Things had returned to relative normalcy after the basilisk attack on Hexside more than a week ago, and Amity was half paying attention in her Abomination Nation class. After several nights of waking herself up in the night to exorcise her more uncomfortable dreams, she had gotten control of them again, directing them more toward the imaginative and fantastical than romantic. She was finding herself regretting reading all of the Boiling Isles Romance novels in the library when she was younger, and being chased about by Prentiss for not being of the appropriate age for that section of fiction. For now at least, she directed her dreams more toward Azura; Trekking the Stars, Apothecary Y, or ScryScape, than letting her thoughts drift toward the nightmares of becoming an abomination herself or losing her magic to some mythical beast. Unfortunately, that feeling of loneliness and rejection followed her, no matter what scenario she found herself in.
"Amity?" Professor Orabas asked, shocking Amity out of her distracted thoughts. She looked down at her binder and immediately covered up the short haired Azura and black clad Hecate doodles she had drawn while daydreaming.
"Uhm, yes?" Amity replied, quickly scanning the notes on the board for a hint as to what she was being asked about.
"Perhaps you can tell the class what ingredient is required for abomination construction in order to teach them complex skills?"
"Right." Amity said, clearing her thoughts before answering. She had been teaching her abominations rudimentary skills like basic piano and classical dance for the better part of a year already. "Entraption Root is needed to enhance their intelligence to a level that they are able to speak and follow more complex commands. Too little has no effect, but too much makes them more difficult to control."
Professor Orabas looked at Amity as though she had just given a disappointing answer, though she was confident she was accurate. "Correct. A textbook answer." they said slowly before moving on to the rest of their lecture.
Noticing just how far behind she had gotten in her note taking, Amity turned the page in her notebook and began jotting down the few points that were new to her, trying to keep herself focused on her studies. Unfortunately, she found herself dotting her runes with the tiny light glyphs that she had seen Luz draw and growled, crumpling up the page and attracting the attention of the rest of the class. She shielded her face in embarrassment and started again, trying to go unnoticed while the professor continued the lesson.
The class continued without further incident and Amity packed up her books in the hope of getting out of the classroom before Professor Orabas managed to call on her again. She wasn't certain what the Oracle track teacher wanted with her, but they had been paying an inordinate amount of attention to her, and not in a friendly manner. They seemed to want to help, offering assistance for her mental and emotional well being, yet offering no encouragement in class.
"Ms. Blight? A moment, please?" They said, clearly sensing Amity's rush to exit the class as there were still several students that had yet to exit. "I'd like to speak to you before the next class begins."
Amity suppressed a growl, but turned. "What about, Professor Orabas?"
"Are you still having problems sleeping?" they asked. "My offer as an interpreter still stands…"
"No." Amity replied impatiently. "Sleep is all good. Never been better, in fact." she added, diverting her eyes toward the students that were still in the room that had paused to listen in.
"I was surprised to see that you didn't sign up for the Grom planning committee. You are planning to still attend?"
Amity squeezed her lips shut in frustration. No teacher cared this much about the social life of any one student, much less the private or extra curricular life that she might have. She was used to teachers pushing her academics and prying into how much homework she planned to do, but this felt odd and uncomfortable. "Does this have something to do with class, Professor?" she asked until finally connecting the dots. "No, let me guess. My mom is using her connections in the Oracle Coven to find out why I decided to not attend Grom, right?"
Professor Orabas looked like they were about to speak, then went silent for a moment, revealing that their act had been foiled. "That will be all, Ms. Blight."
Amity wanted to tell them to send her mother a message to stop prying into her life. To back off, or else… or else what? What could she possibly hold over her parent's heads to exert her own control? No, she decided that there was nothing worth the hassle of inviting her parent's wrath and she turned and left, her eyes half open and her face devoid of expression. Edric called it her 'overthinking face', but she hardly considered thinking to be a bad thing. She was still debating whether to attend the annual dance or to invite Luz, for the simple notion that either path might feel petty as a way to rebel from her mother's idea of what she should do, and her own desire felt as though it was getting lost.
She exited the class and weaved through the crowded hall to her locker, unable to help being generally angry at the circumstances she found herself in. She wasn't feeling much unlike an abomination lately with the amount of control being exerted on her life from the outside. She pounded a fist on her locker, resulting in an annoyed grunt from the door. It's single eye glared down at her, and she cast a look of her own back at it with a grimace until it relented her Astronology tome and claimed her Abomination Nation text.
As Amity moved to tuck the new tome under an arm, she noticed an odd white powder on its cover that rubbed off onto her hand that hadn't been there a moment before. She looked up at the locker, which rolled its eye and shrugged as well as it could for being embedded in the wall before returning to its dormant state. She rubbed the powder between her fingers suspiciously, looking about for where it might have come from. It had the smell of petrichor to it; burnt stone, and she was about to investigate further until the next period's bell screamed. "That's… weird." she said to herself, wiping her hands off and beginning to rush down the hall to her next class.
Astronology 201 had become one of Amity's favorite classes outside of the regular Abomination track, and went further in depth into the study of all of the celestial bodies in the Demon Realm and how they affected the Titan's magic. Last semesters class, taught by Mr. Kahn, was where she had first gotten the idea to use the Wailing Star to speak with Azura at the library, as well as helped her to understand a lot about herself. It was a well established measure of a witch's traits, depending on their birthdate in relation to the various rotations of the stars in the sky and planetary alignments. This advanced class was being instructed by the Illusion professor, Mrs. Hexbane.
She entered the class to find her regular classmates; including Celine of the Oracle track, and Gourdon of the Potions track, that she shared a table with. Many of the advanced classes had a diminishing number of students from the previous class as some either didn't have the discipline or interest to carry on. "Welcome back, everyone!" Mrs. Hexbane said with a smile. Her three eyes focused on each student as they entered in a friendly manner, acknowledging everyone as they took their seats. "Today we'll be having a look at Sibriex, our giant blue neighbor!" she announced, catching everyone's attention as the lights lowered.
Mrs. Hexbane drew a large, glowing blue spell circle and tossed it into the center of the room where it transformed into a fluorescent blue orb covered in spikes and surrounded by a dozen moons. "Is it possible to go there?" one student asked from the darkness.
"Oh, no!" Mrs. Hexbane answered. "Even exploring our own planetary body outside of the Titan is strife with difficulties due to the Boiling Sea, but our exploration of the stars is possible through the Astronologist Coven that specialize in sending their consciousness into the cosmos with Oracle magic!" she said excitedly. "Now, Sibriex plays a very important part in the magic of the Titan, as it not only acts as a barrier against celestials that threaten our home, but it's believed that it also provided the catalyst for life to grow here on the Boiling Isles, as well as the vast diversity of life that continues to this day."
Gasps and murmurs spread through the classroom, and the illusion began to silently rotate in the air to allow everyone to get a clear look at the planetoid. Chairs were moved as students that were furthest away stood to get a closer look, but a faint scratching noise caught Amity's ear. She attempted to ignore it at first, the sound reminiscent of the echo mice from the library that often scurried about, and instead tried to focus on the spinning blue ball. Then a series of whispers dragged her attention back to the wall behind her where a small hole in the stone wall had appeared, and the same white powder she had found at her locker in a small pile beneath it.
She backed away from the presentation in curiosity, lining up her sight line with the small, pencil width hole in the wall to find a glowing, bright pink eye looking back at her before vanishing in the darkness. Amity gasped, and raised her hand before immediately speaking. "Mrs. Hexbane?"
"Yes, Amity?" the teacher acknowledged, pointing at her. "You have a question?"
"Uhm, not exactly… I think that there's something…"
"Please stay on task. If you don't have a question about the presentation, please speak to me after class about it. We have a lot of material to cover." Mrs. Hexbane replied, turning her attention back to the rest of the class. "Now then, if you'll all take your seats again…"
"But…" Amity growled in frustration, but recalled her encounter with Professor Homunculus last semester when she had tried to wrestle Luz out of Willow's abomination pot and decided not to press the issue.
Trying to pay attention to the lesson proved to be difficult when she knew that there was something crawling around inside the walls behind her however, and she made a mental note to reread the chapter when she could. As the class was dismissed, Amity approached Mrs. Hexbane, and the heavy set demon looked up at her expectantly. "Yes, Amity? You had something to say earlier?"
Amity frowned, gesturing to where she had been sitting and found the tiny hole in the wall. "Err, yes. I think that there was something inside the wall over there. Something drilled a hole from the inside, and I'm certain I saw something moving inside."
Mrs. Hexbane sighed, clearly out of tiredness over impatience. "Thank you, Amity. I will bring it up to Principal Bump as soon as I see him. He is not going to be pleased to hear that." she said, then changed her tone as she continued. "How are you enjoying the class? You seemed distracted today."
Amity's eyes widened and a smile cracked through her usual cool exterior. "I'm enjoying it quite a bit, thank you. I just have a lot on my mind lately."
"Well, it has been a busy month for everyone. With the Emperor's Day of Unity and Grom coming up…"
"Why is everyone so obsessed with Grom?!" Amity burst out, then pinched her lips closed as she realized what she had just said. "Sorry, Mrs. Hexbane. I…" she said, trying to put together an explanation before simply turning on her heel and marching out of the class before the teacher could say anything in response. "Ugh, why is everyone so concerned about me attending some stupid dance?" she whispered to herself, nearly running into Boscha on her way to Biology & Alchemy; the Health class they shared together.
Boscha was standing outside of the classroom door, speaking with Skara and Amelia before she waved at Amity and left to her own class. "Can you believe they're making us take this class? Like we don't already know everything we'll need to. I mean, we have Pentstagram!" she scoffed, following Amity into the room to sit behind Augustus Porter. The younger boy was organizing his books on his desk and reviewing his notes from the last class. "Aren't you a little young for this class?" Boscha asked, poking him in the shoulder with a sharp finger.
"Aren't you a little bored of saying that every day?" he replied in annoyance, turning back.
"Nah." Boscha said with a malicious grin. Augustus was two years younger than his peers, having skipped two grades in his Illusion track. He was lauded as a prodigy in his chosen magical skills, much like Amity, but unfortunately his small stature, celebrity father, and lack of a cutthroat attitude made him more of a target for bullies like Boscha, rather than a part of the school's elite. "Hey, tell your friend Willow that's she's a terrible witch for me, kay?"
Augustus sent a passing glance at Amity, and she uncomfortably ignored it as she set out her own books. "I'd rather die!" he said, lifting his chin dramatically as he did. "Willow is an amazing witch!"
Boscha narrowed her eyes. "That can be arranged, you little twerp!"
Mr. Pectoralis entered before Boscha could carry out her threat, and Augustus spun around in his seat to face the front. As the Grudgeby coach and Physical Education teacher, it often came down to him to teach the various classes that weren't worth the more prestigious professor's time, such as monitoring detention, or teaching a Health class. "Alright, ooze balls. We've covered the anatomy of Beast and Biped demons, so now we're onto Bugs." he said, heaving a sigh.
"Have you noticed anything weird going on today?" Amity whispered to Boscha as Mr. Pectoralis delivered his dry lecture on the anatomy of Bug Demons. She couldn't help but agree with Boscha on the class' contents. She simply wasn't overly interested in personal relationships enough to warrant paying too much attention when her favorite romance novels had undoubtedly taught her enough of what she would need to know.
"You mean besides there being a human in my potions class and a ten year old in our relationships class?" Boscha asked sarcastically.
"Hey! I'll have you know that I'm twelve, so…" Augustus whispered, turning around for a moment to reply.
"Ugh. Don't care." Boscha scolded back before giving Amity her attention again. "Why? Is there something else?"
Amity shrugged. "I think there's something crawling around in the walls."
"There's tons of weird stuff in this school crawling through its walls or waiting in its pits. There were ghosts haunting the girl's changeroom for forever." Boscha retorted, then thought for a moment. "I kinda miss them actually."
Amity wrinkled her nose at the idea. "No, I mean something new."
"You're being paranoid. Let's just get through this class so we can go for lunch."
She couldn't help but doubt herself a little, and it wasn't really her problem anyway. She did her due diligence by informing Mrs. Hexbane, so what was she worried about? Amity returned to her notebook now that Mr. Pectoralis had set up a crystal ball showing an assortment of tiny Bug Demons in a dance that quickly turned graphic, resulting in a cacophony of both disgusted and curious gasps from most of the students.
The teacher let the fuzzy image on the crystal ball run its course before turning it off. "So, what do we know?" he asked. When no one immediately answered, he continued. "Bug demons have a real knack for pulling pranks on a good day, and can get quite violent if irritated, or even amorous. Many of them have shorter lifespans than the rest of the demons, but reproduce at a higher rate. Some even have a little bit of magic in them, so just be cautious. Most of them can communicate with each other through complex, dance-like motions but they can be just as varied as the Beasts or Bipeds. Got it?" he asked to a mumbled menagerie of answers. "Good. We'll continue this tomorrow."
The lunch bell screamed and everyone began packing up, snickering at what they had seen or rolling their eyes at those that were embarrassed enough to be speechless. Amity kept herself stonefaced, having no investment in the topic other than knowing how to face a bug demon in the wild should that be an instance in the future. Boscha and Amity stopped at their lockers to drop off their books before meeting Skara and the other Banshees and heading to the cafeteria. The group claimed their usual table, and purchased their lunch from the Lunch Lord before settling down.
While the rest of the girls were chatting about the latest Pentstagram trend, Amity found herself distracted as she looked through the crowd of students at one of the smaller tables toward the front of the room where three friends laughed and cheered at each other's exploits. Luz, Willow, and Gus were talking about some new adventure they had been on, congratulating each other on how they helped the group defeat the Bat Queen during the last Grudgeby game while Amity was in Acetabela facing Bria Bradbury alone. Amity watched Luz from a distance, noting how brave she could be, after hearing exactly how she had gathered the Detention Track students to not only face the Basilisk, but actually defeat it, and then go on to persuade Principal Bump to let them all study more than a single coven track. She herself was dressed in a Hexside uniform that no one had ever seen before, with a rainbow of colors along her sleeves and leggings that denoted her multi track curriculum. Her brown hair was as dishevelled as it always was, and she laughed with absolute abandon, pounding a fist on the table at a story that Amity wasn't privy to, but found herself smiling at the sight anyway. Even Willow didn't seem to look like she was alone anymore, and Amity couldn't help but… envy her?
"Weird, right?" Boscha asked, leaning over. "Figures that half-a-witch would befriend that human freak."
Amity jumped at the surprise comment, feeling her cheeks blush at being caught staring. "Heh. Yeah. Weird." she said, reluctantly turning her attention away from the trio to try to catch up on what her group was talking about.
In her Magical Defense Techniques class, Amity was facing off against Celine. She was actually thankful for not having Boscha in the class again, as she had a habit of taking competitions far too seriously; especially if she lost. Battling an Oracle, even in a mock duel, brought with it a certain satisfaction as it felt as though the whole coven had taken an interest in her personal life thanks to her mother. Amity held no ill will against Celine personally, but the crescent shaped headed teen, who normally seemed quite shy in her other classes, was putting Amity through her paces, and Amity was meeting her with equal determination.
Oracle magic involved seeing and communicating with what other covens couldn't. She was reacting to Amity's moves before she even made them, and the feline-like spirit that she summoned out of her crystal ball was proving to be quite frustrating for her abomination to counter. Once she realized that Celine's spirit was tethered to the crystal ball that Celine held, it was a relatively simple matter for her abomination to envelope the orb, cutting Celine off from her focus, and Amity's more varied assortment of spells won her the duel quickly afterward with a small fireball. She was still practicing the fire spell that she had learned on the Knee, and her fine control of it still needed work, but as an attack, it had changed everything for her. She no longer needed to rely solely on her abomination for attack and defense, and could strike a target now from two angles instead of one.
"Well done, Amity." Miss Jenkinmeyer said, her small bulbous palisman bringing an end to the duel with its single eyed gaze. It was an uncomfortable feeling losing one's magic; even if it was for an instant since the basilisk attack, and Amity could see that Celine felt it too. "Have a seat, you two. Toddric and Chadraham, you're up next."
Amity and Celine moved to the side to take a seat on the bench with the other students, and they both began watching attentively as the Beast Track student began duelling the Oracle Track student. "Hey, you know Mattholomule, right?" Celine asked. "That new boy from Glandus?"
"Hmm?" Amity asked, surprised that Celine was speaking to her. "Oh… Mattholomule? The name doesn't sound…" she lied. It was hard to forget him, considering how he had showed up at her door in an attempt to ask her out before she was forced to drag him along to Latissa to rescue Boscha. Keeping up a facade of apathy and elitism was growing exhausting, but with the way her parents had threatened to keep Willow out of Hexside if Amity continued her friendship with her, she couldn't take the chance that they would attempt the same thing with anyone else. As annoying as Mattholomule could be, even he didn't deserve that fate. Probably.
"Oh." Celine frowned; her single, off center eye looking away awkwardly. Amity mentally kicked herself, realizing that as an Oracle, she probably already knew about her connection to Mattholomule.
"Wait. Mattholomule? Right, yeah… I uh, think he's in one of my classes. But I don't know him, know him.Y'know?" Amity replied, still not sure exactly what Celine was insinuating.
"Alright." Celine said. "I was just curious. My crystal ball showed me that he might ask me to the dance, and I was wondering what your opinion was of him."
"Oh!" Amity said. Of course. Why wouldn't it be a conversation relating to Grom Night? "Well, he's uh…" she began. Did she have anything to gain by tearing him down? He did actually kind of help that night in Latissa, despite losing Braxas in the Bard Coventicle, and this honestly had the feel of a budding romance that could melt even her cool exterior. "He's okay, I guess? I don't know. I haven't really thought about the dance at all."
"Right. Of course." Celine replied, her cheeks reddening on her pale skin.
"Hey, what's it like, if you don't mind me asking. Having your future already planned?"
Celine smiled back. "Nothing's planned. We're taught to find the outcome we want and work backwards, seeing the decisions that can get us there. It's not always accurate, as everyone has control over their own destiny. But the fewer people involved in those paths, the easier it can be to control. That's why a lot of Oracle Coven fortune tellers wind up unintentionally alone. That's why I'm aiming more for the Astrolonomy Coven."
Amity stared at her for an awkward length of time before letting out a thoughtful "Huh." She thought about how her mother, an Oracle herself, had kept her isolated for so long, choosing her track, her friends, her classes, and now even what social events she had to attend. "That… makes a lot of sense."
"Certain people's destiny can be so chaotic that it's impossible to see where they or the people they affect will end up. At least without a lot more practice and skill than I have, anyway."
Amity imagined Luz must be all but invisible to even the Oracle Coven Head. Who could have imagined that a single human could even alter Willow's destiny, from half a witch to a plant track powerhouse? "I wish I could do that."
"What? Oracle magic?" Celine asked. "Maybe if you save the school like those detention track students, Bump would let you…"
"No, not that. I mean choose my own path. My own future."
Celine smiled sadly, placing a hand on Amity's for a moment. "You'll get your chance." she said, her eye taking on a distant look before refocusing. She shook her head, patted Amity's hand, and turned away, seemingly done with the conversation.
They watched the rest of the duels in relative silence; some students cheering on their friends and Miss Jenkinmeyer keeping each combat friendly before they got too heated. The class completed with the screaming of the bell, and Amity proceeded to detour to her locker for her next few class' texts. She made her way to the Emperor Approved History class that all students were required to take; no matter their coven track, that was taught by Mr. Kahn.
"Good afternoon, students!" the pale gold reptilian demon greeted the class. "I hope everyone completed their homework. There is a carnival coming to Bonesborough this weekend, and I've heard it's supposed to have a few surprises!"
A few of the students cheered at the news, while others lamented the homework they still had yet to do. Amity couldn't remember the last time she had ridden a roller ghoster or the bumper carcasses, and the thought of relaxing with some carnival food sounded like a nice break, even though her last experience at the carnival grounds had been less than ideal, being held captive by that Grimmhammer demon.
After the initial news of the carnival, the rest of the class was as dry as expected, with a lecture relating to the founding of Bonesborough and the exploration of Forearm Forest, to the failure that was Scapula City despite it's proximity to the Mandible. Building an entire city on a cliff face above the Boiling Sea was, to no one's surprise, a terrible idea.
Throughout the class, Amity could hear several students whispering about missing bits of food and tools, and she couldn't help but believe that it was connected to the critter she had seen in the wall earlier. "Boscha." she whispered as Mr. Kahn was about to complete his lecture. "How's your pixie pet doing?"
"My what?" Boscha replied in confusion before understanding came to her. "Oh, him. I'm sure he's doing fine."
"You completely forgot about him, didn't you?" Amity asked, packing up her notebook and text once the bell screamed.
"Not completely. He's with the others in the Beast Keeping Track."
"Boscha! They use pixies and fairies for spell components in there!" Amity insisted.
Boscha looked at her in disbelief. "But I bought him! He's mine!"
"He had a job!"
"So? He should have had a better one if he didn't want to be a pet!"
The Boiling Isles had always been a place where the motto was 'Everyone for themselves', though it had apparently gotten better since Emperor Belos came to power a half century ago. There were many witches even in the more civilized portions of the Titan that held certain ideals; primarily the strong rule the weak. Hexside tried to frown a little more on that mentality than schools like Glandus, but that was often as far as it went. The Boiling Isles was a dangerous place, and survival was never assured, so being powerful enough to take what you needed to survive was a general rule for anyone that made it their home.
Amity pinched the bridge of her nose. "What if he got loose in the school?"
"Then I guess he won't have to worry about being baked into a pie."
"I've had fairy pie!" Augustus said with a smile, interjecting himself into their conversation. "It's delicious!"
"Of course it is, dweeb!" Boscha replied, rolling her eyes. "We're talking about pixies, and pixie pie is disgusting! Mind your own business."
Augustus shrugged, stuffing his books into a backpack and wandering off to his next class with the rest of the students. Amity and Boscha were the last ones out behind him. "I'm just saying; some of the weird stuff that's been going on today could be from a pixie."
"Paranoid." Boscha said. "There's no way one pixie could drill holes in solid stone walls. It's impossible!"
"Still. You might want to let Principal Bump know."
"Ugh." Boscha scoffed. "Fine. I'll go check up on him after school, alright? But then I want you to come with us to the carnival after school tomorrow. It has been so long since I was on a roller ghoster, and me, you, and Skara can hit all the three person novelties. We haven't had a group portrait that wasn't a selfie in awhile."
Amity sighed, finally relenting. "Sure. That sounds like fun. I've got to get to my next class." she added, parting ways with Boscha to begin her walk through the hall to her Abomination Construction class. The current unit was on Style vs Substance, and was delving deeply into what ingredients did what to various abominations. As much as Amity appreciated learning more and more about her magic of choice, this particular class had little to teach her that she hadn't already learned simply by playing around in her father's lab in the manor. By the time she was ten years old, she had constructed some truly horrifying abominations; some that even required her father's help deconstructing. As such, she often used the free time that she had after performing the required assignment to work on her art skills, read, or her other class' homework.
When she arrived, Amity saw that several of her class mates were waiting outside of the door, trying to peek through the barred window. "What's going on?" she asked, confused.
Solis, the tall boy with the large round, spikey head nervously spoke first. "No one knows. The Professor hasn't shown up yet and the door is locked."
Jerbo, one of the former Detention Track students that had helped with ridding the school of the basilisk, seemed to be attempting to pick the lock. His uniform now consisted of both Plant Track and Abomination Track colors, making him stand out in the crowd of purple clad teens. "Almost got it…"
"You don't think that maybe there's a reason the door is locked?" Amity asked, glaring at the boy that she recognized as getting a hug from Luz after the battle with the basilisk. "Or is it just reflex now after being in the Detention Track?"
Jerbo stopped his lockpicking and stood to turn and look at her. He was nearly a half head taller than Amity, but hadn't filled out at all yet, and his attempt at intimidation fell flat with his lanky frame. When Amity refused to back down, he seemed to shrink back. "I'm just trying to get into our class. Maybe Professor Homunculus is in there. Maybe he's in trouble. You don't know. None of us do."
"I get it. You think you're a hero now and probably think you can do anything to help our Abomination teacher. Our teacher! What makes you think you could handle anything that he couldn't?"
"I…" Jerbo said, the confidence he had been displaying the last week shattering under Amity's words.
"Besides…" Amity said, drawing a spell circle and conjuring her abomination from a glowing circle that had appeared on the floor. "We're abomination students. Show it." With one hand, Amity drew another circle continuing off of the first, and then gestured at the door. The abomination groaned and moved toward the door before kneeling down. Pressing itself against the floor, the abomination made a sickening liquid sound as it forced itself through the gap under the door; air being forced through the thick ooze as it squeezed under, causing a few giggles from some of the students surrounding her.
It took some time, but eventually the abomination dragged the remainder of its body under the door and stood up on the other side of the, peeking back through the bars and groaning before Amity directed it to unlock and open the door. It creaked open slowly and Jerbo inched his way in slowly. "Mr. Homunculus?"
The Abomination Construction classroom was the same one used for several other abomination classes, and was therefore relatively large to account for a double occupancy of each student and their creations. Currently however, the room was covered in a thick film of a cotton-like substance of a variety of bright pastel colors, as though someone had coated everything in rotten candy. Jerbo stepped in, reaching out to touch a few of the threads that covered his usual desk. Solis followed Jerbo in, his larger frame blocking the doorway from Amity's sight. "What is this stuff?" he asked, rubbing a few of the strands between his fingers and sniffing it.
"It looks like… webbing? Like a cocoon, maybe." Jerbo said.
Amity gasped and stepped away from the door. "You guys should get out of there!" she shouted, causing them both to turn toward her. Amity and the other students watched as dozens of tiny fairy folk burst out of the multihued webs, biting and clawing at Jerbo and Solis, forcing them to exit through the door. The abomination slammed the door closed and pressed its body against it, groaning as the pixies inside began to tear it apart. "We need to tell Principal Bump about this!"