Tickling the Giant Squid and other Grand Adventures

23. Karou

I woke up to someone shaking me, and I looked around groggily. I blinked hard, realizing that I was in the library. Looking to my right, I realized that it was Avila who was shaking me.

"What's happening?" I asked, sleep slurring my words.

"Detention," Avila replied. "Farid went to her dormitory about an hour ago. C'mon, we gotta report to Filch's office now."

I stood up, stretching tall and standing on my tiptoes. As the two of us walked quickly towards Filch's office, I threw my hair into a sloppy braid and pinned it up with a few miraculous bobby pins that were in the pocket of my flaring red genie pants. I shivered slightly in my tight black Hell's Angels tee; it was a wee bit colder than I thought it was going to be.

I glanced at Avila, who had taken her robe off in the Hospital Wing. She wore jean shorts that ended at her knees and a white tee shirt covered in rainbow mickey mouse designs. Her style surprised me, considering her personality and music tastes.

I made a mental note to ask her about it later. In the meantime, I asked, "Um, so... do we even know where Filch's office is? I don't."

Avila looked around. "Not a clue. We have got to make a map of this place."

"I was about to say the same thing," I agreed. "Come on, let's pick up the pace." I started jogging around, looking for an older student. Avila followed.

At eight at night (I had fallen asleep around four while Avila was slowly turning pages in the books at the library and Farid was looking at some basic charms), there was no one walking around. They were all either in the library, or in their dormitories, or, if they knew the password, the kitchens. After ten fruitless minutes, Avila and I stopped and headed back to the library, frustrated.

"Why is it that when you need help, no one is there, but when you don't need help, everyone is around?" Avila shouted. Madame Pince stuck her head out of the door to our left.

"Shhhhhhhhh!" She whispered at us.

"Sorry!" we apologized together. Madame Pince looked at us and closed the door to the library.

"WAIT! Wow. I feel like an idiot. We could have asked her the whole time!" Avila rushed into the library and I followed hot on her heels. "Where's Filch's office?"

She squinted suspiciously at the two of us before I explained. "Detention." She gave us the directions, and Avila and I sprinted towards detention, throwing thank you's over our shoulders. By the time we finally arrived, we were a good ten minutes late.

I knocked on the door, unsure of what to expect. I didn't regret the actions that had landed me in detention, but I was rather resentful that three days into the school year I was already in trouble. Marissa, I reflected, will be proud, at least.

"Want some chicken?" Avila asked out of the blue. "Or pudding?" She pulled a plastic bag of chicken and a pudding cup out of her pocket and offered them to me. I stared at her. She shrugged. "You slept through dinner. I pocketed some stuff for you." I shrugged and accepted her offerings. I mean, who gives up vanilla pudding? Also, I was pretty hungry.

Then, the door opened. A gnarled older man with a greasy face and hair who walked with a hunch covered by filthy clothes looked over us.

"Yer late," he growled.

"I know, and I'm terribly sorry," I said sweetly. "We got lost and had to find someone to ask for directions."

"That'll be another hour on yer detention, then."

"Another hour?" Avila objected. "We're already going to be polishing trophies for two hours, and you want to keep us there for another whole hour?" Polishing trophies? For two hours? This was news to me.