TEN: BRODWAYS

I woke up panting in fear after falling off the bed.

"Are you okay, Terra?" Pink, who was already dressed for school in blue jeans and a black T-shirt, an unusual choice, came to my aid, helping me off the ground. 

"What time is it?" I asked. 

"It's 7:30 a.m.," she replied, sitting me down on the bed. 

I looked around, feeling disorganised.

I quickly scanned the room for a calendar but found none, so I turned to Pink, who sat beside me, and asked, 

"What day is it?" 

She sighed before answering, 

"It's Friday."

That means tomorrow is the game.

This gave me a shiver because Nemus might show up like he did last time.

Oh, wait,

He's been banned from the school, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't expect surprises. 

"Will you be able to make it to class today?" Pink asked, standing up after making sure I was settled, and she went to continue with her makeup.

I didn't answer because I was unsure.

I'd been noticing a lot of strange things happening to me ever since Nemus attacked me. 

First, there was the weird dream Clary and I had, and now I'd had another one. 

I dreamt that Clary's sister, Resa, and Charles, Annie's boyfriend, died mysteriously.

Although the cause of their deaths was unclear, I didn't think I could bring myself to tell her. Besides, it was just a bad dream; I could just brush it off. 

"So?" Pink asked when she was done preparing for school. She stood near the door, holding a black mini bag. 

After much thought, I said weakly, 

"I'm right behind you." 

She smiled and exited the room.

...

The bell rang for the next class. Clary and I were on our way to the language class when we saw Annie standing at the entrance of the clinic, bubbling with anger. 

"Annie?" Clary called, surprised to see her sister not in class. "Is something wrong?" 

She turned to face us, unable to contain her anger, and started shouting, 

"Can you believe that prick? He keeps failing me in all the tests I've taken!" 

Clary and I glanced at each other, then back at her. I said, 

"Are you sure you got all the answers correct? No teacher would fail a student wrongly." 

"I'm very sure they're correct because I studied hard for this test and did my best," Annie said, clearly annoyed, as she handed me her script. 

I scanned through it and handed it to Clary, who did the same before handing it back to Annie. Before she could say anything else, Raymond came out of the clinic, closing the door behind him. 

Seeing us, he seemed startled.

"What are you girls doing out here at this time?" he asked. "Hope nothing is wrong?"

"Sorry to bother you, Mr. Ray, but my sister just told me that you keep failing her despite her best efforts," Clary said. 

Raymond looked at Annie and sighed disappointedly. 

"Well, it appears that your sister has been using her abilities to cheat, which is totally unacceptable. It's called a test because it assesses your knowledge on the subject matter." 

"How did you know I cheated?" Annie yelled, as if accused of a crime. "Where's your proof?" 

"You forgot that I'm a magician, Annie. You may have used that trick on other teachers, but I hate to break it to you," he said, drawing closer to whisper but loud enough for us to hear, "it won't work on me." Then he pulled back, arranging his notes in his arms. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a class," and he walked away. 

Annie let out a frustrated shriek as she stormed off, and Clary and I went to class.

During recess, we were at the cafeteria, having lunch and discussing how the games would go.

I had no interest in joining; ever since my encounter with Nemus, I've been afraid of going to the basketball court, especially when there's a gathering. 

"You're coming, right Terra?" Pink asked excitedly.

"I don't know, yet," I replied in a whispery tone. 

She was about to respond when Jennie walked in with Sofie, catching everyone's attention. 

Jennie held her food on a tray, but unfortunately, the cafeteria was packed.

Out of fear, some junior students stood up for her to sit.

She sat down and began to eat her food quietly while browsing through her phone. 

"Have any of you noticed Jennie's recent behavior?" I pointed out.

"Yeah, she's quiet," Eska said, trying not to stare too hard. 

"At least she's being a little more mature," Pink added, not even glancing at Jennie. 

Clary then stared briefly at me, then at Jennie, and back at me. 

"Doesn't it seem kind of weird to you?"  I shook my head. Then she said, still unsatisfied,

"Come on, we all know Jennifer, the school's troublemaker, wherever she goes, trouble follows. And all of a sudden, she's well-behaved?" 

"I think she learned a lot from her time in detention," Eska said. 

"I like the improvement," I said, and Pink nodded in agreement. 

"I still think she's up to something, something terrible," Clary said, sipping her drink.

Meanwhile, at the library, which was relatively empty with only a few students present, Annie groaned softly so as not to wake the librarian, who was asleep at her desk.

She stared at the extra credit test Raymond had given her and sighed, looking at Charles, who sat beside her she asked,

"What do I do?" 

"I think you should just calm down and go through it," Charles suggested.

Annie looked at him, annoyed.

"Are you with me or against me?" 

"I'm just trying to help. If you want, I can assist you with it," he said.

She then passed him the test. 

"Tell me when you're done," she said, resting her head on the desk. 

"Hey," he tapped her. "I don't mean I would do it for you; I mean I would assist you…" 

"Sorry, that word doesn't exist in my dictionary," she said, then sighed. "I'll just get Alexa to do it for me. Thanks for being useful." 

He sighed, 

"Seriously, how long are we going to keep this up?" 

"So long as I get to go to the games. Now stop bothering me; you're not my dad." 

"I'm just trying to be a good boyfriend here." 

Annie sighed, wiping her face with both hands. 

"That's adorable, but it isn't working." She then stood up, took the test from him, and exited the library.

After recess, I headed to the locker room to get my book for the next class. 

I saw Rejoice and Jesse at her locker, discussing and laughing, which stirred up a wave of jealousy in me. I couldn't understand that guy, one minute he's nice to me, and the next, he pretends I don't exist.

Is he playing with my feelings or what? 

I opened my locker, trying not to stare at them too much, but I couldn't help it.

He seemed so alive with her, even though she's a year above him in class.

Does he have a thing for older women? 

I shook my head, trying not to think too much about it. 

I pulled out my notebook, and a small piece of paper fell out. 

I picked it up and glanced at it. It read: 

Don't come to the games tomorrow.

I looked around to see if I could spot any suspicious characters, but there were none. 

I looked at the note again; it wasn't signed. Who on earth left this note in my locker, and why?

Could it be Nemus? 

I put it back in my locker and closed it, trying not to think too much about it. After all, I didn't even want to attend. 

On my way to class, 

"Hey!"

Someone called from behind, and I turned. It was Rejoice, accompanied by Jesse.

Seeing him, I felt my heart skip a beat. 

"Hey," I said sluggishly. "What's up?" 

"Hello, you're Terra, right?" She smiled, exposing her dimples, which enhanced her beauty. 

"Yeah," I nodded. 

"Oh, cool. Nice meeting you again." 

"Yeah, you too." 

"Hey," Jesse waved at me, smiling. I swear I wanted to ignore him but couldn't, so I waved back. He then asked, 

"Are you coming to the games tomorrow?" 

"Erm…" 

I didn't know what to say at that moment. I really wanted to say yes because he was asking, but I was still unsure if I'd be able to make it. 

"Are you?" I asked, drifting away from the question. 

"Yeah, why not? This game could guarantee me a scholarship to college," he said.

No wonder he takes it so seriously. 

"And I won't miss it for the world," Rejoice whooped. 

"Okay, see you there then," I blurted out, and they left.

After school, Annie went to Alexa's place. 

"Hey, Annie," Alexa greeted as she let her in. 

When Annie entered, she sank onto the white sofa in the living room. 

"Anything I can get for you?" Alexa asked. 

"No, thanks. My visit is brief," Annie declined. 

"Okay, so what's it all about?" Alexa asked as she sat down on the couch opposite Annie. 

"I need a favor," Annie said, handing her the credit test. "You're the most intelligent girl I know, so could you help me with this test?" 

"Won't Mr. Ray find out? I mean, he knows my handwriting," Alexa said, taking the test from her.

"I have a spell that'll take care of that. All you've got to do is write it," Annie said with a cunning smile. 

Alexa browsed through the questions and answered them correctly, then handed the test back to Annie. 

"All done." 

Annie smiled as she looked at it, then she muttered a spell, and the handwriting changed to her own. 

"Let's see how he'll reject this now."