Crescent High

Chapter 24

"Does everyone have a dragon chosen to ride?" Miss Palmer yelled from atop her dragon.
The class responded with a resounding yes, and their companions roared in approval.
"Is everyone ready?"
Again, another chorus of confirmation, and Miss Palmer smiled, her eyes twinkling in the sunshine. It was a rare sunny day, perfect for our first lesson in Dragon Riding. I looked around, enjoying the warmth, and seeing the lake reflect the light of the day.
"Then we'll start our lesson. This will be a longer lesson than your regular classes, however, I feel it is necessary, due to it being your first time even sitting on a dragon for most of you. Has anyone been on a dragon before?"
A few people raised their hands, and heads turned as chatter broke out towards those who had. My attention was on Rose, who had raised her hand, and I laughed as Reef started berating her about not telling us sooner.
"What was it like? Was it fun? How did it feel? When? Where?" Rose pushed him away, blushing.
"It was a long time ago. I can barely remember, but it was with my father on holiday one time." She blushed even more, and turned to me. "Any questions, or has Reef asked them all for you?" We both laughed as Reef went red, and Rose whacked him around the head.
"Ow, that hurt." He returned the gesture, and rubbed his head where Rose hit him.
I looked up and saw Miss Palmer waiting on her dragon for everyone to quiet down, and I motioned for my friends to look her way. I gave them a teacher like stare, and put my finger to my lips. "SHHHHHHHH!" I said, in the loudest way possible, and Rose cracked up again.

We did eventually stop to listen to Miss Palmer, and soon the rest of the class followed suit.
"So, now you've stopped harassing your classmates, we can continue the lesson and begin to mount our dragons," Miss Palmer told the class, and slid off of Divnun, landing perfectly on her feet.
Again, the class started to chat, loudly, and I saw Miss Palmer sigh.

About 15 minutes later, the class became quiet once more, and we began the lesson. It was very loud as the class discussed the correct technique to mount the dragons, even after Miss Palmer showed us. She was moving around the class, helping those who needed it, and complimenting those who didn't. Rose, as expected, was an expert at this, and she was helping Reef, Megan and I get the hang of it.

"Yes, you're doing so well," Rose said to me, and clapped her hands excitedly. "Just make it a bit smoother and faster and you'll have it. Same with you, Reef, you're trying to do it too fast, so it's a little rough."
He nodded, and we both took Rose's advice, instantly making our attempts a lot better. Soon, the lesson was over, and it was dinner time. We all ran back to the dining hall, the lesson having taken all afternoon, and hungry from mounting dragons the whole time.

📚

"Hey, Nyx, you want to play a game with us before bed," Rose asked me as I lay on my bed, reading a new book that I had gotten for Snowfest. "We're planning on playing Cluedo, you in?"
I nodded and jumped up to sit on the sofa next to Megan. Rose got the game out and started reading the rules aloud.
"In the Cluedo box, you should find one gameboard, six character tokens, six miniature weapons, fifty cards (six character cards, six weapon cards, nine room cards, twenty-nine clue cards), one case file envelope, one pad of detective notebook sheets and two dice.
"The idea of Cluedo is to move from room to room to eliminate people, places, and weapons. The player who correctly accuses Who, What, and Where wins. No players are allowed to look at the three cards inside the Solution Cards envelope until they are out of the game. The game starts with everyone rolling the dice, the highest rolled starts and the game proceeds clockwise. Each player's suggestion must include the room that they are in at the time. If you are making a final accusation, you can accuse a room you are not in. After making a final accusation, the player should look at the cards in the Solution Cards envelope. If all cards are correct, the player can show everyone else as proof. If even one is wrong, the cards go back into the Solution Cards envelope in the middle of the board. The game carries on without the accusing player able to play."
"Rose, we know how to play Cluedo. Move around board, make investigations, figure out answer, accuse and win," Megan said, rather patronisingly. She rolled her eyes and slumped further into the sofa.
A knock sounded on the door, and Rose sprung up to answer it. "It's Reef," she explained as I looked at her, confused. She turned back, and said, "We're playing Cluedo, you know how to play, right?" Reef confirmed, and we began our game.

"So, you enjoy Riding?" Reef asked in the middle of his go. "Wait, Mustard, Pistol, Observatory. Can anyone show? Rose?" She shook her head. "Meg?" Again, another shake of the head. "Feonyx?" I showed him Mustard under the table, and he nodded acutely.
"Well, Riding was so great, and Puffalump is just the best. He's so stupid." The others laughed. "In a good way," I finished quickly, not wanting to offend Void. He would not be happy if I called him stupid.
I blinked as I heard the dice clatter on the board, and Rose moved into the Guest House. "Peacock with the Wrench in the Guest House," she said, scarily confident. Megan couldn't show, nor could I, or Reef. 
Megan's eyes grew wide as she rolled and moved into the Guest House. She smirked, and loudly announced, "Peacock with the Wrench in the Guest House. Final Accusation." Picking up the envelope with the answer, she opened it.
"WHAT!!!" The cards got slammed on the board. "It's not those. But... No-one could show. How?"
"Don't underestimate the power of bluffing. I had all three of those cards in my hand and I said it to trick you out. Wanted to drag it out another turn or two," Rose replied, and smirked. "You are OUT."
Reef and I had our turns, and I finally had my answer. But Rose had to go first, and I had a feeling she was going to accuse.
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Oh look, I'm in the Theatre. I'm going to accuse. Was it Plum with the Rope in the Theatre?"
She opened the envelope and slowly pulled out each card.
"Plum... Rope... Theatre... You know what that means. I have won. You have lost. Good night."

* And Chapter 24 is ready. I had a lot of fun writing this one because Cluedo is one of my favourite games. This chapter was meant to be just the dragons, but I think that the game makes it have a lot more character. The next chapter will be out when I get time to write it as school is busy at the moment. *

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The Cluedo board I envisaged for the chapter