Neutral Magic
Disclaimer: I do not own the Worst Witch or Weirdsister College series or any characters associated with them. No money is being made from this story.
Chapter 2: An Evening at The Eagle
"Mildred, you require one hundred and nine!"
The voice of The Eagle's landlord, who had appointed himself referee of the impromptu darts match, brought cheers and whistles from the onlookers. Mildred Hubble made her way to the chalk line drawn on the pub's floor and prepared to throw.
Her first dart landed cleanly in the dartboard's treble twenty. After a moments pause she threw the second getting a single seventeen. Now she just needed the double sixteen to win the leg and the match. Mildred threw her final dart then her groan of disappointment matched that of the audience as it buried itself on just the wrong side of the wire.
"Ninety three!" The referee announced. "Enid, you require one hundred and fifty!"
Mildred stepped back as her friend and flatmate Enid Nightshade walked up to the line. She wondered which way Enid would go. Treble eighteen, treble twenty followed by double eighteen was one possibility. Two treble twenties and a double fifteen was another. Neither was easy and Mildred was fairly hopeful she would get a chance to return and finish the match. Then she gasped in amazement as Enid threw her darts in quick succession and all three landed cleanly in the bull's-eye!
"Game shot and the match to Enid Nightshade!" The referee proclaimed to a roar of approval from the onlookers.
Enid gave her friend a smug grin. "I guess that means it's your round, Millie!"
Mildred folded her arms and glared at her flatmate.
"You really expect me to believe you didn't use magic for that shot?" She asked in a whisper.
Enid just shrugged. "Can you prove it?"
"No," Mildred admitted with a sigh. "Oh well, I suppose I can afford another round anyway!"
She led the way back to the bar and ordered another lager for Enid and cider for herself. The two of them had been sharing a flat since last year. Enid had dropped out of college in her first year, but after a few years doing various jobs had decided to go back and do her degree properly. After that she had been accepted last year as a postgraduate student at Weirdsister, researching magical history with Professor Shakeshaft. As Mildred was beginning her tenure as a lecturer at the same time, they decided it would be convenient to share a flat, as the college had no dorms for postgraduate students. Although Enid could be exasperating at times, Mildred was really grateful for her company. She preferred not to make it too obvious though.
"Remind me why I put up with you?" Mildred asked as they made their way to an unoccupied table.
Enid grinned. "Because without me you'd be stuck in your lab all the time and have no social life!"
"That's hardly true," Mildred protested. "I socialise with my colleagues, and I do go out on dates sometimes."
Enid shook her head.
"Not very often, and you never date the same guy twice." She gave her friend a curious look. "What do you do Millie? Shag them once then dump them?"
Mildred shrugged and took a sip of her drink before replying.
"Something like that. It's safer that way; you just can't trust guys, Enid. No matter how charming they seem they'll always let you down in the end. Best to keep any relationships short and entirely physical, with no messy emotions to complicate things." Mildred stared at her friend in a rather challenging way, as though daring her to criticise. "Does that shock you?"
Enid chuckled and shook her head again.
"Hardly! After all I'm not exactly a shining example of virtue either, am I? I'm just a bit surprised that's all. Whatever happened to the incurable romantic who believed in true love and happy ever after?"
"She grew up!" Mildred replied with a snort. "All that sort of stuff might be entertaining in books but it never happens in real life."
"Never?" Enid repeated with a frown. "That's a bit strong, Millie!"
"Well hardly ever," Mildred amended. "Maybe once in a thousand times if that. I mean just look at my parents. I always thought they were so happy together but now they're separated and fighting over who gets the house in the divorce courts!"
"I'm sorry Millie!" Reaching out, Enid gave her friend's hand a quick squeeze. "It must be really tough for you!"
"Yeah I guess it is," Mildred admitted. "Especially as I can't help feeling I'm partly to blame."
"Millie, that's rubbish!" Enid exclaimed. "It's not your fault your parents marriage hasn't worked out!"
"Unfortunately my parents don't seem to share that opinion." Mildred's tone was bitter. "The last time I talked to my Dad he told me most of their quarrels were about me. It seems he was never that keen on me going to Cackles and becoming a witch. It was Mum who really supported me, and I suspect even she's having second thoughts. Not so long ago she told me it was embarrassing she can't tell her friends what I really do."
"That's terrible!" Enid looked outraged on her friend's behalf. "You can't be expected to live your life to suit them. It's completely unfair!"
"Yeah," Mildred agreed quietly. "It is!"
A rather awkward silence fell between them. Mildred picked up her glass and took a long swig of cider. Replacing it on the table, she suddenly noticed the nail polish on her right thumbnail had chipped and she began idly picking at it with her forefinger, flaking away more of the scarlet paint.
"You ought to redo those nails," Enid told her.
"Yeah I suppose so," Mildred agreed distractedly, lost in rather bleak thoughts about the situation with her parents.
"Millie," Enid said hesitantly. "I get why you're upset about your parents divorcing but I don't think you should give up on the idea of romance altogether. You might be luckier than them."
"Oh yeah, because I've been so lucky with romance already, haven't I?" Now Mildred's tone was bitingly sarcastic. "I've been in love three times Enid, and each time the guy I gave my heart to betrayed me in the end. Well no more. I will never again leave myself open to being hurt like that!"
"Three times?" Enid looked surprised. "I know about Ben Stemson and Nick Hobbes but who was the third?"
"It doesn't matter!" Picking up her glass, Mildred quickly finished the rest of her drink. "I don't want to talk about it, it was a very long time ago!"
Enid's eyes widened. "What, you mean before you left Cackles?"
"I told you, I don't want to talk about it," Mildred repeated stubbornly. "I have enough to worry about with what's going on in my research."
Enid frowned. "I thought it was going well?"
"It is!" Mildred told her grimly. "That's just the trouble!"
"I don't understand!"
Mildred hastily glanced around her. She suddenly looked very nervous, as if afraid of being overheard, although none of the other patrons of The Eagle were close enough to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Look Enid, I can't talk about this here. Can we go to my lab?"
"What, go into college?" Enid exclaimed. "On a Saturday?"
Mildred had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes.
"Going into college just once at the weekend won't kill you!"
"No I suppose not." Enid smiled rather sheepishly. "But it's after ten Millie, the dusk curfew will be in force by now."
Mildred grinned smugly. "Well fortunately as a lecturer I'm not subject to the curfew. Come on Enid, finish your lager and let's go."
Enid drained her glass and got to her feet, and then the two of them made their way out of the pub and onto the rapidly darkening streets of Cambridge.