Lovesick Witches

Celebration

I glanced briefly up at the clock as my hand continued to transfer the ideas from my head onto the page in front of me. The final five minutes flew by as I flicked forcefully through the paper. As my last few thoughts reached the answer boxes of the test paper, the voice of Hecate ordered us all to stop writing. Satisfied by what I had accomplished in that very last exam, I pressed my pen down onto the desk and smiled. 

It was all over. Final exams were done. Despite the odd slip-up and unanswered question, I was terribly surprised to feel nothing but pride and relief in that moment. 

As girls flooded out of the hall once again, I caught a glimpse of my girlfriend standing confidently at the doorway, and this time, I allowed myself to hold onto the magical eye contact as butterflies fluttered through my organs. Her eyes glistened as her lips mirrored the upturned shape of my own. 

It was impossible to think when surrounded by the crowds of witches, so I caught site of my friends and gestured for them to follow me as I ran down the corridor. Escaping into the quiet echo of my own footsteps, my friends caught up to me and for a minute, the four of us stood completely still. No one knew what to say. 

Thankfully, Enid broke the silence with a giggle, and after only a few seconds, the other three of us were laughing with her. 

"I can't believe that's it," I said as I snuggled into a group hug. "We've done our final exams! We've technically finished school, forever!" 

"I know!" exclaimed Mildred. "But, does anyone actually know what they are going to do now?" 

The giggles stopped and we pulled out of the hug. 

"What do you mean?" asked Maud. 

"Well, next year? For the rest of our lives? We've finished school, but now what?" 

"Hmm," I thought, contemplating on this. I was aware that not having a plan for next year was an issue I had, but now that we had actually finished school, it seemed far more real. What was more, finishing school surely meant finishing my relationship with Hecate. I knew it would have to happen at some point, but in that moment, 'some point' seemed terrifyingly soon. 

"Are you alright, Ana?" Enid asked. "You seem so suddenly distressed." 

"Oh. Yeah. I'm fine. Just thinking, I guess." 

"I'm sure we'll figure it out at some point," stated Mildred. "But we do still have a few weeks of school left. We should try to make the most of it. And besides, we've just finished our final exams! Surely that's a cause for celebration. Come on, let's go and find something fun to do to take our mind off things. We deserve it." 

I eagerly agreed, and my relationship worries fell only to a linger in the back of my mind as I let myself enjoy the relief of completing the long, treacherous years of school. 

"I have an idea," asserted Enid. 

"Go on," I prompted. 

"We should fly through the academy on our broomsticks!" 

"Why on earth would we do that?" questioned Maud, her eyebrows raised by at least three centimetres. 

"Well, why not? We've finished school, so, worst case scenario - we get expelled from Cackle's, which we are going to leave in a couple of weeks anyway. And, best case scenario, which is to be guaranteed - we get a good laugh out of it. So... you guys in?" 

For once, all of Enid's points made total sense. I could not disagree with any of it, and I found myself feeling rather enthusiastic about the idea. Yet, there was something preventing me from consenting to it - Hecate. 

Sure, if we got expelled, the difference it would make as to us leaving school in a few weeks' time would be minimal. But whilst those few weeks may mean nothing to my friends, to me they were, aside from Hecate herself, the most precious thing I held onto. I wanted as much time with my sweetheart as possible, and I could not risk throwing that away because of some silly broomstick-flying activity. 

"No," I replied, firmly, after a ten-second delay. 

"Well, I say yes," Maud declared. 

"Yeah, me too," agreed Mildred. "What is there to lose?" At this moment, my eyes discretely caught Mildred's, and an unspoken understanding was exchanged between us. 

"On second thoughts," she said, breaking the eye contact, "I think I'd rather sit this one out. But, you two should totally do it! It would be so much fun. I'm sure some other fifth years would be happy to join you, so why don't you go and ask around?" 

"Suit yourself," replied Enid with a shrug, before she and Maud turned and left us. 

"You don't have to stay with me, Mildred," I whispered, once certain we were alone. "You know why I am abstaining, but you should go and join them if you want to!" 

"I really would rather keep out of trouble for these last few weeks here. And I would hate to get expelled now and leave you all alone. Neither of us know where we are going next year, so I think we could use this last bit of school to help each other figure something out. Besides, I'm rather curious to see where your relationship with HB ends up. A lot can happen in a few weeks." 

"Shush," I demanded, feeling slightly embarrassed. 

"Anyway," Mildred said, changing the subject, "the final round of the head girl contest is commencing soon. Speaking of which, I can't believe Fenella won the choir round! Beatrice was, by far, the better candidate. And now, the score is a draw. Whoever wins this next round will be next year's head girl. We're not able to watch it, though, as only the teachers are permitted to be in the room with them. But we can still catch Beatrice now and wish her luck!" 

With that, the two of us continued down the eery hallway to find our friend.