Chapter 3: B*****s and Bubbles

Sara and Derek meet some new classmates, some old enemies, and go through the ceremony.

Sara was shaken awake by Derek as their bus rolled into Peabody, Massachusettes. The dirt road changed to cobblestones as it past through the city gate. Peabody looked exactly the same as Boston, as did every city under Wikkan control. The buses pulled up to a bus stop that was identical to the one they had been picked up on. The doors opened, and the kids filed one by one off the bus. Derek nudged Sara into the isle and out of the bus. When the last kid jumped off the bus, the doors shut and the bus rolled away.

 

Large jack-o-lanterns carved with arrows lined the streets, each pointing towards the town square and glowing with the green light of the green Wikkas' Majik. The town square was visible in the distance, the glow of more jack-o-lanterns illuminating a large stage that had been erected there that very day. The group turned and followed the arrows down until they were in the square. The shops were boarded up, and the jack-o-lanterns were floating high above their heads, each one carved with a menacing face. Maybe this is an omen, Sara thought. She looked up at Derek, who looked slightly pale. Sara grabbed Derek's arm, taking comfort in the feeling of having her best friend by her side.

 

It took about ten minutes to get everybody into the town square, but as soon as the last person entered the square, the surrounding roads were blocked off by large purple walls, and the jack-o-lantern lights changed to the same purple. The crowd went silent as a puff of smoke appeared, and a Wikka with purple stars lining the corners of her eyes came into focus. She smiled at the crowed, and spoke in a cheery voice that rang throughout the square.

 

"Welcome." She said with a smile. "My name is Marietta LaFranke, and I am pleased to see so many bright young faces prepared to recieve their gifts! We must all thank Queen Oranthi for saving us from the fate of the Humans, and in return offer her our undying loyality and servitude with the powers she has graciously given us. By the Majik in vested in me by the Court of Majik, I declare the gift-giving to begin!" Marietta raised her arms and a huge purple bubble appeared within the center of the stage.

 

She stepped back and pulled a scroll from her pocket. "Aaron Blake" she stated. A tall blonde boy wearing dark jeans and a GymTanLaX pinnie made his way up to the stage. Aaron stood in the center and the bubble engulfed him. It changed to a bright yellow before popping, revealing the imprint of a yellow lightening bolt etched along his jawline. His group of fellow LaX bros cat-called from the audience as Aaron jumped off the stage and headed out through a nearby archway.

 

The crowd slowly began to shrink as Marietta kept calling out names. Each person climbing onto the stage and recieving a gift. No one had been rejected yet, so tension was building. There was almost always somebody who got rejected in a class on the night of gifts.

 

"Derek McKenna" called Marietta from the stage.

 

Derek let go of Sara's hand and walk towards that stage. "Good Luck!" Sara Called. She crossed her fingers as the bubble engulfed him. A few seconds later, it popped and Derek reappeared with a red flame wrapping his left eye. He smiled, gave Sara the thumbs up, and waved as he left the square.

 

"He was luckly to get something that good. You probably won't though." A snide voice said behind her. Sara whipped around to find Victoria VanDerWaal leereing at her. Victoria was wearing a cheeta-print tank top, black yogas and gold ballet flats. With her spray-tan skin and long raven black hair she was borderline skanky in Sara's opinion.

 

"I have luck on my side with this. What are your Wikka parents gonna do, pay off the bubble so that you get darkness?" Sara shot back. Victoria was the only girl in her year who got to live with her parents. Her father was in the Queen's royal guard, and had enough money and connections to get whatever he wanted. (It was said he even kept humans locked in his basement as slaves.)

 

"I'd rather have daddy's money than your dirt-poor orphan's allowance anyday."

"And I'd rather be pale than look like an oompa-loompa, so I guess we all got what we wanted didn't we?" Sara said with a sly grin.

 

"Sara-Anne Walker." Marietta announced. Sara turned on her heels and trotted towards that stage, leaving a fuming Victoria in her wake.Sara stepped up to the stage, took a deep breath, and stepped foreward as the bubble cascaded over her.

 

There was a sudden sizzle as the bubble sealed itself around Sara, forming a glass orb. Unable to escape, she punded on the glass as she rose into the air. This is it, she thought hopelessly. I'll be sent to the camps for sure. The bubble stopped moving higher, and a silver gas swirled all around her. There was a cracking noise, then she fell and landed hard on the stage. The world swirled around her, and everything went black.

Author's Note

lemme know whatchya think!