"The Lock." Principal Blackmont smiled. Then turning to his wife, Cecilia, he reiterated. "Compatriot Feray has been sentenced to the Lock which she must wear at school every day for the next month. "
She smiled. "The Lock it is."
Hitting a hidden button, Principal Blackmont brought up a virtual keyboard and typed in a command. Moments later, a metal box descended from the ceiling and hovered just above his hand. He opened it and brought out what looked like an instrument of torture. Then he brought it out and motioned to Chiara. She stepped forward and visibly braced herself for the humiliation.
Slipping it over her head, the Principal fit one metal band underneath her ears behind her head, which fit the overhead band as well. Then he pulled out what looked like a metal plate with another band attached to it and several knobs. This he fit into her mouth, and then locked to the rest of the device. Finally, he brought down one more metal band from the last piece which locked securely underneath her chin, effectively shutting her mouth. "She has been Locked," the Principal announced. "And you, Compatriot Feray, must return every evening to get this taken off, and every morning to have it put on. Understand?"
Chiara tried to open her mouth, but then winced and nodded her head.
"Good," he almost purred. "You all are dismissed now." Waving his hand to shoo them away, he brought up a screen and began working on 'something more important than them'.
Teacher Blackmont was the first out the door, heels clicking in cold precision. Slowly, the trio of teens followed her out the door and down the hallways to their next class. They made up a rather glum procession that was escorted along by jeers and snickers. Dmitri winced with each sound. Iliana nervously glanced from side to side, but said nothing. However, Chiara held her head up high, ignoring them all, and made the Lock seem like a crown rather than the crowning humiliation.
Suddenly, Iliana's mind flashed back to the last such walk down the hallways of Basilik High. Jack had strutted down with a boldness befit a celebrity, and he too had ignored the mocking crowd. He too, had worn the Lock as if it were the Crown Jewel of an empire of long gone days. In fact, it was because of Jack's frequent Lock sessions that the he, Chiara, and Iliana had come up with their own sign language. Iliana could almost see him now, wavy chestnut hair bouncing as his tall, gangly frame seemed to dominate the area. It was at times like those Iliana saw the leader he could have been shining with a steely resolve from his light brown eyes - just like she now saw the same hard determination glowing in Chiara's eyes.
They finally reached the Physics Homeroom where Teacher Blackmont waited in triumphant, her lips pursed in a cold smirk. "Having trouble talking, Chiara?" Immediately, most of the other students snickered at Chiara. Iliana glared at them, and they stopped. After all, who would dare to laugh at the star student of all Basilik High? Or her rival star student, Dmitri?
The threesome took their usual seats and class began.
(Author's Note: For those of you who have read the previous chapters before I changed the main character's name from Athena to Iliana, I do apologize for the any confusion caused. However, the change was necessary for another part in the story. I also had actually named her Iliana originally, but forgot that when I wrote the first chapter on Wattpad. Further apologies for the whole Blackmont/Blackstone blunders. They are the Blackmonts - but my brain is fried with midterms!
Thank you for your patience and your votes!! Thanks to Sydney a.k.a. Sybilariadne for being my wall on which I bounce ideas! )
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Refuge of Lies
Adventure"I think, therefore, I am. " -Renee Descartes What if there was a culture where philosophical thinking was not only admired, but demanded? What if in that culture, if you could not prove you could philosophically think, you would be executed...
