BLACKOUT; JR [1]

10.2

My eyes fluttered open upon hearing muffled voices beside my bed, but I closed them again before I registered what was happening.

There was a deep sigh before Felix spoke. "Were you just watching me sleep?" I rubbed my eyes, trying to diminish the slight stinging feeling on my lids. I yawned quietly while watching Sam and Felix converse, trying hard to stay awake. Then Phoebe walked in, and that ended their slightly awkward exchange. After having a good night sleep, in a real bed, it was hard for me to take much notice of the words Phoebe was speaking.

I did, however, recognise the large book Felix was given. It was the Book of Shadows, and Phoebe never let us look at it. "You're a true witch?" Andy asked him, causing Felix to freeze unexpectedly. Then he just mumbled a sarcastic reply about Phoebe, and started flicking through the thick pages. Jake poked his head up, sending me a drowsy smile as I rolled onto my side to face him.

"Sleep well?" He asked me, his hand pulling at the sheet that lay over my stomach.

I nodded at him while rubbing my eyes again. "Very." He moved over as I sat up, lazily throwing my legs over the side of the top bunk. He wrapped his hands around my waist when I tried to get down, and I was perfectly capable of doing it myself, but I didn't object his helping hands. I put my shoes on then, sitting beside Andy while I did so.

"Maybe I should take this?" Felix suggested, closing the book with more force than necessary. "So I can study it alone." His request was completely innocent, but Phoebe displeased at the idea.

"No, the book stays with me. Always." She reminded, pointing her finger at the object. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and it startled me so much I nearly fell off the edge of the bed. Phoebe just looked irritated that somebody had come to her shop so early, but the rest of us were wary. We all stayed in the back room while our guardian went to answer the door, this was the safest place to be. When we heard Phoebe greet Sargent Riles, we scrambled to the floor in a blur of movement, and huddled together closely. We could hear them clearly enough to know that they were talking about us and our current whereabouts, but some of what they said was muffled due to us being in separate rooms.

"Let's go." Jake mumbled, tearing our eyes away from the door. "Let's go to school." We were all smart enough to know we couldn't stay in the back room, and judging by the sound of the policeman's voice, our story was becoming less and less believable every time we told it.

School was no better than the magic shop, but at least we didn't have to hide here. We were sitting in a row in front of Mr Bates' desk while he lectured us. "What were you thinking, running off into the forest like that?" He questioned, his voice as stern as his face. We said nothing, knowing that his words were extremely rhetorical. "We have made every effort to make you feel welcome." He added, the disapproval never leaving his face. His voice was sadder the second time he spoke, a little more disappointed. "At every step of the way, your behaviour has indicated that you do not want to be a part of this community."

"No, really, we do want to be a part of this world." Jake said, although his voice sounded too urgent for the type of situation we were in. I must have been the only one who picked up on the fact that he had used the word world, instead of the more relevant and specific community.

Sam shook his head calmly, but his face showed that he was anything but. "Not all of us." He grumbled under his breath, sending all eyes in his direction.

"Sam?" Felix said, ducking his head so he could level with the angry boy's face. He had only uttered a single word, but his voice was a fizzle of sadness.

The way Sam looked at our Goth friend shocked me, as his face held such chagrin and hatred. "Some of us are sick of playing these stupid games." He snapped, his eyes flickering to me before he blinked quickly. I'd never seen him so angry, and the fact this time had topped all others upset me. He rose from his seat in a single motion and ran for the door against our requests. Jake stood from his chair and chased after him without any hesitation at all, and I was glad that I was surrounded by such a caring group of teenage boys.

"I'm sorry, he's really upset." Andy said quickly, the first to apologise to our teacher.

"He misses his girlfriend." Felix added, hoping that would ease the adult's anger.

"He's not been feeling the best lately." I said, trying out my own extended apology. All of what we said was truthful, but Bates didn't look at all sympathetic for Sam and his inner issues. His eyes switched between the three of us, as Felix and Andy looked to me to speak again. "I know it's taken us a while to adjust, but we do want to be here." I told educator, nodding my head subconsciously while he stared at me.

"And from now on, we will be model students." Felix declared, also nodding his head, looking surer about the simple action than I was. He knew he was making promises that we most likely wouldn't and couldn't keep, but that didn't stop him from making such professions on our behalf.

"Yes." The teacher spoke in such a dull voice, he clearly didn't believe or trust our words. "Another outburst like that will result in you cleaning graffiti off desks for the next month." He warned, eyeing us with clear suspicion. The look I shared with Felix and Andy indicted that all three of us hoped we wouldn't be stuck here for nearly as long.