School
''Damn.''
A voice that's hardly above a whisper could be heard, not a single soul apart from the user picked it up.
Eyes flickering open and shut like a faulty lightbulb, licking on their dry lips as a scratchy sensation forms into their throat.
Lyra, Lyra Potter was her name.
Hair that is as dark as the night itself which spills down far past her shoulder blades all away down to her waist.
Black eyes that are equally as dark as her inky hair which shows drowsiness thanks to her screwed up sleep schedule.
A sleepy yawn can't help but make its way out of her lips.
Her complexion isn't dark like her hair and eyes, in fact, it's quite the opposite, she has pale skin almost like a porcelain doll.
Flicking her eyes around the bustling classroom while her hands are placed right under her chin.
Gazing downwards with her black orbs she notices a piece of paper, the piece of paper that she wrote down the answers to the Math questions.
And like always she finishes her work first, each question only takes a few moments before the answers pop into her head thanks to the countless hours she spends in the Library.
But that also means that she has nothing to do for over half of the class's duration, and it's not like she could sleep due to the booming noise of the class.
Tearing her eyes from the piece of paper, landing on the clock swiftly.
2:54
Six minutes into class ends, six minutes into School ends for the day.
Six minutes into she has to return home.
Calling it home doesn't feel right, no it's more like an inescapable Prison.
That might be slightly hyperbolic… but that's what it feels like.
Tapping her fingers on the table in a rhythmic beat like a drum, she'll stay out it's not like they care, even if she didn't come home at all they still wouldn't be bothered.
They'd probably prefer it if she never came back at all.
It doesn't matter if she's only 8, not to them.
''Lyra''
An irritated voice that bursts the bubble that her head was in speaks up.
Turning her worn-out eyes towards the location of the voice, even before they make eye contact the black-haired girl knows who it is.
''What is it Mrs Shufflebottom?'' She asks with a respectful tone of voice.
Now that the newly revealed Mrs Shufflebottom is now in sight she notices that she looks the same as yesterday, and the day before, and pretty much ever.
With short grey hair that is put into a bun, brown and menacing eyes, gaunt facial features, and a constant scowl that almost never drops from her wrinkled face.
It's not just the woman's appearance that's ugly, her personality is also more rotten than a decaying corpse.
It's not just her that thinks this way, pretty much everyone has the same opinion as to her.
And for some absurd reason she disliked her more than your regular student, she can't help but wonder if she wronged her in her past life.
''Have you been ignoring what I've said?'' Mrs Shufflebottom says, her lips settling into a firm line.
The students around the classroom try to stifle their chuckles, especially the girls, they've always disliked her far more than the boys for reasons unknown to her.
''No Mrs Shufflebottom I've been listening.'' She bluffs.
Mrs Shufflebottom stare doesn't let up, not in the slightest, it's somehow gotten even more heated, she swears that she saw a few sparks of fire inside of the unpleasant teacher's eyes for a few moments.
''Have you now?''
Mrs Shufflebottom's footsteps start to become more sluggish and overextended, yet her eyes that remind the young girl of hazelnuts don't leave her.
''If that is true then you wouldn't mind telling the class about what I was talking about previously?'' The witch questions the younger girl, a cruel edge could be heard in her voice clearly.
''Uh well.. you were talking about….''
No matter how fiercely she brainstorms the answer is still stuck inside of her withering throat.
''So that's how it is?'' The witches narrowed orbs gain a vicious glint in them, fitting her appearance almost perfectly.
She doesn't respond to this, knowing full well that the Witch is going to go down on her as a wild beast does to its prey.
''Not only did you lie about not listening, but you also tried to deceive me into believing that you have been listening to my every word.''
Mrs Shufflebottom takes a couple more footsteps before continuing.
''A punishment is due… we can't have children like yourself not listening to your elders, lying just makes things even worse.''
And what punishment will that be?
She already knows the answer to this, it'll be the same punishment as the previous ones, and that punishment comes every time she comes to Shufflebottom's class.
No matter what so does, no matter if she did something as little as dropping a pen, Shufflebottoms always finds a way to make things that most people would consider minor and blow it out of proportion with her logic that is as faulty as an uncooked grenade.
She's not going to argue with the witch, her mind goes to the first time she got a detention in this class, she doesn't even remember what she supposedly did, but she remembers arguing.
Yet Shufflebottom merely made the punishment more and more severe the longer she argued.
So arguing with her is entirely pointless.
''Detention.'' She barks like a savage Pitbull.
After Shufflebottoms barked like the animalistic creature she was, the school bell started to ring.
Everyone starts leaving the class, of course apart from her, like a whirlwind, leaving only her and Mrs Shufflebottoms remaining in this lifeless room.
''Finally, that's over.'' She sighs.
Shufflebottom spins around, her nasty eyes meeting hers once again, unlike before however, the glints of cruelty are on full display.
Silence, neither of them saying a single word, the only thing that could be heard is the harsh wind that slammed the windows shut, making a large banging sound.
''Now that's class ended I shall inform you of the punishment I thought up.''
''And what will that be Mrs Shufflebottom?'' She asks even if she already knows what the 'punishment' entails.
''I'm glad you asked.'' Her voice is still as stoic as before, yet a slither of excitement could be heard in it.
Shufflebottom glides towards her desk in a swift motion, her eyes finally leave my body, now they are eyeing down towards the fragile desk, a metal ruler to be specific.
Grabbing it with her wrinkled hands, and right after that happens her eyes lock onto Lyra in the same way she was gazing at her before.
''Stand up.'' The woman demands leaving no room for question.
Lyra does as she says knowing there's no point in arguing. Forcing herself to get up from the chair she's currently sat in, looking towards the ruler with her drowsy eyes for a few minutes before she starts making her way towards Mrs Shufflebottom.
After she makes her a few inches in front of the lady she once again demands something.
''Pull your sleeves down.''
She doesn't say anything to this, but she grabs ahold of her cotton sleeves, feeling the soft texture before pulling it down, and right after she does that she pulls her other sleeve down.
''Good'' The woman grabs a hold of her right arm in a tight grip making her flinch slightly, but she doesn't fight it.
And with her other hand that is grasping the ruler firmly as if her life depended on it, she hits down towards her arm like lightning yet it holds more weight than a hammer even if it's only a measly ruler.
Smack.
The ruler falls onto her arm, making it burn brighter than any fire could ever hope to reach. Biting down on her tongue to stop herself from anything coming out of her mouth.
''One down, 49 to go for this arm.'' The woman reveals sadistically.
Smack...Smack...Smack.
Hit after hit, even after all this time it hurts, all the same, the only reason why she isn't screaming is that she's gained a resistance to it, she remembers the first time this happened.
A sharp shiver travels around her body just by thinking about that painful memory.
Every time she tries to close her eyes they open mere seconds later thanks to the lightning strikes that are hitting her arm
''3.'' Smack.
''2.'' Smack.
''1.'' Smack.
As the ruler is lifted above her arm she could feel herself sighing in relief, her eyes flickering towards her arm that has multiple bruises from varying colours on it.
Only because the abuse stopped doesn't mean the pain let up, it's quite the contrary, the burning sensation somehow became worse.
While Lyra was still in her thoughts the old woman placed her hands around Lyra's other arm securely.
Smack.
As if a lightning bolt hit her she jolts out of her thoughts in an instant, her twitching eyes moving towards the other arm, the arm that is being held onto.
''1 down 49 to go.''
And the cycle continued.
Rubbing her sore arms that feel like they're going to fall off as she is treading through the street.
Gazing around with her tired eyes she notices it's pitch black, quite similar to her hair.
A yawn can't help but make its way out of her mouth, such a thing should be expected considering she's been trekking down this street for hours, it at least feels that way.
Looking up towards the night sky she can't help but think that it's a truly majestic sight, she could stare at it for an eternity and not even a single drop of boredom wouldn't trickle into her. Her eyes drop to the concrete floor, she knows such a thing is impossible, but she can still dream.
Placing her hands that are as cold as ice into her pockets, a blowy sigh flies out of her mouth which in turn forms into a misty cloud.
''Time to leave.'' She mutters to herself so silently that even her ears couldn't pick her voice up.
If she stays out any longer she might just get a cold, even if she doesn't want to return to that place, it's not like she has anywhere else to go.
And everyone should be asleep by now anyway, hopefully.
Twirling around on her foot backwards, and after she does that she starts making her way from the way that the trail began at.
Gazing backwards one final time before she leaves for the final time, emptiness, the street is entirely empty, not even a single figure could be seen.
At least that's what she thinks.
Gulping down the damp saliva as she trudges her way through a narrowed alleyway that makes her feel claustrophobic.
A few drops of sweat dripped down her forehead even if it was freezing cold, the weather wasn't the reason why a few puddles of sweat were formed onto the floor. It was instead the growing nerves that were growing inside her like a newly planted flower.
And the reason why her nerves were growing at a rapid pace was because of her paranoia, even if her paranoia was unwarranted, even she herself knows that.
And the reason for her paranoia is that a pair of eyes are glaring a hole into her head, at least that's what her brain is telling her.
Yet when she looks behind her she didn't expect to see what she did, or the lack of anything, nothing was there.
Even when she tells herself that is just her being stupid… she still can't shake off the feelings of dread that bubble up inside of her belly.
Whenever she sees a flash in the corner of her eyes her heart plummets down into her stomach, drowning it momentarily before she finds out it was just her imagination running wild, that's what she convinces herself of.
How long has she been walking down the Grimy alleyway? She can't even see the exit.
Her eyes brows scrunch up, feeling a mix of worry and annoyance cutting into her like a sharp blade.
She shakes her head like a ringing bell, deciding to ignore these feelings, well at least an attempt at it.
However unfortunately for her, she doesn't have the chance to ignore these feelings for more than a couple of moments.
''Heeey there there little girl.'' A slurred voice speaks up, making her skin crawl, her body freezing up like an ice cube.
Turn...Turn...Turn.
No matter how hard she tries to move her body or her head, it fails horribly, no matter what her brains tell her to do, her frail body isn't doing as she says. And this sudden realization makes her blood run colder than a glacier.
She tries to reassure herself that nothing bad will happen, he may not even be talking to her…
But she knows that's false, she knows for certain that they're the only ones around in this Revolting alleyway.
But what could he want?
She's heard about situations like this one, she's heard about those weirdos who spy on children… the person who told her never said what they did to them though.
And the unknown factor just makes things worse.
Bang...Bang...Bang.
His booming footsteps could be heard from across the City, yet her body won't move, not even a single inch.
The unknown man's breathing starts to get heavier., creating a horrible smell that makes her stomach ache, in addition to feeling like she's about to retch.
''Don't move little girl.'' The man mumbled.
Move? She wishes that such a thing was possible… but her body isn't doing as she says!
MOVE!
With every last ounce of energy in her body, she tries to move, push, pull, anything would be better than standing still like a snowman.
Yet just like the previous escape attempts it fails, her body stays completely still.
Tap...Tap...Tap...
A gruff hand is placed on her right shoulder which crumbles down the ice cube that she was inside.
Quiver…Quiver...Quiver.
Relief fills her system as she sees her fingers quiver, however that relief only lasted for a microsecond.
Her skin stands on its own as a vile breath tickles her neck, her nose picks up the foul smell of his rotten breath, it almost reminds her of the smell of her uncle when he drank too much.
And before she knows it her feet start moving on autopilot, however before she could even make ten steps the figure pulls on her arm, making her head smack on the rainy floor as dribbles of rainfall into her eyes.
''Don't run now little girl.'' He slurs out, a hidden threat placed inside of his voice.
Ignoring the ringing pain that's inside of her head that feels like it could explode at any moment, jumping upwards as if she just jumped off a springboard, her panicky eyes barely have time to register what way she should go before the man put a strong hand around her neck, slamming her to the ground forcefully.
Thankfully however her nose didn't snap because she put her hands in front of her face, although that formed a few cuts on her hands, however, this is better than the alternative.
She only had a few seconds to dwell on this matter, the grip on the back of her neck loosened, hope popped into her mind, but that hope was destroyed as she felt her body rollover.
She spits out the repulsive taste out of her mouth, which is probably thanks to her kissing the floor.
Gazing upwards she sees the figure, his figure looks bulky, perhaps even fat, but when she tries to see his face she couldn't, his face was shadowed just like the way he was looming above her.
However luckily or unluckily for her, he puts his head down slightly, making his face clear to her eyesight.
The man looked exactly as what she would've imagined, a haggard and greasy face, a crooked nose, with eyes that seem a little too large, his cheek are sunken, and finally his short hair that looks as if it hasn't been watched for God knows how long.
While Lyra was gawking at the man like an Owl he took the advantage of her impotence.
Grasping onto her neck with his harsh hands tighter than before, she tries to spit at the man but she could hardly form any saliva.
And when she tries to scream for help no matter how unlikely anyone would come, that's assuming that her screams weren't being silenced thanks to the ugly man's snake-like grip.
She tries to push the man off yet her attempts fail like the previous ones, it's like trying to push off a fully grown ape.
After what feels like hours of fighting the infinitesimal amount of air that was trucking its way out of her halts to a stop.
Her banging head somehow becomes worse. Her arms are going limp as they drop to the floor, her previously clear eyesight is dazzling away.
Death...Death...Death.
The words ring in her head like a School bell, she can feel death's hand grasp inside of her chest, inches above her pumping heart.
Her eyes become even more droopy than before, struggling to even keep them open.
However fortunately for Lyra death wouldn't come and take her away.
''What the hell?''
The man shouts in terror, his voice no longer slurring, sounding much soberer than before.
Death and the man's clutch leave her making her suck in the air that is in the surrounding area.
As she breathes in the air she starts coughing violently, even some blood flies out of her croaky throat.
''AHHHH.''
A spine curdling shriek that Lyra would've expected from a Banshee could be heard throughout the entire alleyway.
Fast and heavy footsteps could be discerned, but just as quickly as they formed they disappeared.
''Are you a speaker?'' A slimy voice speaks up.
What? Speaker?
Eyes fluttering like a pair of Butterfly wings, pushing down on the floor, moving her body upwards until she stands tall and shaky like a cracked tower.
She clenches her first into a ball, breathing in and out until her body becomes sturdy like a strong tower.
''Speaker?'' The same slimy voice as before once again speaks up, although this time its voice sounded a lot louder than before.
When she twists her head around her eyes land on something she didn't expect.
A snake, a giant one at that, she's seen plenty of snakes in her life, but not one so large.
Its green is completely green, it almost looks sleek.
The snake is barring its mouth at her, showing its razor-sharp teeth that look like they could crush steel in a single bite.
''Speaker?'' It asks, no it demands once again.
Now, most people would be shocked to find out that a snake is talking to them, but not for her because this isn't the first time this has happened, in fact, it's happened multiple times.
Although none of the other snakes was as large nor did they call her a speaker.
''I guess?''
Slurping down her nerves as if it was a drink, there's no point in being anxious, if the green-skinned snake wanted to harm her it would've done something by now.
''I thought so, you smelled like one.''
''I smell like one?'' An eyebrow can't help but make its way up.
''Mhm mhm, all speakers have a certain stink to them.''
After that is said she looks around, noticing that the man who tried to choke her to death is no longer here.
Nibbling on her lips like a hamster just by that thought.
Putting a finger on her neck, she could feel a large hand mark that forms a shiver as cold as any blizzard that travels around her body.
''Where did that man go?'' She asks in a subdued voice.
Did the snake eat him? She doesn't know what to feel about that if the snake actually did that, the trouble may be placed onto her, even if she was seconds away from becoming a corpse.
''You mean that fat piece of meat?'' Its beady eyes lock onto her like a homing missile.
She nods her head at this.
''He ran away, I was planning on eating him for dinner, but he smelled unpleasant.'' It answers her question.
''I see.''
There's nothing else she could say to this, this snake does emit a rather threatening presence, because of its size perhaps? Or maybe it was because it was planning on eating a human, maybe it was a mix between the two.
''Thank you.'' She says in gratitude, if this snake didn't show up she would've become a rotten corpse.
''No problem, it would have been unfortunate if a speaker died early.''
''A speaker? Do you mean being able to speak to snakes?'' She inquired.
''So I'm not the first one you've spoken to?''
''No, I've spoken to a few, none of them was as large as you though.'' She answered.
The snake truly was massive, she never in her wildest dreams would've thought such an enormous snake in both width and length could exist.
And those buttony eyes look odd for a snake, different from the other snakes that she's come across in her short life, they almost looked human.
Truly an odd snake.
''I see, well I've got to get home now, the sun might start rising in a few hours.''
She doesn't even know what the time is, but after what just happened previously she thinks she deserves some shut-eye.
The snake says one last thing before they depart.
''Very well Lyra, I'm sure we'll see each other real soon.'' The snake says creepily.
The one thing that was on her mind as she was on her way home was.
How did it know my name?
Mrs Shufflebottom was a lot of things, some things she would admit, and others she wouldn't admit even if a gun was put right up to her skull.
However, such things as mean, horrible, and intelligent, she would admit to freely, she wasn't a teacher to be nice, she became a teacher to teach these ungrateful brats.
Teachers have no respect nowadays.
Back when she was a child teachers had respect, it was a proud profession, she still remembers when she decided to become a teacher all of those years ago.
The memories of the past fly through her mind like an aeroplane, some good, some bad, and some absolutely dreadful.
Her teeth clench as a memory of her past resurfaces, a person to be more specific.
When she was but a child her parents died, by a cause unknown to her at the time, even though she doesn't know the full story, so she was sent to an orphanage, the name of it slips her mind, unfortunately.
Most people at the Orphanage were normal, however, one person stood out more than a tiger would in a pack of kittens.
It was a girl, an incredibly nasty one, not that many people knew about it, she hid it from most of the people in the Orphanage, but the girl had it out for her, the name of the girl slithered away from her memory many years ago, but her appearance, she still remembers it as if it was only yesterday.
But if her memory wasn't failing her completely then the girl's surname started with an R.
Even if she doesn't remember the girl's full name any longer doesn't mean that she forgot about the things she did.
The demon acted like an Angel in front of the adults and a lot of the other Orphans, with her adorable appearance combined with her brimming intelligence she was praised, most people thought that the demon couldn't even hurt a fly.
However that was a lie, it was all a mask, a few of the orphans who the girl didn't like she would humiliate them, even hurt them both physically and mentally, and unfortunately she was one of them.
And every time she told one of the adults they never believed her! They even punished her for it!
A demon hiding in the skin of a child, that's what it was.
However she almost forgot about that time of her life, no that isn't the right way to put it, she ran from that like a scared little child.
And did for years and years, until a certain student joined her class, and the moment she laid her eyes on her a fiery barely suppressed rage erupted from her body.
And the reason why a little girl could provoke such feelings is that she reminded her of the demon, the same alabaster skin, the same black hair, not just that either, they also shared the same annoyingly high intellect which is proven by her top marks in all subjects.
She barely restrained herself from tearing the girl apart limb from limb, but thanks to the years of teaching these annoying brats she was able to, being fired, even arrested, both sounds like a terrifying possibility.
But there was no way she wouldn't do anything about this matter, there's no way she had enough patience for that. So after thinking, and thinking, she finally hatched a plan.
The first step to her plan was rather easy, all she needed to do was isolate her, considering the girls already held some dislike to her it wasn't too hard to convince them to spread rumours, and when it reached the boys, well she became rather disliked.
But that wasn't enough, she wanted to make the look-alike suffer, so she thought up the next step.
And the next day she decided to test an idea out, that idea was giving the girl a detention, and when everyone else left she pulled a ruler out and started hitting her arm with it.
The little bitch tried to stop it, but she shut her up real quick, and after she saw those bruises planted on her arms it dolled her with glee, such glee that she hadn't felt in a long time.
So every time since she entered her class she did the same, even if it doesn't sound much it's still satisfying, for now at least.
''Time to leave.'' She whispers to herself, it was getting rather late.
End.