AN: Thanks for sticking with this folks. I know it's dragging on, the pace picks up following Mildred's First day, but I'm going to stick with the fortnightly scheduling, with the occasional bonus weeks, at least over May/June. Hope you're still enjoying it, thank you for all you're reviews, comments, reblogs and likes/kudos across the platforms.
xxx
"Confiscated." Miss Hardbroom said, as she turned Ruby's Walkman over in her hand with distain. And then turned it into dust.
Ruby made to protest but again, stopped short and quailed at the look.
"Inside girls. Fill up from the front." Miss Hardbroom instructed. And added, as she followed them in, "I have never, seen such in my decades of teaching have I seen such a poor effort in uniform standards on a first day!"
As if she had just been waiting to give out a detention (she might have) Miss Hardbroom stopped in front of Mildred and picked on her snapped, "You look as though you've been up all day and slept in your uniform. Write out five hundred times, 'I must take more care of my personal appearance'. I want them by the weekend."
Mildred felt a bit miffed. She had been up all day! And She'd only missed SOME strands when she'd plaited her pigtails! But she accepted the punishment with a yes miss. To be fair, her spare uniform was all scrunched up from being in the bottom of her bag. She wasn't the only one at least to get assigned those lines as Miss Hardbroom inspected them, making sure ties were up to top button, hands and paws were clean, and such.
HB had a point, they did make a pretty unpolished bunch.
Ruby, already in the bad books for the gadgetry, had tamed her hair into two bunches but they kept occasionally standing up strait little bolts of lightning between them. Maud's fur still fluffed up from her static charge from last night but flat on one side where she'd slept, despite attacking it with a brush. Gloria before the feast had gotten straight out another soak into her clothes; so now her uniform was dark with damp patches that hadn't dried off. Jadu forgot she ort to have boots on if she was going to walk about upright, not just bare paws and was sent to go fetch them. Having unable to find another cork, she'd also had a sock full of tissues over her tail end. Which made it safer as a stinger, but inversely turned the tail end in to as HB called it a 'ridiculous looking club'. Invisible Bryony must have missed her mouth at some point down the fount of her shirt, and had floating plasters where the skittle shards last night had nicked her (although that wasn't really her fault). And poor Harriet had chosen to use crutches rather than the wheelchair today, but must have leant against a wall for support at some point and now had dusty whitewash down her back. The others looked tired and ruffled too.
Only Ethel looked perfect. Typical.
One dressing down about dressing right later, Miss Hardbroom took the register and gave them all reminders of everything they'd already been told about. As well as then finally explaining the time tables where all about.
"All year groups are split in to two, denoted as Year One A and Year 1 B on your timetables. If I call your name, you are group A and your lessons are from dusk till early morning. Which leaves the rest of you in group B, affectionately known as …day walkers," she said, in a way that made it clear she did not agree to that term. Mildred made a mental note to take a highlighter to her timetable. "You will notice the majority of your lessons are more spaced out from early afternoon too late at night; but in your free time you are extended to be continuing your studies and you will on occasion have dawn herb gatherings."
And just like that Mildred's class went from nineteen to nine. While most of the day walker girls she already knew, she was glad she was with Jadu and Ruby, and especially happy to be with Maud too. Unfortunately, Ethel was also joining them.
"Any questions?" HB asked.
Izzy from group A raised her hand. And nearly bumped a hanging bunch of herbs on the ceiling. Despite being an almost six foot high x three feet across, the mountain troll was petrified to speak aloud in class.
"Isobella?"
"Miss, w-when are blood sacrifices due for? "
"The blood What?" HB barked. Izzy jolted and nearly upturned the entire row of desks, before the penny dropped and HB scowled in general rather at Izzy. Or at Mildred. "Oh for goodness sake. What have those older girls been telling you?"
All sorts by the sound of it. There were mummers of a lottery to pick a victim weekly. Of bodies used like capri-suns with straws out of jugulars. Of students' head on pikes. Even Maud came out with a story. Mildred was surprised; Fenny and Grisses tales now seemed quite tame in comparison. Miss Hardbroom raised eyebrow vaguely unimpressed.
Mildred wondered if she had to go through this every year. And felt a tiny bit sorry for her, scary as it was. Even other monsters seemed afraid of her, enough to say and make up horrible things about her eating habits. It wasn't nice to be talked about after all…
There were no other vampires in her class Mildred noted. Or at least any she recognised immediately as vampires? and she wasn't certain she'd seen any about the school, other than Miss Bat. Did that mean Vampires were rare? Or Was it something to do with the houses and territorial thing they'd chatted about? Could you even get young vampires if they didn't have families?
"Right." HB interrupted Mildred's thoughts, rolling her R's and already exasperated with the new term. "First things first, let's get several things straight here and now. No, I don't drink from pupils. No, while I do burn under prolonged or strong exposer, I won't spontaneously combust in sunlight. Nor do I sparkle for that matter. And no, I'm not going to bite you, drain your blood or enslave you in some legion of the undead. That includes those of you who are already undead or technically deceased."
"But Miss Bat says she sleeps -?" Bryony started.
"I do not sleep in a Coffin." Miss Hardbroom shot back; Glaring at the space where Bryony's head might be and punctuating each word like a nail like a- well a coffin.
"And while you are here none of you are required to 'donate' blood nor will you be bitten by a member of staff, so I advise you take any tall tale you hear with a pinch of salt and stir it clockwise! Are we Clear?"
"Yes, Miss Hardbroom."
"Good. Next silly question?" She asked.
Several hands went up. "That isn't about vampires."
Several hands went down.
Bar one. "Mildred."
"When do we get our cats?" Mildred asked.
"When you are ready." HB said, looking Mildred up and down again, then addressed the class. "Which in some cases might be never. You are not here to play at witches! Regardless of appearance or species, you are all here to study hard, learn discipline and prepare you're your Witches Higher Certificate. Yes, that includes those of you who've passed it in previous life or reincarnation." Jadu put her hand back down with a scowl. "Under the guidance of your form teacher who will be…"
HB paused, either to draw breath or to contemplate her own rotten luck. "...Me."
xxx
An: See you on 20th for definite! Dont get sunburnt, monsters!