School Of Secrets

Chapter 4

As it turns out, “The Lab” wasn’t frightening at all. It was simply a science classroom, with high, mock-granite benches, and those annoying tall plastic stools that make it incredibly awkward when you drop a pencil. There was a group standing around a table in the middle of the classroom, and to my surprise, Penny was in it. Her strawberry blonde hair was done up in a ponytail, and (thankfully) she looked happy to see me. There was another girl in the group, who had pale blonde hair and was staring at me with distaste.

Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

Right next to the girl was another guy, who looked incredibly similar to Steve, except where Steve had longish, curly hair, his was cropped short. He was conversing intently with another guy, who looked very out of place in this group. All the other guys where slightly nerdy, but he looked like he was more of a sporty person, and definitely attractive. At least none of them had the weird eyes.

“Hi guys,” Peter said, and they all looked up at him. “This is…” He stared at me expectantly, and I realised I hadn’t told him my name yet.

“Oh, um, I’m Willa.”

“Great. Willa, Meet my sister, Penny, Teddy, Harrison and Joseph.”

Sister? Peter and Penny were siblings? I looked at the others. Teddy was the grumpy girl with the blonde hair, and Harrison was the nerdy Steve look-a-like. Joseph was the handsome, sporty guy.

Penny spoke up. “Yeah, we met this morning.”

I walked over to her and whispered in her ear. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”

“Peter will explain.” I looked over to Peter, who was ordering people around. What worried me most was the sight of Teddy preparing a huge syringe. Peter noticed me staring at her uneasily.

“Don’t worry; this is better for you than the candy you just took from Headmistress Hardwicke.” He smiled. That didn’t exactly help me at all.

“Can someone please explain what’s happening here?” I asked, nervously.

Peter cleared his throat. “Okay. This is probably going to sound ridiculous, but believe me, it’s true.”

I nodded. “I think I can believe almost anything at the moment.”

“Well, I’m glad that’s cleared up then.” He paused.

“Yes?”

“Headmistress Hardwicke is drugging us.”

I pulled a strand of hair out of my eyes. “But why?” I then realised. “Oh. The eye thing.”

“Yeah, but it’s not just the eyes. She uses a drug that makes everyone under the influence of it become almost zombie-like, hypnotised to do only what her or her daughter says.”

Most of it made sense so far. Why Florence wasn’t drugged, and Cordelia and Daphne did everything she said. But there was still something I needed to know.

“How come you guys aren’t affected?” I asked, glancing out into the small group. They definitely didn’t have freaky eyes. Except maybe Teddy, but that was just her scowling face.

Penny piped up. “I guess we have really fast metabolisms. We did go zombie-like for a while, but it was out of our systems before we got the second dose. When we saw everyone, we realised that something was wrong, and somehow, we all got together and figured it out before we ate anything.”

“Ate?”

“Yeah, she drugs the food as well.”

“Well then, what do you eat?” I asked. They don’t look particularly underfed.

“All our parents send us care packages every week. They might not be particularly healthy, but at least it’s not drugged.” That was Teddy. I was surprised she was actually speaking to me. Not that I knew why she hated me so much.

“But can’t the Headmistress say that you’re not allowed to do that?”

“Not necessarily,” said Steve. “It would be too suspicious.”

We continued on until every single detail of what happened had been explained. It had taken around half an hour, and I was starting to change. I could feel myself getting dizzy, my vision becoming slightly impaired.

“Guys? What’s happening?” I tripped over my feet and fell on the ground, only just conscious.

“Damn,” I heard Peter say. “We forgot to give her the antidote.”

And that was when I saw the needle. It was jabbed into my arm by Teddy, and it hurt. I had the feeling if someone else had done it, it would have been half as painful. As my arm burnt, I felt the icy liquid make its way through my veins. I sat up, instantly less light-headed than before.

“Antidote?” I asked.

“Well, not quite,” replied Peter. “It cures one bout of the zombieness, but as soon as you eat or drink something that has been drugged, you turn back.”

“So now I just can’t eat any school food, right?”

Peter nodded. “Right. Now let’s help you up.” He grabbed my arm and pulled me up. There was a huge pause. I stared into his brown eyes. They were so gentle, and so deep. I had the feeling that, whenever I was with him, I would be safe.

Oh, heck no. I was falling. This time, not physically, but emotionally. Falling in love.

I looked behind me. Teddy’s scowl had become even deeper, her blonde brows furrowed with revulsion.

“Excuse me, but we have work to do.”

Peter let go of me and grinned awkwardly. “Come on, Teddy. We’ve worked enough today.

I could swear Teddy was about to growl, or bite someone. “In case you haven’t noticed, we don’t exactly have an endless supply of antidotes. And Willa needs to learn how to make one.”

The way she said my name almost made me shiver. I had no idea why she hated me so much. She’d only just met me.