Harry Moffer & the Dumbest Story Ever!

Chapter 7: What on earth is a crystal?

When Harry, Pun, Hildegarde, and Jill walked into Professor Dibble's classroom and took their seats, the rest of the class was sitting in their seats, looking completely bored as they watched their teacher lecture about some historical event no one cared to learn about.

Tarcey and Junia sniggered as they saw the Grim Trio sitting in the back of the classroom. They disliked Hildegarde because of her anti-Larry Dobber essay and they detested Harry for other reasons. As for Pun, they could only feel nothing but pity for him, as they didn't like the fact that he was wasting his time hanging out with two losers when he could be hanging out with them instead.

Jill turned to them and glared at them, saying, "Do you mind? I'm trying to do something important here. I can't have you two scheming and stuff behind my back. Not cool, man."

"What's not cool is you hanging out with Moffer and those two tussies," Tarcey whispered to her harshly.

"You know what he did to your grandfather," said Junia.

"Will you two shut up?" Oscar snapped back at them. "I can't concentrate without you two curseheads yabbering about. Can I at least get a decent education so that I can go to college and not have to work as a maid like the rest of my family?"

"Your family are maids?" Junia laughed.

"Shameful," Tarcey frowned.

"Mr. Pate and Miss Brown," said Professor Dibble as he reluctantly paused the class and turned to look at them. "The Magical Age of Dawn should be what you are focusing on, not your little conversation. Now, get back to your notes; I won't have anyone getting any "F's" from my class."

Just then, Jill raised her hand and said, "Professor Dibble, what do you know about the Magician's Crystal?"

Immediately, everyone turned around in their seats and stared at her, as if she had asked the world's most impossible question. Silence reigned supreme as the teacher said to her, "Where did you hear about the Magician's Crystal?"

Jill knew that it was a loaded question; she couldn't possibly bring up the fact that she had overheard Professor Pate and Professor Quinnell talking about the crystal. That would mean that she would have to bring in the fact that Harry Moffer, Pun Teasley, and Hildegarde Lamer had over heard the conversation along with her. With their reputation as boat rockers exposed to the entire school and her own reputation as a nonconforming hipster, she couldn't afford to make any mistakes now.

So she said, "I have heard rumors about it for some time and I want to know if you knew anything about it."

Professor Dibble pulled out a drawing of a gem. This cranberry-sized rough translucent pale red and ice blue crystal is heart-shaped. He said, "That crystal once belonged to a powerful wizard named Gwerris, the Glaive of Thunder. He was known as the most powerful and wisest of the wizards. Yet, he was slain by the adventurer Daer'is, an impulsive young man who knew very little of magic and cared not that he had destroyed the magical world. That act ushered in the age of man, an age which magic is seen as harmful and evil."

"Well, I must admit that's not what I expected," Jill muttered.

"Of course it's not what you expected, you cursing gitch," snapped a kid named Hector Moss. "Magic is for losers."

"Are you cursing with me?" Jill snapped back in anger. "You don't curse with me and live! Got it?"

Hector nodded in horror; he knew better than to mess with Jill Roseberry. The teacher continued with the lesson, but Jill's mind was made up. She would have to find that crystal.

One question did remain, though: how to keep Harry, Pun, and Hildegarde away from wanting to find the crystal. She knew that they had already slammed the Larry Dobber books for their bad quality and crushed the souls of scores of Larry Dobber fans everywhere, but Jill had a feeling that the worst was yet to come regarding those guys...