Settling In

*Sage POV*

It’s obvious this Candy woman is in desperate need of a good ass kicking. She is rude, condescending, and has breath like a dragon. She  is as fake as fake can be.

For example, while insulting you, she comes off as sugary sweet making it seem like she didn’t just basically call you an idiot. Something she won’t do again with me.

“Miss Candy, since we aren’t having classes today, where can we pick up our class materials? I would like to be prepared in the morning so that I’m not late for any classes,” I asked. I asked it on purpose, because others had annoyed her by asking the same questions a million times.

She turned around to face me, and if looks could kill, I’d be lying on the floor. Here we go.

“Once AGAIN, you will be taken to the library after lunch to pick your materials. Then, if you need supplies, we will show you where you can pick those up too. Ladies, this will be the last time I answer this question. Let’s put on our listening ears and memory hats because if you can’t remember something this simple, maybe you should go back to kindergarten to be taught how to do that again,” she snapped. 

I laughed as she went on her rant, and she decided to get up in my face. Big mistake on her part.

“I suggest you take a step back. I’m not like these little prissy girls who will let you talk to them however you want. You will also not intimidate me like you’re trying to do now. You come off so sappy sweet, but bitch, you’re just a sour apple,” I said smugly. 

Her face twisted, and she grabbed me by the arm. She began to pull me down the hallway, and when I tried to pull away she started to squeeze harder with my nails digging into my skin.

I began to shout at her, demanding her to let me go because she was hurting me. However, she continued to ignore me until she pushed me into an office.

“You need to do something with this heathen. She is disrespectful and I won’t tolerate it. Draven, you can deal with the problem children if you want to, but you won’t be pushing them off on me,” she spat and turned and left the office.

I stood there holding my arm, speechless to what to even say. I had never been treated so poorly over a joke, and the headmaster was going to hear a piece of my mind. 

“Are all the responsible adults in this school as callous as she is? If this is how it is, I’d rather just go home and live on the streets. I’m tired of no matter where I go, I’m treated like a burden or an outcast because of being different. She wasn’t just hateful to me, but to most of the new girls as well. The only girl she was even remotely close to being nice to was Remi Wells and her group of snobs. Mean girls, just like her,” I said as soon as Candy shut the door.

He hadn’t looked up from his laptop. Not even once since we barged in. It made me nervous when he didn’t reply right away, but I hid it so he didn’t see any weakness. 

“Have a seat, Miss Thorne,” he said and pointed to the chair he wanted me to sit in. I obeyed his request, and sat in the cushy chair in front of his desk.

I sat there looking around his office, and it was beautiful. It reminded me of a gothic library of sorts. What I wouldn’t give to dive into all these shelves and discover what amazing adventures I could get lost in.

“To answer your question, the answer is no. Not all of my staff is as callous as Candy. I have wanted to let her go, but unfortunately, I don’t have full authority to do so. I have others I have to answer to when it comes to staffing, and her grandfather is on that board of people. So, unless she physically hurts someone, she has to stay. Would you care to tell me what brought this on?” he asked.

I hesitated for a moment, but then started singing like a song bird as I told him every single thing that had happened while I was with her. Including the bodily injury her nails did to my arm. 

“You said that if she caused physical harm to a student you could get rid of her. Well, is this good enough?” I asked and pushed up my shirt sleeve, showing him the cuts in my arms. They were even bleeding. 

He stood up and moved around his desk to approach me. He took my arm and examined my limb. Anger filled his eyes, and once again I was being pulled down another hallway and into another office. 

“Arthur, Candy has to go. This is the second time in the past year that she has been overly rough with a student. This time there are actual marks. Her behavior is awful and unacceptable for a staff member who is supposed to be nurturing young minds. If you choose to force me to keep her on staff, she will be moved into a role where she has zero contact with students,” he explained to an elderly man who I assumed was Candy’s grandfather.

The gentleman examined the marks on my arm, and then nodded. 

“Draven, do what you need to. Candy has broken the rules, and if a demotion is called for, then so be it. If you can keep her on staff, please do. She will just have to accept whatever happens. If she causes you any more problems, I will deal with her myself. I’m sorry she has been such a problem. I was hoping having a role at the school would make her grow up and become a valuable part of society. I don’t know what it’s going to take to make her grow up,” he explained to Draven. 

The headmaster assured him he would make sure she would be placed somewhere inside the school. 

“This is the last chance I can give her though, Arthur. Next time, I don’t care if it’s her just demeaning another person in the school, whether it be student or staff. I will fire her on the spot,” he replied. 

Surprisingly, Arthur gave him full permission to do what he needed to do, and I was thankful that he was so cooperative. If she was willing to do this to me, just for being silly, it’s hard to tell what she would do if a student really made her angry.

I was taken to the infirmary to have my wounds cleaned. I thought it was a little overkill, but I humoured him so that I didn’t get in trouble with him as well. 

“Did you even get to see your room?” He asked. I nodded. 

“Yes, It’s nice. Does everyone have a private room?” I asked. He quickly shook his head, and then explained why I was chosen to have my own room. 

“No, I chose to give you one of the five private rooms on that floor because I could sense that you like to keep to yourself. So, to keep you from getting overwhelmed, I picked that room for you. It was my sister’s room when she attended the school,” he smiled.

A warm feeling came over me to know that someone was looking over me, and actually paying attention.

If this was how living at ShadowFen Academy was going to be, then I think I have finally found a place in this world.