16. The Chase
Biology lessons were always painful. For a reason Charlie couldn't place, Professor Caspir intensely disliked him, taking every opportunity to tell him off or make him look like an idiot, much to the amusement of the Morse twins. Healing in itself was interesting, but lessons were just impossible to enjoy with the cruel smirk and cold eyes of Caspir leering at him.
If anything went wrong in Charlie's work, it was always a cause for public ridicule. If Charlie was caught speaking out of turn, whether in truth he was or not, it was cause for detention. If Charlie answered a question incorrectly, Caspir would shake his head despairingly.
Obviously, this was brilliant entertainment for Isaac and it would seem Zack, and also a few others in the lesson. The common factor between these few was that they all shared a dormitory. Even thinking about that dormitory made Charlie scowl. He wasn't a circus act, not some form of entertainment at his own cost. Caspir made him seem like a comedy show for that dormitory, just one without real humour.
Possibly the worst thing about the whole situation was the unfairness in the way Caspir treated different people. He hated Charlie, and disliked Peter, Phoenix, Emma, Joshua and Hamish. To Jason, he was indifferent and tended to ignore him and many others. For example, Terry Nixon, being so in love with himself, assumed he knew everything and talked all the time, but never once was he reprimanded in any way. Charlie would have thought that if he was being told off for talking then certainly Nixon should have a month's worth of detentions. However, Charlie had come to the conclusion long ago that something other than his behaviour and performance was at work here.
During one such Biology lesson, they were writing an essay on the uses of the Monglias Ducerus plant and its properties. Everyone was talking sociably while they worked. Although Caspir generally liked silence, they were allowed to talk sometimes, but even then people spoke quietly and rarely laughed.
“Hey, Peter, what other things can it treat?” asked Charlie, chewing the end of his pen as he tried to recall the other four injuries it could heal. All he had written down so far was 'bruises'.
“It can draw out some bee stings I think.” Peter was drumming his fingers on the desk in boredom. On his paper he had written the date and one sentence.
“Thanks. I cannot remember anything, especially given this is possibly the least exciting plant we have ever studied.” sighed Charlie, now tapping his pen on the desk.
“Anderson!” Caspir was glaring at him. “Detention for talking. You are pushing the limit now, boy. Do you deliberately annoy me? Tomorrow I'm helping with the healing for the Chase. Maybe I might just forget I'm meant to be healing you, not killing you...” He grinned evilly, which was especially terrifying on a gnome like creature.
“Sir, what is the Chase?” Terry Nixon butted in loudly.
Professor Caspir laughed softly. “So you haven't been told yet? Tomorrow you will participate in the Chase, a traditional training exercise of Merlin. In your teams, which are your dormitories, you will fight against the other teams to capture or destroy their base. We have only ever had a few fatalities...” Here, Caspir stared directly at Charlie. “... But I can only hope for more.”
Charlie's stomach squirmed uncomfortably. He seriously hoped that Caspir wasn't tending his injuries. He was pretty sure there would be no anaesthetic of any kind, and Caspir would not bother being gentle.
Over dinner, the only discussions heard around their tables were about the Chase. There was a buzz in the air, and everyone's eyes were alight with excitement.
