- matt chia's -
poetry, prose + commentary
poetry, prose + commentary
Sunday, August 29, 2004
Chaptr XIV
Sunny, Rachel and Yihui were walking down the corridor to their History of Magic classroom when all of a sudden, Rachel squealed. Three people had just appeared at the end of the corridor. In front was the Kiw, wearing his usual starched white shirt and black pants, the mole and the seven hairs on it more prominent than ever. Kind of like Confucius with a mole, Sunny thought. Next to him was Ms Ee, looking particularly green. And behind – Rachel smiled. It was Desmond.
Unfortunately for Rachel and the other two, Kiw reached them first.
“Shirts, m’dears,� Kiw said, his mole twitching unpleasantly.
They looked down, and obediently tucked in their shirts. Or at least they pretended to.
“And your skirts seem extra-short today,� Ms Ee said (or was it croaked?)
Kiw took out his wand. The three girls eyed it apprehensively.
He raised it and gave it a flick. The next moment, he smirked, and stalked off with Ms Ee beside him.
The girls felt their skirts were that much heavier. The goggling look Desmond was giving them didn’t help either.
Slowly, as if the slightest movement might cause a disaster, they looked down. They swallowed. All their skirts had been lengthened – magically – so that they now reached the floor. Rachel’s even had a train behind it, almost like a wedding gown.
Silence.
Then the screams came, piercing, shrill, filled with rage.
“Calm down – calm DOWN!� A few people roared at the same time. The fifth-years had arrived at the scene of the heinous crime, and they too stared at the three girls.
“Are those... frills?� Muthu said.
“Looks kinda... Shakespearean, doesn’t it,� Matt said thoughtfully.
“Oh shut up,� Rachel retorted angrily. “Anyone knows how to mend this?�
Matt and Hu Ping whispered to each other for a moment. Then they walked forward. Both performed Kiw’s flick, except that this time, it was in the other direction. Immediately, Sunny and Yihui felt their skirts feel much lighter.
“Thanks!� Both of them chorused.
Rachel was stunned. “What about me?� she said babyishly.
“We thought you’d like to enjoy this moment with Desmond,� Matt said solemnly.
“Have fun planning for the wedding when you all grow up,� Hu Ping added.
“Remember to invite us!� Muthu chipped in brightly.
“Oh, and remember to get a big wedding cake,� Barnabas said with a hungry look.
Desmond and Rachel glared.
“Oh, oh, alright,� Hu Ping sulked. Lazily, he raised his wand and flicked it. In an instant Rachel’s skirt was back to its original length. She continued glaring. Hu Ping pretended not to see.
“Well, anyway, why were you behind Kiw?� Sunny directed this to Desmond.
“He said my hair was too long,� Desmond replied.
They turned, and burst into laughter. The smoke still could be seen around the edges of his frayed hair.
----------
“Stop teasing me about him, okay!� Rachel said angrily as she slammed her History of Magic textbook down on her table. Sunny and Yihui looked at each other, then nodded timidly. Rachel could be horrible when in a bad mood.
“Hey! What’s up?� a chirpy voice said beside them. Xu Yifang stood there, the perfect model of a perfect student – shirt tucked in, skirt below the knees, hair tied back neatly with the conservative black pins. Her shoes were (still) white, and her socks went up far above the ankle. Of course, she was a Prefect. And a Ravingclaw, this being a combined lesson.
“Something happened between you and Desmond, perhaps?� yet another chirpy voice said. This time it was Wan Ngan Ching, fair skin contrasting with slightly (unlawfully dyed) brown, frizzy hair, twinkling eyes peeping out from behind a pair of spectacles.
Sunny attempted to stop Ngan Ching in mid-sentence by waving frantically and mouthing “No! No!� but unfortunately her friend didn’t get the idea. Rachel got up, glared at them all once again, and stomped off in the direction of the girls’ toilet.
Ngan Ching and Yifang raised their eyebrows. “It really was something between her and Desmond?� Ngan Ching said, concerned.
Yifang tsk-ed behind her, and said, “I think we should stop teasing her, you know. After all, it’s not true. As if anyone would dare to have a relationship in this school,� she muttered under her breath.
They smiled. Obviously, the Kiw had banned all romantic relationships between students. However, there were always those who went undercover and resorted to more – covert – ways of continuing their romance.
“Well, anyway, I guess we better go find her,� Sunny said.
Just as they got up to leave, Professor Lulu came in.
“And just where do you think you’re going?� she said grouchily.
“Um... we need to go to the toilet,� Yihui lied innocently.
They then had to endure about five minutes of lecturing, in which they were told over and over again in various ways about how rude they were to go to the toilet just after a teacher came into the room. Professor Lulu was rather long-winded, you see.
When she finally finished her mini lecture, the girls took off. The girls’ toilets were a long way off, so they took their time.
“Anyway,� Ngan Ching remarked, “it’s such a rare opportunity! We get to miss like, one entire History of Magic lesson!�
At this Yifang frowned slightly and looked as if she was going to say something to defend Professor Lulu, but apparently she decided not to do so, judging by the way she bit her lip. She contented herself with keeping quiet.
They were going down a deserted corridor, with unused classrooms on both sides. It was said that those rooms were haunted by evil spirits – because some students had actually hanged themselves inside.
So it came as no surprise when all of a sudden, Ngan Ching’s face turned whiter than it already was. She was rooted outside one classroom.
“I think... I hear ghosts talking,� she said softly.
The other three whipped round. They tiptoed their way to the classroom door, which was closed. Indeed, they could hear people talking. But they weren’t ghosts, they were –
“Ngan Ching, you stupid woman,� Yihui said caustically, "it’s Kiw! And E.T!�
“Shut up!� Sunny hissed. They fell quiet.
Sunny strained to hear them through the thick wooden door, but could only hear snatches of conversation.
“... we have to get them out of this school,� the fruity voice of Kiw said. “I will not tolerate them. They are the scum of the earth...�
At this Ms. Ee croaked something unintelligible. Sunny paused. She considered opening the door just a crack to hear better, but decided against it. When she pressed her ear to the door, it was Kiw speaking again.
“... you will observe them, and find any reason to kick them out of this school. If not, make them hate the school so much they run away. Some I will settle myself. Starting tonight, we will rid this school of them. Only the pure will remain.�
Sunny tore herself away from the door, heart palpitating, hair standing on end, shivering. The rest stared at her concernedly.
“What did he say?� Yifang asked, unaware of Sunny’s violent reaction to what Kiw had just said.
Sunny swallowed. She had to keep calm. She was not really sure what Kiw meant anyway. But she was afraid. Very afraid.
“Nothing,� she shrugged. It was a lie.
“C’mon then, let’s go find Rachel,� Ngan Ching said cheerfully.
As they turned their backs to the classroom door, Sunny felt a tremor of fear, deep down inside.
----------
They reached the girls’ toilet, and found it empty, except for –
“Hey,� Tan Sihan said, looking at them, bleary-eyed. The fourth-year Huffelpuff’s eyes were bleary, and her hair was tousled. Apparently she had fallen asleep during a class and had been sent here to wake herself up.
“Hi,� they chorused. “Have you seen Rachel at all?�
“Yeah, she was in here, just now, crying,� Sihan said, straightening up. “What happened?�
“We were teasing her about Desmond, and she just blew up...� Yihui said ruefully.
Sihan nodded knowledgeably. “Could tell. Anyway, she just went out. I think she met, ahem, Desmond outside, I thought I heard his voice.�
The four of them raised their eyebrows. “Thanks,� Sunny said.
“Welcome,� Sihan said as she splashed some more water on her face.
They exited the toilet, and looked round.
“Where d’you think they went?� Yifang asked.
Ngan Ching looked at her watch. “Well, it’s nearly lunchtime... maybe they went off to the Great Hall?�
Sunny nodded. The Griffindoor sixth-years were released early on Tuesdays for lunch, so it made sense that the two of them would go to the Hall.
They walked, and the unease that Sunny had tried suppressing since overhearing Kiw was welling up again. It was gnawing at her, and she simply couldn’t throw it off. She was just about to voice it out as they entered the Hall, when suddenly Yifang gave a gasp.
Sunny slipped out of her reverie immediately. “What?�
For answer, Yifang pointed at the extreme right side of the Hall.
Sunny’s heart skipped a beat. It was the Griffindoor table, and there was a whole crowd of students around it. Someone shouted, “Get Professor Smurf! And Madam Lee! Now!�
They ran over. The sickening feeling in the pit of Sunny’s stomach suddenly felt much stronger. She saw Desmond standing there, ashen-faced, breathing heavily. She met his eyes. As she went nearer he began shaking his head, slowly. “I swear... I didn’t do it... I really didn’t... I... I swear...� he whimpered.
Sunny forced herself to look. Her whole body turned cold.
There was someone lying on the floor.
Sunny’s gaze travelled upwards, from the unmoving feet in ankle socks, to the shirt that wasn’t tucked in, to the stiff neck, to the mouth that was slightly open in surprise. That person’s eyes were glassy. She was not moving.
It was Rachel.
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