Even with stopping to chastise Willow, Amity made it to Hexside with plenty of time to spare before her first Abomination class of the morning. She rapped her knuckles on her locker, its single large eye opening with a start, reflexively glowering at her before being unable to hold her gaze. It looked away, and its sharp toothy maw opened up to reveal its contents. Amity switched out her books for the class, depositing her Magic 101 text and placing the notes and books specifically for abomination control into the wheel barrow where the clay pot still sat.
The front door of the school opened again, and out of the corner of her eye, she spied Willow struggle to push her own wheel barrow into the school, looking very nervous. Thin strands of abomination ooze spilled out from under her clay pot lid, which Amity found a bit surprising considering how much of the goop had spilled onto the ground. Before she could think on it too much, Boscha shouldered into the locker beside Amity.
"Are we still on for the Moonlight Conjuring next week?" she asked, twirling a string of gum around an index finger while chewing on the other end. Boscha was one of her oldest friendships that their parents had made certain to create when they were younger due to business deals and to ensure future opportunities for them both. She had red hair that was tied back in a top bun with bangs that framed her face, and a third eye in her forehead that she would often use to add an extra glare when intimidating the lesser students. Fortunately, Boscha was on the potions track, and their paths rarely crossed outside of social circles that Amity tended to keep to a minimum, instead spending her free time at the local Bonesburough library. While she was forced to consider Boscha a friend by her parents, Amity used the term fairly loosely with her group.
"Wouldn't miss it." Amity said, the corner of her lip turning up in her characteristic, unenthused smile of approval. "Skara and the other Banshees should be there too." She added, lifting her wheel barrow to start guiding it down the hall.
"No joke? That's, like, amazing! We should have plenty of magic to animate something then."
"Yeah." Amity trailed off, her concentration waning from the upcoming event. It would be good to hang out with the old Grudgby team again. She left the sport last year after leading them to the championship, but for now, her mind was simply on the presentation ahead. "I'll catch you at lunch, alright?"
But Boscha had already left, her eyes catching an attractive demon that had wandered by mid conversation. Amity shook her head slightly, smoothly entering the Abomination class and placing her wheelbarrow gently beside her desk at the front of the class. A few students had already gathered, apparently surprised to see her come in later than usual as she was typically first to arrive. As the bell for the class to start screamed, a few other students wandered in before Willow, looking paler than usual with sweat beading on her forehead. She bumped her wheel barrow on the door frame, resulting in a surprised squeak that seemed to come from the clay pot that housed her abomination.
Following closely behind her was Mr. Spleenum, a diminutive witch with flattened green hair on either side of an excessively receded hairline and a small goatee on the point of his chin. Whether his limbs were a result of his ancestry or from lack of use due to being carried by his personal, tan with dark swirled abomination, was up for debate around the school congregation, but Amity admired his skill and concentration with maneuvering the creature with such precision as to be essentially his own body. Mr. Spleenum was a harsh, but fair teacher, and Amity excelled under his tutelage.
Most of the students other than Amity and Willow were speaking quietly, either to each other or themselves in a useless attempt at psyching themselves into a successful mind set. Amity however, remained calm; sitting straight forward and confident, despite her pointed ears twitching at the sound of Willow's abomination rattling in its pot at the end of the desk behind her, as though the thing was having difficulty sitting still for any length of time. Such a thing was odd for a creature whose natural state was a pool of ooze, but who knew how Willow created the failed project.
Mr. Spleenum's voice snapped her back to the class and she shifted her attention forward again. "Hmm. Too many toenails in unexpected places. Fail. Pathetic!" He exclaimed, turning away from a mound of abomination ooze with nothing more than a face and feet attached, poking out in every direction. The abomination and its creator looked dejected, and even Aspen's horns seemed to sag as she wheeled her creation back to her desk. "The biggest abominations are all of you! If the next abomination is a failure, everyone gets extra homework for a month!" he sneered, seemingly revelling in his students groans and complaints. He cleared his throat to silence the room again, then continued. "And the next one to come up is..."
Amity stood at her desk. As per usual, it would be up to her to save the day for the other students. She certainly wouldn't mind the extra homework, but she knew the kind of adoration she would attain saving the others from it. She might even do it anyway, if only for the extra credit and the chance to further solidify her position as the most magically skilled student in the school. "Excuse me, sir, but I am ready to present my abomination. Rise!" She commanded, and the lid to her clay pot slid off as her abomination once again formed into a humanoid shape. But this time it was slow; deliberate. It pirouetted into each classical dance position before halting in fifth.
Mr. Spleenum let out a joyful giggle. "I've always saved the best for last, Amity. You'll have to wait your turn. How about..." he trailed off, his small bird-like eyes surveying the class. "Willow."
The class began to mumble again in despair, knowing that the outcome of summoning Willow to the front of the class would be homework. Willow took her time nervously wheeling her cart up to the front of the class and set it down before backing away. Her voice cracked as she spoke the command words. "Uh... Abomination, rise."
The entire class jumped, including Amity, Mr. Spleenum, and even more surprisingly Willow, as the lid popped off of the clay pot. A thin, brown and purple form leapt from the pot with its fist in the air and landed with an extravagant flourish. "Ta‐da!" It exclaimed in a unusually high voice. The pot lid finally landed with a warble, rotating several times on its handle before coming to a stop, freezing everyone in their seats for a moment.
Willow regained her composure, and seemed to grow in confidence. "Abomination, bow." She commanded, and the suspicious looking creature grunted with a deep, flourished bow in front of the class.
"Very impressive. But does it speak?" Mr. Spleenum asked. Amity's heart was pounding. No. There was no way this was the same creature that had been dumped onto the ground earlier that morning. There was no way that Willow, of all the students at Hexside or even on the Boiling Isles, could have created such a creature.
The abomination seemed to think for a moment, its expression so lifelike despite the impossibility of independent thought. "Uh, I may be your abomination…" it began, turning and grasping Willow's hands in its own with a smile. "But you're my a‐mom‐ination." It grinned, hugging Willow in a tight squeeze.
The rest of the class let out a collective "Aw!" at the showing of maternal love.
Mr. Spleenum laughed at the pun. "A‐mom‐ination! Splendid wordplay. A+!" The teacher marked the grade on the abomination's forehead as it stood still, its limbs and neck sagging a little as its very lifelike eyes crossed. The rest of the class was cheering for Willow, and for not having to endure the extra work that they had been expecting. Amity was beginning to sweat, and she could feel her temper begin to flare. Her face became flush as it always did, thanks to her father's complexion that she had inherited with his natural auburn hair color. She knew just being good wasn't enough for a Blight. She had to be the best. To stomp out her competition. It was the only way to be noticed by the Emperor's Coven, but if someone like half a witch Willow could do… whatever that was... No! She would ace this, like she always had before and she would show her instructor and the rest of the class that she was still…
"Amity Blight!" Mr. Spleenum shouted. "Are you listening? It is your turn. After Ms. Park's display, I expect great things from your presentation."
"B…" she stammered, trying to sort her thoughts out. "I mean, yes. Er…" her eyes shifted to the clay pot at the end of her desk where her abomination had seemed to melt from its statuesque pose like a long burned candle. She could still feel the redness in her face, and she forced herself to breath. She shot Willow a death glare that could tame a slitherbeast as she placed her wheelbarrow on the platform at the front of the class. "Abom…" her voice cracked. She cleared her throat, and started again. "Abomination, rise."
Once again, her swirl of various purple colored abomination began to form, except this time with a look of rage on its sagging, asymmetrical, three eyed face. Its usual lipless, gaping mouth was now a maw full of shards of hardened goo that could likely shred a desk into splinters, and sharpened claws of an absurd length that it used to creep out of the pot. Again, the other students gasped, grabbing the abomination's attention before it focused on Willow, who let out a quiet "Eep!"
"My word, Ms. Blight!" Mr. Spleenum said, a hint of both admiration and caution in his voice. "I had not expected this!"
The sudden words from the teacher grabbed the abomination's attention again, and it started to waver like a threatened serpent. Amity hadn't expected this either. "Abomination, bow." She commanded, but the abomination hissed back at her before focusing in on Willow again and it began to start creeping out of its pot. "Abomination, obey!" She commanded, causing the creature to stop momentarily. But her temper was still focused on Willow, and the abomination was clearly still picking up on it. It looked back at her, hissed, and knocked the desk she had been sitting at to the side on its way to attack. "No!" She shouted, losing control.
"Abomination, cease!" Mr. Spleenum ordered, and instantly the creature reset to its liquid state, barely reaching Willow's boots. She was shaking, knowing full well that the creature had intended to end her. Mr. Spleenum glared at Amity. "While your form is still impressive, I am very disappointed in your lack of control, Ms. Blight. You will receive no more than a C. Now, clean up this mess before the end of class."
A C?! That had might as well be a failing grade if her parents learned of it. She would likely be grounded, if not worse. "But, is there some way I can…"
"You've had your turn, Ms. Blight. Now I suggest you hurry before the bell screams." Mr. Spleenum said, turning back to the rest of the class. "Now as I have said before, magic is reliant on our emotional state. If you wish to remain in control of the external, you must remain in control of the internal…"
The lecture trailed off as Amity finally took a breath in what seemed like forever. She drew a circle in the air to center herself, a glowing purple ring appearing where her finger traced, and the abomination ooze still at Willow's feet began to slither its way back to the front of the class and back into the pot. Willow reached out to her, presumably in pity, and Amity shot her an accusing glare. Movement from Willow's clay pot caught Amity's eye, as though the abomination in it had just been peeking out, but it closed again with a quiet clink. She turned her attention back to Willow and growled, her gold eyes glowing in barely contained rage.
A few moments after the remainder of the abomination slurped into the pot, the bell screamed again before subsiding into a coughing fit. Students began to file out of the classroom, some still visibly shaking from the assault on their grades. Now standing confidently taller than usual, Willow wheeled her cart and abomination pot out the back of the classroom while Amity collected herself. It was one class, albeit her best, but that in no way reduced her to the same level as the other students. She was still a Blight. She still had her reputation. She still had her badge. She sniffed for a moment, pressing down on her emotions. She would leave her wheelbarrow and abomination until the end of the day to collect. She sniffed one last time, running a finger tip under her right eye where a tickle had formed in case a tear was showing, before following Mr. Spleenum out the front door of the class.
"Wonderful work today, Willow." He said once he entered the hall, intercepting Willow and her cart. "It looks like we have a new top student." Amity froze in her tracks, dropping her text book to the floor before turning to face him in disbelief.
With barely a look, Mr. Spleenum reached back and plucked the golden 'Top Student' badge from Amity's cowl and his abomination carried him to the center of the hall. Amity reached out reflexively for the badge with a look of surprise and deflation, beginning to protest.
Her heart sank as the small metal token was pinned to Willow's cowl instead. Mr. Spleenum nodded in approval as Willow thanked him, her own smile of pride forming. It was a look Amity hadn't seen on Willow in quite some time, and right now, she hated it.
As the Abomination Instructor was carried away, Amity placed herself directly in Willow's avenue of escape down the hall way. "Hey!" She growled, her arms crossed and her eyes glowering down at Willow. The short and stout witch gasped nervously and her warm smile disappeared instantly. "Last time I saw you, your abomination was mush. What did you do?!" She asked. Something wasn't right, but she wasn't about to tear into another student's project here in the hall. Not without hard evidence that there was something wrong.
"I, uh, took your pep talk to heart, Amity." Willow replied, unable to meet Amity's gaze.
"I bet you did. I've got my eyes on you, Half‐a‐Witch." Amity scolded, backing away with her arms still crossed over her chest. "That badge is mine." She held her eyes on Willow, still backing away down the hall, and didn't even notice a younger student bump into her as she turned a corner.
The next few classes went terribly for Amity. Her mind was elsewhere. Her usual laser-like focus was scattered, and she could swear that students were talking among each other about her missing badge. It wasn't fair. Willow somehow excels at one presentation and manages to steal the top spot from Amity's years of hard work and extra credit? At least she would be able to spend the evening at the library after school…
"Amity Blight!" Came a shout, and Amity jumped in her seat. "Mr. Spleenum contacted me this morning, claiming that Willow Park bested you in his Abomination class! Is this true?! I swear to the Titan, Amity, if you let that Park girl push a Blight out of the most prestigious position in Hexside, you'll be grounded until Unity Day!"
Amity turned in her seat in a panic before she noticed the tanzanite crystal necklace hanging under her shirt glowing a soft purple. "Mom?!" She said aloud, gaining the stares and stifled laughs of nearby students.
"Pardon?" Ms. Anansi asked. Amity gasped, feeling her face turn several shades of red in embarrassment before she growled and buried herself in her folded arms, trying to shrink as deep into her desk as she could. "Did you need assistance, Amity?"
"Uh… no, Ms. Anansi." Amity mumbled back. "May I be excused?"
Ms. Anansi looked surprised, her four shiny black eyes opening wide and her mandibles clicking nervously. "Of course, Ms. Blight! Are you feeling alright?"
"Amity! Don't you dare ignore me!" came Amity's mother's voice in her mind again.
"Yes, Ms. Anansi. I'm, er fine." She said, holding her abdomen and grimacing. The spider-like woman nodded, and waved Amity away with her pair of right arms. Amity gathered up her text books and left the classroom, entering the hall before finally replying quietly to her mother's disembodied voice. "Mom, I was in class!"
"I know your schedule, Mittens. I am your mother, after all." Came the reply. "Now what do you plan to do about this Willow girl? I will not have that… what do you kids call her? Half-a-witch? I will not have her taking the top position from my daughter! Don't let this be another Grudgby incident. Why you left your position as Captain of the team, I'll never understand!"
Amity could feel her eyes beginning to tear up, and she ran a finger under one eye again; but this time it came back with black eyeliner. She was going to look like a wreck if she didn't get to the washroom soon. "Mom, I'm trying!" She called out, barely holding it together. "I think… I think Willow cheated! Her abomination… it wasn't normal. I'll figure it out!"
"Oh Mittens, I'm sorry! I'm simply concerned about your future. It's my job as your mother to keep you on track, after all. Now, compose yourself, and be prepared to do whatever it takes to come out on top. Your father and I are rooting for you!"
Amity waited for a few minutes before quietly asking "Mom?" and when she received no reply and was confident her mother was no longer listening, she finally found her way to the washroom and pushed open the door. She placed her text books on the counter beside one of the sinks and looked up at her reflection again. Her cheeks were covered in black ink, her gold eyes glowing and contrasting against her fading blush. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying her best to calm herself. She let out her breath as the lunch bell screamed, and she could hear students begin to fill the hall outside the door.
Amity took another breath and washed the eyeliner off of her tear streaked cheeks before catching the reflection of the washroom door opening. Two students, Gourdon, the student with his hood pulled up over his long head with two vertical eyes and warty blue skin, and Jerbo, a skinny, brown haired witch from the Plant track; pushed the door open, gossiping and laughing about a girl that had called their teacher 'Mom' again in their last class. Amity spun in place, her eyes burning with a glare that forced the pair back out of the washroom. Behind them, Willow Park, Augustus Porter, and Willow's clay pot rolled by on their way to the cafeteria. With a growl, she stomped past the students and into the hall, the crowd parting to let her pass.
The pair of witches had a head start, and were already in the cafeteria by the time Amity shoved her way in and scanned the crowd. Predictably sitting alone; Augustus, a dark skinned boy with short curled hair, and the youngest prodigy in his level of the Illusionist track, sat across from Willow, offering half of his sandwich to Willow's abomination, which slunk back into its pot with the sandwich in its mouth. "I knew it." Amity said under her breath. In a sprint, she stepped up on a bench seat, pushing students aside, then climbed up on a table and leaped to the next table top where Willow and Augustus sat. "I saw that!" She shouted, leaning into Willow's face and pointing a finger to accentuate her point. "Abominations. Don't. Eat!" She continued to rant, turning and digging into the gooey pot. "I know you're in there! You can't hide from me!" She swirled her hands around until she snatched something solid, and heaved it up out of the pot by the… shirt? She began shaking the creature violently and purple goo began to spatter around, revealing the very solid person beneath it. "What are you?! Who are you?!" She screamed, continuing to shake them, her heart hammering in her chest. "I want answers!"
"Amity Blight!" Amity recognized the voice instantly, but had to shake her head just to realize where she was. She needed proof that Willow cheated. That she wasn't a failure. It was here. In her hands. She just needed a moment… Mr. Spleenum spoke again in possibly the harshest and disappointed tone he had ever spoken to her before. "I suspected a twinge of jealousy, but this…" his tiny hands gestured to the scene before him. "This is just sad."
"But I… no! Look at it!" She pleaded, her rage turning to fear. Why didn't he believe her? Why couldn't he? This wasn't fair! She turned back to the creature she held in her hands, trying to plot out what she could possibly do to further prove what was going on, but whomever it was let their eyes cross again and their head roll back, exaggerating the look by letting their tongue hang out of their mouth to the side. She was about to try stripping it down to show how ridiculous the idea of an abomination wearing clothes was.
"Report to Principal Bump's office." Mr. Spleenum ordered, snapping Amity's head back toward him, her eyes wide.
"But…"
"Now!" He interrupted, his patience visibly growing thin.
Amity glared at him. She wanted to threaten her teacher in that moment. Say how her mother would hear of this. How he couldn't order a Blight like this. But she remained silent. She knew if she spoke a word, she would not be able to hold the composure she had managed to build up. Her face lowered to the floor as she became suddenly aware of all the eyes in the cafeteria on her during what most would likely guess was a break down. But badge or not, she was a Blight, and was the top student… had been, the top student, for a reason.