- matt chia's -
poetry, prose + commentary
poetry, prose + commentary
Monday, August 09, 2004
Chapter XII
“What is all this nonsense I am hearing?� Professor Huda glared at the class, an unmistakable look of disgust and distaste etched deeply on her face. Her long, slightly permed hair looked frayed and frizzled, and she seemed to have grown thinner over the past few days her class had not seen her. With her hands on her hips, her body language shouted, don’t mess with me or I’ll eat you up.
Half the class looked up from their Astronomy essays; the other half attempted looking up from their telescopes and ended up bumping the sides of their heads against them, nearly sending them toppling over. They all stared back at their professor, nonplussed.
“I have heard from a certain member of the staff,� she ranted, “about how there have been rumours of me and Professor Helmi having a... a... you know what I mean!�
A wall of silence greeted her. Guilty silence. Matt was trying hard not to implicate himself by looking at anybody else.
“I don’t know which one of you has been spreading the rumour, or if all of you have been involved, but this better stop now!� she raved on, her voice resounding shrilly over the topmost turrets of the castle. In the chilly night air, Cheryl shivered, head bowed, trying not to think of all the people she had spread the news to. All her classmates were in pretty much the same state as her.
“And how did anyone even get the impression I was... the p word, I don’t know either! You all better explain...�
Silence. Then –
“Well, Professor,� Matt raised a hand timidly. “There was this conversation where someone overheard you were in your seventh month...� he cringed, clearly not knowing how to continue.
“And tell me, do I even look seven months... the p word?� she asked, but there was a slight note of amusement in her voice now.
The class muttered no.
“But... but you were talking to Professor Helmi about how he had gotten you all excited, and then all the fooling around, and, and –"
“And I suppose you also overheard how I can’t ‘hide it anymore’?� Professor Huda retorted, the trace of a smile appearing on her lips.
Matt nodded. Professor Huda sat down at the teacher’s table wearily. She looked at the class for a minute, her eyes glazing over. Then, she sighed.
“Class, I will tell you this. Without proper incubation, a dragon can still break through the egg-shell on its own. However, it will take a longer time to develop inside the egg. Seven months.�
The students looked up, their mouths open. Professor Huda continued.
“I am also sure that all of you know that dragon eggs are illegal here, and anyone found in possession of one faces a hefty fine.�
She sighed again, before plowing on.
“Professor Helmi and I are not a couple. We are good friends though. One day I jokingly, and rather foolishly, asked him to buy a Hippogriff for me. Obviously he couldn’t and as a joke, he gave me a perfect model of a Hippogriff egg. Only thing was, it wasn’t a model, and it wasn’t a Hippogriff egg. It was a real dragon egg. We couldn’t get rid of it because we couldn’t bear to see it die, and we couldn’t keep it. We didn’t know what to do. Finally, Professor Smurf got wind of our plight and he handled the matter for us.�
They all felt the truth crash down upon them with excruciating austerity, for they had all known that little bit of dragon lore all along – but it had never occurred to them that Professors Helmi and Huda might not be an illegitimate pair.
“But I understand,� Professor Huda said gently. “Just don’t spread any more rumours, please,� she said, as a shadow of weariness crossed her face once again.
They all murmured sorry, and she smiled.
“You can see, class, Venus is especially bright tonight...�
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Together with Hu Ping, Muthu, Rachel and Matt, the last two being those who had wanted to watch, Cheryl made her way down to the Quidditch pitch at 6 o’ clock the next day. Looking into the stands, she saw Desmond with Eunice, Sunny and Yihui and waved wildly to them. They grinned back in return as they made their way down onto the green grass of the field.
“Right,� Desmond started. “Gotta tell you that our team is all about flexibility – all of us can, and should, be able to take up more than one role in the team. Of course, we don’t take up more than one role at the same time.�
They all winced. The cold gusts whipping past their faces didn’t help either.
“Anyway, just look at the four of us. I’m Keeper-cum-Beater, Sunny is Chaser-cum-Seeker, as is Eunice, and Yihui is… well, Yihui is simply a benchwarmer, but oh well,� Desmond continued. Yihui didn’t seem to notice because right at that moment, a whole group of people entered the stadium. Noticing their smirks and insulting stares, it clearly registered in Cheryl’s mind that all these people were from Slithering.
“Okay, so –,� Desmond stopped in mid-sentence as well, seeing the newcomers.
“Oh, don’t mind us,� their leader said snidely. His sneer deserved more than a few curses, but Cheryl restrained herself. “We’re just... looking around.�
“Mind your own business, Zhu’en,� Desmond retorted. His voice had an icy note in it.
“Or else we’ll curse you off your broom,� Matt muttered from his seat.
Zhu’en’s eyebrows went up so high they nearly disappeared into his hair. “Oh, children, it doesn’t pay to be so impertinent, you know.�
“Or else we’ll curse you till you cry out for your mummy,� the girl next to Zhu’en said. Stepping out of his shadow, the Griffindoors realized it was none other than Yee Tien. Of course, she had directed the last comment at Matt, who was now looking up into the sky and twiddling his thumbs. Cheryl hid a smile.
“Just... don’t interfere, that’s all,� Desmond said coolly to the Slitherings, who threw insolent looks at him and trooped off to the back of the stands where they whispered amongst themselves, pointing at the Griffindoors.
“Ignore them,� Desmond intoned. “Right. So what are you all trying out for?�
“Chaser and Seeker,� Cheryl replied.
“Beater and Keeper,� Hu Ping said.
“Chaser and Beater,� Muthu said after a pause.
Desmond nodded, then looked directly at Muthu. “You first. We’ll be testing your passing, receiving and scoring skills first, alright?�
Muthu did something that resembled a nod, before getting up on a broom that Desmond had provided.
“Good luck!� the rest called out, as he soared into the air. Sunny, Eunice and Desmond followed, and they started playing.
Cheryl looked up at them, trying to think positive thoughts, trying to cheer her friend on, but she slipped into a reverie instead, her mind becoming a blank, her body becoming feather-light...
“Good job!� Desmond said a few minutes later. Muthu had put the Quaffle past Desmond a few times, and as he dismounted his broom, Cheryl slipped out of her reverie and turned her attention to him. She could see his face was flushed with pleasure. After congratulating him, Cheryl turned round in her seat.
“Rachel? How come you’re so quiet?�
Rachel was looking absently in front of her, her gaze directed at Desmond. Cheryl poked her. The guys sniggered. Matt whispered oh-so-quietly, “Rachel and Desmond sitting in a tree...�
Rachel shrieked, and Matt shut up.
Another few minutes later Hu Ping had finished and it was Cheryl’s turn. Desmond beckoned to her. Suddenly she felt light-headed. All her weight seemed to have gone down to her legs, which were leaden.
“Hey! Be careful not to drop the Quaffle on your friends, will you?� Zhu’en jeered from the back of the stands.
“You don’t even need to try!� Yee Tien called out.
“Ignore them, ignore them,� Desmond intoned once again. Cheryl nodded tersely. She only had one thought on her mind – get this over and done with.
As if in a trance, she got onto her broom. In the recesses of her mind, she could vaguely hear the Slitherings chanting, jeering, catcalling. It didn’t matter.
She could see Sunny and Eunice in the air beside her. Sunny threw the Quaffle to Eunice, who threw it to her.
In that split second, her mind instantly became clear, devoid of all feeling. She saw the Quaffle come towards her, caught it – and a second later, she was racing towards the goalposts, she saw Desmond hovering round the centre one. She only took a moment to take aim and hurl the Quaffle –
And the next thing she knew, she could hear her friends cheering, she could see Desmond flashing the thumbs-up to her, she could almost imagine the Slitherings’ faces, wide-eyed with shock.
By the time Cheryl finished her Seeker tryout, it was already dark.
“Good job, everyone,� Desmond said, a glint in his eye. “All of you – you’ve got talent. You’re in.�
The three of them – Muthu, Hu Ping and Cheryl – jumped into the air and whooped, as their friends’ cheers reverberated across the stadium.
“Oh, so we’re all a happy family now, are we,� a snide voice said. Cheryl turned, and saw once again the detestable face of Zhu’en. “But you just wait and see. You’ll faint when you see them, you’ll be so shocked.�
“We’re so scared,� Matt said in mock fright. He mimed fainting. The Griffindoors laughed.
“If I could curse you, I would,� Yee Tien said viciously. “Curse you till all your hair falls off and you have carrots growing out of your ears.�
Matt looked at her and cocked an eyebrow. “Is that all you know? Five years here and that’s all the curses you know? God, that’s so pitiful.�
The corner of Yee Tien’s lip twitched, but she said nothing. Matt, for his part, was still looking at her innocently.
“C’mon, let’s go, we’re wasting our time on this bunch of kindergarten kids,� Zhu’en said to the Slitherings, who all grunted stupidly and followed him out of the stadium.
“Wonder what’s the them he was talking about?� Matt said a minute later.
“Dunno, but who really cares... Rachel, are you okay?� Desmond said. Rachel was staring into thin air again. Hastily, she looked up, and for a fleeting instant, her eyes locked with Desmond’s.
Sunny cleared her throat.
“Let’s go for dinner,� Rachel said, tearing her gaze away from Desmond’s. She got up and walked off quickly. Cheryl saw her flushed cheeks, her embarrassed expression, and giggled. The others were all smiling inwardly.
“What’s so funny, huh?� Desmond snapped.
“Nothing,� they chorused innocently.
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