School for Good and Evil - OC (WINX CLUB)

CHAPTER 14

Sophie quietly made her way to the common room and tried to get her finger to glow. “Just focus on an emotion!” thought Sophie. “Like anger.”
Sophie closed her eyes. “What makes me angry? The food, my roommates, Shira, Beatrix, Doom Room, her clothes, Shira, her classes, her room, Shira, Shira, SHIRA!!!” She opened her eyes and saw that her fingertip was hot pink. She grinned evilly.

For the next week, the Malice Common Room turned into a catch up night school. Sophie studies all night, driving herself to make her fingerglow stronger, to fog a room and flood a floor, to tell a Sleeping Willow from a Weeping Willow, and to even say a few words of Giant. Sophie’s ranks immediately improved, but by the fourth day, the long nights had taken their toll.
“My skin looks gray,” Sophie moaned.

“you’re still ranked 68, pay attention Sophie!” berated to herself. “The Woodswide Plague began when Rumpelstiltskin stamped so hard the ground cracked and from the ground, a million poisonous bugs crawled out and infested the Woods, sickening scores of Nevers and Evers, They even had to close this school, since the bugs were highly contagious—”

“This is where you’ve been sneaking to?”
Sophie swiveled to Hester at the door in black pajamas, flanked by Anadil and Dot.
“Homework,” Sophie yawned, holding up her book. “Need light.”

“Since when do you care about homework?” said Hester, looking greasier than ever.
“Thought beauty was a ‘full-time job,’” mimicked Anadil.
“Rooming with you is such inspiration,” Sophie said, smiling. “Makes me want to be the best villain I can be.”
Hester eyed her for a long moment. With a growl, she turned and led the others out.

Sophie exhaled.
“She’s up to something,” She heard Hester snarl.
“Or she’s changed!” piped Dot, waddling behind.

By the sixth night of schooling, Sophie had risen to #55. But each new day, she looked more like a zombie, skin sickly white, eyes glassy and bruised. Instead of a fancy new frock or hat, now she loped around with dirty hair and a wrinkled dress, trailing study notes all over the tower like bread crumbs.

“Maybe you should get some sleep,” Dot mumbled to her during Yuba’s lesson on “Insect Cuisine.”
“Too busy trying not to be the ‘worst girl in school,’” Sophie said as she took notes.
“Insects are often available when meerworms are not,” Yuba said, holding up a live cockroach.
“Look Darling, you can’t expect anyone to listen to you when you’re ranked lower than Hort,” Dot whispered.

On the other side of the clearing Shira and the other girls shivered in disgust.
“First remove the inedible bits,” Yuba said, and tore off the roach’s head.
Shira shuddered and hid behind Tedros for the rest of the lesson.

That night, Dot jumped up when Sophie came into the room.
“Everboys always keeps their promises!” she said, bouncing. “It’s the Prince Code of Chivalry. Now you just have to get to him to promise to take you to the ball and—. . . Sophie?”
Sophie answered with a snore.

By the tenth day of Catch up College, Sophie was only at #40 and the circles under her eyes were so black she looked like a raccoon. By the next, she’d slipped back to #65 when she napped during Lesso’s test on Nemesis Dreams, fell asleep during Henchmen, knocking Beezle off the Belfry, and lost her voice in Special Talents for another low rank.

“Your talent is progressing,” Sheeba said to Anadil, who managed to make her rats grow a full five inches bigger. Then she turned to Sophie. “Here I thought you were our Great Witch Hope.”
By the end of the week, Sophie was the worst villain in school again.

Determined to get her rank up she gave up her makeup routes and started studying all the time, food and bathroom breaks only. The next few weeks she was the only one who could answer the questions correctly. She answered the first sign of a Nemesis Dream (answer: tasting blood), steered Frost Giant negotiations during Henchmen, and told Sophie which scarecrows were Good or Evil in Yuba’s Forest challenge.