The School for Wisps

2.

Someone in the back of the bus cheered. Kirana swiveled and stared into the darkness with slitted eyes.

"Be Quiet!" The anonymous someone glowered back at her. Turning back toward the front, Kirana had the feeling that this would not be a school where rich kids were treated nicely, unlike her last school, where she was Teacher's Pet in everything. Goose bumps crept down her arms. Wistfully, she looked out of the window.

"Everyone OUT! Out Out Out!" the bus driver yelled. "I'm Darlene and I'll be driving this bus every day for you. Now OUT!" All the kids scrambled for the door. Kirana felt somebody glaring daggers into the back of her neck. She was the first one outside. Together, the whole group of new students tramped into the hall, backpacks clanking.

Inside the building, there was a vast contrast between what it looked like outside. The exterior was all gray. The interior had thick plush carpet in places, and beautiful crystal chandeliers glinting from the magnificent gold-papered ceiling. Everything was colorful. There were three thrones placed on a raised dais at the back of the room. The central one had golden tassels hanging from the embroidered purple coverlet over the seat. There was the number 1 carved into the legs and the armrests. The seat on the right of the central throne was the exact same thing, except the coverlet was green, and instead, was decorated with the number 2. The third one had a red cover and had the number 3 whittled into the supports. Kirana and the other initiates gaped at the three thrones.

"What are they even for?" asked a blond-haired boy standing behind Kirana.

"Who," she corrected.

"Fine. Who are they for?" The blond boy rolled his eyes at her. "Do you even know? If not, don't be a smart-mouth IN FRONT OF ME!" Kirana shrank back. In front of her eyes, the boy grew eight feet tall, and as she watched, her face stricken, his features slowly transformed into a goblin's. Wings sprouted out of his back and he growled, a low menacing sound, before he started shrinking again. His giant wings shriveled into nothing, then disappeared. In a matter of seconds, the 15-year old stood in front of the initiates again, who were now looking fearful. Suddenly, they didn't know what they were afraid of, for the blond-haired boy's face was filled with puzzlement.

"What just happened?" he asked.

"I'll tell you what happened," interjected a new voice. A young man stepped out of the shadows, where he had been the whole time. "Your Wisp powers have been activated." he said, grinning. There was a collective gasp that went around the room. Kirana had no idea what was going on, so she nudged her neighbor. The girl next to her was wearing a revealing spaghetti strap tank top with 5-inch shorts that showed off her stomach and the majority of her legs. Neon flip-flops completed the bizarre outfit. When the girl turned to Kirana, her underwear showing beneath the shorts, Kirana almost gagged. Sickening waves of putrid perfume washed over her all at once. Doubling over, Kirana gasped for breath that was not infected by the smelly poison. To her surprise, the girl bent down and offered her a hand.

"Hi! I'm Sandra and this is not  my usual getup... My friends gave me a makeover that turned out to be a complete disaster. They even chose the perfume!"

Kirana gazed at Sandra's smiling face, which was smeared with make-up, and smiled back. For the first time, she thought she belonged in this unordinary place.

"Allow me to introduce myself." said the young man that had explained about the boy's so called ''wisp powers''.

"My name is Alec and I am an instructor here. We take Mogrifying very seriously around here." As if to make his point, Alec glared at the blond haired boy.

"You- yes you. What's your name?" he barked, pointing at the boy.

"L-l-luc-c-as?" the boy stammered.

"Do you know your own name? Why do you kids always end every answer with a question?" Alec ranted.

"Huh?" said Lucas. Alec threw up his hands and sighed.

"You guys are so THICK! GET A SPINE YOU STUPID USELESS JELLYFISHES!

As Alec's speech ended with a roar, Kirana glanced around at the other kids. They were regarding Alec with something very close to loathing, she realized. Some of them had mutinous looks on their faces already. Kirana huddled closer to Sandra, then leaned in and whispered into her ear.

"Is this lunatic going to be teaching us?" she murmured. Sandra smiled back.

"Don't worry, I think that someone else is going to teach us." she replied.

"Ok fine. I'll be careful around this knucklehead though." Kirana sighed. Unfortunately, Alec heard the last sentence.

"Young missy, I advise you to come up here right now to avoid any injuries." he intoned ominously. His black eyes flashed dangerously. Kirana nervously picked her way through the throng to Alec, who was standing alone on the dais. Fearing the worst, she bowed her head and stood quietly as her parents had taught her to. But something inside of her snapped. This idiot standing in front of her had yelled at the whole group!

"We're new after all," she muttered. "This guy has no brains!" In a swift movement, Kirana slapped Alec across the face. Two seconds later, Kirana stared at her hand and at Alec's cheek. Both were burning bright red. Somebody gasped in the crowd. However, Alec, the person who should have been most offended, only smiled and made a tsking noise.

"I admire your bravery. That's good for a newbie. But, sometimes bravery can be mistaken for stupidity. However, since it is the start of the school year, no punishments yet. Get back into the group. Consider yourself...pardoned. Oh, and I'm not telling you guys how this school works. Figure it out yourselves- or fail." Kirana unhappily slouched back into the ranks. At an unknown signal, the entire crowd started to move toward the gigantic doors to their new classes and the future, Alec at the end.

Once out into the narrow hallway, the group converged into a single file line that Alec led through the halls. As they passed, other boys and girls peeked out from the classrooms and handed them books and schedules. Kirana's schedule read:

KIRANA LARSON

Period 1: (Rm. 204) Elementary Hypnotizing

+ Spells

Administrator: Holly Berthew

Period 2: (Rm. 137) Basics on Warping

+ Mind Control

Administrator: Gordon Foreda

Lunch

Period 3: (Rm. 171) Mogrification for Beginners

Administrator: Luisa Kornado

Period 4: (Rm. 111) Working Your Talent

Administrator: Stephen Pitone

Period 5: (Rm. 204) Knowing the Plants

+ Animals

Administrator: Holly Berthew

P.E.

See you tomorrow!