The Woods Curse

Regular Monday

As the back gate to the Academy draws ever closer I can not help but glance back at that thin, dirt path like a snake through the trees. The school entrance is only a few meters away when I remember that I still have my earphones in and Fall Out Boy pounds my ear drums. I hurriedly stop and begin fiddling with my mobile and the wires, if I had walked into the school boundaries with my phones power still on that would have been an instant 1 hour of agony after school the next day. The very thought of it made me shiver. 

My back to the stinking ally and preoccupied with the task at hand, I didn't notice the lanky creature looming up behind me. It moved closer and closer, completely silent and concealed by the gloom that lay like a blanket over the tiny back street.  The shrill cry and freezing hands about my throat came before I had a chance to protect myself, I screamed in horror completely convinced this was the end. Obviously it was not and no more than a second later the fingers released their grip on my neck and a laugh of utter glee came from the creature, who was actually my best friend. The obnoxious and extremely irritating asshole known as Alice rather than her true identity which is apparently Satan. I spun around a slapped her in the face whilst throwing a couple of choice words her way. She was doubled over using the wall for support because her knees had gone weak with laughter. She had a brief moment of calm, saw my appalled face and was sent straight back into an uncontrollable fit of giggles. Once she was back in a state of relevant calm, which most definitely took a while, I found that she had come here 10 minutes early so that she could scare the living daylights out of me. The fact that I had halted right by the alleys entrance and NOT seen her was a miracle sent by the devil himself. 

"Come on Lizzie, you have to admit that was funny!" She said as we walked slowly through the gate and towards the main building. Both of our feet dragged lazily on the concrete attempting to make as little progress as possible, please, just a few more seconds of freedom and happiness before we must enter a world of grief.                                                                                                                      "No, no it was not funny you absolute prick! I almost had a heart attack!" I retorted making sure my fury and displeasure was very obvious. However Alice just laughed that silly little laugh that is basically saying 'you are so cute when you're angry'. I gave up with my complaints and just traipsed beside her muttering insults under my breath. She makes a point of reminding me how much shorter I am and that my head does not even reach her eye level. The other day I had said she talks down to me as if I was a child she replied with 'Its either that or I crouch down'. 

Among my friends I am also the youngest with my birthday being at the very end of July, making me one of the youngest and smallest in my year. You can imagine how much that helps your reputation with everyone seeing you as an immature child, which is basically what I am but that is beside the point. Alice is almost a year older than me turning 15 at the very beginning of September, closely followed by Katherine in late October whilst I will remain 14 almost a whole year yet. It is just completely unfair in my eyes.

We walked into the yard area at the rear of the school and made our way through the sea of students towards the big double doors that were a symbol of safety from the ongoing flow of pupils jostling you to and fro like a pitiful boat. I clung to Alice's sleeve so as not to be swept away. We burst into the main entrance hall of the school (which is only a pinch less crowded than the bustling yard) and found a quiet corner somewhere to stand and wait for the bell that signaled when classes began. The clanging and jingling sound is torment itself by desolating your ears and leaving you partially deaf.

The day was about as dull as every other school day consisting of double Maths with, as if on purpose, every single one of my friends in one corner of the room having the time of their lives and me on the other side. Miserable, tired and surrounded by halfwits who stole every one of my answers believing them by some marvel to be right. After came IT, repetitive. Then English, irksome. And last but not least there was Languages, perfectly Soul-Destroying. Lunch and break were simply spent reading a fantasy novel of magic and wonder in an effort to escape this world for just a little while. 

At the end of the weary day I waved a farewell to my companions and trudged up the rocky way back home, passing the opening to the forest as I went. It is futile trying no to stare into the twilight. Watch it long enough and you are eventually put in a trance, the daemons begin to dance gracefully, twisting and prancing only for the dance to become rigid and violent. They will pounce and that is when you will walk away from the trance with the dance of the devil now imprinted in your mind, burnt into your eyelids so that when you close your curious young eyes the leaping shall start again, never ceasing unless you let the burning light back in. Good luck with the insomnia. 

I got home and went about with my normal life, changing into some more ragged, comfy clothing, turning on my speaker and starting the music , making the cup of tea with 3 spoons of glistening sugar and shutting my bedroom door with a slam to become yet again what my dad calls a 'hermit'. Anti-social, locked away and watching over and over the powerful and majestic dance of the devil with its soft beginning and fiery end.