Mirror Lore was a frightening subject. It was also only the combined course we shared with students from Supernatural Sciences and Magical Media and Communication. The teacher was even more frightening than the subject taught. She was a shrivelled up crone with white hair that reeked of centuries and a particularly unnerving smile. I used to have nightmares after hours of sitting in Mrs. Webb's class.
Preparing myself for a horrid couple of hours, I loittered around the corridors for a couple of minutes while other students scrambled into class with enthusiasm. Surprisingly, Mirror Lore was quite a popular class and many students were taking it.
It was two days after the incident in the woods and as Peach Thubman bounced gaily into class with Cassidy perched on her arms, one wouldn't associate her with the half dead student we had rescued in the woods. I smirked.
We. I hated to think of Jordan Files but it was quite inevitable not to. Because I practically saw him in all my classes. With that smuggish smile on his face. Piece of shit.
I wanted to skip the first hour of Mrs. Webb's class. So I wandered into the library, stared at Grimoires and books I knew I would not read and I went back to loittering in the corridor. By the time I sneaked into class, I discovered I was only twenty minutes late and the class was already in full swing.
The farthest seat right close to the back door was the only one empty so I slumped into it and heaved a sigh of frustration while Mrs. Webb's sharp and shrill voice drowned the weight of my frustrations.
I grabbed my books out of my bag and chewed on my fountain pen, carried away as usual by the opulence of the classroom.
There were tons of mirrors surrounding the entire room, and Mrs.Webb herself stood on an elevated podium from which she administered the horrid gospel of Mirror Lore.
"Somedays I wish we could shut her up with a stuffed pillow" A voice beside me said quietly. I did not need to turn to know that Jordan Files had as usual mysteriously appeared. It did not stop the scowl from spreading across my face. That grating arrogance.
"There are a dozen other places to seat" I said flatly, turning to face him. His shirt was impeccably white and he looked smart enough to conceal the gangly arrogance that revealed itself each time his mouth opened. His frozen eyes flickered at me for the briefest half second and then he turned to face Mrs . Webb with a very serious look of concentration that would fool anyone but me.
"I don't enjoy sitting with you assuredly " He retorted quietly, his eyes still on Mrs. Webb. "But coming late has it's many disadvantages and so here I am stuck in the only available empty space with someone I greatly detest ."
"I detest you too, you and your ice cold eyes and your wolfish grin and the way your nose sits straight like a bow" I spat it all out in one breathe and packed the rest of my rage into folding my hands on my chest and looking at Mrs. Webb with a tight frown.
He always had a way of annoying me.
"Touche" He whispered very close to my ears, close enough to make my skin crawl "I like that temper".
"Children " Mrs. Webb's shrill voice rose sharply against the retort I was about to give "can we now practicalize all that has been said. Take a step forth to the mirror , one at a time ".
I gritted my teeth and watched students reluctantly shuffle forward. Ginger was first. Surprisingly she strutted with all the self confidence in the world, her head gleaming in the mirrors.
"You must ask a question aloud" Mrs. Webb croaked "Be clear. Be precise. The mirror responds only to intent."
Ginger chose a mirror on the eastern side of the classroom. I watched her smirk brazenly in front of it.
"Always be ready to receive. " Mrs. Webb warned "Having even a speck of doubt can cloud your eyes and make you misinterpret what the mirror says. Clairvoyance is devoid of doubt ."
I chewed on my pen while Jordan yawned tiredly. I watched Ginger take a deep breath and then she asked loudly "Will my mother survive her cancer?"
From where I sat I could not see what the mirror showed Ginger but when she turned to face us, there was a huge smile on her face and she danced all the way back to her seat.
When it was Hari Spence 's turn, he asked aloud "Will my father win the Councilorship elections?"
What he saw was enough to make him scream and stumble backwards. Mrs. Webb placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and squeezed softly. When Hari Spence walked back to his seat, his face was a cold mask of stone.
Other students trudged reluctantly to read their fates in the mirror. A few came back with smiling faces, others were drenched in tears. One girl, Sue actually came back to her seat to wail loudly and Mrs.Webb did nothing to stop her.
Peach Thubman was flung straight from the mirror the moment she asked her question. She landed with slight bruises on the floor.
"Terrible" Mrs Webb shook her head gravely.
Cassidy was among the few who came back with broad smiles. She settled into her seat with all the confidence of someone who was allergic to bad luck and had never for once been subject to it .
I watched her jot down something in her notebook.
Jordan Files went before me. His swaggerish bounce was enough to make me livid. His question too was trivial. Something about his clan and the answer was enough to make his smuggish smile hover even wider on his face. I rolled my eyes.
And then it was my turn .
My feet felt heavy but I dragged them reluctantly to a mirror. I took a deep breath to dispel my mind of any lingering doubt and dread I often felt in front of Mrs. Webb.
I chose the mirror in the middle of the classroom.
"Am I in danger?" I asked loudly staring back at my reflection in the mirror. My hair as usual was a wild mess of red. My face was screwed up into a frown. My fingers danced nervously against my side but soon enough they stayed still and the mirror changed.
I wasn't staring at my reflection anymore. I was staring at blood. And ... Was that me sprawled on the floor, all bloody and struggling to creep away . Was that me crawling painfully while blood oozed to leave a nasty trail on whatever floor I was lying on.
I opened my mouth in shock but the image in the mirror did not disappear. Suddenly a hand sprouted from the mirror and gripped my neck, pulling me closer to the glass. I shrieked in horror. Mrs. Webb uttered a spell but the hand around my neck tightened . I yanked helplessly against it but my efforts were feeble and soon my face was pressed to the glass and the hand was tightening further.
Mrs. Webb gave a loud yell and coughed out a series of incantations. I was flung to the ground like a sack of corn . Smoke engulfed the mirror and the hand mysteriously disappeared. Mrs. Webb flung a long black cloth over the mirror while I cradled my neck .
The class was in a horrified daze. Some students had trooped in to surround me, muttering excitedly. A few had phone cameras clicking. Jordan Files stretched out a hand and pulled me to my feet. I was too traumatized to worry about how much I detested him. I could barely even stand.
Mrs. Webb clapped her hands severally for attention. She grabbed her bag sternly and almost yelled "Class dismissed . Miss Carter, to my office. Now."
Her shoes flipped flapped as she walked. I trudged silently behind her, still rubbing my neck. Jordan Files was fast on my heels. I turned back to see that he was holding my bag. My stomach churned with something that was strangely not disgust.
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Mrs. Webb's office was smaller than Principal Scavenger's and it definitely held lesser allure. There were nothing of interest here. There was a wooden shelf stacked high with books and lots of books. Then there was a large , standing mirror partially concealed by an ornamented blue cloth draped over it. There was a simple chair on which Mrs. Webb sank tiredly and the table in front of it bore various hand mirrors and one large grimoire. Then a placard bore the initials: H. B . Webb.
Mrs. Webb has banged the door loudly on Jordan's face. He had swaggerishly decided to step in after me, still holding my bag. Mrs. Webb had shot him a glare and violently slammed the door so loudly it echoed in my ears.
She gestured me into a seat in front of the table. I sat, cautious not to stare into the mirrors on the table. Who knew what would come out to grip me this time. I was still rubbing my neck although it felt a little bit better now.
"Night Carter" Mrs. Webb stared directly into my eyes "What are you?"
The question threw me off balance and I found myself counting the wrinkles on her face, her whitish eye brow lined with age, her tight mouth curved even tighter .
The question hovered in the air for a few minutes. What was I? I was a human who kept getting bad visions and who it seemed was actually hated by magic mirrors. I frowned. What was the best way to phrase an answer.
"You are definitely not human" Mrs. Webb answered for me when the silence had stretched too long "What happened in class today was definitely not coincidence. The Mora wanted to eat you up. "
"The Mora?" I repeated, confused.
"The entity in the mirror" Mrs. Webb shrugged .
"Well it seemed like they wanted to pull me in through the glass" I said flatly, silently resenting the unwarranted scholarship that has brought me into The Academy which was slowly metamorphosing into a den of horrors.
"Yes" Mrs. Webb croaked. "And there must be a reason for it. The Mora don't just pick anybody into their realm. There is something not ordinary about you. "
"Yes" I shrugged, unamused "I see visions of death . A Dark Magian.That is not ordinary, is it?"
Mrs. Webb shook her head and said gravely "You are in grave danger, Miss Carter. If you don't harness your powers soon enough, I think they will come after you. "
"Who" I said flatly, rolling my eyes.
God. What more horrors did The Academy have in store for me. A sickening plan of escape began to form in my mind. I could leave this dreadful place and sneak my way back into The Black Colony. Being labeled a witch was much more comforting than been haunted by unseen forces. Back in Ogef all I had to contend with were the visions and my mother's cold glare. Now even mirrors wanted to gnaw at my throat.
"Be very careful, Carter " Mrs. Webb said more gloomily than before. "Be ever at alert. You are surrounded by foes and yet the fate of The Academy rests on your fragile shoulders. "
I resisted the urge to scream. I could barely save my own life. How could I possibly save anyone else.
As I turned to leave, Mrs. Webb croaked "That wolf friend of yours "
"Files?" I wanted to tell her he was not my friend but I clamped my mouth shut and turned to smile at her.
"Yes, Files" Mrs. Webb frowned "My dear child, nothing good has ever been borne from a union between a werewolf and a human. Verify from your history books. You should not end up like Furla."
" I have nothing with Files" I protested loudly. I wanted to scream it down at her that I could never possibly ever like Jordan Files. I detested him terribly. But all the screams died in my throat, un_uttered.
"You have nothing with him " Mrs. Webb smiled coldly. "But does he have nothing with you?"
She waved a hand for my dismissal. I swallowed my protests and stomped out of her office in furious strides.