At the Academy [ATWQ]

Arrival

"Are you sure?" Moxie whispered.

"Of course she is," Jake said, looking around. "That's why it smells so sweet here."

"Laudanum?" Kellar asked with a frown. "What's that?"

"It's a narcotic," said Cleo. "It makes people act differently. They can't think properly when they're under it. All they can do is feel tired and confused."

Jake put a hand on Cleo's shoulder, but Sharon Haines brushed it back down. Hangfire was gone, they noticed as they looked back. He must have slipped away while they were talking.

Sharon pretended not to hear them and put her hand to her heart and looked up, even though there was nothing to look at but a slightly sticky popcorn ceiling. "Welcome to the Wade Academy," she said. "Where you will get a top-drawer education. Meals will be provided daily, outside your rooms. Here we are raising the next generation of quiet and obedient learners, so make sure you're paying attention during school hours. And remember," she said, looking down from the ceiling and giving them a hard look in turn. "No funny business."

This was too much for Kellar, who glared right back at his mother. "No funny business? You're the one who's--"

Sharon put a finger to her son's lips, and she no longer looked like an authority. She looked frightened, and her eyes darted around the room.

Then she gave her son, who was still glaring at her, an uneasy smile and a commanding look to the rest of them. "Now that that's sorted out," she said. "Does anyone have any questions before beginning our top-drawer education?"

"I do," Moxie piped up. "Where are our rooms?"

"A student leader will show them to you. Here at Wade Academy, we place exceptional importance on our student leaders, as they have a lot of responsibility."

"And how do you become a student leader?"

Sharon frowned. "I think that's enough questions for today. Good luck, you children," she said, and turned past a corner and disappeared.

Jake looked around, now that they were alone. "I don't see any student leader," he said. "I don't see anyone at all."

"Then we should move quickly, before one arrives," said Cleo. "Besides, the effects of laudanum can settle in as early as 15 minutes, and we must have already spent five or so talking."

Kellar looked at her curiously. "How do you know this?"

Cleo paused. "I'm a chemist," she said, not mentioning her own personal experience with laudanum.

"Let's go," Moxie said. "If someone finds us, we're doomed." The others nodded and they began hurrying down the halls, turning this way and that without knowing where they were going. They didn't see or hear a single person on the way, only the sounds of their own squeaky footsteps on the freshly-polished floor. "There's got to be an exit sign somewhere around here. Even if we're still on campus, it'll be weaker outside, right?"

"Right," confirmed Cleo.

"Wait." Jake held up a hand. "I hear someone."

Sure enough, they heard footsteps coming from where they had come, coming closer to them. Not only footsteps, but the sound of something clanging against metal and drywall.

Then came Stew Mitchum, holding a baton identical to the one Hangfire had, banging it against the wall as he came. On his face was a large sneer, and in his mouth was something that looked like a cigarette. "I'm glad you four have finally shown up," he said. "Where's Lollipop Licket?" he said, using a rude nickname that didn't even make sense.