After School

2.33 Wilfred

September 3, 1646

Wilfred Stevenson was different from his father and grandfather.

He lived in the darkness for most of his life, accompanied by his witch mother. He and the Witch were both outcasts, so they travelled to the dark forest. They moved out of the castle when he was a young boy, for his father had died with his titles stripped from him and there was no need for an heir. No one knew he was royalty, and no one shall know for the rest of his time.

Wilfred knew he was different from the others that inhabited the villages. He was partially immortal and would live longer than most. But not as long as the Witch.

For a time, he felt worthless and without purpose. So he asked the Witch if there was anything he could do instead of playing with the sticks and dirt. She answered, by reading a story from a black book and telling her son that he had a special duty to fulfill when he turned one hundred years old.

In the meantime, when he turned twenty, the age when he stopped ageing, he taught at Willesden high school, which had been built by his father two hundred years ago. He continued to teach there for one hundred years, and would for one hundred more.

This special duty assigned from birth gave him a purpose in life. And today was the day. The first half of his lifelong mission. So he had patiently awaited the Witch, in the school library where the Pact was first sealed. He waited to receive half of the Witch's powers, to torment his marked people for the rest of the year.

And it happened.

Wilfred watched as the Witch sauntered away, having just given half of her Pagan powers to him. He stood with his hands clasped together and a sinister grin spread across his face. Now, it is finally time, he thought, walking towards his classroom.

When he entered Room 110, he swiftly sat in the teacher's desk at the front of the classroom. He folded his hands neatly and patiently waited for his students to arrive. His marked students, specifically. During the incantation the Witch had done to gift her powers, he learned who is six marked people were. They were all children of local witch hunters, and it seemed the Witch had specifically requested this of the Devil because the death of a child does torment a parent greatly.

Finally, the secondary students of Willesden arrived and obediently sat in their seats. He eyed his six students, some girls and some boys. Which one shall I torment and kill first? he deviously wondered, biting his lips to suppress the smirk that was forming.

As he wondered, he began teaching the class. "Good morning, folks. For those of you who do not know, my name is Mr. Stevenson. Welcome to homeroom! I want to start by clarifying a few school rules and classroom protocols," Wilfred began, standing up and leaning against the front of his desk, modestly.

"You folks are now in your eleventh year. You are fully capable adults and I want to treat you like ones. For that to happen, we must respect each other," he said, crossing his arms as he scrutinized the six students at the front of the classroom. They were not physically marked yet, but when he began tormenting them, they would be.

Before Wilfred could continue his lecture, a man burst through the doors. He was a burly man, with overalls and suspenders that clung against his fat belly with every wobbly step he took. The students exchanged confused looks with their teacher, baffled by this sudden entrance.