Rave Academy

Chapter II

Rosalie Solace (1967)

   I looked up at the holographic clock in the air. The walls of the maze were going to start closing in on me if I didn't get to the exit. It felt like I was here for ages, but I probably was here for only one minute. The walls were already closed in enough that thorns brushed against my shoulders, cutting through my blazer and cutting me. The maze was made of rose bushes.
   "Rosalie," I heard a voice yell on the opposite side of the exit.
   I turned towards the voice, seeing Darlene on the floor. She was in pain. She cuts on her arms, legs, and face. If I left her behind, she wouldn't make it out alive. But we both would have a less likely chance of escaping if I did get her. I took in a deep breath, breathing in the smell of what smelled like rose perfume. I ran towards Darlene, quickly pulling her onto her feet.
   "I got you," I said, wrapping her arm around my shoulder.
   Darlene's eyes slightly closed, as if she could pass out at any time. I covered her head with my arm, trying not to have her get hurt by thorns. The more I walked towards the exit, the farther it seemed to be.
   "We need a plan," I yelled.
   Darlene used her bit of energy to take a small double-edged dagger from her satchel. She removed her arm from my shoulder, placing the pointy end of the dagger into the stems of the roses. I continued to walk. Me and Darlene stood side by side. I couldn't help her hit the thorns but I tried my best to help her.
   "This isn't going to work!" I yelled, stomping on a stem.
   "I know," Darlene said, grabbing me by my arm to stop me from walking.
   I turned my head toward her, and all she did was smile. It wasn't a happy smile, it was a mischievous smile. Darlene then placed the dagger into the side of my stomach and the pain automatically hit me. It was a trap! I shoved Darlene onto the floor as I felt the skin around the knife start to warm up. Darlene fell to the floor turning into vines, and spreading out like snakes.     I open the lock. There were 1:39 seconds left and 39 seconds until the walls started closing in on me. I twisted my foot towards the exit, pushing myself to run. Both my feet and ankles were sore due to running. I tried my best to ignore the dagger in my stomach but the pain started getting worse. I started sprinting as I heard a grandfather clock ring. The walls are going to start closing in.
   "Rosalie!" a voice yelled.
   I ignored the voice and then I felt something hit me against my head. I placed my hand where I was hit. A pocket knife!? I stepped and walked to the exit, taking the dagger out of my stomach. I tossed it onto the floor, doing the same with the pocket knife. I picked up a golden sphere that reflected the sun's light. As soon as I took it, I heard my teacher speak.
   "Rosalie Solace," Miss Ophelia sighs, cl button on her stopwatch, "You didn't beat your high score... but you did an amazing job."
   The walls of the maze around the entrance were dropped into the ground. My cuts were healed, the pain leaving seconds later. I placed the sphere in my teacher's hand, taking in a deep breath of disappointment. I plopped my body onto a bench that sat in front of the maze.
   "Everyone, remember that the maze will always trick you." The teacher spoke.
Someone sat next to me, putting a water bottle in my hands. I turned towards the person, seeing Darlene. She was staring off into the abyss.
   "Do you think you did an on-the-maze run?" I ask, opening up the water bottle.
   "No one did better than you," Darlene chuckled.
   "Yet I didn't beat my score. I may have the highest score but I can beat my score!" I blurted out, staring at the water bottle in my hand.
   Darlene didn't respond, she just looked out into the woods. Darlene had almond-shaped eyes, the irises were a pink quartz color. Her hair was undecided and faded to white at the ends. The wavy hair went down to her shoulders. When the white part of her hair hit the light, it would look like a rainbow. Darlene had tan ivory. She wore the uniform of a brown blazer, brown skirt, and button-up. There was a golden R on her blazer. She wore black loafers with black socks that went up to her knee.
   Darlene was a sophomore, she joined the school last year and we instantly became friends. Darlene was an enchantress, and so was I. Rave Academy was a school of mysticism for what teachers call special unique. I don't think we are special at all. Like all children, I didn't want to be Unique. Even though we have things normal people don't have, some days I wish I was normal. The sound of the bell rings throughout the school's campus. It has awoken me from my thoughts.
   "Rosalie, please stay after class," Miss Ophelia said before turning she was a student trying to get her attention.
   I stayed seated on the bench as Darlene walked off. Miss Ophelia was around fifty, she had white strands of hair going through her black hair. She had eyes that rested so she looked calm all the time.
   "Miss Solace," Miss Ophelia sighed, walking towards me, "I want you to show a new kid around the school, she is coming next week. You seem like you could give them a perfect example of what goes around in this school."
   Miss Ophelia started blabbering about how I was somewhat responsible for showing the kid around but I ended up spacing out. There were a lot of things I wanted to do with my life, but showing a kid around their school sounds a bit dumb. I think they would feel more welcome if the teacher or principal showed them around the school.
   "I trust you will do a good job at showing her around the school," Miss Ophelia said.
   "I will try," I responded, standing up.
   "We won't tell you a lot about her but she has the same dormitory as you," Miss Ophelia said before walking off.
   I took a white wooden wand from the inside of my blazer. It had a light green prehnite crystal at the end of it. A metal moon was above the crystal, a tiny pastel pink rose hung from the moon.
I waved the wand into a circle, air became visible and went into a circle. It was a Portal. When you learn how to control magic, the first thing they teach you is to make a portal. I stepped through the portal, ending up in my Alchemist class. Multiple tables were in rows of seven, and there were a total of ten rows. On top of each table were two caldrons. Next to the caldrons was a small crate of tiny jars of herbs and two white candles. Blue crystals floated in the air, glowing. It was supposed to be the lights.
   "Rosalie," Bailey smiled, "Come on."
   Bailey would usually be my Alchemist partner due to being the only friend I know in this class. I sat next to her and she handed me my journal.
   Bailey had natural orange hair. Her brown eyes were golden in the light. Her skin was caramel brown. Bailey's nails were painted pastel purple.
   "Everyone," Miss Sinclair clapped, "Please get to your seats."
As she walked to the front of the class, everyone got to their seats and went silent. She opened her journal, before looking up at everyone.
   "Today we are going to try and make a potion of your choice with the person at the same table as you," The teacher smiled brightly, "It will be a participation grade, so try your best."
   I turned towards Bailey as she flipped through her journal. "I think we should make a lucky potion," I said, opening a drawer attached to our table.
   The drawer was full of squares, jars in each one. I knew the ingredients by heart due to Darlene, Bailey, and Blake having study groups.
   "Can I trust you to get the ingredients?" Bailey asked, lifting a brow.
   "Of course," I smiled, picking up bottles to read the labels.
   I pulled out a clear liquid bottle named Moon Water; A pink bottle named Pink Tea; a green and gold potion named Fortune; and a blue potion named W.B. I placed the potions onto the table, taking out a jar of lavender from the crate of herbs.
   "One wrong move and we'll get a lifetime of bad luck," Bailey said, taking in a deep breath, "First we need the potion to withstand bad luck."
   I handed Bailey the potion signed W.B. and she poured a little bit of the blue potion into the cauldron. We pour the potions in the order we were provided with, mixing them all.

    "We need a jade crystal to see if we did it right," Bailey said, going towards a bookshelf of jars and crystals.
   Bailey picked up a deep green crystal, spectating it before placing it back on the shelf. She takes class seriously so she wants everything to be perfect. I picked up the potion named W.B. flipping its sign over. The words "widow's blood" were in cursive. I gave her the wrong potion. I look towards Bailey, but she already put the crystal into the caldron. The whole potion turned a dark brown and started bubbling.
   "Oh my god!" Bailey yelled, taking out her green wand.
   She waved the wand in a circle and the potion evaporated. She sighed, plopping her body into her seat.
   "What went wrong!?" She sighed, burying her face in her hands.
   I swapped the widow's blood potion with the right one, not having the heart to tell Bailey the truth.
   "It's not like bad luck exists," I sighed, "We'll just... remake the potion."