Ding dong, ding dong
I look up from my book in response to the dinner bell. I stay, not wanting to leave my cozy place in the attic. I continue to read until the attic door begins to creak open and a little girl sticks her head into the room.
"Tori, Madame Berger told me to come get you. You're late to dinner."
I sigh reluctantly and get up, walking down the stairs to the room where we all gather for dinner.
"Is she upset?" I ask, a hint of fear in my voice. The little girl glances nervously at me, "No, but she will be if she finds out you've been reading her books…"
We enter the dining room and I see a little boy talking to Madame Berger, and a frown starts to form on her face. When she spots me she gets up and walks over.
"Victoria?"
I wince at the use of my full first name.
"Yes, Madame Berger?" I ask quietly, knowing what's coming.
"I have told you time and time again that you are not allowed to read from my personal library, and yet you ignore me."
"But-"
"No. You know the rules. You will miss supper and will spend the night in the broom closet."
My eyes grow wide in fear. The broom closet was dusty and dark.
"Please no…"
"You heard me." She says sternly.
I walk into the broom closet and as Madame Berger closes the door I am emerged in darkness.
"Tori!" I hear someone yell my name.
"Victoria!" The voice is closer now.
"Victoria Bennett wake up!"
My eyes shoot open and I see Marina standing above my bed.
"C'mon, we're leaving today! You gotta get ready."
Oh right! I forgot we were leaving for the quest this morning! I run to the closet and throw my outfit on. Since we don't have to wear our uniforms (Yay!), I got to choose my outfit. I'm wearing brown hiking boots, blue jeans, a comfy light blue sweater, and my light brown hair is in a high pony. I look into the mirror and straighten out my sweater, and suddenly I see a hand pop up above my head doing bunny ears.
"Marina!" I laugh and turn around. "Whoa! Girl, I love your outfit!" Marina is wearing hiking boots, blue jeans, a yellow t-shirt, a denim jacket, and her hair is in a half-up, half-down style. She is also wearing her favorite opal bracelet, which looks beautiful against her Latina skin tone.
As Marina and I grab our knapsacks, we look around our dorm room. I'm hit with the realization that I may never come back. Whoa! That was a little dark. But true...
This whole time Cass has been sitting on her bed working on a homework assignment. She looks up and smiles solemnly. She is wearing sweat pants, a large t-shirt, and her hair is in a messy bun since she will be staying here.
"Well, I guess I'll walk outside with you guys so I can say goodbye to the boys too."
She gets up and we walk down the tower stairs together.
"Did you have another dream about the orphanage?" Marina asks.
I nod. "How did you know?"
"Well, you seemed startled when I woke you up this morning. So I assumed you must have been dreaming about the time you were caught reading a book and were sent to the broom closet. That seems to be a recurring dream for you."
"You grew up in an orphanage right?" Cass asks.
"Yeah," I answer. "I never knew my parents. But I do know that they died, but I don't know how. I grew up in Madame Berger's orphanage and loved to read her books. It always got me in trouble though."
Cass chuckled, "Funny. I don't see you reading nowadays."
I sigh. I would love to read more often but writing essays and going on unexpected quests have gotten in the way.
As we reach the front doors of the boarding school I hear laughter outside. Cass opens the front doors and we step into the crisp autumn air. The sun is just starting to peek up over the trees and chase away the dark.
Clay and Liam are laughing about who knows what, but when Liam sees us he smiles and says playfully,
"Hi girls. What took you so long?"
Marina and I roll our eyes. Liam is dressed in jeans, a grey t-shirt, and a long-sleeved blue flannel shirt on top of the grey one. Clay is wearing jeans and a dark green hoodie. They are both holding their knapsacks and supplies.
Ms. Neely is standing a few feet away from them talking to a man in a black billowy cloak. He looks sort of like a dementor. Then she suddenly turns to us and claps her hands together.
"Well, students. I believe it is time for you to depart on your journey. Mister Rudenburg here, will drive the coach to take you out of the school's property."
Mister Rudenburg's arm emerges from out of the cloak. He puts two fingers into his mouth and whistles loudly. For a few seconds, nothing happens. Then out of nowhere, a carriage pulled by beautiful black horses comes towards us and stops in front of the school. Marina stares in awe at the horses and I can't help but do the same. Their black skin looks velvety in the early morning light and their eyes sparkle like onyx gems.
"I wish you four the best of luck on your quest." Ms. Neely says encouragingly. Mister Rudenburg stands at the carriage door ready to open it for us. I look over at Cass as she holds back tears. She looks up at me and engulfs me in a hug. I return it.
"I'm going to miss you, Cass." I say sadly.
"I'll miss you too." She pulls away and gives hugs to Marina and Clay. Finally, she walks up to her twin brother and tousles his hair. They hug and she whispers something in his ear. He laughs. When they pull-apart she looks at all of us and says,
"You guys come back alright? I'm counting on you to do a skit with me in the spring talent show." We all laugh. Every year the boarding school has a spring talent show. Our group's tradition has been to make up a funny skit and perform it. It's always a hit.
Ahem
Mister Rudenburg clears his throat loudly.
"You all ready? I got other places to go today."
One by one we get into the carriage. Once the last one of us gets in, Mister Rudenburg shuts the door. As the carriage starts moving, we see Cass waving at us from outside the window. We wave back until she's just a speck in the distance.
Clay sighs loudly and slumps in his chair. "Well, time to save the world."
Liam smiles and chuckles, then he suddenly frowns, as if he remembered something, and sits forward. His brows furrow.
I know that look. Somethings troubling him.
"Liam, what is it?" I ask.
"I was the first one to go outside this morning. While I was waiting alone Ms. Neely told me she wanted to tell me something, and that it was important. She said that after her meeting with us last night, she asked the wizard if he could look into the future and learn anything that could help us. Apparently he couldn't see great detail but he learned two things. One of its good news, one of its bad news..."
"Tell us the good news first," Marina says.
"We will make many friends among the way."
"That's good," I say. "The bad news?"
"A friend will betray us."
Clay suddenly sits up straight, paying attention. Marina looks puzzled.
"A friend will betray us?" I question. "That could mean one of the friends we make along the way, or..."
"Or?" Marina asks hesitantly.
"One of us." Marina's eyes widen in shock.
"But did she say how they will betray us?"
Liam shakes his head, "She only said a friend would betray us, but she didn't say how. That's a good question though."
"I don't think one of us four wouldn't betray the others. We're too close." I say hopefully.
"I've only been here since February..." Clay says. "But, you guys are the best friends I've ever had. I know we wouldn't betray each other. So we have to stay together and be wary of people we meet and how much we trust them."
Marina, Liam, and I nod in agreement. After a few moments of silence, the carriage comes to a stop. I hear footsteps and the coach door opens.
"This is where I drop you all off." Mister Rudenburg holds the door open for us as we grab our knapsacks and exit the carriage. As soon as we get out, he jumps back up into the driver's seat and rides off. The sun is higher in the sky now. It's probably 35 minutes past sunrise. The trees all around us are orange, yellow, and red, with hints of maroon. The leaves gently fall from the trees and the wind carries them away. It's a beautiful sight.
I look around and see the carriage left us right next to the school's property gate. It's 10 feet tall and made of shiny black metal. Liam steps toward the gate and pushes it open. Surprisingly it doesn't creak. He steps outside the gate and turns around.
"You guys coming?"
The rest of us walk through the gate. I'm the last one out and have the honors of closing it. I hear a click, signaling that it locked. There's no going back.
This is where our journey begins.
ns 15.158.61.6da2
