"Listen closely to the whispering" Chelsea said from her position on the wall.
"I'm trying." I replied and pressed my ear to the wall yet again. I could hear faint syllables and the occasional word but nothing really. Anxiety welled up inside of me. Headmaster Lorelei had threatened to throw me out if I failed another mission.
I looked over at Chelsea and saw that she was leaving the wall and returning to her desk. Only Bridget and I remained next to the wall, desperately trying to comprehend what was being said.
"If you go down to the woods today, you're in for a big surprise"
"If you go down to the woods today, you'd better go in disguise"
I leaned in to the wall, pleased that I was finally making out the words. It was Mistress Mary who had set the tape today and this rhyme seemed to fit her perfectly. I once had a private session with her, and the entire time I couldn't shake off the feeling of her milky white eyes on me. I shivered from only the memory.
"For every bear that ever there was will gather there for certain"
"Because today's the day the Teddy Bears have their picnic"
I tensed at the last line and brushed my blonde hair out of my eyes. The light lilting voice contradicted the horrid words being said. I couldn't help thinking there was more to this song than Teddy Bears and picnics.
"If you go down in the woods today, you better not go alone"
"It's lovely down in the woods today, but safer to stay at home"
"For every bear that ever there was will gather there for certain"
"Because today's the day the Teddy Bears have their picnic"
If this song had a double meaning, I didn't want to think about it. Yet the thoughts came unwillingly, why had all of the girls who had tried to escape The Academy failed? Their bodies were always returned to the edge of the forest, burnt to a crisp. We had come up with horror stories about what lay in the forest, tales of wolves who tricked us into trusting them and sweet candy houses which sheltered cannibalistic witches with a taste for children.
I heard the words of the rhyme start to repeat and headed back to my seat. I wrote the words down on my sheet of paper and flipped it over when I was done. I didn't want to look at them. Bridget still stood at the wall, I could see her eyes fill with tears as the seconds ran out and Mistress Mary stood up from her desk.
"I'm sorry Bridget", she said with a half-smile. "This was your third consecutive failure, I'm afraid today is your last day in the academy." Mary turned to face the rest of us. "Pass your papers up to the front please. You are free to what you wish as long as it abides by the rules after I collect all of the papers."
I scribbled my name, Tatianna, onto the paper and passed it to Sarah who sat in front of me. Mary collected all of the papers and dismissed us with the wave of her hand. I grabbed Chelsea's hand and rushed out of the class room.
Once out we had exited the classroom I look at her and said "We need to talk -"
"About the rhyme", she finished for me.
