A/N Very first story!! This is so sigma. Let me cook up these oneshots chat 😋
Gilly's POV for the whole thing:
Atticus. That's what I named my current bow. Atticus Cobbler is the best bow I've ever had. Except he was only the second one I've ever had so the bar is pretty low. Nobody touched him, EVER, any student who went to FTRS knew that. So obviously the new girl didn't.
I wasn't allowed to keep him on my person during a school day so he stayed locked away in the school's armory. In a special spot and everything. We had heard a new girl was coming -for what? We were going to find out eventually as nothing stays secret for long here- but she would be arriving during classes. Fortunately for me and my friends, Maxine was assigned to show her around so we would get all the details first.
∆∆∆∆∆ After Classes ∆∆∆∆∆
"Who's up for some pattycakes?" Of course it was Ollie asking. Jocelyn looked at him with a mixture of disgust and incredulity, "Do you ever quit eating??" We all laughed at this, including Ollie. "Maybe we should put him on a di-" Jax never got to finish his sentence as Maxine came running up to us. She was babbling incoherently and you could tell she was on the verge of tears.
"Maxine! What's wrong?" Ever the nicest one in our group, AG is quick to place a comforting hand on her shoulder and find out the problem.
"I'M SO SORRY GILLY!!!" Her voice is loud and shaky as she starts sobbing. We all share a look of confusion and concern.
"For what? I'm sure it's not that bad Maxi." In truth, there's a lot she could've done that could set me off. She had a heart of gold but it seemed more often than not she didn't fully think through what she was doing. And I was kind of scared of what she would say next
"I-I-I I took the new girl to the armory on the tour and she- and she" And she breaks down into sobbing again. AG is trying her best with the help of Kayla to calm Maxine but it just isn't working.
After a few more moments she's ready to talk, even if her voice is shaking and quivering like a river lit on fire. "I- I took the new girl, Phoebe, to the armory on the tour and she- and she touched Atticus even though I told her not to. Then- then she took him and started shooting at the targets and I tried to get her to stop but she- but she didn't like that so she- she broke Atticus in half and----"
Whatever Maxine says after that doesn't register in my head. All I can hear is the rushing of blood. My heart pumps faster and I feel dizzy. My vision is tunneling. All I can see and think and feel is red. Atticus wasn't just any bow. He was a present that Grandma Pearl had given to me. He was the only thing I had from the grandpa I had never gotten to meet because my dad couldn't deal with being partway fairy.
I can tell Jax is trying to tell me something. I can tell everyone is looking at me. I can tell there's a hand on my shoulder. I can't tell whose it is. I can tell my breaths are getting shorter and my face is getting redder. I can tell all that but what I can't tell is when I started walking. I can't tell when I started on my mission to find this girl. Phony? Phineas? Philosophy? It doesn't matter at this point.
My friends know better than to get in my way. Not even Jax tries to stop me as I hunt for the new girl. They all trail behind me silently. Watching. Waiting.
A perk of being so well known in this school is you know everyone and everyone knows you. Which means an unfamiliar face is a new person. Which means the girl with black hair sporting twin red stripes stand out to me like a sore thumb.
All I see is red.
Red.
Red.
Whatever I did afterwards landed me in Headmistress Flora's office. It's like falling asleep in a carriage and waking up in your bed. You have a pretty good idea of how you got there but you can never know for certain.
"Are you even paying attention Ms. Cobbler!?" Headmistress Flora seems beyond stunned. Astonished. Gobsmacked even. If she had pearls, she'd be clutching them tighter than my parents to the belief I was a good person. "You have just beaten up a student, a new one no less, to the point of going to the infirmary!! What do you have to say for yourself??!"
Ollie, Jack, and Jocelyn are going to be so proud of me. Maybe even Jax. He knows how important that bow was to me. Maybe he'll just give me a light scold. Poor Maxi, she probably thinks this is her fault. I'll have to reassure her it's n-
"MS. COBBLER YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD EXPLANATION OR GRIMM HELP ME I'LL SEND YOU TO ROYAL ACADEMY!"
She does not play around.
"She broke Atticus." It comes out mumbled but audible enough. At least I know Flora doesn't have hearing loss. If she expects more of an explanation she can forget it. That's my whole statement. That's my whole reason. I don't even remember what I did but I can't help feeling proud of myself.
Flora's face softens slightly. She was there when Grandma Pearl gave it to me. She knows.
"That's- well that's not a bad reason. But was sending her to the infirmary the only way to deal with the situation? If I had been notified I could've dealt with it in a way that didn't involve our nurse."
"I'm sor-" She cuts me off. "You've already nearly killed a girl, let's not also add 'lying to the headmistress' to that list, shall we?"
Fair point.
"Well Gillian, although your reasoning was somewhat sound you're still getting a punishment. I sentence you to Olliver Watch. That boy eats too many pattycakes and he keeps finding them. No matter how hard the kitchen tries to hide them."
That doesn't seem too bad. Oh wait. Knowing Ollie he's going to give me hell. Fiddlesticks.
"And my parents? Will they be notified?" I really don't need another reason to resent going home for breaks.
"I think that's punishment enough. I won't tell if you won't." Headmistress Flora has a sympathetic look in her eyes. I hated that. I didn't need her pity. But I was incredibly grateful Dad wouldn't find out about this.
"You're punishment lasts from today til next Wednesday." A whole week. Maybe I should just request detention instead. I'm sure I could convince Jax to sneak in and dance with me. Madame Cleo wouldn't know anyways. "And it begins now. Good luck. You're dismissed Ms. Cobbler. And do please try to keep your rage in check, will you?"
"Yes Headmistress Flora. I'll try." Usually when I left her office I was filled with guilt, dread, and a myriad of other negative emotions. All I can feel now is relief, confusion, a slight bit of pride, and something else.
But all I can think is about that girl. Phoebus? Phenomenon? I still don't remember. It doesn't matter though. Now that the red is gone all I see is green. Disgust. For myself and my actions. For her and her actions. For the whole thing. I'm not going to lie to myself and say I feel guilty. But I do feel disgusted. Flora was right. I could've handled that way better. I wasn't thinking.
I'm too tired to deal with anything at the moment. Luckily for me, it's dinner time so I can go unnoticed sneaking back to my dorm. All I want is my bow back. Fully intact. But that's impossible so I guess I'm going to have to settle for a nap instead.
❤️💚❤️💚<3
