Squeaky sports trainers against the hard concrete floor was the only noise heard echoing throughout the school building as a young girl solemnly makes her way down the deserted corridor and towards the wooden door on the far left hand side. Nervously, she takes another deep breath before knocking on the door.
"Come in, Beryl."
The girl takes yet another breath as the all to deep and familiar voice rings though her ears, slowly opening the door. Cringing at the loud squeaking it made as she did so.
Peeking her head around the door, she laid eyes upon a relatively tall and slender middle-aged man leaning back against a desk, resting one foot up against the desk leg. Casting her eyes around, she could see the regal red and golden sewn carpet, the two mounted bookshelves packed with books unrecognisable and uninteresting to a fifteen year old girl such as herself. Finally, she rested her eyes on the town map, hung proudly above the old stone fire and mantelpiece before looking back at the man. This room was one she knew all too well.
"Ah, Beryl." The man smiled slightly.
"Mr. Hodges." Beryl replied in a calm manner.
Mr. Hodges was not only the head of the school to which Beryl found herself in but was also the best 'Jump' teacher in town. His personality was of one resembling marmite, you either loved him or you hated him. Or in this case, you either loved him.....
..... Or you was Beryl.
"Please, take a seat." He smiled over at her as he gestured to the vacant chair beside her. Beryl slowly shoved her hands into her trouser pockets and eyed up the chair before tapping her foot and looking back up at him, shaking her head a little.
"I'd rather stand." She tells him politely, trying to be as respectful as possible despite her hatred for the man.
"Very well." Mr. Hodges nods and looks up at the clock as it struck nine in the evening. "So? How many times are we going to so this, Beryl?"
"I don't know what you mean."
Mr. Hodges briefly flashes her a look of annoyance before continuing. "This. You not paying attention in class, not participating in practical work. Purposely failing your tests. When is it going to stop?" He frowns as he watches her stand there awkwardly, not giving him a reply. "Well I only see one option left. Beryl...." Mr. Hodges began.
This was it, this was what Beryl had been waiting for. To finally be kicked out of this poor excuse of a school. To finally leave and go somewhere where they would actually teach her real subjects, not make her go through hours upon hours of pain in an attempt to 'jump' into a neighbouring world. A small smiled formed on her lips at the thought.
"..... You're going to have to come to after hours sessions."
The smile on Beryl's face twisted into one of disgust.
"What?"
Mr. Hodges sighs again and walks around to sit to his desk. "You clearly need improvement, which is why you're acting up in his way."
"Improvement!? What I need is to leave this hell whole!" She growls back. "Walking out the door and never coming back would be 'improvement' enough for me."
"Controlling your emotions would be a good place to start, that temper of yours is going to get you into trouble someday." He says calmly as he begins to write some notes down, not paying much attention to her rants.
"Seriously? You're kidding me right?" Beryl snaps. "You put us students through enough pain to last a lifetime. My insides literally feel like they will implode and you expect me to be fine with that? What kind of man lets children, I repeat, children fall to the ground, curled over in agony, watching blood trickle from the corner of their mouth, just to teach them something they don't even want to know!?"
"Jumping worlds is a gift-"
"It's a curse, that's what it is." She replies, nostrils flaring as she tries to calm herself down.
Mr. Hodges slowly puts down his pen and looks back up at her with angered eyes. "Sit. Down."
"No!"
He glares at her display of contempt with suppressed rage. "Sit down now, Beryl."
Beryl frowns and shakes her head. "I said I didn't want to sit down."
"Beryl, just-"
"No, no, no." She butts in before he can continue, deciding she'd had enough as she headed for the door.
"Beryl, come back before you make an ass of yourself." Mr. Hodges warns.
Beryl stops dead in her tracks before slowly turning around. "Me make an ass of myself? Me make an ass of myself!? She shouts as she marches back towards him. "Oh that is rich coming for the middle aged man who prances around like a suit-wearing ballet dancer with no shoes, who shows up to lesson wearing his frigging night gown and acting like he's some sort of sensi when in fact, he just couldn't be bothered to get dressed." She points out before clapping sarcastically. "Bravo, you're so right. I am the one in this room who makes an ass of myself." She spits out.
"You're losing your temper again."
"You're damn right I'm losing my temper." Beryl snarls back at him. "I don't even want to be here, it's like a bloody prison. Look, the theory work I am fine with. The practicals, they are torturous and are made worse by having to look at your ugly mug as well but I'm dealing with it. But this?" She begins as she points towards the clock. "No, it's over the limit. Crossing the line. I don't want to spend my free time out here, learning how to jump to other worlds. I couldn't care less. How will that get me the job I'm after? It won't. It's pointless, I admit it's cool. But It's so pointless." She finishes, feeling a little light headed.
"Beryl, you need to relax." Mr. Hodges informs her calmly. "There's no need to get worked up."
"I could be at home with my dad right now..." She tells him woozily, losing her balance a little.
"Please just relax." He tries to instruct her as he stands and begins to approach.
"No!" She shouts again and stumbles back towards the door. "I'm going! Leave me alone!" Beryl growls through gritted teeth as a burning sensation arising in her stomach.
"Wait Ber-"
She doesn't give Mr. Hodges the chance to try and reason with her, slamming the door violently in frustration behind her. She lays back against the door, breathing heavily as she atempted to shake away the dizziness.
After a few more seconds, Beryl took a steps forward before the burning sensation became to much to bear. She clasped her stomach in desperation and fear as she felt herself begin to topple forward, her vision becoming blurry every now and again. Before even realising what had happened, the pain increases drastically, making her cry out in agony as she falls to her hand and knees. Beryl grabbed at the floor, balling it in her fists when she noticed that her hands were squishing straight through it.
In a last attempt to see without everything becoming a fog, she blinks repeatedly to find herself almost face down in a pile of snow.
Snow?
She was about to lift her head and look around before noticing something red dripping onto the crystal white terrain, the contrast of the two colours making it clear to see. Beryl could tell from the darkness and thickness of the liquid that it was blood. Little did she know it was hers until she raised her face to her face, discovering that her nose was bleeding like some sort of metallic, red river.
Another wave of pain shot through her body, making her completely collapse on the snowy, blood-stained ground. With a deep groan, she manages to roll herself onto her back. Breathing heavily as she tried to fight the inevitable darkness coming over her.
With one last push of energy, she opened her eyes wide. Her vision still blurred but out the corner of her eye, she could make out the shadowed outline of a human figure. Without the energy to call out for help, she began to close her eyes again. Laying still as the snow continued to swirl around and gracefully fall to cover her slowly freezing body.
YOU ARE READING
TALATHION
פנטזיה"In a world full of magic, logic no longer exists." Everybody is born with it. The ability to jump worlds. Some choose to ignore it, some don't even know they have it while others? Others try to understand this power and to one day use it to sa...
