Painful Redemption | T. R.

Chapter Twenty-Three

When they had entered the room, it was even impossible to define the amount of rubbish in every corner of it. Grains of dust overflowed from the covers of large tomes every time they breathed a little more thought, and the cobwebs on the ceiling certainly did not bode well. Which, to tell the truth, was also a little disgusting.

They weren't allowed to use their wands, which were confiscated by the professor himself, and while Anastasia had chosen to keep her mouth shut and nod because, she simply acknowledged, she deserved it, Druella had had plenty to say and didn't regret it at all. Which certainly didn't make that punishment any easier.

She kept huffing and grumbling about how unfair it was that he hadn't allowed her to change her clothes before entering that classroom, and how they'd never be able to finish in time. "If you'd just shut your mouth and start using some elbow grease," Anastasia had said as she vigorously and angrily rubbed a rag against the old wooden desk, "I promise we'll finish sooner than expected."

She was silent for a while, and then started talking again. She whistled as she tried to wipe away the dust, made noises of disgust and whimpered when a spider web seemed to be uncooperative. "Ew!" she had yelled, dropping a series of books on the floor.
The cloud of dust that rose made Anastasia even more nervous, but she silently helped her clean up that area.

They didn't know how much time had actually passed, but one thing was certain: this was a dark day for Anastasia. She could have been studying for her next exams, or even resting a little and catching up on the hours of sleep she had been deprived of. But no. Slowly, the sun went down and the room began to get dark. The girls were forced to light the candles, because they could see absolutely nothing and it was difficult to clean up a forgotten classroom without light.

"What's more, they haven't used it for hundreds of years. What use will it ever be now?"

The blonde shrugged her shoulders as, using a slightly wobbly chair, she stowed heavier-than-usual books in their respective shelves, trying to place them in alphabetical order as she had been commanded. She was so tired, her legs felt like they were going to give out and her arms were burning like hell. Her eyelids closed from time to time, and for a moment she contemplated slumping into a chair and sleeping. Even if only for five minutes, she was sure it would be enough to make her happy. But they were almost done, and it wasn't worth it. Perhaps stopping would only make things worse.

"Are you even listening to me?" she heard her friend say all of a sudden. Anastasia made to turn around, but the chair made a rather worrying noise. She was forced to cling to the bookcase to avoid the risk of falling. But pale in the face, she breathed a sigh of relief when the chair regained its balance, "Yes, Druella. I'm listening."

When the door suddenly opened, both girls turned and waited to see the professor, hoping he could send them to their rooms and let them rest. A smile was born on both their lips at the very thought.
But, unfortunately, when they realised who was actually under the archway of the door, their expressions fell with anger and disappointment.

Anastasia clenched her hand around the wood tightly, an anger she couldn't even explain. After that morning, and the heated discussion that had ensued, this was certainly not the right time to continue the conversation. Certainly, she wanted to know more. But there was a catch.

Olive clinging to Eric's arm certainly didn't make her feel comfortable. Anastasia was visibly annoyed, unable to understand why someone so intelligent would think that bringing along one of her greatest enemies was a good idea. Because, frankly speaking, Anastasia saw absolutely nothing positive in that scene.

"What do you want?", Druella suddenly exclaimed, clutching the rag in her hands nervously. Anastasia had gotten to tell her a bit of the latest gossip as they cleaned that filthy room, and being something new and fresh to her friend, she was more than ready to fight for the sake of the gossip itself. "Can't you see we're busy? Come on. Go away."