Hello, beautiful people! It is 3 am right now, and I just pumped out another chapter! Woo! Honestly, not feeling alive so much as wanting to sleep, but I had wonderful inspiration to write! Thanks again for the wonderful feedback you guys keep on giving to me through your follows, favorites, and reviews! You all are amazingly sweet people! And patient too I might add! ;) Anyway, thanks again!
Enjoy!
Chapter 6:
"Can I mirror Enid, and Maud today?" Mildred pushed her oatmeal back and forth with her spoon she still didn't feel like eating anything again. Everything tasted like cement going into the back of her throat. She ate only a tiny bit before she started pushing it back and forth like she was doing now.
Miss Hardbroom narrowed her dark eyes at her, "No."
Mildred dropped her spoon into her bowl with a clank, "What? Why?"
"I'm not letting you leave this table until you eat all of your oatmeal." Miss Hardbroom said sternly, for past few days she had let it slide that the girl wasn't hungry. Now it was getting concerning she wasn't eating anything.
"I'm not hungry," Mildred replied, standing up from the table ready to split to the nearest mirror.
Miss Hardbroom swiftly pointed at her and waved her hand down and Mildred went back down into the chair with a thud, "You have not been excused. Now eat."
"I said I wasn't-" Mildred huffed.
"I heard what you said, but I know for a fact you haven't had anything in the past two days that could be considered even a meal. I have let it slide, because of the circumstances that you've been going through, now that's changed. You need to eat." Miss Hardbroom she pushed Mildred's oatmeal towards her more.
Mildred slide it back, "I can't eat anymore…I'm full."
Miss Hardbroom sighs, "Mildred, you have to eat, would you prefer something else?"
Mildred's throat clogs at the thought, "No! I don't want to eat anything!"
Miss Hardbroom's eyes harden on Mildred, "Well then, I guess you are not getting up from this table until you do eat something." She snapped her fingers and a glow appeared around Mildred, Mildred tried standing up, but it was like she was glued to the chair.
"That's not fair!" Mildred yelled, crossing her arms.
"What's not fair is you not treating your body right!" Miss Hardbroom fired back, her teacher stands and straightens up to excuse herself, "Now, I am going to go see about contacting Miss Cackle again to tell her about the new recent developments. When I come back I hope to see that you have eaten until then you can pout all you like, but Mildred Hubble whether you like it or not you will do what I say."
And in a flash, she was gone, and Mildred let out a frustrated groan. She took a look at her oatmeal one last time. Her stomach turned. There was no way she was eating. She turned her nose up away from it a there had to be a way to get out of this situation. Her eyebrows furrowed down in concentration.
Then she realized she may not be able to move off the chair, but maybe she could move the chair. She decided to give it a go, first, she would try to scoot the chair with her feet to test her theory. She pushes her feet against the floor the floor groaned along with the chair. Yes! Miss Hardbroom didn't think about sticking the chair to the floor with her in it. She just thought about sticking her to the chair only. Ha, take that! She lifted her up with the chair firmly stuck to her backside. It would have been a humorous sight for anyone to see if they came into the room.
Mildred wobbled around, she had to get rid of the oatmeal next then she could sit patiently and wait until Miss Hardbroom came back to see her empty bowl. In her tight crouch position, she took the bowl of oatmeal to the sink she drained it to clear away any evidence. Taking one foot at a time like a turtle would she made it to, the sink and back into her spot just in the nick of time for Miss Hardbroom to appear to see her bowl empty on the table.
Miss Hardbroom looked pleased with Mildred, "Silly girl, was that so hard? I suppose you're free to go chat with your friends now, but be back before lunch so I can discuss a few things with you."
Mildred nodded, feeling guilty as Miss Hardbroom release the hold on her. She was just trying to get her to eat more, and now there was an even bigger pit at the bottom of her stomach. In her head, she pushed it away along with the dizziness she was slowly starting to feel and ran to go mirror her friends. By the time Mildred reached the steps to the mirror room she was out of breath and even more dizzy than before. She let her head back against the brick to let herself catch her breath.
When she finally was able to breathe again she opened the room to talk to her friends. She found a way for them all to mirror at the same time so they could all talk together. Maud and Enid greeted her with huge grins. Mildred greeted them, "Maud! Enid!"
"Mildred!" They both called in unison.
Mildred forgot how much she missed them both. Maud smile slowly started to fade away, "I've been trying to mirror you for days now at your house! How come you didn't pick up?"
"Oh, um-"
"Yeah! I tried too! What's up, Millie?" Enid asked, etching worry in her voice.
"Well, I-"
"Mildred, are you at…Are you at Cackle's right now?" Maud asked surprised.
"Y-Yeah, I-"
"Oh, my bat, Millie! Did you sneak in? I knew I was rubbing off of you!" Enid gleamed with pride.
"I'm sure she didn't sneak in, Enid….Right, Mildred?"
"She totally did! Look at her face! She totally snuck in! Probably to prank Miss Hardbroom right?"
"Miss Cackle probably has her on a mission of some sort!"
"Yeah, right! Mildred probably pranking her too!"
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"WILL YOU BOTH SHUT UP!" Mildred hollered at the top of her lungs to get them to stop arguing for just one second to tell them something.
"Sorry." They both winced at her.
Mildred sighs, "It's okay…And yes I'm at the castle, and no I'm not pranking anyone." Maud starts to say 'I told you so', but Millie replies also with, "And I'm not on a secret mission for Miss Cackle. I'm living with Miss Hardbroom."
"You're what?" They both had their jaws opened wide with shock.
Mildred sniffles a little, "My mum is dead."
"Oh, Mildred, I'm so sorry," Maud said, looking at her like she was broken. Which she was.
"Millie, I'm so sorry! It'll be okay!" Enid offered, but then her eyebrows dipped down, "Wait, I don't understand how did that get you living with HB?"
Mildred bite her lip she really didn't want to tell them how she was related to Miss Hardbroom. And she didn't want to even start to talk about how her own father didn't want her… She was afraid they would treat her differently….Maybe she didn't have too. Maybe she could just lie to them for now until she could tell them the truth. Mildred gulps deciding that she would lie to her friends, "Well, I have no other relatives to go to live with. And when I found out that my mum was dead I got scared and well…I ended up here at Cackle's and…Miss Cackle thought Miss Hardbroom could look after me for…The summer." Technically it was still the truth…well almost.
"So now you're living with Miss Hardbroom? What's that like?" Maud questioned worriedly, probably hoping Mildred hadn't already gotten herself into trouble with HB.
"Actually, she's been pretty, well uh, nice to me." Mildred said as she laughed seeing her friend's disbelief, "Honest, she has!"
"Well, what do you know HB does have a heart!" Enid snickered.
"Hey! She's not that bad as you think, Enid!" Mildred defended her aunt, "Hopefully, though I can keep her in a good mood."
"Good luck with that, Millie!" Enid chuckled.
"Hey!"
"She is right though, Mildred! You should definitely mind your codes around, Miss Hardbroom, you don't know what she could do if she let loose of her temper!" Maud shared her concern.
"I will, okay! It's not like I've done anything recently to upset her!" Mildred crossed her arms, you'd think her friends would have a little bit more faith in her.
"Whatever you say, Millie!" Enid winked at her.
"Mildred! Enid! I forgot, but my parents said that you both could come over during the summer if you'd like to stay the night!" Maud said excitedly, "They said if your parents are okay with it! Er, if HB is okay with it too."
Enid grinned widely, "Woo-hoo! My parents have to let me go I haven't set anything on fire for the past two days so they'll have to let me go!"
Mildred didn't know how that would be a reason to let anyone go to a slumber party, but Maud looked at her with pleading eyes, "You'll ask too, won't you?"
Mildred nodded, "I'm sure, Miss Hardbroom, would be happy to get rid of me sometimes."
"Great! I'll ask my parents about when is a good time for us to have it, and I'll let you both know! This summer will be great!" Maud said enthused.
Enid smiles at Mildred and Maud, "Sounds like a plan! Listen I have to go I might have dropped a stink bomb I made somewhere in the manor, but I'm not sure where….I have to find it before it goes off or my parents will kill me but will talk later! Bye guys!"
Enid waved and clicked away leaving Maud and Mildred to talk amongst themselves. Maud's smile dropped away, "Hey, are you doing okay?"
Mildred shrugged, "I think I'll be okay….It just hard right now. I miss my mum so bad, Maud, and I can't do anything to bring her back."
Maud looked at her again like she was broken, "It will be okay, Millie. And it sounds like Miss Hardbroom is really trying to help you too…I mean she's being nice!"
Mildred mumbles, "She doing a lot more than that." She downcast her eyes from the worried look of her best friend, "Listen, I'm going to be okay it's just things are a little bit different now and I…just have to adjust."
"Okay, Millie, but if you need to talk I'm always here to listen you know."
"I know."
They said their goodbyes after that, and Mildred glanced at the clock in the room. Oh no. She was late for lunch. She took off down the stairs to Miss Hardbroom's quarters, when she started to get even dizzier, but this time the dizziness wasn't going away. It swept across her brain making her mind go dark and blank…to where she realized she had passed out lying on her back with Miss Hardbroom's face sketched with worry.