First update since the start of school! This one's action-y and pretty creepy, so hold on to those hats! Okay, on with it!

Not Your Usual Detention

"I still can't believe that woman gave us detention," Brittany mumbled, stomping toward Mrs. Collins's classroom around the same time that afternoon. "Couldn't she at least let us off the hook with our essays or something?"

"I don't know," Eleanor said, fingering her green skirt anxiously, "but I do know that Coach Ryder wasn't too happy about me missing practice today for detention."

"I hope this doesn't go on my permanent records," Jeanette said, tightening her black tie around her neck and straightening her matching blazer with the school's emblem embroidered onto it. "I mean, I had so many plans about going to Harvard."

"Yes, Jeanette, we all know that one bad demerit just screams 'rebel'," Brittany said sarcastically as she continued walking.

Jeanette rolled her eyes, following her sisters into the empty room.

"Okay wouldn't it make just a little more sense if the teacher was here, actually watching us?" Brittany surveyed the room, just in case Mrs. Collins was around somewhere, waiting to pop up randomly from the shadows.

Eleanor slid into her usual seat. "Well, I hope she makes it. I've got practice time to make up."

"Yeah, and I really wanted to get started on the homework at home," Jeanette said, mentally adding, With Simon, of course. She went to a seat by the window and propped her head up in her hands, silently slipping into her dream world (the one where she was pretty, Simon secretly pined for her, and the mean girls were nicer to her because she was so cool).

She sighed. Like her fantasies would ever come true, anyway.

Brittany groaned and plopped into the seat next to Eleanor, pulling out her cell phone and texting her friends, who sent her sympathy-pity texts on her way here. No way was she gonna show that she was weak. "I hope she gets here soon. I just wanna get this over with. If she doesn't show in five minutes I'm gonna-"

"You're going to what?" a voice hissed from the back of the room.

The Chipettes whirled around to find their teacher in the corner, glaring at them as she was pulling down a window shade.

"N-nothing, M-Mrs. Collins," Brittany stammered, suddenly intimidated. Maybe she was a little afraid of her teacher. "When did you get back here?"

"Oh, I just had a little…business to take care of with a couple of my students." She pulled down another shade. "I just thought they should be a little more… responsible with their lives. So I put them to good use."

Eleanor slinked back in her seat. "W…what did you do?"

Mrs. Collins's eyes twinkled mischievously. "Do you really want to know what happened to them, Miss Eleanor?"

Eleanor's stomach rotated one-hundred eighty. She really didn't want to know.

"Now, girls, you know the rules of detention." By this time, she was now at the front of the room, leaning on her desk, arms folded. The room was shadowed since all the blinds were drawn closed. "No eating, no drinking, and no talking. And absolutely no screaming. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves, do we?" The woman gave them a tight smile.

Jeanette and Eleanor exchanged a wide-eyed glance. What did she mean when she said no screaming?

Brittany didn't notice, because she was reaching for her cell phone, which had slid to the front of the room after she dropped it. Brittany was even willing to crawl on the floor to sneak-grab it from behind the desk. Closer…closer…

"And what do you think you're doing?" Mrs. Collins snapped, putting her foot in between Brittany's hand and her cell phone. She picked up the rhinestone-covered phone.

"Hey, give that back!" Brittany shouted, getting off the floor.

"I think that's quite enough for now, Miss Brittany," Mrs. Collins said sternly.

"But-"

"Get to your seat!" Mrs. Collins yelled, gripping the phone.

Brittany scampered back to her seat.

"Now, I'm only going to say this once," Mrs. Collins said flatly. "Where are the Crystals?"

The girls exchanged glances. Crystals?

"What crystals?" Jeanette asked.

Mrs. Collins glared at them, placing her hands on the desk and piercing Jeanette with her black-eyed stare. "You know what I'm talking about. Where are they?"

"Um…we, er, don't have any crystals," Eleanor said, disliking the edge in her teacher's voice.

"Don't play with me, you three," Mrs. Collins warned, her eyes shining scarily. "I'm going to ask this one more time. Where. Are. The. Crystals?"

"Look, lady, we don't have any crystals or whatever you're talking about," Brittany said, eyeing her phone that was still clutched in Mrs. Collins's hand. "So, if this is what the detention's all about, then maybe we should just be let off with a warning…" She began to slip out of her seat and tried to make a grab for her cell, but Mrs. Collins was too quick, sidestepping her and the next thing Brittany knew, she was on her back, Mrs. Collins's hand clutched around her throat tightly.

"Brittany!" her sisters cried out, trying to reach her, but Mrs. Collins thrust out her hand to them. Brown, thin branches popped out of the floor, wrapping around them, tying their limbs to their bodies and wrapping tightly around them. They attempted to scream, but particularly thick, dry branches wrapped around their mouths, muffling their shouts.

"You three thought I wasn't quick enough, didn't you?" Mrs. Collins said, her voice echo-y and an octave higher than usual. "You though that this would be a quick battle for your precious crystals and you could just leave here unscathed? I don't think so." Mrs. Collins turned to Brittany, her head at a strange angle and a gritty smile on her face. "Do you have the crystal or not, young lady?"

"I… don't know…what you're…talking…about…," Brittany gasped, pulling on the bony fingers that gripped tighter with every breath she took.

Mrs. Collins seem dissatisfied with that answer, because then she whisper-hissed, "Then die, little Gem."

Brittany creased her brows. "…What?"

"THEN DIIIIIIIIIIIIE!" Mrs. Collins screamed, lifting the Chipette up by her neck, and throwing her to the other side of the room. Brittany crashed into the cabinets headfirst, making hard contact with the sturdy wood. She slinked to the floor, very dizzy but not bleeding or unconscious.

Yet.

Jeanette and Eleanor yelled muffled responses and threats, but Mrs. Collins didn't seem to hear them. Jeanette realized the horror of the situation was about to have dire consequences:

The Δ on her shirt was glowing.

And it wasn't that bright gold she had seen the first time she saw the symbol, but a very blood red that cast evil figures across the room.

Mrs. Collins laughed, that creepy, ear-to-ear smile on her face, and a cloud formed around her. As it swirled, the girls could see their sweet but strict teacher morph into something horrible. Her hands grew into long, gangly, thin fingers attached to bony palms. Her body grew lanky and tall, as if she hadn't eaten in months, and her hair was stringy and patchy-if she had any left at all. And her face-ugh, her face-looked like it had been sucked away with a vacuum. Her cheeks were imploded; her nose was thin and shriveled, as if it would fall off at any moment like a raisin. And her black irises for eyes had been replaced with empty eye socket holes-no eyes at all.

She kind of looked like your grandmother-if she was dead and about three years into decomposition.

The monster gave a creaky cackle as she lunged for Brittany. "You'll pay for hiding those crystals, little Gem!"

Brittany rolled out of the way, sending the zombie tumbling into the cabinet, putting a further dent into it. She scrambled for the door, terrified.

The monster, formerly known as Mrs. Collins, was still way too fast, holding out her hand and sending branches in her direction.

Brittany dodged the branches and ducked for her phone, which was on the floor. Maybe if she could call the police or the FBI…

Mrs. Collins picked up the phone and examined it, her smile waning as confusion crossed her wrinkled face. "What's this? Some newfangled device? Is this the legendary Fire Crystal?" she pressed a few buttons on it.

"Hello?" someone answered on the other line.

She frowned deeply, which was almost as bad as her smiling. "Useless thing." She crushed the device easily in her palm, carelessly dropping the remains onto the floor.

Brittany stared open-mouthed at her destroyed phone. She looked up, glaring at the evil thing in front of her, clenching her fists, fire pulsing in her ice-blue eyes.

That monster had crossed the line…

Now it was war.

Brittany surprised herself by giving it a swift kick to its face. The monster screamed, holding its face in surprise. She was so surprised by the attack that the branches that were suffocating her sisters immediately dissipated, freeing them. All three ran for the door.

"You Gems aren't getting me that easily!" Mrs. Collins grabbed Eleanor and shoved her down, causing her to skid across the room, knocking desks and making a crater-deep skid mark in the floor. Then she turned to her sisters. "You two are mine now."

Eleanor groaned, rubbing her head and saw the monster chase the room, throwing branches at them and tossing them against the wall with her bony hands. She wanted to do something…

But what?

Without thinking, she put out her hand, a confused look crossing her face. She didn't necessary know why she was doing it, but she guessed that it would help. She concentrated really hard on the monster, wishing it would go away.

Then the room rumbled, a low sound at first, but it grew louder and louder, shaking the whole room violently. The windows creaked, and vines exploded from them, breaking glass and tearing the blinds.

Mrs. Collins shriveled in the sunlight, shrieking a high-pitched noise that sounded like an eagle cawing. The green vines wrapped around the screeching creature tightly.

"Let me go, you vile little girls!" Mrs. Collins screamed, thrashing in her trap.

"Not until you tell us who you are and why you're after us," Eleanor said defiantly, still a little freaked out.

Mrs. Collins laughed an evil laugh. "You'll learn in time, little Gems. I'm not through with you yet. You'll see. I'll be back. But in the meantime, I'll be watching you three very closely. Detention dismissed."

The monster poofed, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

I knew she was pretty creepy...bet you didn't expect her to be one of the bad guys, huh? Okay, maybe you did, but this is a rhetorical question that doesn't need a response, so let's just say for the sake of it that you didn't expect it. And I know you guys have some serious questions abut what Gems and the crystals are.

But that's way into the future...

In between homework I will keep writing, though. It might not be anytime soon, but just wait. Good things come for those who wait.

...

Are you still here? Well, stop staring at this message and click that review button! I NEED REVIEWS-AND COOKIES! GO COOKIES!