Snot-Nosed Monsters [2.2]

Miss Dean motioned for me to follow and soon led me over to the stairs leading inside were some older girls were sitting. Everyone seemed to have on matching clothes no matter what age. They all stopped talking to stare me down. They didn't look to be older than 14, but they were all far taller than me. Miss Dean spoke, "Girls, would you please show her around? Make sure to give her a full tour and let her know our rules. Stop by the supply closet and grab her a new outfit also."

"Yes, Miss Dean." They chimed in together.

Miss Dean smiled at them before turning to me, "See you at dinner. I will be in my office if you need anything."

After she left, I turned back to the four girls sitting on the stairs. Their nasty looks immediately reminded me just how small I was compared to them. They crossed their arms as they looked me up and down. One spoke, "Another one? Didn't we just get rid of one?"

Another said, "Don't panic. I'm sure she will be gone in no time."

"No one in their right mind would adopt her."

The other agreed, "She won't last long regardless."

Ugh. I forgot how mean children can be. I don't really care since they are so much younger than me, but it is annoying. It feels like I am watching a kid throw a tantrum.

The one in the middle interrupted the chatter, "Are you deaf or something? Why aren't you speaking?"

The girls giggled, "Great. She's broken too."

"We should force her to do our chores since she can't complain."

Okay. All this chatter is getting irritating.

I let out a sigh, "Can you just show me around already?"

Show me around so I can figure out how to escape.

A girl raised her eyebrow, "Wow. Turns out she can talk."

The one in the middle was clearly the leader since the girls all turned to her to make sure they weren't messing up. She spoke, "Oi. What's your name twig?"

"Reika." I answered hoping they would quickly move on already.

They all laughed. One smirked at me, "What a stupid name. I haven't heard of such a strange name before."

"With a name and face like that, no wonder she was dumped here."

Is that really the best insult you all can come up with? I'm going to yawn.

The leader of the girls spoke, "Alright, let's not be too mean to her." She stood up and leaned into my face. I couldn't hide my look of disgust as I leaned away. She grinned at me, "Just remember that no one here gives a d*mn about you. Whether you live or die, it means nothing."

I glanced at her, "Noted."

She nodded, "Now follow me, twig. If you are too slow, I won't tell you a thing."

"Right." I followed after the nasty girl trying to quell my irritation.

She's just a kid. She's just a kid. I am an adult… Granted, I don't look like it… But mentally I'm an adult. If I lose my cool with this child, then that would just reinforce how much of a child I am.

She showed me around, "This is the cafeteria. We eat twice a day. Once in the morning and once at night. If you miss the dinner bell, they won't give you food. Be here on time. Here is Miss Dean's office. Here is the bathroom…" I started yawning as she continued to prattle on, "And here is the library."

I woke up, "Library?" I peered inside. It wasn't a very impressive library, but it was better than nothing. I glanced at her, "Are there books on magic here?"

She looked at me carefully as she crossed her arms, "Yeah, probably."

Phew! Maybe I can figure out just what kind of situation I am in… Also… I can look up how that one Lady cleaned me with a flick of that stick. Those colors really were beautiful. I wouldn't mind seeing them again.

"You got a wand?" She asked, startling me from my thoughts.

I shook my head, "No…"

I guess they also refer to those sticks as wands… How unoriginal.

She mockingly laughed at me, "Then why are you possibly interested in learning magic? Are you an idiot or something?"

My eyebrow twitched. Don't get angry. She's just a kid. I took a deep breath, "No. Even though I don't have a wand, why does it matter? I can still read."

She rolled her eyes, "I guess that means you are just stupid then. Now come on."

I followed her, thinking silently to myself. I guess wands are a requirement for magic. But if that's true, why can I still see it? Other people don't seem to be able to. Now that I think about it, I could even see something radiating from them… Can everyone see it? Or is there something wrong with me? Other than being in another world of course.

I could only see it after I sniffed them though… Wait… Since when do you have to smell to see colors? Maybe it will work if I just smell in general. *sniff sniff* Nope. That isn't it. Is it really only if I smell the person? I leaned forward and sniffed the girl tentatively. I watched as the air around her began to turn a transparent green color. This is different from what I've seen before. I remember learning that some people associate blue with relaxation, red with anger, yellow with happiness, and so on… I wonder if it's the same here. But what does green signify?

"…Did you just smell me?"

I flinched, "N-No…"

She distanced herself from me while grimacing in disgust, "You're a freak."

Eh, I've been called worse.

She hastened her pace, "This is the supply closet. Here." She opened it and forced a plain dark blue uniform into my hands. She pulled out socks and shoes and stacked them on top. "That is our uniform. Everyone wears it. This is the room for the girls. This bed is free. Everything else is taken."

I looked around the room and noticed that the beds were all lined up neatly. Most of them had decorations or dolls. The bed I was forced on was the only one that was plain and undecorated. Well, that's fine too. Although I can't stand using a bed that's already been used.

"Hurry up and change already. Then throw that dress away. Miss Dean doesn't like it when we don't look our best." With a click of her tongue, she walked out of the room. I shrugged and began to change. I took off my long sock and heard something fall to the floor. I frowned as I looked down. On the hard wooden floor was a simple wand free from designs or extravagant markings. I slowly reached for it and picked it up. My face softened as I looked at it closely.

Eh? What is this melancholic feeling? I feel like I am forgetting something important…

I heard the bell ring and flinched. I placed the wand on the bed and quickly put on my new clothes. After getting dressed, I paused at the sight of the wand. Maybe I should keep this hidden. It's always best to have a trump card. I slipped the wand into my sock and went to the dining hall. I frowned upon seeing the excited shrieking of children and their snot-filled faces. I tried to slink away, but they caught sight of me and pounced like ravenous lions.

They all circled me and got in my face. I was horrified to find I was not much taller than them. They all shouted simultaneously, "Ah! You're so pretty!" "What's your name?" "Do you like dolls?" "Let's play after this!" "Can I touch your hair?"

"Definitely not." I cut in abruptly.

One started pulling at my hair, "Ahhh~ It's so soft!" "Let me see!" "I want to touch it too!"

I sobbed internally as the grubby children pulled at my hair refusing to let me go. Finally, a voice cut in behind me. "Children, it's not nice to pull on people's hair."

"Sorry Miss Dean." The children chimed in together with a pout and released my hair from their grip. I let out a sigh as I obsessively tried to fix my hair.

Miss Dean smiled, "Come on, now. Get in line so you can grab your meals."

The children giggled and made a line. I followed suit and ignored the two people trying to talk to me. I approached the cooks who spoke, "Oh! You must be the new girl."

I nodded, "I am."

"Well grab a tray. We prepared something special for you." I grabbed the tray and held it out. They plopped on what appeared to be stew with a huge side of cooked carrots. My appetite immediately left. I tried to hide my look of disgust as she continued, "Miss Dean told us how much you love cooked carrots! From now on, I will make sure to give you extra."

My face twitched, "T-That's not necessary…"

The cook laughed, "Don't be shy! Just take it and enjoy it. Go on! Try them."

N-No! I really don't want to eat this nasty thing. But… If I don't eat it then they will know I was lying… Then I will be in major trouble if the Chief knew I was lying the entire time!!! I don't want to be imprisoned for life! I trembled as I forced myself to eat a bite.

"Eiya! Look! She's so happy she is crying!!! How cute!"

My face twitched as I swallowed back my tears. I'm not crying from happiness!!! I'm crying from distress!