Tainted Love

10 - Punishment

I kind of wish I could have stayed in the Infirmary for the rest of the day. It would have given me an excuse not to show up for the massive lecture Headmaster Charlotte is going to give us. But I guess that is just wishful thinking...

The classes are about to end, and we are supposed to head to the Headmaster’s office right after. I stayed at the Infirmary for as long as I could but as I look at the time, I know I have to head back and go meet the others for our impending doom.

I nearly drag my feet as I walk out of the Infirmary after saying goodbye to Dr. Annette and Nurse Aileen.

I soon meet with the others as they walk out of their Math class with Professor Adolf. I can still hear his thick German accent inside the classroom as he grumbles to himself.

I also notice Claus is nowhere in sight.

“Where’s Claus?” I ask.

“He skipped classes” Thomas says. “After Nurse Aileen fixed his nose, he just walked right off without a word”

“I hope he shows up soon” I say. “We’re already in trouble. If he doesn’t show up at the Headmaster’s office in the next few minutes, he will be in extra trouble”

“Good riddance” I hear Yara mumble.

“He’ll be there” Caleb says. “He knows better than to provoke the wrath of Headmaster Charlotte, or our parents’”

“Right” I say. “I guess we better get going then”

Without another word, we start walking toward the Headmaster’s office with Ray, Thomas and Yuri accompanying us for moral support.

As we walk, I purposedly stay back while grabbing a hold of Yara’s arm.

“Hey, are you feeling better?” I whisper to her.

“I’m fine” She replies, but it is pretty clear she is still upset.

I know I won’t be able to get much more out of her, so I just keep holding her arm as we walk.

We soon reach the large metal door, already open to receive us. To our surprise, Claus is already there. His nose doesn’t even look like it was broken before. Such is the healing ability of a werewolf.

“You’re late” He says, obviously avoiding eye contact with me and Yara.

“A wizard is never late” Ray says. “He arrives precisely when he means to”

“Shut up” Claus says, a bit more amused at the reference. “You’re not even a wizard. And since when have you become such a nerd?”

“Hey, we watched those movies together” Ray says.

“What are you all doing?” A powerful, yet feminine voice comes from inside the office. “The door is open. Come in at once”

We all gulp at hearing her and Thomas, Ray and Yuri instinctively take a step back.

“Well, good luck” Ray says. “We shall be waiting at the Common Room for your remains to arrive”

“Geee, thanks” Caleb says, and the other three leave.

Without further ado, we enter the large office, and the door automatically closes behind us. There is a moment of silent as Headmaster Charlotte assesses each and every one of us individually. Her presence is so intimidating even though she is just a tiny pink haired mermaid and is not even standing.

I hear Felix gulping next to me and manage to hold her hand to give her some comfort.

“So” Headmaster Charlotte starts as she looks down at some papers on her desk. “You have decided it was a good idea to sneak out whilst an extremely dangerous creature was roaming about and HPS was struggling to keep it under control”

“He’s a he, not an it” Celine interjects but one look from Headmaster Charlotte and she hides behind me.

“You also thought you could take the creature head on and confront it, putting your lives and everyone else’s around in danger” Headmaster Charlotte continues. “Is this correct?”

There is another moment of silent as Headmaster Charlotte looks up from her papers and back at us.

“Ah… Pretty much so… Yes…” I gain the courage to say. “But Yara actually managed to knock him out”

I feel a kick at my leg once I mention Yara’s name and when Headmaster Charlotte looks at her daughter, I know I should have remained quiet.

“Yes, I am also aware of that” She says as she continues to look at Yara.

Yara proudly looks back at her mom, almost as if she is provoking her to give her the worst punishment in existence. To my surprise, it is Headmaster Charlotte who breaks eye contact first.

“According to your offenses, I have come up with an appropriate punishment” She says. “Obviously, you are forevermore f*rbidden from exiting these grounds until you are of proper age to finish your studies, and/or are considered proper adults. I doubt the later will come to pass before the previous”

“You will also be required to help the cooks and the kitchen staff prepare dinner every night, as well as any other tasks they may have for you” She continues. “You shall have to be present there immediately after your classes and remain there until every last dinner table has been cleared”

“Effective immediately. They are already waiting for you” She finishes.

“But then…” Felix starts. “When are we going to have dinner?”

“When everyone else has finished their meal, of course” Headmaster Charlotte answers. “Go now, you are dismissed”

“But-” Felix starts to protest but another look from Headmaster Charlotte and she almost swallows her tongue.

We all hurriedly walk out of the office and once again the large metal door closes behind us.

“That’s that, I guess” I say, feeling discouraged.

“There’s no other option but to do as we’re told now” Yara says.

“Let’s just head into the kitchen” Caleb says. “I can’t believe we’re on kitchen duty for the rest of our lives”

“Not the rest of our lives” Felix says. “Just until we are adults”

“Did she say that?” Caleb asks.

“Well… ah… No, but…” Felix mumbles. “She can’t keep us on kitchen duty even after we’re adults, can she?”

No one answers that question. We are far too discouraged from that meeting. We all reluctantly head to the kitchen and just as Headmaster Charlotte said, they are already waiting for us.

They immediately put us to work on several different tasks, not even giving us a chance to adapt to our new reality.

I am put in charge of keeping the floors clean, which isn’t an easy task on an Academy kitchen during dinner time. Claus and Caleb are responsible for serving the food at the main counter, where everyone goes to pick what they want to eat and get it served in trays.

I have heard this place being compared to a school cafeteria, but I have no idea what that means.

Yara has been put alongside the main cook, cutting vegetables and preparing other foods to be cooked, while Celine and Felix are the ones doing the dishes.

We are kept so busy I start to wonder how this place managed to function before we arrived. I think Headmaster Charlotte didn’t want to hire more people and combined the useful with the pleasant.

I take a small break from cleaning the floor to observe the many families having their meals at the Canteen Hall. There are many tables gathered around the large room to accommodate them all. I heard one of the kitchen staff say we will be cleaning those after we are done here. I believe they intend to keep us here all night without food.

A loud crash makes me jump and I look towards where the sound came from to find Felix frantically apologizing to one of the staff. She broke two plates in one go. I can’t say I’m surprised. They shouldn’t have put her doing something where she has access to fragile things.

I move to clean the mess she created but as I finish cleaning the shards, she lets a cup fall to the floor and it shatters even further. I groan in exasperation.

“That’s it” I hear the main cook say. “You and you, trade. I am keeping my eyes on you, little one”

She makes Yara and Felix trades places, but I am even more fearful of the prospect of Felix near knives.

I don’t have the chance to protest as one of the kitchen staff prompts me to clean the shards of glass as quickly as possible before someone gets hurt.

Thinking about it, the shards do look quite sharp… If one of those were to touch my neck, I bet it would be able to rupture my jugular… It would be quite fast…

Another crash brings me back from my stupor and I notice Felix has dropped a basket filled with carrots. But that is not the only thing I notice. There is a shadow standing just outside of my vision. It is clearer than the last time I had these strange moments. However, as fast as I notice it, it vanishes. I decide not to think too much about it but make a mental note to talk about these episodes with Doctor Annette.

I get lost in my own thoughts again as I continue trying to keep the floor clean while they pass trays filled with dirty dishes and large pots full of food around.

My mind drifts to think of the ring I am keeping on my pocket. I still have to find a way to figure out what this ghost wants of me. I wonder if he will show up if I call out to him on a Holy ground. That usually works.

Nah, forget about that. I can’t leave the Academy even with all my usual tricks to sneak out. We are being watched like hawks.

Maybe if there was a good distraction, I would be able to sneak down into the train tunnel and make my way outside. I have done that before. But what could I do for a distraction?...

I look around to find Claus already starting to get riled up with some of our classmates.

“Hey, our big boy Claus has decided to become a cook!” Elijah, one of our shapeshifter classmates says. “Oh wait, not cook, but kitchen aid”

Claus growls menacingly at them but they don’t feel threatened when he’s behind the counter and currently being watched by a kitchen staff member.

“Do you think you can get us some special food while you are there, heh?” Liam, a mermaid classmate join in. “I’m feeling caviar”

“I thought you mermaids could only eat seaweed” Thomas shouts from his table, as he, Ray and Yuri got their food earlier.

“Caviar is a sort of seaweed” Liam says, still in a mocking tone. “How about it? Can you do that one favor for your dear classmates?”

“Piss off” Claus responds and proceeds to dump a whole load of a disgusting-looking casserole into his plate. “Hope you choke on it, merman”

“Hey!” Elijah shouts, obviously trying to call the attention of the kitchen staff watching over Claus. “This is not good work conduit”

Claus growls again and I hear Caleb whisper to his brother to calm down.

“Trade his plate” The kitchen staff member says, forcing Claus to take the plate full of casserole back into the counter.

“That’s better” Elijah says. “You know what? You look hungry. I’ll bet you haven’t had dinner yet”

I gasp as I guess what he is about to do next. He grabs a handful of the casserole and throws it at Claus’ face. This is enough to push him over the edge.

He snarls and turns into a wolf, lounging at the now whimpering shapeshifter who turned into a Yorkshire Terrier dog to have better chances of escaping his attacker.

Chaos ensues as Ray, Thomas, and Yuri get up from their table and turn into wolves to try to stop Claus from attacking the now helpless dog. Caleb also turns and bites at his brother’s heels to dissuade him from his current attitude.

The kitchen staff members keep shouting at them to stop while Claus persistently follows the small dog through the Canteen Hall, breaking tables and sending all sorts of plates filled with food flying through the air. The dog keeps trying to hide under the tables only for Claus to flip them all in his rage.

In general, this is the best opportunity I’ll ever get at a distraction to sneak out.

Quietly dropping my broom, I crouch and tiptoe to where I know the entrance to the train tunnel is. I silently open the door and enter, ready to rush the rest of the way.

I soon reach the train tunnel where the large train is stationed. They use this train to deliver food from the outside world quietly. I hear this tunnel leads all the way to the main city on this country, but I don’t need to go that far.

There is a small church in a nearby village and I intend to go there now. I have been there many times before, not always with a mission in mind but because I have always liked to go to these Holy places.

It makes me feel closer to God.

I can’t explain it, but ever since I was little, I have had a huge interest in the bible and on God, which is strange because we supernaturals don’t follow any particular religion.

I have even sneaked out once to attend a service. It was beautiful.

I can’t wait to be there again, even if it will be the last time in a while.