A Twisted Tale: The Night Is Done (GillianCobbler's Writing Contest)

Things Are About to Get Tricky

I have to admit, this place is pretty cool. The RLWs really went all out in decorating the ballroom for the anniversary ball. However, after a while, this party gets really boring. I'm also bummed that my family couldn't make it (they said they had a "shoe emergency", whatever that means). But Maxine seems to be having the time of her life.

"Maxine, we've been here for hours," I tell her, unenthusiastically, "can we please go? Can I please go?"

Maxine frowns deeply. "But the princesses just got here! And we're having so much fun."

"You're having so much fun," I correct her. "My feet are killing me from these heels, and your dress is way too big on me." I hold out my arms and the yellow sleeves drape down.

"But it looks so pretty," Maxine whines. She sighs loudly. "Okay, you can go. I'll be with you in just a few minutes."

"Thank you," I say in small amounts of pain. I turn and begin walking away a few steps, but then feel a little bad for bailing on Maxine. She has been looking forward to this day for a really long time, maybe I should stay with her for as long as she wants.

In the crowd of kids that I am in the middle of, I turn my head back to look for her, but she is not in the spot where we were just standing. She's nowhere to be seen. I begin taking a few steps back to look for her over the heads of all the other students but I don't see her. Where did she go? I try to take a few more steps back, but accidentally bump into a kid standing behind me.

"Sorry, I-" I begin to say as I turn to face the kid I bumped into, but am momentarily stunned. I've never seen anyone with violet eyes before.

The boy shakes his head. "Don't worry about it."

"I'm just looking for someone," I tell him.

He nods slightly. "Me too. And I'm a little worried about what might happen if I don't find them." The boy steps away from me and begins looking frantically through the crowd just like I was. Huh. I wonder what that was all about. Oh well.

Maxine is nowhere to be seen, so I guess I should just keep going back to my dorm room. Nothing exciting is happening here anyway, right?

Right...

"GILLY!" Not even ten minutes after I get to my dorm room, I hear Maxine's panicked voice shout from the hallway. Maxine pushes my door open and bursts in with the most confused and worried look on her face. "Gilly, you would not believe what happened!"

"What?" I ask in a concerned tone.

"The ballroom floor started to crack and people started falling through!" Maxine shouts. "It's still happening!"

I feel my eyes start to bulge out of my head. "What!?" The tone of my voice just got a lot deeper than normal. Now this I have to see. I charge out of my dorm room bare-foot in sweatpants and a loose sweatshirt (I would be wearing my favorite pair of boots that my father made me if Professor Harlow hadn't zap them off my feet in class and tell me I can get them back when I "learn how to fly". Grr...) and race down the hallway with Maxine in tow.

Sure enough, when I get to the ballroom, the floor is cracking and students are rushing to the side of the room screaming in the chaos. The teachers are leading the students out of the way as the crack becomes bigger.

"Do not panic!" Flora shouts. "Everyone needs to evacuate the room calmly." Calmly? Nobody is listening to that order. All the students are running all over the place and pushing one another to get out of the room. Maxine grabs my hand and pulls me away from the doorway as students come running for it like a stampede.