Saving Face [3.2]

She spoke up as we walked back, "By the way, why didn't I see you in class?"

...And apparently, I also have to attend classes.

"Class?"

"Yes. After breakfast, we finish our chores then go to class."

"Really? I certainly didn't get any time. Those children all ditched their chores on me and Miss Dean allowed them to."

She looked away blushing slightly, "Oh… I'm sorry… I didn't know those girls were bullying you. I thought it was strange they were starting to leave me alone. Usually, I was either late or couldn't attend classes because I was busy with the chores."

"They used to bully you?"

She gave a pitiful frown, "Yes. I have excessive mana and I can't really control it. I am a wind attribute so I always make the wind blow wildly when I panic. After I messed up once, I was ignored and bullied."

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that."

"I wouldn't wish that treatment on anyone. Make sure you watch out for Bea."

"Bea?"

"Yeah. She's the leader. She's the oldest and the one who has been here the longest. She is the one that truly runs this place and Miss Dean's sidekick. If you get on her bad side, then bad things happen."

I guess that one girl who showed me around was called Bea. Great. That means I'm already on her bad side.

I looked at her, "And what was your name?"

She was surprised, "Me? Oh, I am Victoria. But people call me Vicky."

I nodded, "Well, Vicky. I really appreciate you answering my questions."

She blushed from the compliment, "No… You don't need to thank me."

She was walking slightly ahead of me, so I leaned forward and sniffed her. A light began to flow out of her. It was the color of both green and blue. It was a peculiar sight and I had no idea what it could possibly mean. I really wish I knew what all these colors meant. It's a bit overwhelming to be this confused.

When I returned back to the room, I noticed that the girls had once again hidden my things and mattress. They all laughed feeling pleased with themselves. Luckily for me, I had a feeling they would do this again which was why I took the time to learn a spell just to find and move the mattress back.

I laid out on the hard bars and waited for them to sleep. Then, when I ensured they had fallen asleep, I jumped up and used the spell I had learned earlier. I only had to give my wand a little shake while thinking about the spell. Then, a mattress floated out from its hiding spot and quietly plopped down on the bed frame once more. I snuggled into the bed with a pleased sigh.

This is exactly the reason why I like magic. It's just so convenient.

The next day I woke up and went through the exact same problems I had the previous day. The children wrote "freak" across my skin which forced me to use magic once more to clean it off. At breakfast, a few children flicked food at me which made my skin crawl in annoyance. However, what really irritated me wasn't the children, but instead Bea and Miss Dean. The two seem to team up in an attempt to make me upset. It was like they really wanted me to explode just so they could use it against me. People like this just drive me crazy….

This is why I did yoga. Breathing exercises calmed me down.

Just like before, they ditched their chores on me. When I made sure they were all gone, I listed out the spells in my head and began to use my wand to paint a beautiful scene. Colors filled the room as it was cleaned by itself. Brooms moved by themselves, plates were put away, and everything was cleaned spotless through little to no effort on my part.

Call me Matilda because I just figured out a way around those endless chores.

I rubbed my hands together in satisfaction and left the room. I returned to the library where I began to promptly read the books I had left. After a while, Vicky came into the library. She caught sight of me and rushed over, "You are here again?"

"I am. You finished class?"

She nodded in satisfaction, "I did! Today I got to learn how to count numbers."

She really didn't know that before?! Yeah, I'm definitely not going to this class. I can't go back to that. I will just use the chores being ditched on me as an excuse.

Today we continued to read books together. She had one-sided conversations while I read everything I could possibly read. We heard the dinner bell and decided to leave. As we walked, I asked. "Vicky, are there any other kinds of libraries around?"

"Oh, yes. There is one just down the road if you head North. It is very large. However, you have to get permission from Miss Dean to go."

"Hmm…"

I wonder if I could just sneak away. I doubt anyone would notice.

I made the mental note to try and do so. As she chatted with me, I followed behind with a bored expression. We arrived at the dining hall where everyone was waiting. I frowned seeing Bea standing there waiting with her lackeys beside her.

Bea crossed her arms with a smug grin, "Oh look, it's the dork and the freak."

Another lackey taunted, "Hey dork, why are you with the freak?"

Vicky twitched and looked away with a pained expression. I glanced at her but didn't say anything.

One mocked her expression, "I think the two are friends~"

Another lackey stuck out her tongue, "How gross."

Bea spoke in an arrogant tone, "Dork. Why are you friends with her? Do you perhaps want to go back to being bullied as well?"

Vicky's face snapped up in a panic, "N-No! I don't!"

A lackey taunted, "Only freaks hang out with freaks."

"Haha! She is a freak and a dork!"

"N-No! I'm not!" Vicky panicked as they continued to taunt her. I just watched silently with a faint frown on my face.

Bea held out a hand to stop them. She turned to her, "If you aren't a freak, then why are you talking to a freak?"

I watched as they continued to laugh at her and call her childish names. To me, the situation was annoying, but it wasn't hurtful. However, to Vicky who was actually a sensitive child, this was too much to handle. Her lip trembled and her eyes began to water. I let out a sigh and went to reach out to her to comfort her.

She slapped my hand with force and shouted at me, "Get away! You-You freak!!!"

The other girls went silent.

Vicky let out a hmph and crossed her arms with a proud look, "I'm not friends with this freak. She just started following me around and asking me dumb questions. Why would I want to be friends with her? I would never be friends with someone who already had a backlash from magic. I value my life. I just couldn't get rid of her. She's like obsessed with me."

My face went dark upon hearing this. Something strange flashed before my eyes. I could see a girl with short brown hair standing with a group of other girls who were all wearing short skirts. However, I couldn't see their faces from my position. The girl with short brown hair laughed while speaking, but I couldn't make out her words. I could feel my body tremble as my eyes blurred.

I blinked quickly to clear my eyes and the scene completely disappeared as if it was never there. Whether it was a memory or not, I couldn't be sure. As quickly as it had come, it quickly left. However, there was one thing I was sure of.

I've met this type of person before.

If it is to save their own skins, they don't mind who they would hurt. They would pretend they never even knew you just so they could have superficial friendships with the more "popular" people. They were as far from a friend as one could have.

Bea grinned in pleasure as she looked at me, "You hear that, freak? She doesn't like you."

I met her eyes without the slightest hesitation. My voice was dull, "So it seems."

I pushed past the group and decided to return back to the library since my appetite was lacking. As I walked away, I heard Bea praising Vicky.

"Good job, dork. Now come sit with us."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I continued to walk to the library without expression. When I got there, I pulled out one of the books I didn't read yet. As I read, I didn't feel anything about what happened earlier. Truthfully, I didn't care. Perhaps if I didn't have an adult mind and hadn't been through similar or far worse situations, I would have been really crushed.

However, the truth was that I had met a similar kind of person in the past. This time, it didn't hurt as bad.

I continued to read until I finished the last set of books. This time, I made sure I was alone before I attempted some of the spells. However, I couldn't use most of the spells because they were too violent. A small library certainly couldn't handle an attack like that and I didn't want anyone to know I was practicing magic.

The books in this library were all basic and could be used for simple tasks. There were no books on offensive spells nor were there any mention of arrays or the dark arts. I really need to go to the library Vicky mentioned when I have the chance. It had to have a better collection than this poor excuse for a library.

"R-Reika…"

I glanced over and saw Vicky standing in the doorway with a hesitant expression. I lowered my book with a frown, "What do you want?"

She bit her lip, "I'm… I'm sorry…"

I raised an eyebrow, "Do you really think an apology would work?"

She deflated at my rejection, "I… I suppose not. I just wanted to apologize… I thought that if I went along with them, I wouldn't be bullied any longer." Her lip trembled, "You don't understand what it has been like for me… They always picked on me. They stole my things and laughed at me. But today, I got to sit at the table with them. They didn't even make fun of me. It was the first time since I came here that I didn't feel like crying…"

I rolled my eyes, "That's hardly a good excuse."

She bit back her tears, "I'm terribly sorry. It was a horrid thing for me to do. I should have considered your feelings more…"

I turned back to my book, "Hmm."

"Is… Is it alright if I come in to read?"

"It's not like I own this room. You are free to do what you want."

She sighed and moved into the room. It was obvious that there was now a wall between us. I couldn't blame her for her actions because she was still just a child. However, I couldn't condone it either. In reality, it didn't matter if she had done this or not. I would have never gotten close to her anyway.