The Prophecy Of The Black Day

Chapter 30

"......this brings us to the end of the curriculum for this class." Harriet beamed at the confused campers.

Selene who had been a little distracted sat up at once and frowned.

"Now, I know a lot of you are confused. After all, this is the seventh week of camp. There'll be no class after tomorrow so you can have time for the final writing challenge." Harriet said.

"What's the writing challenge? And when is the deadline?" Christian raised his hand at once. He was always asking questions in class.

"All in good time, Christian. This year, Mr. Silver has decided that the final writing challenge would be a blank cheque. You can write about any and everything you want. You can write an article, a poem, a short prose on any topic of your choice. It should be something that means a lot to you and should be your best work. That is why all classes are ending tomorrow to give you time to complete the writing challenge. It's also why there'll be no Writer of the Week for this week and why there'll be no writing challenge next week." Harriet said.

"Are we still going to have to work on a group project?" A girl at the back asked

"Yes. Apart from your individual project, you must also work with your partner. It's also a blank cheque. No word limit and no specific genre." Harriet said.

The campers all started talking at the same time. It was the most interesting challenge they'd done since the camp started.

"What about the deadline? You still haven't told us." Christian spoke again.

"The deadline is Friday by 8 am," Harriet said.

Everyone started complaining loudly. After all, it had to be their best work yet.

"There's a reason you were given Wednesday and Thursday off. You're meant to use those days to get your pieces together. Mr. Silver needs enough time to grade 'em. As writers, you can't always expect to have as much time as you'd like. You'd have crushing deadlines and mean editors to look out for. You all need to know that." Harriet said sternly.

Selene sighed and looked out of the window. Unlike everyone else, she wasn't looking forward to the task. For starters, she was still thinking about Benjamin. Also, she wasn't sure what she'd even write about. It seemed like everyone else knew what they wanted to do.

Selene wondered if she hadn't wasted her time coming to the camp. Sure, she'd had fun and had enjoyed writing immensely but she didn't feel like she had really improved as much as everyone else. She still didn't feel like she was good enough.

She hadn't won any of the writing challenges and all the teachers always overlooked her. Maybe she had wasted her time coming there.

"For the final week, we have a lot of relaxing activities planned. Games, karaoke, you name it. Frankly, the final week is the highlight of camp and the final day? Y'all are gonna be in for a surprise." Harriet twirled her hair with her finger.

Selene tuned her out after that and spent the rest of the period looking out of the window, watching the trees dance.

"Selene?" Harriet said.

She sounded so close that Selene jumped high. When she looked up, she realized that everyone else had left the class. She hadn't even noticed.

"I was lost in thoughts," Selene said lamely.

"Since you're still here, would you mind helping me pack my books while I switch off the projector?" Harriet asked.

Selene leaped to her feet and gathered the books on the desk while Harriet worked on the projector. She followed Harriet to her office since her hands were filled with the other teaching paraphernalia.