Devil's Triangle

I learn that I'm still a minor.

Recap:

Hale's eyes flit around and they fix on the door. Muffled thumping can be heard from outside and the previous blush on her face was replaced by a satisfied smirk. Uh oh.

I hastily arrange my hair into a less horrifying shape. Ben stands behind me, his stern face back on, and Hale slowly opens the doors snickering. I brace myself to expect the worst, open my eyes, and am attacked all over again.

Ch.6

This time though, my assailants were two very stern looking police officers standing a mere five inches from my nose. One fat and stumpy, one tall and thin. Both had mustachios and beady looking eyes. I stared at them and said, "Good evening officers, how may I help you?" The fat one stepped forward onto my placemat (forcing me to back up) and held up an important looking piece of paper and boomed, "Ma'am, we have come here today on the grounds that according to state law, you are a minor still at age sixteen and are required by the highest order of the governmental education program to attend school. We have already looked at all the available high schools around this area and have enrolled you in the one the program deemed most suitable. So-----"

"You have got to be kidding me! I mean like Shut up! I can't attend school, I'm perfectly happy where I am and you don't understand. You can't send me off to some high school just because the government wants it! Isn't that illegal?! I don't want to go to school and....." I kept on babbling on like a cretin while the officer kept on talking. "----- starting next Monday, you will be going to Morgan Evans Alternative High School."  The fat guy in the suit finished with a note of finality and the irony was killing me. After all these years of hardships, I was to be defeated by high school.

Hale, who had been standing to the side like a good maid/butler/manager/mom/best friend stepped forward and took my place. She patiently said to the men, "She can't go to school sirs; she has severe social problems and couldn't last a minute without having a mental breakdown. We have been homeschooling her since five and she doesn't know how to communicate with others her age."

 I nodded vigorously beside her. Then remembering that I was supposed to be shy, I curled up into a ball at her feet and started rocking back and forth. Ben, with his intimidating scary face, walked closer to the officers and glared at them.

The officer gulped and nudged his companion. The tall and thin one who had been quiet throughout the whole procedure reached into his hip bag and produced a sheaf of papers. Clearing his throat loudly, he said, "How about this: She may remain as a homeschooled minor if she is able to pass these tests. There are seven subjects here: Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Calculus, English, History, and a language of her choice. She has to receive at least a B to be able to remain at home. Otherwise she has to go to high school."

I had been staring at his pimply and somewhat lopsided Adam's apple. It bobbed up and down with every word he said and was surely the most fascinating thing I had ever seen. His voice on the other hand was so nasal that it sounded like a female elephant seal with a severe case of laryngitis.  What was I gonna do? I can't go to high school. Most likely, I would see my ill-fated to be lover there. Gah! D*mn you Fatina.

Suddenly, my brain registered the officer's words and I nearly did a backflip. Omigod! A Chance to stay at home and not have to go to high school! I get up and start doing a jig with imaginary Weird Al Yankovich music playing in my head. "Oh happy day, happy day." I shriek to all the people who were currently staring at me. I ran through all the possibilities of it not working and back again.

 O.o I see a problem. I suck at science..... My arms hang limply at my sides and I droop my head dejectedly, the happy dance forgotten. Ben, Hale, and the officers all give me a look. Uh oh. The fat ape in the suit laughed sinisterly (at least it seemed like it) and declared, "We shall take the tests now. Maybe the living room?"

Three hours later..............

"How could you be so stupid?! I swear you were born a blonde. We went over all the Chemistry concepts and Newton's Laws at least a bajillion hundred thousand times! You failed the Spanish test too! I mean, you speak Spanish! How do you even fail that?? Huh? Biology you got a D. The highest grade out of all of them. That's barely passing! Unbelievable! Unconceivable! Preposterous!" Hale continued to shriek in a whispery voice at me while violently yanking notebooks, binders, erasers, pencils, and all the other things I needed for high school off the racks at Target.

 I hung my head and hissed back, "I speak Spanish; I'm not a freaking Spanish professor. I don't study nouns and conjugate verbs for fun. And on to the math, we haven't gone over those in centuries. Who cares what x equals? I don't. Science is just confusing. Newton was the guy with the apples right? They fell down from the sky and knocked some sense into him."

 Hale says dryly, "Right. Newton was the guy with the red round fruit and he came up with three of the most important physics laws of all time! I can see you really care about your education Miss Lucy."

 I reply indignantly, "Hey, when I was born, Archimedes, Socrates, Aristotle, and all that philosopher crap didn't exist yet. The laws change a couple hundred times each year. How am I supposed to keep track?"

"I did."

"Oh you shut up."

"I refuse, because thanks to you, I have to go to school too."

I snicker.

Hale mutters under her breath, "B*tch"

"Hey!"

Ch.7

Somewhere in Italy, deep underground, there was a very impressive architectural structure.  With half the surface area of Venice, it was a wonder that all the things aboveground didn’t just collapse down onto it. It was magic. Yep, real glitter and shimmering powder type magic. Cotton candy and sugar puffs. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! That kind of magic is for babies. The magic we’re talking about is the lizard eyeballs and snake gizzard’s blood and the beating heart from a dead man’s chest kind of magic. That’s what we’re talking ‘bout. Dark magic, scary magic. The kind of magic that Fatina practiced. Anyway, the thing underground was Fatina’s lab.

In Fatina’s lab, the smell of disinfectant and sterilizer hung stagnant in the air. Cylindrical glass chambers stood row after row, each with a human being suspended in a clear blue liquid inside. Fatina glided amongst them, surveying her work, occasionally stopping and tapping on the glass a few times with her blood red nails. Then she moved to the end of the building. Crossing through many hallways and unlocking different doors. Finally, she came upon a small wooden door with a metal bolt across it. Underneath that bolt, there were seventy seven different other locks and puzzles. She took a bottle from the side of her belt and dashed its contents upon the wooden frame. Instantly, scarlet liquid splashed across the door and with a creak, all the obstacles were slowly unlocked. Fatina stepped inside with a tip tap of her high heels and flicked the lights on. The room was not very large, with a concrete floor and a heavily barred window. In the corner of the room, was a glass chamber like the others that Fatina had just looked over. The liquid inside of the chamber was emitting a light blue glow and a humanoid male figure was contained within it. His eyes were closed gently and muscles were evident on his arms, legs and torso.