5 Headmistress Cortez and the guy on fire

Words are going round and round in my head, spinning like a carousel, dizzying me to disorientation. I'm full of questions I want to ask but rather not hear the answers. I honestly don't know what I am going to do with my self, with my whole life. I am afraid of the truth I would hear but at the same time I am itching to know all of them and I couldn't be more torn at the moment. My hands go over my head, giving myself a massage as I sit in Headmistress Cortez' office. Kane left me with her. She'll answer your questions, he whispered to me before we departed mere minutes ago.

Sighing, I take my eyes to look around; heavy hard bound books where perfectly lined in shelves according to their names and titles. Like the room I wake up in, it's also well decorated: assortment of couches are all over the place, dozens of paintings, portraits and pictures adorned the papered walls and trinkets of many kinds are spewed artistically everywhere. Somehow, all the pieces worked together, making it look perfect. It would be a nice reading place to spent in my usual afternoon. Sadly, it is too homey that makes me miss my home, my parents and my friends. I badly want to cry my eyes out.

With a shake of my head, I grow conscious with the presence in front of me. To the headmistress who is busy studying my every movements, looking at me with such amusement. Her eyes glinting with something I cannot fathom, being so quiet, waiting for me to talk first. She is making me uneasy with all the staring that I divert my attention to the owl perched on the back of her chair. It is big with white feathers and round green eyes; looking at me deeply as if reading my thoughts.

"Don't your parents told you that it's not polite to stare?" Someone asks out of a sudden catching me off guard.

I look at my back but no one is there. Hives start to form in my arms. Besides me and the headmistress, there's no one else in the room. And the headmistress couldn't have asked it, she haven't even utter a word for about five minutes now since our arrival. Is she telepathic? I could easily believe any weirdness. A chuckle escape the headmistress' lips.

"Sorry, Arthur my owl doesn't want people to stare." My jaw drops open and my eyes widen in disbelief. Really? The owl is the telepathic one? Of course it was the owl who would it be, right?

"The owl?" I repeat, speaking out my thought. My head is going to explode any minute now.

"Yes, so...um Mariah let's go to business." I nod, taking a cautionary look back at the owl. He is giving me the creeps. "Okay, you see I told you that this is a school of very talented kids. Like you--" She trails off. How I become talented? "You will be living here as well as attending the school. You are just a few weeks late so I know you can still catch up with the others. You can stay in the room you slept in. Here this your schedule but you can take this day off and start tomorrow." She hands me a piece of paper with my so called schedule.

I hold the piece of paper in my hand and study it.

Breakfast - 6am-8am

Demonology 101 - 8am-9am --St. Anthony( Mrs. Novaczheck )

Incantation and Divination - 10am-11am -- St . Mary of Nazareth (Mr. Gallows)

Binding and Significants - 11am-12nn -- St. Catherine's Hall (Mr. & Mrs. Solomon)

Lunch - 12nn-1pm

Pharmacology - 2pm-3pm -- St. Patrick (Mr. Black)

Specialty Training - 3pm-5pm St. Therese (Ms.Cortez)

Horticulture - 5pm-6pm -- St. Timothy (Ms. Meadows)

Dinner - 7pm-9pm

Lights out- 11pm

Nothing is normal with this schedule, I tell my self. And everything falls into a timely schedule, even the turning of lights. Making it full of bulls. Why it feels like I am inside an English dormitory school?

"I never said I agreed on going here," I say plainly while looking at her.

She gives me a smile, "Well you have no choice, do you? And you will be safer here."

And, that's the other thing. They keep saying about me being safe here, but what exactly am I in danger to? The demons, what is in stake for them to have me? How am I exactly safer in a place that I don't have any idea what is exactly? Safe is the least on my mind when I can only think of is getting my parents avenge.

"What do the demons want from me? Kane doesn't want to tell me anything. He kept saying you might have the answers I seek." I press the headmistress, there's other way to do it. I might as well swallow all my fears.

"Because you are special. Every student in this school are hunted by demons," she answers as if it is a matter of fact. But no, that can't be. She's hiding something from me. It's so simple, put that way. "Time Mariah, it'll take time for you to understand. I know what you want. You want revenge. Do you think you're ready to have it? You're weak," she adds furthermore.

She clearly has a point with that. I am weak, fragile and very much breakable. I need to accept this along with all the other things around me. So, I shake my head, agreeing to the headmistress.

"Then what should I do? I need to do something. No one can give justice to my parents death!" I almost shout.

"Well then, train. Give it a try. I promise this place has a lot to offer you," she says, crossing her arms over her desk.

"Okay," I answer, feeling defeated. "I hope. I hope you're right."

Eternity passed, the phone on the headmistress' desk starts ringing. She talks with the other person on the line for a while, standing over on the side for privacy. "I really need to go now. But you can always come here if you are in need of anything," she says after a while, taking the phone away from her ear.

"Okay." I stand up getting on the door only to go back again when I open it. "How am going back to my room? I don't exactly remember my way."

"That's no problem, Arthur will lead your way."

"The bird?" I ask innocently looking over the feather ball. With much reluctance I turn my back and start walking as Arthur flies in my vanguard keeping a good distance leading my way back to the room. The bird is not very friendly though. I wonder why do they have pets. If it's same as Kane and Boris? I can see the door of my room about ten meters and the owl fly away without a word as soon as we come to it.

I enter the room inhaling the sweet smell that comes from it and fall on my bed face first. I truly misses my parents and friends. I even miss boring Santana Monica and I never thought I would ever think of that thing, I grew up wanting to get away from there. Now, that I already have, all I want to do is jump on the nearest plane and go back there. I would do anything to put my life back, the way it used to be. Though, I know it will be next to impossible. Once something is broken, it can't be glued back together even how much effort you put into it. There still be the cracks that will make you remember.

A gust of wind blow causing the windows to rattle and fly open; interrupting with my overunning thoughts and I rise to a sitting position. I thought it is just wind but then with a bat of my eyelash, a boy is now standing in the foot of my bed.

"Ahh!" I shriek, scared. The boy jumps over my bed, covering my mouth keeping me from shouting bloody murder.

"Shhh..." The boy croons. I'm not usually afraid of a freaking boy but his hell of a hair is on fire! How the hell that happened? Another addition to the weirdness I am experiencing; I almost got a sack full but it still fazes me. I don't know how much more I can stomach. It seems everything I was told as a child; were all lies. It's a different world, the stories on the books are the real ones and mine is the lie. Too freaking great!

"I'll take my hands away but be quiet okay? No more shrieking," the boy asks me. I nod in response. He releases me and jumps down the bed.

"Why is your hair on fire?" I ask as he prances. Well what is there to ask?

"Ow," is his only response. With a flick of his finger the fire vanished into thin air. He got black hair instead of the blue one he got when the fire is on.

A knock come to my door and I look at the boy for instructions. He raises his right hand signaling me to open it.

It's Kane and Boris. "Why?" I ask not fully opening the door.

"Have you seen a guy here? About my height, black hair, green eyes?" Luckily, it's the guy in my room.

Why, had he done something wrong? I contemplate silently in my head.

"No," I say finally. Thankfully, Kane looks convince.

"Okay, take a rest you'll be needing it tomorrow." I nod and they walk away. I close the door and when I turn my back, the guy is not there where he supposed to be, curtains sway as wind blows on my open window.

I sigh, dismissing the thought of the boy. I slump back in the bed thinking of who I am going to be. What tomorrow could bring? Light or just more tragedies.