Voiceless Bird

Chapter 8

Some Things I Can't Let Go

I dreaded sports.

The sweat, grime and nitty gritty of physical activity just didn't appeal to me. Walking was good enough.

Team sports and games where you chase a round object? No thanks.

But Basic Physical Activity was compulsory and when it came up I always felt dread. I just wished it was way more basic, like walking.

As I jogged through the rain—during our sixth lesson—the mud squelched beneath my shoes and I shuddered inwardly. Mr Dubose had forced us, even through the rain, to jog.

According to him, it was the least we could do after all that time spent indoors studying instead of 'enjoying the sunshine'. Well, weren't enjoying the sunshine now, were we? The rain blurred my vision and the chill was bone deep—jogging at my pace wasn't enough to keep me warm.

Remi jogged up from behind me and for a moment I thought that I wasn't last, but in reality, he had just been so fast as to be an entire lap in ahead of me. He gave me and Meraella, who was jogging beside me, an encouraging half smile. I heard Meraella scoff in anger, they still had not made up yet and neither did it seem they would anytime soon. 

Amie had taken this chance and would talk to Remi whenever she could. She didn't seem malicious or bad in my eyes anymore, I had a feeling that she did like Remi a lot and not just for his looks either. But perhaps for something else no one but she knew of. To Meraella, though, Amie still seemed like the malicious person that we both had originally thought she was.

"Come on, Night, only one more lap to go!" Meraella grinned encouragingly, her pace increasing. She had purposely slowed down to jog next to me.

I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was lie down and sleep. I slowed my pace; it was getting too tiring to keep up with Meraella. She turned her head and gave me a concerned look, before she looked behind me in surprise. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened to call, a warning, perhaps?

I heard running footsteps coming up from behind me and then I was on the floor, face down in the wet mud. I didn't even feel the pain of the fall- I was too numb and cold for that- but I instinctively knew that my head had caught the brunt of it. My reflexes had been too slow to break my descent.

"Nightingale!"

I heard Meraella's urgent shout. I shivered and closed my eyes as I felt lulling sleep take over. In the distance I heard someone curse and large hands turned me over and touched my forehead, "Don't close your eyes, Willow—shit, sorry I didn't push you that hard!"

"Don't touch her, Robin!" That was Amie, I wondered where she had come from then guessed that she had been jogging behind him.

My ears were ringing but behind that I could distinctly make out shouting, then cool hands covered my face and my head was in someone's lap. My head started pounding in pain and I felt the wind's caress as it swirled through my hair and touched my skin.

It was an out of body feeling and the images were transmitted to my head. I could still feel my head pounding, it almost felt like a dream.

I could see Meraella with my head in her lap, shouting frantically. I saw the rise and fall of breath of my chest, so this feeling wasn't that of my spirit leaving my body.

I saw me being magically lifted into a stretcher that had materialised and it flew away to the clinic, the Academy's magic at work again.

My body had been taken away but the images kept coming. I saw Mr Dubose jogging over from one side and Remi from in front.

"What the hell was that? You brought this too far Robin, what is your problem!" Amie punched him hard in the shoulder and Robin didn't bother to block, his shoulders slumped from shock. In that moment I felt grateful to Amie, that she would fight for me, even though I had always taken Meraella's side. 

Meraella looked slightly stunned, as though she had never seen violence before. By then, Primo had caught up, he patted Meraella on the arm comfortingly and I realised he wasn't as strange as we had all thought.

"Oars, stop that before you join Rochards in the headmistress's office." Mr Dubose said, his face serious.

Remi came up from behind Amie and restrained her as she kicked and flailed, her expression furious, wanting to hit Robin again. Mr Dubose turned to Robin, "You'll be going to the headmistress, Rochards, she'll be deciding your punishment," at the word punishment Robin looked up, "she has eyes all over the Academy so only she can be a fair judge." He added, sensing Robin's unspoken question.

He paused then said, "Your parents may be the Ruling Royals, Rochards, but there is only so much they can do, especially when it comes to physical assault." Mr Dubose walked off, not before giving Amie a warning look.

Remi looked at Robin in disbelief.

"How far are you going to take this unreasonable hatred to? Before I only saw your picking on Nightingale harmless, I never knew you had it in you to hurt her physically," Remi looked at Robin coldly and his pale blue eyes frosted over, "I thought I knew you, but now I'm not so sure." 

At those words, Remi walked away dragging Amie along with him. Meraella and Primo trailed behind them, leaving Robin behind.

He looked so pitiful that my heart went out to him but I couldn't let this go like everything else.

I wasn't sure I could ever let it go.