The Ghost's Diary 👻 ✓

47. Begonia

"Allison, can you give me the answers for the Math homework, the one that's due tomorrow?" a high-pitched chirp whispers from behind us, just as the clock in Mr Henley's class ticks away the last minutes of the school day.

Allison and I turn to see a girl, alongside a friend, looking at us with a wrinkled forehead and lips tied into a straight line.

Mr Henley is behind his desk looking for something he has dropped, ignoring what's going on in the semi-silent class.

For a second there, I think I almost see Allison scoff at the two girls. Her grinded teeth flatten into a smile as an eyebrow perks on her face.

What's going on in her mind?

She leans back in her chair, so that her chair is tilted towards the girls; her right hand is outstretched on our table, while her left elbow folded on the table behind us. She whispers back with a tilted head,
"I'd have given you the answers, if I didn't know that you're a lazy arse who just likes taking credit for other people's hard work."

She lets go of our table, creating a loud thud against the tiled floor for effect. She adjusts herself just in time in her seat, as Mr Henley pops up his head under the table. He looks in between our table and the one behind us,
"What's going on here?"

Allison points a thumb back at the continously blinking girls and says,
"They wanted to ask you a question, Mr Henley."

Mr Henley straightens his glasses, and strokes his brown beard,
"Really?"

One of the girls drops a pencil at the back, and says:
"Ah- it's all clear now, Sir."

Mr Henley opens his mouth to say something but the bell rings, making almost everyone sigh in relief and shuffle their things back into their bags.

The unnamed girls shove their books and pencils back into their bags and storm out of the classroom before Mr Henley can say anything else. He looks in between the three students left in the classroom, Allison, Eric and me, and shakes his head:
"You teenagers, these days."

Wait, Eric is in this class? I need to pay more attention to my class mates.
Then again, I don't really have the patience to deal with cajoling Uriah Heeps like those girls and Trevor.

I don't I could have survived if I had more than one class with that toad.

"Don't you all have to go home?"
He moves his arms in downward waves before slapping them to his sides. The rest of us shrug and start packing up for the day.

I slip out of my table side and wait for Allison to pack her bags. Both of us had started packing before the math homework fiasco, and I'd finished earlier.

Eric slings his bag across his shoulder and nods at Mr Henley who only shooes him away, again searching for something under his desk and mumbling:
"Where is it?"

Eric looks back at the two of with a smile before going out.

As I stray away from my position a bit, something makes me close my eyes due to the sudden shine.

There's a silver ring on the far left corner of the class.

Allison stands up just as I travel towards the ring, pick it up and inspect it with two fingers holding its sides. The ring drops into my hand due to its weight, as the grey-coloured stone in the centre shimmers. My mind clicks upon a certain connection:

"They are governed by the laws of the Order and have special rings for going out during the daytime."