Chapter 8: Raven

Mr. Lee was blind as a bat, which is funny because he was a bat.  He was a plump man with thinning, gray hair and a small nose.  He wore a pair of nice kaki's with a black, bulging belt that was nearly undone.  As his shirt, he wore a plaid button down that was loosely tucked in and hanging out in the back.  A pink tie hung around his fat neck.  A white cane lay next to my teacher as he sat in his desk, staring at his computer screen blankly.  His intern must be missing.

            I took my seat and dug out my notebook. Another day of things I've already learned. I thought harshly.  It was true; I was a braniac as well as a badass.  I wasn't too sure where I had gotten the gene, but in every class, it felt really easy and that's a reason I escaped so much. 

            After I had rummaged through my backpack looking for a pencil, Derek sauntered into the room.  He looked spiffy in his pressed uniform, courtesy of dad I figured. He sat down a few desks away and glanced at me. I flicked my eyes away, too embarrassed to admit I was drooling over the most popular guy in the school.  A few airhead girls giggled into the classroom, some texting while walking and the others gossiping about my return and then two jocks hustled into the classroom right before Mr. Lee slammed the door loudly. They took their seats and I snickered at them.

            "Good Morning class!" Mr. Lee yelled. He acted like he was deaf as well, so he had to scream his lectures at the top of his lungs.  "I hope you all-" Someone tapped on the door. I stifled a snicker as Mr. Lee waddled over to the door, felt blindly for the knob and turned it angrily.

            "Sorry Mr. Lee," his intern hustled in, breathing heavily.  Mr. Lee's intern was different from last time.  It was a young guy, probably a graduate with square glasses and a shock of red hair.  He was tall as he wore dress slacks that were too short for him and a shirt that was a tad too long for him.  He carried a briefcase with papers peeking out.  He clutched the bag as if his life depended on it. "I was grading papers last night and I fell asleep and I just woke up 15 minutes ago and I had to get here on time and-"

            "It's ok Mr. Bradley." Mr. Lee yelled. "It happens. Did you finish grading the essays?"

            "Y-Yes sir!" Mr. Bradley exclaimed. He began passing them out as Mr. Lee waddled back to the front of the classroom, his cane clicking as he moved.

            Mr. Lee cleared his throat and picked up from where he left off, "I hope you all finished reading the section on high flying and attacking demons in the sky…" I slowly began to tune the blind teacher out. Of course I didn't read the section because I already knew how to attack a demon in the sky and I had missed an entire week of classes. I sighed as I began to doodle in my notebook.  The intern named Mr. Bradley finished passing papers out, but gave nothing to me. He walked up to my desk and bent down.

            "I believe we haven't met," He extended his hand. "I'm Mr. Bradly, your student teacher." His breath smelled like a tic-tac.

            "Raven," I hissed, not taking my eyes off my drawing on the cover of my notebook. I did not take the student teacher's hand either.

            "It's very nice to meet you Raven. What animal do you change into?"         

            "Think about it," I said flatly. 

            "Oh! You're a raven! What a beautiful bird!"

            "Mr. Bradley!" Mr. Lee exclaimed. "You are not to be flirting with my students."

            "B-but I wasn't!" The intern protested. I just rolled my eyes. Mr. Lee demanded that Mr. Bradley take his seat behind the desk and finish any papers that needed to be graded and then put the grades in the grade book for the blind teacher.

            "Now," Mr. Lee droned on. "Today we will be going outside to the practice field to test your abilities to defend yourselves in the air. Bring your stuff with you because you will be dismissed from the field to lunch." The two boys high-fived as we all packed our notebooks away and clustered around the door.  Using his cane, the blind teacher slapped the legs of students to clear a path for him to the door.

            "Should I come with?" Mr. Bradley asked nervously, not wanting to upset Mr. Lee again.

            "You might as well, but I'll be keeping a close eye on you." The class snickered, even the principal's son. Mr. Lee could be stupid sometimes. Mr. Lee lead the way into the hall, waddling crazily to the staircase.  He puffed as he walked.  The rest of the class followed behind, the girls texting wildly and the guys trying to wrap their arms around their tiny, stupid waists.  Derek walked alone, as did I, so I felt obligated to join him and at least talk to him.

            "Hey," I called nicely, trying not to startle him. It failed.

            He looked at me, startled, surprised and curious, "Hey, what's up?"

            "Not a whole lot. Just in a lot of pain." I raised my sling to indicate my arm. Derek smiled.

            "I never asked what you did,"

            "Tangoed with a demon. No biggie." Derek grinned as he walked. By now, Mr. Lee had made it down the stairs with the help of his intern and was heading out the door.  The cool air blasted through the hallway and my hair shifted off my shoulders. It was getting too long for my taste.

            "Well, let's hope you don't do the foxtrot next." He joked.  The talking between us stopped as we listened to the two jocks cooing the dumb girls.

            Derek turned to me, "Do you know which demon you fought?" That was a strange question. I looked at him funny and then thought about it.

            "Sid. He was a spider. He said to call him spit."

            "Did you actually fight him?" Derek asked, concern mixed in his voice. I was sort of confused that he was concerned for me.

            "Well I did, but then a friend came to my aid and finished it off."

            "Who?" He pestered on. So many questions!

            "Whitney." I replied. Derek thought for a moment and then pulled his phone out. It was an IPhone, like everyone else's, but he had a blue case with an eagle on it.

            "What are you doing?" I pestered. It was my turn to ask all the question now.

            "I've noticed that there have been more and more demons spawning these days. The numbers are out of this world. There are thousands and growing and I don't understand why."

            "Ok..." I said, not understanding what the point was. We were getting close to the field so he would have to wrap this up quickly.

            "Some of the demons have been graduates." Derek continued. "I'm looking for someone and I fear that she went demon."

            "Who? I could help you find them! I'll be your bounty hunter!" I answered giddily. If I got the chance, I would go demon hunting any day. Besides, they probably wouldn't let me guard people for my future.

            "No." Derek said flatly. "You're injured and you've tangled with a demon already. I don't want you to get hurt or in trouble because of me."

            I rolled my eyes as I smiled, "I am the master of escaping and besides, I'll heal."

            Derek sighed as he thought about his options. "Besides," I added. "Daddy would get on your case if you did it. He already hates me."

            "True." Derek sighed. "Fine. You can help." I threw a fist in the air and hopped on my good foot. Derek grinned softly as he watched me jump with joy.

            "So when do I start boss?" I asked eagerly.

            Derek threw his hands in the air as a surrender, "Hold on! Hold on! Let's talk about this somewhere else. Somewhere private. How 'bout we meet after lunch?"

            "Where?"

            "I'll come find you in the hall." I nodded as the group halted. Mr. Lee turned around slowly, trying not to collapse and cleared his throat with a loud grunt.

            "Alright! Let's put your skills to the test. Haley! Raven! You're up first." Mr. Lee called. I grumbled under my breath as I threw my backpack down.

            "But sir!" Mr. Bradley intervined. "Raven is injured. You can't possibly make her do a change and fight against another student!" Mr. Bradley sounded urgent and very concerned for my health. What a moron.

            "Firstly, I did not get a slip saying that Ms. Sterling was hurt and secondly," Mr. Lee countered harshly, "I am the teacher and since Ms. Sterling has escaped so many times that I don't think she would have any problems." I rolled my eyes.

            The girl I was supposed to be "fighting" was glued to her phone. She either didn't hear her name because she was too obsessed about texting or she didn't care at all about the class. It was a required class, so we couldn't get out of it. I stepped forward, in front of Mr. Lee.

            "Where's Haley?!" Mr. Lee yelled, making my eardrums ring. A blond head bobbed up, her blue eyes very innocent and scared.

            "Y-Yes?" She stammered as she shoved her phone in her pocket quickly, hoping the intern didn't see it.

            " You are fighting against Raven." Her plucked eyebrows raised up on her perfectly made up face. She bit her lip nervously. I laughed inside. This would be easy. I walked past Mr. Lee and a trembling Mr. Bradley and took the sling off my injured arm. Lucky for Haley, I was injured so I had a disadvantage. Very slowly, I extended my arm and felt pain run up my arm. I swore under my breath. This may be harder than I thought.

            Haley padded next to me, her legs trembling slightly.  Her phone peeked out of her pocket and her hands itched to text someone about what she had to do.

            "Listen to me." I hissed. She looked at me with utter terror. Great, my badass reputation scared everyone on campus. "First, I'm not going to beat you up. You haven't done anything to me. Second, my arm is still busted so you have an advantage."

            "O-Ok." She stuttered.

            "Get ready to change!" Mr. Lee called. I extended my arm fully and bit back a shriek of pain. I bit hard on the inside of my cheek. "CHANGE!" Haley changed easily, shrinking into a hummingbird. S**t. I changed to my black raven form and took off, feeling pain in my wing. It would hurt like hell afterward. Haley buzzed around, making it for me to focus on her since she flew so fast.  My eyes darted back and forth, left and right, trying to find the perfect time to attack.

            Right when I thought I had the timing perfect, I charged, but there was nothing there. Suddenly, I felt a prick in my back. I swiveled my head to see the colorful bird right behind me.  My squinted my eyes in disgust as I tried to attack by swiveling my whole body in the air, but I was way too slow. I lost the air in my feathers and plummeted to the ground.

            I would have hit the ground too if not for Derek. He swooped to my rescue by catching my small body in his arms. I stared into his eyes and silently thanked him for catching me. The hummingbird buzzed around joyfully, waiting for my return to the sky. I hopped onto Derek's arm and pushed off, pumping my wings wildly.  I reached the humming bird and tackled it in the air. She somersaulted a few feet before regaining her balance.  My eyes locked on her body and charged, but once again she was too fast.  This time, she got me in the back and sent me to the ground for good. I landed in the grass and changed, incredible pain coming with the change.

            "You alright?" Derek was right beside me as I struggled to get up. Haley landed nearby and changed as well, fear coating her honey eyes.

            "Oh My God! I am so sorry!" she shrieked. Her manicured fingers twirling her honey blond hair nervously.

            I waved her off, "It's ok. You were a worthy opponent."

            "Moving on!" Mr. Lee shouted, breaking Haley and my little chat. "Derek and Val, you're next." Derek made sure I was up and ok.  He even helped me back into my sling before he got ready for his change. 

            "Ready!" Mr. Lee exclaimed. "CHANGE!" Derek changed fast, Val right behind him.  Val was a vulture, his red, ugly head visible in the gray sky.  Derek was a beautiful eagle, a bold white head against his brown feathers. He fought diligently and even won. Val toppled out of the sky, landing with a soft thud. I smirked as Derek landed and changed back to stand next to me.

            "That's how it's done." He grinned. I punched his shoulder lightly with my good arm.

            "Ha. Ha. Next time you can fight the hummingbird and I'll fight the vulture." There were a few more battles and then we were dismissed, leaving Mr. Bradley to tend to a screaming Mr. Lee.  Derek and I broke away from the group and slowed our pace toward the great hall. My stomach growled.

            "Who are you looking for?"

            Derek hesitated for a second, thinking about it. "Her name was Tanya."

            My eyebrow shot up. A grin played on my lips, "Oh?" I was going to have fun with this.

            "It's not what you think!" Derek countered quickly. "She was a good friend. We'd known each other since we were little.  Her mom was a teacher here and we were really good friends.  She disappeared last summer and was never to be seen again. The higher up had high hopes for her.  Her mother killed herself once they gave up the search for her." The "higher up" was a committee of old farts who decided where each graduate would use their talents, whether teaching, guarding or other crap like that. It sort of sucked having someone pick a lifestyle you would have to live with for the rest of your life. 

            "So you think she went demon."

            "Yes." Derek stated, his voice sounding sad. "I'm almost positive she did."

            "Then why risk your life for someone who has gone demon?" I was utterly confused now, which didn’t happen very often.

            "Because her mother made me promise to find her and give her something." He stopped for a moment and opened a small pouch on his white backpack. What he pulled out was a small vile of clear liquid. The vile was made of crystal with a little stopper on the top. It shined in the weak sunlight trying to break free from the clouds.

            "What's in it?"

            "I'm not exactly sure. She never actually said. She just instructed me to find her and give it to her." I shrugged my shoulders as he placed the delicate vile back into his bag.

            "Aren't you worried it would break in there?"

            "I keep it protected." He smiled as we arrived to the doors.  Students filed in crazily, some even pushing to get inside. What was for lunch that was so good?

            "When do I start?" I demanded eagerly. You don't get to hunt demons everyday when you're an academy student.  It would be more fun as well since I was going to be doing this illegally. Williams would have to try and stop me if he didn’t want me doing it.

            "Whoa!" Derek exclaimed as he pulled me aside and had me wait for the steady stream of students to slow down.  "Heal up first, then we'll talk. Besides," he added, "We have a huge capture the flag game coming up. Guys vs. Girls."

            I had totally forgotten.

            "That's true." I grinned. "And I'm going to beat the s**t out of you." Derek grinned as he waved me off and headed off to his group of guys. I hustled through students to where my odd group sat.

            "Hey," I huffed. "What's up?" Betty looked up, a butterfly clip in her dark hair and smiled. I slid the straps of my backpack off and sat next to her on the bench.  Flora and Whitney sat opposite from us. Next to Whitney, a scrawny, rust haired boy sat, cringing at my site.  He had a dusting of freckles.  A notebook was neatly placed with a pencil on top the ratty cover.

            "Raven," Whitney soothed, "This is Rhett. I met him today in class." I eyed the boy and he cringed with fear.  He must have thought I was going to beat him up.

            "Nice to meet you Rhett." I replied.  Rhett nodded, but didn't say a word. Lunch was served (Chicken Nuggets, no wonder) and we chowed down.  After lunch, Rhett litterly jumped out of his seat and darted out of the hall. Whitney eyed me angrily. I looked at her alarmed.

            "I didn't do anything!" I protested. Whitney shook her head and dashed after him. I sighed and pushed my plate aside.  Betty was pawing through a magazine, some fashion magazine it looked like and Flora was gripping her stomach, pain twisting on her face.

            "Are you ok?" I asked, somewhat concerned for her health. "Did you eat something bad?"

            "No," She squeaked. "I-I just have cramps." She picked up her bag and ran out of the room, clutching her stomach. I watched her, confused and worried.

            "Is she seriously ok?"

            Betty shrugged her shoulders, not taking her eyes off the magazine. "If she has cramps, it's probably her time of the month. She'll be alright." I sighed inwardly and headed off, preparing myself for the next class and hoping Friday would come soon.

          ***

            Friday did come fast. I had finally healed up after my injury with the demon and I was ready to play capture the flag.  Rhett had finally warmed up to me and didn't run off every time I came to sit down for a meal.  He still wouldn't talk to me though. I assumed he was shy.

            The night of the game, I was giddy with excitement. I had my black gear ready the night before and after class I ran to the dorm rooms to change. Flora caught up to me and looked at me confused.

            "Why are you so happy? You got a hot date?"

            I cracked a smile but shook my head, "No hot date tonight. Just a game of capture the flag. You should play! I'm gonna beat the s**t out of Bradon tonight and besides, you would be a good talent that we could use."

            Flora laughed, "What use would I be?"

            "You're very useful." Was all I could say. I didn't want to tell her, not yet at least. I also knew that I could become team captain easily.

            "How?"  she challenged.

            "Come and play and you'll find out." She thought for a second and then nodded and agreed. I threw some black clothes at her and told her to put it on. She caught them with ease.  There was a knock on the door.

            "Enter at your own risk." I called as Flora giggled into her leggings. Betty walked in with Whitney tagging along while Jane pestered her. All three wore black.

            "Ready for dinner?" Betty asked.

            "Just about." I grabbed something from my closet and slid it into my pocket. When Flora was ready, we all headed out. Rhett stood outside the girls dorm room, names like pervert, horn-head and girly girl flew in the air.

            "Shut your face!" yelled after the voices in the dark. My eyes burned with rage.

            "It's no use Raven, they won't learn." He told me.

            "I won't stop until they do." I patted his shoulder with a smirk. He cringed at first but then relaxed.  Whitney noticed that Rhett wasn't in black. Jane had left us do to her "image". She didn't want to taint it.

            "Why aren't you in black?" Whitney asked Rhett.

            "The guys won't have me on the team."

            "Their just morons." I told him as we entered the hall.

            "I know, I usually just watch and sketch." Apparently, Whitney told me he had a notebook of sketches that he had done of everyone here. When I heard that, I thought, s**t. I was probably in there, beating someone up.

            We sat down in our usual spot in the great hall and dinner was served. Whitney pleaded me through the whole meal to let Rhett somehow join our team. It was a really good idea, but a very risky one. I had scanned the crowd before we sat down for people in black and once again, more guys than girls. It was a girls vs. Guys game and we were gonna lose so this was an option I needed to exploit.

            "Fine!" I sighed and she bounced in her seat. Rhett smiled a little bit. "You'll have to figure out a way to sneak by the ref's."

            "I got a way." Rhett smirked.

            I nodded with approval, "You know where our base is." He nodded, finished his pizza, waved and zipped out. When we were done, I stood up and said, "Come on, we have a game to win."

 

Author's Note

ignore grammar