The Prophecy Of The Black Day

Chapter 20

".....so that's it for today guys. We will be unveiling the Writers of the Week at the hall in five minutes!" Harriet announced at the end of her class on Monday. 

Everyone dumped their books into their bags and hurriedly made their way to the hall. Harriet stood by the door, smiling at the campers as they left. Her smile fell when she saw Selene.

"Ah ah ah. Not you, Selene. My office. Now." Harriet snapped her fingers.

Selene blinked at her, wondering why she was being dragged to Harriet's office. She felt like she was about to get punished. As she walked down the hallway, she saw all the other campers running to find out if they'd won Writer of the Week.

"But the ceremony..." Selene didn't want to miss it.

"You didn't win. Step into my office, please. Wait while I announce the winners." Harriet shut the door after Selene entered and hurried off to the hall to join Paul.

When Selene stepped in, she saw Benjamin sitting with his legs crossed in front of him. He looked like he was about to die of boredom.

He looked up when Selene sat beside him but turned away without bothering to say hi. Though Selene knew she had ruined any friendship they might have had, she was still a bit hurt that he was completely ignoring her.

They sat in silence for a very long time. The only thing Selene could hear were cries of jubilation as they crowned the winners for that week. Selene felt very left out.

She finally got tired of the ear-shattering silence and decided to break the ice.

"You didn't win this week." She commented.

"I've already won once. It's common sense to give others a shot." His deep voice was cold and mean.

Selene had never heard him speak like that to anyone. She cleared her throat, feeling a little deflated. She searched her brain, thinking of what else to say to keep him talking.

"Why are you here? Why does Harriet seem pissed at us?" She asked.

"There could be a number of reasons. I'm betting it's because we didn't submit our task last week." Benjamin didn't even look at her.

"What? Why didn't you..."

The door suddenly flew open and Harriet entered. Selene zipped her lips instantly.

As she took her seat opposite them, Harriet thought of all the marvelous punishments the two idiots deserved. She linked her fingers and rested her chin on them.

"Well?" Harriet raised an eyebrow.

Benjamin and Selene shifted nervously. Harriet noticed they were both trying not to look at one another. She would have smiled if the situation hadn't required utmost seriousness.

"Are you deaf? I'm expecting a very good reason for not receiving your entry this week," Harriet said.

Selene studied Benjamin from the corner of her eyes. She realized then and there that he could have thrown her under the bus if he wanted to. He could have easily told Harriet it was her fault and he wouldn't have been lying. He could have branded himself as the wronged saint and her as the devil. Instead, he just shrugged.

"We weren't able to complete our entry. We had....different opinions." His deep voice was devoid of emotion.

"Is that so? What difference in opinion could you two possibly have? Your writing styles are very similar." Harriet folded her arms across her chest.

"Perhaps. But even the most compatible writers sometimes have difficulties merging their visions." Benjamin shrugged.

No one spoke for a while. Selene was sure she looked as guilty as the devil. Harriet's eyes lingered on her face for a long time.