PANDEMONIUM

two

During recess, I saw Emma arrive at school. Yup just like that. Arriving at school like it was eight o'clock with her hair nicely done and her bag on her back. I had no idea why she was this late but I watched as she walked over to a room where four other girls were waiting for her to start a meeting and I followed her there. Emma was one of the class Captains and she wanted to do something nice for the kindergarteners down the road. Just something small that will make them happy. A girl called Alicia suggested a puppet show and another one, Olivia said something about baking cookies but then Emma said we could build them something and I got an idea.

"An octopus!" I announced.

The girls all looked at me like I was an octopus. I was standing outside the door the whole time and not once did they notice me until then.

"Oggie... get out!" Emma shouted.

"Come on, hear me out. I've been to that kindergarten before, you see. And I think it'd be really cute if you built a sign post in the middle of the hall. A sign post that looks like an octopus. And then write directions on the tentacles to help new kids find their way. It's a pretty big kindergarten."

Emma and Olivia both raised an eyebrow. I didn't know what else to say so I bounced, still wondering why Emma had been so late. Class Captains should set a better example.

I carried my sweater into the bathroom. Perhaps I could get the stain off easily, it was just dirt after all. I passed by a teacher's office and a door with a sign that said 'DANCE CLUB' then I brought my sweater to the bathroom sink and soaked one side of the wool in water. And it worked. The sweater was soggy of course but the dirt fizzled out and landed in the sink. I rubbed away the last piece of dirt with my hair and combed it out with my fingers. All I had to do next was wear the sweater and stand in the sun.

Before my hand could reach the exit door, I paused, listening to the voices behind it.

"That kid really pisses me off. He doesn't know anything about magic, he probably has only been in a few classes about it. Does he think he's being smart by hiding it from me? If my sister doesn't get a Heptir pl–"

"Relax Mike, I don't even think that was the right one."

"Then what is the right one, genius?"

"The one that doesn't turn animals into monsters."

I heard Mike grumble and stamp his foot. "Well, what does it look like?"

"I forgot."

A seething hiss came from Mike.

"But we can tell if we have the right one by testing it on an animal. And not an animal from school. I swear if anyone found out that we created that thing... Did you see the damage it did? I think it broke a fan. Maybe next time we can test it on Felix."

"You don't seriously think I'll just let you fuck with my pet do you. Those plants have irreversible effects."

"Calm down, I wasn't serious."

"What do you think happened to the rat?"

"Well it went back to normal. You saw it."

"Well how did that happen?"

"Do you expect me to know?"

"Well try to figure it out! It almost looked like he ripped the slime out of it."

"'Cept he didn't rip anything, he just touched it."

"And then the energy died out."

"As if he stole it..."

"Is he a Shifter?" Mike's voice was quieter all of a sudden.

A pause.

"Is he?"

"I– I couldn't tell."

"Just like you can't tell if we have the right plant."

"I didn't even get to see the plant – I only saw the slime."

"But you wouldn't even know it if you saw it.

"That's why we're testing them!"

Another grumble from Mike and then he shouted, "Fuck! I wanna punch that kid. And I want that energy he stole."

"Why do you want it? It's the wrong energy from the wrong plant."

"Um... why do you think I'd want something that could seriously fuck with Ryan. Just imagine it, Ryan's taking a stroll out and then I show up with the goop and pour it on his dumb dog's head." He laughed. "You think you could carry the energy in a force-field?"

"Possibly. I'll try doing it after school. I'll practice on something."

"Man, fuck that kid. What a fucking liar. You should have seen him. He looked me right in the eye and said there was nothing in the pit. The fucking nerve..."

I could hear them start to walk away and Mike's voice got quieter.

So he was going to try and force me to give him the energy that he recklessly poured on that rat so he could use it on some guy's dog. He sounded like a monster. A really stupid monster. And he was angry too.

Angry and stupid – bad combination.