Scrape

19. The Great Escape

"What the hell!" I exclaimed. "Now I'm definitely never going in case it happens to me."

"Oops," Clara blinked innocently, like a doe, "Sorry about scaring you. My bad."

It wasn't even close to a genuine apology, but I laughed and let it go.

"Whatever," I responded lightly, "I can kick a teacher's ass easily!"

"I mean - no offense - you look strong, but not THAT strong...but then, you haven't seen the teachers fight before in the monthly tournament have you?"

"What, like Alec?"

"No, no, you silly goose. The homeroom/daytime teachers don't participate!"

I followed Clara a little way into the woods around the back of the academy, and we came out in a clearing filled with around 30 gazebos. Each one was a pale blue, with swirling flowers wrapping around the beams and ending in a domed shelter for students to sit underneath. Although glass filled in the airy gaps in the gazebos, a lot of them were filled with chatting students wearing woolly clothing. It was Christmas in a month, after all. Clara and I were decked out in our own Winter clothing. Hers was designer grunge; mine was just grunge. We opened the door to an empty gazebo and sat inside it, still eating together.

"I thought there were only daytime teachers? The academy is as silent as the grave at night, too."

"That's my point. Everything dodgy goes on at night, although nobody knows about it."

"Honestly, you are creeping me out Clara. Where do you learn this crap anyway? Surely there isn't this much gossip circulating around...right?"

It was then that Clara admitted the truth: her father was a member of the school's board, an established governor.

"What the fuck?!" I exclaimed.

"Now you know why nobody wanted to know me," she explained, "we're all stuck in here like rats, and yet I have special privileges."

"Like what?"

She paused for a second before replying.

"Connections, knowledge nobody else has, and most importantly, I could probably get out."

"Are you kidding me?!" A chip fell out of my mouth in shock.

"No. But Dad doesn't want me to leave, so I stay. I even get to see him occassionally." She smiled.

I frowned.

"But wait-" I went back to our previous topic, "what were you saying about the teachers?"

"Oh, yeah. I mean, there are a few teachers who work the night shift - meaning they patrol the grounds at night. Like, when we went to that Halloween party we had to be extra careful. They also take part in a monthly tournament, wearing shadow cloaks. Nobody really knows their identities, but they are all incredible fighters. You know; inbetween the trees they stalk, hunting the defenseless rabbits. Blah blah blah."

"They're not vampires. They can't be."

"No. They're not. At least, I don't think they are. I overheard my Dad talking about one of them once, though. The most badass and terrifying man he had ever met, apparently."