Taranee and Cornelia smugly smiled as they dropped Will, Irma and Hay-lin at the door to the intervention class. The deal in Heatherfield was, if you failed (below a C) in three or more subjects each term, you had to go to intervention classes. These were just boosters, and didn't help at all, but it was more like a punishment than a useful lesson. Detention, if you will. It meant that you had to skip your weekly free periods, something cherished by every member of Heatherfield , for the entire term. It didn't matter what year you were in, setting only mattered on your house groups. Luckily, Will, Irma and Hay-lin were all in the same house, even though Will was in the year above.
Irma and Hay-lin were regulars at the class, but it was Will's first time, much to her despondency. The other four had to literally drag her along to it.
"Now, you take good care of Will, alright you two?" Cornelia taunted, thumping Will hard on the back. Will shrunk down and mumbled something inaudible under her breath.
"Don't worry, we will!" Irma jeered in reply. Walking inside, Will looked over her shoulder, mouthing something along the lines of, "Help me…"
The two waved, imitating her puppy dog-like expression. Taranee turned to Cornelia, knowing full well they were still in earshot and asked, "So, how are we going to spend this glorious free hour of ours?"
Still in earshot, Cornelia replied, "I was thinking we go to the cafeteria and get some Slushy's - my treat!"
Hay-lin and Will simultaneously stuck their tongues out at them, giggling. When turning back to the class, however, they realized all eyes were staring back at them. The lesson had already started.
Silently, Irma and Hay-lin shuffled to their seats, conventiately right by the door, and Will took the empty desk behind them.
"Better late than never, girls," Professor Collin called out from the whiteboard. Even from the back of the room, they could see his thick, red mustache twitching with amusement. "Students are always welcome here, especially on the days of our history pop quiz!"
"A pop quiz?" Irma cried. "Last time you said there would be a video!"
"I lied," Professor Collins replied, skulking down the aisle with another moustache shimmering smile. He leered with vampire-like glee at Irma and said, "You should know by now, Miss Lair, that history teachers are mean by nature."
Hay-lin giggled and gave Irma a wink. "I thought that was just math teachers, Sir," she piped up cheerfully.
"Why, that's a brilliant idea, Miss Lin!" Professor Collins exclaimed, strolling back to the front of the classroom. "Next week I'll have a math pop quiz! Don't worry, thanks to your enthusiasm I'll make sure to ask you first."
The class erupted into fits of groans, mostly aimed at Hay-lin. Hay-lin's bottom lip quivered as she whimpered, "B-But that's not what I..." she trailed off, sinking to the desk to join Irma in the pouting session. They both slumped onto their desks and the latter muttered, "History teachers are mean, but this is just plain cruel. There's a difference."
Will was growing redder than her hair whilst trying to contain her laughter. "Perhaps this class isn't going to be so bad after all," she thought to herself, reaching down to get her history book from her bag. She hoped that Professor Collins would call on her today. History was never her strong point, but it was just the thought of a math test next week that put her on edge. Nevertheless, she couldn't be bothered to worry about it right now.
"Why are you so upset?" Hay-lin asked, turning to Irma. "I'm the one who got us into the math pop quiz, not you. Oh, I get it - your spell doesn't work anymore, right?"
Will blinked. Spell?
"What on Earth are you talking about?" Irma hissed, worried about the how the decibel level on Hay-lin's voice could get her busted. She narrowed her blue eyes to malevolent slits.
"Oh, come on," Hay-lin said, giving her arm a playful nudge. However, she did take the hint and lowered her voice. "I mean rigging the quizzes."
"Did you say 'rigging the quizzes'?" Will whispered, leaning forward towards their desk.
Irma whirled around and clamped her mouth over Hay-lin's grin. "Shh!" Irma whispered, a devilish smile growing. "I didn't want to tell anyone yet!"
"Tell anyone what?" Will puzzled, raising an eyebrow.
"Rmmmph," Hay-lin gasped before she squirmed her face out of Irma's palm. A second later, giving Irma no time to respond to Will , Irma unleashed a piercing yowl. She snatched her hand away from Hay-lin and starting shaking it around, wiping it on her sweatshirt with exaggerated disgust. Then she waved it high in the air.
"What's going on back there?" Professor Collins demanded.
"Professor Collins!" Irma yelled back. "Hay-lin bit me!"
Will stifled a fit of laughter while Hay-lin twirled her finger around her long hair, fluttering her eyelashes innocently.
Clearly, Professor Collins knew how to play dumb too. Ignoring Irma's bite marks, he simply homed in on her hand.
"That's a raised hand, Miss Lair!" Professor Collins declared. "Congratulations! I was looking for a volunteer - looks like I've found one!"
"Burn!" Will whispered, loud enough for the two to hear. She'd learned the antique diss from Irma herself, and being a fan of irony, it had never been more appropriate to use it here.
As Professor Collins began to ponder his question, Irma's injured hand started trembling. She sank into her chair. "B-b-but that's not fair…" she squeaked.
Hay-lin giggled and turned around to Will. "Watch and learn," she whispered from behind her hand. "When Irma's quizzed, first she gets angry, then she gets desperate, then she shuts her eyes tight, crosses her fingers…"
"Shut up!" Irma snapped.
"That would be 'angry'," Will noted.
"I didn't study at all," Irma whined. "All I know is a little about Charles the II - and that was from a television show. I'm doomed…"
"Hel-lo desperation," Will chuckled to herself. Then Irma did just as Hay-lin predicted. She laced her fingers together, closed her eyes, and began chanting.
"Please ask me about Charles the II," she begged in a rush. "Oh-please-oh-please-oh-please…"
"See?" Hay-lin continued narrating to Will. "If there's only one single subject she studied, that's what the teacher will ask her about. I don't know how she does it. All I know for sure is that it works every time."
Will was… totally confused. Here she though they'd concocted some elaborate cheating plan. What was this, some new perk of being a Guardian? Mind games? A chunk of kryptonite hanging from around her neck? However, seeing is believing. Will wasn't totally convinced yet.
All three girls stared hard at Professor Collins as he scanned his textbook.
"Hmm…" he mused, calmly taking his time. He could see that the anticipation was killing Irma. Nevertheless, he searched painfully slow.
"Charles the II?" Will asked Hay-lin to confirm, which she did. Both girls watched with baited breath, especially Will. She was itching to see this 'new power' - or whatever it was - in action.
"Let's see here…" Professor Collins muttered with agonizing casualness.
"Charles the II," Hay-lin whispered impishly.
"Irma Lair…" Professor Collins began.
"Charles the II," Irma pleaded in a hoarse whisper.
"Why don't you tell us," Professor Collins instructed finally, "about Charles the II?"
"Yes!" Hay-lin and Will both cried, bursting into loud laughter. It would have been a sure detention if Professor Collins wasn't so focused on Irma.
Meanwhile, Irma practically clapped her hands together in glee and started off on this long speech about some English King.
Hay-lin turned back to Will, who virtually had her jaw to the floor in amazement, and winked.