Note: All rights go to the real creators of the Labyrinth. I don't own any of this. Tis but a fan fiction.
Chapter 3
In the morning Sarah was feeling better. She had almost been able to convince herself that it had all been a bad dream. But despite that she still didn't think she could tell her friends what had happened. They would think too much into it and start panicking if they knew.
As she was getting up she noticed that Erin had come home very late last night. She was lying on top of her blankets, still wearing the green dress she had on when she left. Her hair was messed and from what Sarah could tell she looked a little drunk.
Sarah went over to their shared mini fridge and took out two bottles of water. She opened both and placed them on the table beside her bed. When she woke up she was going to need them.
Then she went about getting ready for her day. Her laptop was charged so she took it into the bathroom with her so not to disturb Erin while she slept.
She opened it and pressed the power button, waiting for it to turn on. But no matter how many times she tried nothing happened. She tried brining her charging cable in and hooking it up but still it wouldn't turn on.
What would her friends do if she couldn't get it fixed? She didn't know of a way to transfer them over to another computer yet. They had figured they would have a few more years before they had to worry about it.
"Crap…" Sarah whispered.
Her watch told her that it was almost time for class. She didn't want to go. She wanted to stay in her room all day until she figured out how to get her friends back. But there was no way she could.
She had to go to class. When she got back she figured she would take the computer to the tech department if it wasn't working by then.
It would be hard for her to attend any of her classes without her computer. She never did much work on her computer but it would be harder to fake it without it. She would just have to wing it until class was over.
Professor Spanner normally didn't pay much attention to the class anyway. It was a small class. There wasn't much of a chance of her getting away with it with any other professor.
Erin was still sleeping when she snuck out the door ten minutes later. She hadn't eaten breakfast, which was normal for this class since it was early and short.
The walk across campus took longer than it should have. Her mind was wrapped up worrying about her friends. She didn't know how she was supposed to concentrate in class knowing that she may never see her friends again. Somehow she would have to at least look like she was paying attention.
When she walked into class she took her usual seat at the very back. The Professor wasn't there yet giving her time to hide herself in the sea of people. No one questioned her missing laptop. In fact no one paid her any attention when they came in. They all opened their computers and began typing away.
Sarah made a show of studying her textbook carefully, though she had never read it. Footsteps entered the classroom moving towards the front where the projector was. No one said anything so Sarah assumed that it was Spanner coming in late.
"Alright class…" Sarah's head jerked up at the English drawl, "Let's begin."
Sarah's gaze met Jareth's as he stood before the class. His hair was slicked back and he wore a suit befitting a professor, not a King. It looked so wrong that Sarah was unsure it was really him at first.
He smiled maliciously at her before turning his attention back to the class. No one acted like there was anything wrong going on. They continued typing as though their professor hadn't been replaced with a man looking too young to teach.
He started to speak, talking about computer codes and programs, but Sarah was hardly listening. She couldn't understand what was going on. How had he gotten to her school? What did he intend to do now that he was there? And why was everyone so calm about him being there?!
Suddenly he slammed the book he was holding shut, ending his speech.
"Alright, you have your assignments," he told them, "Get to work and hand them to me before you leave."
Everyone had a piece of paper out and began scribbling furiously. Sarah, who didn't bring any supplies with her to class, didn't know what to do. She didn't have to wait long.
"Ms Williams, at the front for a moment," he motioned with two fingers.
Her first thought was that she should run away. She could go back to her room, barricade herself there, and maybe convince Erin that she wasn't completely crazy. But who knows how long that would work. He would find her eventually if he wanted to.
So she stood and made her way slowly to the front of the room. On her way she managed to work herself up to yell at him once she had his attention. She stormed up to his desk and stood in front of him, arms crossed.
He looked up at her with a sly smile.
"What are you doing here?" She demanded.
His fingers played across the pages of a book opened on the desk in front of him. "I'm playing the game."
"What game? I told you I didn't want to play."
He just smiled. Slowly he raised the book in his hands with his fingers along the spine. He held it under her nose as though he wanted her to read it.
She glanced down but didn't see anything worth reading. He held it closer, tempting her.
As she leaned closer to see the words properly he snapped the book closed. A plume of dust erupted in her face causing her to choke.
The dust burned her eyes and lungs until she managed to get her breath back. When she opened her eyes she was no longer in the auditorium.