Cass did not hate school. She did however hate Madame Beatrice. From day one the two clashed on nearly everything. At dinner on her first night Cass threw a forkful of salad at Bianca. (In Cass' defense Bianca had sworn she could catch it in her mouth…she didn't take into account the loose consistency of salad.) Madame Beatrice did not even look, she merely clapped her hand once and both Cass and Bianca found their plates taken away. Bianca shrugged resignedly and Cass laughed silently. She stopped laughing when the next course was brought out. It was placed in front of her like the others, but was taken away before she could eat a bite. Throughout the meat course she had to sit and watch the others eat contently while she sat holding her fork rather foolishly. She refused to be beaten though, so she sat calmly waiting for the next course. The performance was repeated until halfway between the fruit and cheese course Cass became irritated and stood to leave.
"Sit down Cassandra." Said Madame Beatrice in her frosty calm.
"No." answered Cass sweetly and left the room. At least she meant to. Instead she found herself sitting once more, unable to rise. Cass was surprised by this turn in events. Madame Beatrice did not so much as glance her way. She tried being polite. "May I please be excused?" she asked stiffly.
"No." came the reply. "It is a rule that all students must stay at the table until the meal adjourns." Madame Beatrice paused a moment. "It is also a rule that at meals students may only speak when spoken to."
Cass considered singing her demands but decided it wouldn't really help, and so conceded round one went to Madame Beatrice. Later Elaine explained that Madame Beatrice had some training in sorcery, accounting for Cass' inability to rise. Cass resolved to more careful, and more creative in the future.
The next conflict of interest arrived the very next day when Cass arrived late for breakfast. Not a word was spoken but Cass found her chair was missing. She stood where it had been the night before.
No chair. She thought in irritated amusement. Nice. She waited for Madame Beatrice to speak. Still no one spoke. When she found she was not going to be served, she sighed in annoyance and decided to leave. She found her feet were stuck to the ground.
"I believe I informed you yesterday that students must stay until the end of the meal." Intoned Madame Beatrice.
Cass didn't feel it necessary to reply. When Madame Beatrice wasn't looking however, Bianca motioned she would toss a bit of croissant to her. Bianca being better practiced at this was able to get the food into Cass' mouth with little trouble. Bianca, Calliope and Renee who had the best shots fed her in that way throughout breakfast. In spite of this show of support Cass decided it might be best to leave meal times alone, in the interest of not going hungry.
Later in art class, Cass who despised painting landscapes started sketching a battle scene instead. It was quite intricate really, full of detail, blood and gore. Cass was quite proud of it. When Madame Beatrice passed by she merely waved her hand and the page went blank. Cass' jaw dropped involuntarily.
"It is against school rules to draw anything other than the assignment Cassandra." said Madame Beatrice's merciless voice.
Cass said nothing. Up until now Cass had been only mildly irritated, but she resented deeply having her creation erased. She breathed deeply as she began painting the green hillside with angry haphazard strokes. So far the score read Madame Beatrice 3, Cass 0. Cass was not by nature a competitive person, but a person can really only take so much.
Each evening just before the evening meal Bernard recited a spell to light the lamps (apparently sorcery was a family thing). On Cass' fourth day of school this spell took place as usual. The only difference was that during the last stanza of the incantation Cass let forth a great sneeze. This distracted poor Bernard who altered the words slightly. This not only caused the lamps to light, it caused the lamps to fight. Springing from their holder's candles started whizzing angrily thorough the air trying to knock each other down. The girl's reactions varied from the frenzied screams of some, to frantic running trying to avoid being caught on fire, to Bianca's whoops of laughter at the ensuing chaos. Madame Beatrice rolled her eyes and shouted for the girls to remain calm. At last she made a sharp clapping sound and the newly extinguished candles fell to floor.
Bernard looked quite stricken. Several girls continued to scream (though more out of help for Cass than actual fear) until Madame Beatrice shouted for silence. The only one who hadn't moved was Cass who was sitting contentedly in her chair.
"Excuse me," Cass said demurely rubbing her nose. "Dust."
Madame Beatrice gave her a hard look. "Bless you." She said coldly. She ordered the others to be seated and said the candle spell once more. Cass was forced to miss dessert on some fabricated misdeed by Madame Beatrice, but she did not mind. They both knew who had won that time. What a difference a little research and some pepper can make. Thought Cass contentedly while she watched the others eat lemon tart.