Chapter 6 - Hair color (2)

“Wow, that Sara girl is a piece of work,” Ronnie laughed as she caught up with Steve and Doug.

“Ronnie, you should really be careful.” Steve gave her a look of real concern.

“Why?” Ronnie said as she rolled her eyes. “She’s just a nasty girl.”

“Yeah, that nasty girl is the daughter of one of the most power-hungry witches and one of the most corrupt NEPs in the Mid West.” Now he looked around and pulled her close and Doug followed. In a harsh whisper he said, “They say, her mom, has ‘eliminated’ servants. Never to be seen or heard from again.” Ronnie tried to step away, but Steve squeezed her arm even harder. “Ronnie, I have heard all sorts of stories about this family and none of them are good.”

Chapter 6 - Hair color (1)

“Hey Ronnie…Have you ever noticed Professor Petunia’s hair changes color?” Steve asked as he pondered Prof’s purple do. “It was blue yesterday wasn’t it?” The very vibrant professor of herbology, always wore wild prints, bright colors, and somehow her hair seemed to match each outfit perfectly.

Ronnie giggled a little because she loved to watch the professor’s hair change. “Yeah, I did, actually it changes all the time. I keep trying to figure out if there is any rhyme or reason to it or if it just changes.” She stopped to reflect for a minute. “I think it turns green when she’s mad, and really bright pink when she’s excited… Maybe it’s like a mood ring on her head?” They both burst out laughing.

Chapter 5 - Sara’s House (3)

Behind the door there was a long corridor with what seemed to be as many rooms as in the main house. Sara walked this corridor with a little less confidence. Many of the rooms were secured with ancient devices that looked as though they would maim anyone who came within reach. The walls seemed to ooze fear with painting and diagrams of mutilated bodies and fierce looking creatures ready to attack or were already in the process of ripping their victims to shreds. As they passed one room, a foul liquid with a horrific odor seeped out from under the door, whereas a low soulful groan emanated from deep within another.

Chapter 5 - Sara’s House (2)

Sara had a mission, as she went into each room she either grabbed something off a shelf or out of drawer. Most of Jason’s questions she either answered with a grunt or a sarcastic laugh. “Over here, help me move this.”

“What? Move that whole cabinet? Why?” Jason didn’t mind holding all the items Sara shoved at him, he didn’t mind running to keep up with her, he didn’t even mind being ignored. But it was getting a little old the way she snapped instructions at him as though he were her servant.

Chapter 5 - Sara’s House (1)

The Scorpantinni house was magnificent. The ceilings were high with delicately crafted woodwork and sparkling chandeliers which hung low, giving a soft warm light. The furniture was luxurious with rich reds, blues, and browns which laced through the entire mansion. There were lavish lamps and exquisite statuettes carefully exhibited on intricately carved tables. Each room was adorned with a magnificent fireplace and the sweet smell of burning wood hung in the air conjuring images of elaborate parties bustling with extravagantly dressed women and commanding men.

Chapter 4 - More about Doug and Potions Class (3)

A short, stocky professor, with wild gray hair, entered the room. “Settle down class. Open your books to page 47. My name is Professor Brewster.”

The room erupted in a furry of flipping pages and banging books.

“All right… now who wants to read the first paragraph?” with the expected excitement of a new class, no one raised their hand and all eyes diverted simultaneously in the hopes of not being called on.

Chapter 4 - More about Doug and Potions Class (2)

“So are you going to travel to other schools after next year?” Steve asked.

“Oh, yes! I can’t wait to go to Montana Mountain Academy and see their dragon program, and California’s Big Sur is world-renowned for their leviathan pods, I mean real sea monsters! How cool is that! The only problem I have is there are more schools I want to go to than semesters.” Doug said.

Chapter 4 - More about Doug and Potions Class (1)

“Hey Doug!” Ronnie waved as she walked into a dark room that was filled to the brim with dusty bottles leaking vials, and musty books all stacked and packed into floor to ceiling shelves that covered every inch of the cavernous space. Even the windows could only be identified by the light leaking through the colorful liquids.

Chapter 3 - History Class (2)

As Steve and the rest of the class wondered out into the common room he could hear some of the boys talking about him.

"Dude - could he stutter anymore?" a red headed boy chuckled.

"Does he even know how to read?" an arrogant looking kid mocked.

"How about walking man? I mean really did he manage to knock every book onto the floor?" said a third boy.

Chapter 3 - History Class (1)

“In-in S-Salem Massachusetts Betty Parris and her cousin A-Abigail W-Williams, um… ages 9 and 11 began having what was described as fits beyond the power of epe… sorry I mean Epileptic fits or natural d-disease.” Steve kept glancing up and seeing bright green eyes looking right into his, making it hard to concentrate on the book in his little, clammy hands. He didn’t even know what she was thinking, but he can't stop thinking about her. “T-The two girls threw fits, s-screamed in ter-terror, and uttered um… un-unrecognizable noises as they hid under f-furniture and t-tables.” Steve can hear snickers in the back of the class and is getting more and more frustrated with himself. “How-however Betty and Abigail were-were not alone, um…. t-there were other girls in the village who also exhibited s-similar behaviors.”

Chapter 2 - First Day of School (4)

"Ronnie! Get over here!" the woman hollered in a playful sort of way. "I swear that child could make friends in an empty room.

Ronnie was talking to some boys under an ancient tree that seemed to be trying to open her backpack with its twiggy branches. She turned to wave at her mom as she pulled her bag off her shoulder and drew out a handful of cookies that the tree quickly snatched up - to everyone’s amusement.