POKERFACE
Emma gulped nervously as she plodded dumbly to the King's Room.
She would have traded anything—anything—to skip this private party with Manfred. Even a French lesson with the notoriously-dreaded teacher, Madame Tessier. The French classroom, occupied from top to bottom with hordes of wooden vultures on shelves, tables and drawers, seemed every bit as inviting as the King's Room did not.
Inhaling deeply, Emma closed her eyes tight and pushed open the door.
Gabriel, Billy Raven, Inez Branko and Manfred Bloor had already arrived. Four pairs of eyes followed Emma as she slowly entered the room. Shivering, Emma wormed her numb fingers into the depths of her warm, cotton sweater as a sudden draught swept the room.
"Tolly!" Manfred barked, beckoning with a slim, eager hand. "Come. We haven't time to waste."
Emma flinched as Manfred steered her body across the room to stand resolutely by the still, motionless Inez Branko.
"Now, the Cast Exam After-party is the real audition. Here, you discover your new abilities, your new housing departments, and your new positions in life, because this is the first—and last—life-threatening audition you will ever attend at Bloor's."
"Excuse me," Gabriel called, raising a twitchy hand. "Excuse me, sir. But how is this audition life-threatening?"
Manfred smiled unpleasantly. Emma shuddered as his eyes gleamed with malice. "Because if your body, emotions and mind reject the new ability, you will most certainly—melt away."
He waved long, bony fingers gracefully through the air. Emma gasped. Inez remained impassive.
"Do you mean—die?" Billy Raven's fingers engulfed his mouth, his albino eyes wide behind their magnified spectacles. "We'll die? Is there any way out?"
"There is no exit for those with cold feet," Manfred said icily, toying with the sleeve of his cloak, unperturbed. "But you will not die. It is a simple disintegration; a mere POOF and you've vanished from the surface of the earth. Sure enough, you can feel, talk, see and move, but nobody will see, hear or touch you. You are impermeable, invisible, nothing at all."
Emma suppressed another gasp. Her fingers, although enveloped safely within her sweater sleeve, had frozen completely. To her left, Inez Branko winced. Emma was pleased to know the porcelain girl wasn't entirely dead.
"Branko, your Cast Exam results signify you to have inherited the ability to shape the thoughts of others. A mixture of manipulation and hypnosis, really. Eye-contact is certainly required, yet the spell does not last. One thought per mind, and you're daily work is done."
Emma bit her lip. Would Inez be able to control her mind? Emma tried hard to isolate her thoughts and empty her head, but found the task dizzying and difficult. Sighing, Emma returned to the conversation with reluctance and a growing sense of apprehension.
"The Ravens most certainly are a gifted branch of magic," Manfred sneered. "Billy, you have accessed the nigh impossible affinity to juggle two endowments. Animals will be able to understand you, and at times live with you."
"What does that mean?" Billy asked slowly, his scarlet eyes narrowing.
Manfred smirked.
"It means, Billy Raven, you will be alterable. You can shrink, or extend your size at will. Not only your legs will lengthen, however—your entire body follows your growth. Quite a useful talent, I understand."
Still smug, Manfred turned to Gabriel. "Ah, Silk. Coming from a poor, secondhand family, I can't say I'm surprised. Of course, accompanying Charlie Bone in his missions to 'save the endowed' wasn't wise. You have dropped your previous endowment—and presently given the gift of precognition. You are able to read the future from deciphering and interpreting artwork.
"Tolly, you have been cursed with the endowment of love. You have become incredibly vulnerable to the emotion itself, and it strengthens this weakness you have gained. But besides the use and feel of love, you have the knowledge. Use it wisely."
"Freak." Emma turned, surprised, to find Inez hissing in her ear. The girl seemed to be fuming inwardly, but her face betrayed no emotion. Colorless and expressionless, the Branko twin's lip quivered slightly as she smirked.
"Inez, you are transferred to Music. Billy Raven, you have been reserved a place in Art, along with Gabriel Silk. The educational help he receives from Art will help him to understand upcoming events. Tolly, you've been relocated to Drama. Dismissed."
Emma sighed as she slung her bag over her shoulder and hurried from the drafty King's Room. As she headed for the Dining Hall, she collided with Tancred Torsson, who swore before his bottom met the ground.
"Ouch! Why don't you—oh, it's you." Tancred paused as he heaved himself upright, helping Emma retrieve her books. "Sorry, it was—"
"My fault," Emma interceded quickly, as she shoveled her pile of texts into her bag. "I've been enduring a lot lately. It's been a really hectic day."
"Cast Exams were always my least favorite," Tancred smiled. "How did you fare?"
Emma shrugged. "Alright, I suppose. I hope I wake up soon."
"Em?" Tancred flashed Emma a sidelong glance, his eyes concerned. "Reality check. You're not dreaming."
"No," Emma agreed calmly. "It's not a dream. It's a nightmare!"
Several heads turned, but Emma ignored the staring, curious eyes. Giggles rippled through the dining hall.
"It's a pokerface—all of it," Emma muttered defiantly. "When the lights shut down, and the masks come off, everyone will see it's just a pokerface. A stage façade to fool the inexperienced. A smile will crack, the light will be blinding, and the room would be loud, happy and full of love again."
"Drama?" Tancred guessed, grinning. "You were shifted, weren't you? I can't believe I missed it—you're very melodramatic."
Emma nudged the blond boy in the ribs, laughing lightly. "You won't be laughing when the misfortune falls from the sky."
"Was that an implication?" Tancred demanded, in mock anger. "Were you implying that my endowment will lead to my own despair?"
Emma nodded solemnly, her eyes bright.
Emma sauntered sulkily into the Drama cloakroom the next morning, avoiding the eyes of the other students as she entered. Garbed in cloaks, capes, masks, gowns, and gloves, the Drama department eyed the red-T-shirt-clad girl with distaste. Her faded, vintage jeans didn't help her theatrical image in the least.
Emma sighed as she waved to her friend, Olivia Vertigo. Sliding nervously into her seat by the back of the room, Emma waited for Mr Derivere to take the roll call. But the teacher merely strolled daintily into the room, in a wholly-black outfit, instructing loudly.
"Class, according to the vote we held the other day, we have decided to stage a musical. The piece in question will be written by a Fidelio Gunn, a master of music."
Emma noticed, from the corner of her eye, Olivia reddening slightly.
"Positions," Mr Derivere continued, scanning through a scribbling of names on his clipboard. "Olivia Vertigo, female lead. Nathan Ford, male lead. Eugene C. Hartwell, makeup artist. Wesley Thornton, my understudy director. Reid Rubix, choreographer. Mary, Lana, Ricci and Riane have minor roles. Jenny, Emma, Pauline, Jason, Ben, Riley and Owen are our dancers. The others are our extras."
Mr Derivere waved a thin, delicate hand, signaling the start of class. Emma sighed as she rose from her seat and followed Jason Markwy to the dance group.
"Our first number," Mr Derivere said silkily, striding over, "will be Lady Gaga's 'Pokerface'. Fidelio has already decided the music; the script, he informs me, is in progress and currently 80% done. An excellent semester, indeed."
The dancers nodded uncertainly as Mr Derivere turned to scold a pair of first-formers for atrocious attire.
"Pokerface," Jason Markwy snorted. "What a selection. Fidelio Gunn's officially lost his mind."
Emma was about to retort when Pauline Gale spoke.
"Well, you're not the choreographer," she chirped snobbishly, raising her eyebrows. "Reid is. What do you say to Pokerface, Reid?"
"It has a good beat."
Emma nearly collapsed. She could feel her energy rushing to her heart, which was hammering thunderously against her chest. The choreographer, Reid, was tall and attractive. His blond hair was faintly streaked with brown and black, and flicked outward from his ears. His clothing indicated his rank as a skater, but in a classroom of strangely-dressed, costumed children, you never could tell. As she chanced another, hasty glance at the grinning performer, she felt love seep through every part of her body, warm to the touch and strengthening her body.
You've been cursed with the endowment of love. You have become incredibly vulnerable to the emotion itself, and it strengthens this weakness you've gained. Manfred's words rang hollowly in her head, without meaning or business. Emma freed her mind wildly from those thoughts, but she knew the sneering boy's words held meaning—she couldn't control her new endowment, and it weakened her. Only the sense of love could return the life into her limbs.
"Can you dance?" Jason Markwy was scrutinizing Emma with a distasteful eye.
"I—I'm quite flexible," Emma replied nervously, in spite of herself. Surely, she couldn't dance in general, but she could move to the music. And she was one hundred percent coachable, in addition.
"Brilliant." Reid smiled, scanning the group with an air of satisfaction. "This will be a hit musical; I can feel it in my bones. Come on, let's get dancing!"
Emma spent the remainder of the class by Reid's side, chatting and blushing and dancing.
The bell rang, all too soon. Her gladness fled as gloom returned, and Emma darted into the purple cloakroom before anyone would see. She hurriedly packed away her bookbag and rushed down to the dining hall. Her tray full, she mumbled her thanks to Cook for the pepperoni-and-onion pizza as she left the lunch line.
She scanned the tables and crowds, searching for a familiar streaked blond boy's hair.
"Looking for me?" A grinning Reid lifted her spirits as he led her away to a table.
Tancred Torsson growled under his breath as he headed for the dining hall. Art class had been an absolute fiasco. Lysander had been in a mood, all because Homer the Parrot had been irritated the veterinarian with relentless chirping. The entire escapade had resulted in the vet insisting Mr and Mrs Sage to find a new animal doctor.
"At least my sculpture's nearly finished," Tancred muttered.
"Sorry, Tanc, didn't catch that." Charlie Bone had joined him. "Heading to lunch?"
Tancred nodded solemnly. "Speaking of lunch, are we still meeting by the Pets' Café on Saturday at noon?"
Charlie smiled. "Yep. And I spoke to Naren the other night—through her shadows—and she might be coming, as well."
"You, me, Sander, Naren, Em, Gabe, Fido and Billy—that makes eight people. Wow!"
"Don't' forget Olivia," Charlie said pointedly, flushing. Tancred hid a grin.
"Nine, then. She looks great today, don't you think?"
Charlie, blushing furiously, jerked his head in fervent agreement. Mumbling a quick excuse, Charlie made a beeline for Fidelio. Tancred's mood had considerably lightened as he pushed open the cafeteria doors.
"Pizza Day!" Billy Raven exclaimed, grinning broadly as he gestured to the menu. "Cook's special, homemade Italian pizza."
Tancred licked his lips hungrily. "Excellent. I'm starving."
His appetite disappeared as he rounded the corner to join the lunch line. Emma walked alongside another boy, a third-former Tancred recognized as the famously-hot Reid Rubix.
He gulped. Lysander, the only person he'd told of his crush on Emma Tolly, gave an encouraging nod from the front of the lunch line. Tancred shook his head frantically.
Emma was pretty. Her blond hair, otherwise straggly, had been ironed straight. The strands were smooth and thin, and warm to the touch. She had a figure other girls wished for constantly, and eyes that could melt any boy's heart. Her features were flawless, her personality light and likeable. Eye-catching in faded jeans and a bright red T-shirt, Emma and Reid strode to the far end of the room, still immersed in conversation.
Emma's eyes found Tancred, and she flashed a quick, perfect smile before refocusing her attention on her new friend.
Angry and unaware, Tancred sent a shower of thundering rain pouring outdoors, lightning flashing in the windowpanes. Snow began to mingle with his rain to avoid suspicion. After all, it was winter. Snowstorms were expected.
Dr Bloor ignored the gale as he took his seat at the Head Table. Tancred gritted his teeth, the storm intensifying, until the power flickered and failed.
"Power outages!" The Headmaster could be heard from all inches of the room. His voice was booming, accompanied with his frustration. "STAY CALM, CHILDREN. REMAIN SEATED."
Silence fell. Tancred could hear a laugh—bright and happy, like a star. Emma Tolly's laugh. Tancred felt his stomach flip. Suddenly, a white-hot flash blinded the students, and the lights revealed his whereabouts to Tancred.
It's a pokerface—all of it. When the lights shut down, and the masks come off, everyone will see it's just a pokerface. A stage façade to fool the inexperienced. A smile will crack, the light will be blinding, and the room would be loud, happy and full of love again.
Tancred recalled Emma's words. He'd been skeptical before, but he understood now. The lights had shut down, the masks had come off. A smile had cracked, the light had been blinding, and he was instantly aware of the loud cheerfulness that had returned to the students. Loud, happy and full of love.
Tancred struggled to recall another of Emma's quotes—You won't be laughing when the misfortune falls from the sky. He had finally achieved single-handed misfortune. Had he not lost control, the world would still be one, perpetual pokerface.
Jacky - This was my overall favorite chapter. I loved how everything falls into place.
You - It was okay. Everything fell into place.
Jacky - That's what I said. Okay, please review. I'd like feedback.
: )