Identity (Editing)

Chapter 10

Mrs. Adams greets us all by the door as we walk in. While I might love the class, I feel awkward and antisocial because I don't really know anyone in this room. I receive a few kind smiles as I shuffle past, but mostly empty glances before they return to their prior tasks. I take my seat in the middle right of the class. It's by far my favourite spot because its unnoticeable. I'm not in the front where everyone can see me and I'm not in the back where I look like a suspicious slacker.

Mrs. Adams begins her lesson with the introduction to Sage and Angelica root.

"These two roots are rumoured to give protection to the user from darkness. Sage is burned, typically by a caster in order to cleanse a certain area..." I scribble down the notes as she speaks, my free hand propping up my chin. It gets harder to focus, though, as I hear the mumbled conversations pop up in the back.

"Did you hear about that man?" A male voice asks.

"The one who lit a section of the forest on fire..?" A high pitch voice answers.

"Yeah, I heard he was talking to a blonde, kinda like that chick..." I quickly go back to my notes once the conversation turns to me. The last thing I want is to be associated with a man like him. I keep hearing their words as if they are now directing their conspicuous words right at me.

"You think she's with him?" The girl asks with fear underlying in her voice.

"It's always the silent ones that you have to watch out for. Just keep your distance Clarissa." I turn to look out the small window and see the blue haired girl nod out of the corner of my eye. She then stares at me with a startled expression, her cheeks flushing once she realises that I have heard their entire conversation. The red haired boy lightly grabs her arm, pulling the scared girl closer to him. He brings his lips close to her ear and whispers something that I can't hear before shooting me a dark glare that can't make me turn around fast enough. The rumour of me being a danger stings and brings back unwanted memories from my few first encounters with the Fae...

"She's human!"

"She's a monster!"

"Why should she stay here?!"

"She'll kill us all!"

I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths in order to calm myself. When I open them, I see a small sketch in my notebook. My eyes widen in slight horror. The bright forest land is laid to waste by fire, creating a desolated and barren area void of life. My gaze switches to my shaking hand, the incriminating pencil twitching in between my fingers. Did I draw this just now..? To the left of the woods is a shadowed group of people, a fire blazing behind them while the graphite smirks rest on their white washed faces. A sinking feeling settles into the pit of my stomach as I look over the horrid drawing.

"Miss Ramirez, is something the matter?" I look up in shock as all eyes of the classroom turn to me.

"N-no Mrs. Adams. I apologise, I just got a little preoccupied..." I say, trying to keep my voice calm. There are a few snickers that sound behind me and I slowly set the pencil down, tapping my fingers against the wood desk until they grow silent.

Mrs. Adams raises a thin eyebrow and sighs. "Then you can be our test subject for the experiment. You have control over nature don't you?" She asks, already knowing the answer. I nod nonetheless and she motions for me to come to the front of the classroom. I slide out of the hard plastic seat and slowly walk to her. She places the sage root in my left hand and Angelica root in the other.

"Can you burn these for us? I was going to simply use a lighter, but this way seems more economical, wouldn't you agree Miss Ramirez?"

"B-burn them ma'am..?" I ask curiously. She nods and looks at me with a serious expression. I hold my hands out in front of me, looking at the two oddly shaped roots.