr Penn sang. “Good. I can see you’re going to be quite the asset to Naeniam Exponentia, young lady,” Mr Penn told her with a grin, as he led the way back into the music practice room.

Beating his hands together with a thunderous clap, Mr Penn silenced all who were in the room. “Hey everyone! Sorry I’m late,” he told them. “I stole your idea boys,” he said, pointing at the twins. “Grasshopper pencils. Had the hall screaming with fright in seconds. Everyone ran outta detention in a flash.” Laughter filled the room, as the twins gave each other a high-five. “Great t’ see you all returned,” grinned Mr Penn, looking around at everyone. “Now who’s ready t’ figure out how I do this one?” Slipping a box of cards from his pocket, Mr Penn took no delay in showing the group a new card trick. He skimmed the box across the table and began shuffling the deck from his right hand into his left, as Caitlyn and Bert appeared at his side. “Right, now Bertie, give the cards a cut, wherever you want, and complete the cut,” Mr Penn instructed. Bert leant towards the deck of cards and lifted up a section, placing them down on the table. Taking the other half, he placed them on top. “Good,” nodded Mr Penn. “Now I’m going t’ turn my back. Bertie, if you just take one card, look at it, show it to the group and hide it inside your blazer pocket for me.” Bert nodded as Mr Penn turned around. Sliding the deck of cards out across the table, Bert pinched a card from the pile. As he neatened the pile with his right hand, he arched his chosen card, the three of diamonds, around the room, so that everyone could see it. Bert looked at the card himself, before placing it in his blazer pocket.

“Done, Sir,” Bert announced.

“Great, now,” said Mr Penn, as he turned around and retrieved the cards from the table. As he began shuffling the cards, he glanced around the room. “Ariel, would you remove your jacket and place it over my arms, covering the cards?”

“Okay,” Ariel replied with a giggle, as she bounced off Callista’s lap. Slipping her arms out of her faded khaki green denim jacket, Ariel plonked it over Mr Penn’s hands.

“Thank you,” nodded Mr Penn, as his hands shuffled beneath the jacket. “Bert, your card is either black or red. So I’m going to pull a card out that will match the colour, are you ready?” Bert nodded. Mr Penn’s right hand peered out from under Ariel’s jacket and placed a red, king of hearts down in the table. A few people gasped, seeing the red card. “Now that we know your card is red, it is either a heart or a diamond,” Mr Penn told him. “The next card that I pull out, will match the suit of your card.” Bert nodded as Mr Penn placed the jack of diamonds down on the table.

“Okay,” muttered Bert with a nod.

“Now to find out if your card is a number card or a face card,” said Mr Penn as his hands fumbled about beneath the jacket. He placed the eight of diamonds down on the table. Whispers mumbled around the room, as people attempted to figure out what Mr Penn was doing. “The next card will tell me if it’s odd or even,” Mr Penn went on, as he revealed the nine of diamonds. “And I know it’s not any of these cards,” Mr Penn announced, as he placed a collection of odd, red diamond cards down on the table. “The ace, five, seven and we already have the nine of diamond. So you picked the three of diamonds, correct?” he asked Bert.

“Correct, Sir,” Bert nodded, as he retrieved the card from his blazer. A thunderous applause built in the room. With her eyes wide, Caitlyn clapped along with them.

‘How did he do that?’ she wondered. ‘He didn’t look at any of the cards. He hid them all under Ariel’s jacket before he got the chance to peep. And he shuffled them, so they were mixed up, right?’ The more she thought about Mr Penn’s trick, the more her forehead puckered.

“As you all try an’ figure out how I did it, Fabian, can I speak with you outside a minute?” asked Mr Penn, as the chatter, in the room, increased.

“What’ve you done now, mate?” Pete sang with a sigh.

“Nothin,” muttered Fabian, shrugging.

“I just need to talk to Fabian about his chemistry homework,” Mr Penn told the group. “It’s nothing to worry about,” Mr Penn assured Fabian, as he led him out, into the corridor.

Humming to herself, Caitlyn gazed out of the door’s window, watching Mr Penn and Fabian as their conversation transpired. ‘Could the cards have brail on the back?’ Caitlyn wondered, as she watched Fabian shake his head. ‘Or maybe it’s maths,’ Caitlyn decided, as Mr Penn nodded back at Fabian. ‘I wonder if the cards were in a certain order,’ Caitlyn pondered, as it was now Fabian’s turn to nod. Mr Penn shrugged. ‘If the cards were in order, cutting them wouldn’t do an awful lot,’ Caitlyn decided. ‘Maybe they were all in some sort of order, so by counting along so many cards, he could eliminate the colour and suit?’ Another hum escaped her as Fabian and Mr Penn returned.

Having sat cross legged on the floor, beside Fabian, Caitlyn watched on in awe as Mr Penn demonstrated to the group how he did the card trick. “So you see,” he told the group, as he spread the deck of cards out, face down. Placing his finger under the end card that was tucked beneath the deck, Mr Penn poked it up. As it rose and he prodded it over, all of the cards on top of it turned over too. “All of the cards are now in a code,” he told the group as all of the even number of the same suit were together and all of the odd number of the same suit were together. “It’s a maths game,” he told them. “All you have t’ do is remember the order you’ve placed the cards in.” Beaming back at Mr Penn, Caitlyn nodded, as his explanation made sense. “If I know the top card is the king of clubs and I count down, say six cards and the next card down isn’t the four of clubs, but a two, I know Bert’s card is either the jack, ten, eight, six or four.” As Mr Penn began explaining further, Caitlyn rummaged around in her bag for a pen and began taking notes.

“It’s nice to see someone’s eager,” Mr Penn grinned at Caitlyn, once he had finished explaining how the trick worked on a deeper level. “D’yer reckon you could pull it off?” he asked her.

“Not yet,” replied Caitlyn with a nervous laugh. “At least, not in the speed that you did.”

“It’s all about practise,” Mr Penn told the room. “Practise. Practise. Practise,” he boomed. “Caitlyn, as our newest member, would you care to volunteer with another kind of magic?” Mr Penn asked her, holding a small, jar between his thumb and forefinger, with pickle coloured liquid inside. Flickering her sight around the room, Jamie and Hannah gave her a subtle shake of their heads. Caitlyn forced a swallow as her eyes widened.

“Actually, Sir, I think Rickie should assist you, being as he seemed so eager to show off earlier,” Caitlyn told him.

“Great idea,” Rickie beamed, as he clambered towards the front of the room. A smile crept into the corner of Caitlyn’s face, as Jamie gave her a thumbs up.

“Excellent,” nodded Mr Penn. “Now, Rickie, if you wouldn’t mind just sitting on the table for a minute?” he asked. Nodding, Rickie slid onto the table, facing the group. “Rickie, you have an incredibly easy job, boy. You just have t’ sit there,” Mr Penn told him as he unscrewed the lid from his jar. “You may feel a slight trickling sensation on your scalp. Now this shouldn’t hurt” he warned Rickie. “Much,” he added, winking at Caitlyn.

Caitlyn’s eyes widened, as Mr Penn held his jar inches above Rickie’s head. Her heart rapped in her ribcage, as she held her breath. Tilting his hand, Mr Penn trickled a mini waterfall of pickle-green liquid onto Rickie’s head. Gasps filled the room as Rickie’s body began to shrink. Caitlyn’s eyes bulged from her skull. She clasped her hands to her mouth, as the boy transformed into a toad. The room burst out laughing as Rickie leapt about on the table. “No, no,” warned Mr Penn, scooping the toad up in his hands, before he leapt onto the floor. “We can’t have you escaping now,” he tutted. “Well Caitlyn, what d’ya think? Is it an improvement?”

“Yeah,” she sniggered, nodding. “Can’t we leave him like that?” she laughed. “He’s much nicer as a toad.”

“It’ll wear off in a couple of minutes,” Mr Penn told them with a shrug.

Just as she had done on Friday, Caitlyn felt her worries slip away and a warmth swirl around her body throughout her time with the Naeniam Exponentia group. Her shoulders relaxed and she giggled along with them, as the potion Mr Penn had poured on Rickie wore off, over fifteen minutes later. Leaping onto the floor, Rickie’s tongue prodded out of his mouth several times, as he clambered to his feet. “You’ll pay for that,” he growled.

“It’s just a bit of fun Rickie,” sang Mr Penn with a sigh. “Keep yer shirt on.”

As some of the group slipped on their coats and grabbed their bags, ready to leave, Caitlyn tugged on Bert’s sleeve. “Can I talk to you, before you go?” Caitlyn asked.

“Sure,” Bert shrugged. “Wanna talk now?” he asked, nodding his head towards the door. Pinching her lips in, Caitlyn nodded.

“Caitlyn, I’ll walk home with you,” Ariel called after her. “I see you walking home sometimes. I catch the bus near your house.”

“Thanks,” giggled Caitlyn with a nod.

“We’ll be back,” Bert told her. “Give us a sec.”

As the door closed behind them, Bert asked Caitlyn, “Is everything okay?” Caitlyn nodded. Flickering her sight to her shoes, her chest tightened as she inhaled a slow breath.

“You know when you told me to tell you if that shuddery thing I get happens again?” she muttered, shifting her eyes up to look at him.

“It happened, didn’t it?” he replied. Caitlyn nodded again.

“It wasn’t Mr Penn again,” she warned him. “Well…” she mumbled. Her eyes narrowed as she recalled the icy shudder she felt as she and Jay left the library on Friday. “Well it happened twice,” she told him. “On Friday. Once as I was leaving the library, but I have no idea who caused it or why.” Forcing a swallow, Caitlyn rubbed her thumb and fingers between her silky tie as the light above them began to flicker. “And the second time was on the way home… with my best friend. I’ve never had this feeling around him before. What does it mean?”

“What do you think it means?” he asked her. Caitlyn’s intestines spiralled. Her heart crashed to the depths of her stomach, as she relived the sensation over again.

“I,” Caitlyn hesitated. Dropping her sight to the floor, her shoulders drooped. “It’s bad, isn’t it?” she muttered.

“If that’s what your heart tells you,” Bert muttered with a shrug.

“But it’s not,” replied Caitlyn with a squeak. “That wasn’t Jay,” she told him, shaking her head. “It was like he was a completely different person.”

“School changes people,” Bert told her with another shrug.

“What if I’m right?” asked Caitlyn, forcing a swallow. “What if something is going on? Bert, a lot of odd things have happened since I started at this school. I want to say bad things, but I’ve been warned for being too pessimistic. It’s things that don’t feel natural… like the future’s changed… and… I have a really suspicious feeling that Mr Penn is behind it all.”

“Not this again,” Bert sighed, shaking his head. “Mr Penn appears scary, but I can assure you he’s-”

“Like a big teddy bear,” Caitlyn sighed rolling her eyes. “I know,” she muttered.

“Because it’s true,” Bert insisted. “Please try ‘n’ stop worrying.”

“I like Mr Penn,” Caitlyn told him. “I really do. It’s just,” an exasperated sigh escaped her. “You know what, forget it,” she muttered, shaking her head. “I should never have told you.” Dropping her sight to their shoes, Caitlyn scrunched her arms tight at her chest.

“Come on,” Bert sang. “Spit it out.”

“When I first met Mr Penn, I got the shudder that I told you about, then me and Jay got separated,” Caitlyn told him. “Then when I went to see Mrs Doherty about changing form groups, she was really nice and was about to help me, but Mr Penn appeared and I got that horrible chill and Mrs Doherty just turned on me. Then when Jay met me at the library on Friday, he seemed fine, then I got that feeling again and I spun back around to look at you guys, because I swore someone was staring at me. Since that moment Jay is a completely different person.” Inhaling a shaky breath, Caitlyn’s throat tightened. “He was angry with me all the way home and judging me.” She shuddered. “He threw sweets at a signpost on the way home. That’s not like him,” she told Bert with a sigh. “He’s stopped walking with me to school. He won’t even look at me in the corridor.”

“And you think Mr Penn is behind this?” he asked her.

“I don’t know,” she sighed. “When I’m around Mr Penn, I see why everyone likes him. He’s cool and fun and I want to learn so much from him – all of the tricks, illusions and magic amazes me. It’s just… something, sometimes, feels off. I didn’t feel it the whole time I was in the library with you guys on Friday, up until I left, nor have I felt it today. You said I could come and talk to you about it,” she muttered, poking the toe of her shoe on a chewing gum lump on the carpet.

“I know,” Bert mumbled with a shrug. “I just don’t know what t’ say,” he told her. “I believe you,” he blurted out, as she looked at him with sparkling eyes and a pout. “I just can’t make sense of it.”

Scratching a hand to the back of his head, Bert let out a huge sigh, before asking her, “Would you have joined the group without your friend, had you been in the same form group?”

“I don’t know,” Caitlyn shrugged. “Maybe not. If Jay and I were together, I wouldn’t be struggling with school as much,” she confessed. “Meeting you guys was kind of a relief. Maybe I wouldn’t have found myself alone in the library, if Jay and I hadn’t been separated.”

“I see,” Bert nodded with a hum. “At any rate,” he told her with a shrug. “You can’t change the past. Not without a time machine and a flux capacitor.” Caitlyn burst out laughing. “Glad you got the joke,” he beamed. “Now, let’s focus on the present. You like NE, don’t you?” he asked her.

“Yes,” Caitlyn replied with a nod.

“And you’ve made friends,” he told her. Smiling, she nodded at him. “Ariel’s an amazing girl and she really seems to like you. If you stick with her and Calli, I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”

“Thanks,” Caitlyn smiled.

The door to the music practice room opened. “You ready to walk home, Caitlyn?” Ariel asked as she appeared in the doorway.

“Yeah,” nodded Caitlyn with a smile.

“Hey!” exclaimed Callista, as she gave Ariel a playful push out of the way. “Don’t go hogging the new girl. I wanna get to know Caitlyn too.”

“We meet up next Tuesday,” Bert told Caitlyn. “And with any luck, Mr Penn will have scored us Wye’s classroom.”

“I’ll let you know if we find out anything,” Ariel told her. “Hugs,” Ariel sang as she threw her arms around Bert. “See you tomorrow, Bert,” she told him, as she turned to face Caitlyn. “Grab your bag,” she told her. “And we’ll walk with you.” A giggle fluttered into Caitlyn’s chest. “I’ll see you all tomorrow!” Ariel called to the Naeniam Exponentia group, as Caitlyn grabbed her bag from the music practice room. “I’m so excited to share everything I know with you,” Ariel beamed, as Caitlyn reappeared.

“For once,” Caitlyn told her. “I’m excited too. You guys are so nice and make me feel so welcome that I actually don’t mind coming to school anymore.”

“Good,” Ariel cheered. “I’ll help you, Caitlyn, in any way I can. I’m sure we all will.” A happy giggle escaped Caitlyn as Ariel and Callista linked arms with her and skipped down the music staircase together.

Watching after them, a warm smile prodded into the corner of Mr Penn’s cheek. “Welcome to Naeniam Exponentia, Caitlyn,” Mr Penn chuckled to himself.

 

- Josie -