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Chapter Nine
Losing Control
Esmerelda left her bedroom the next morning looking a right state. Her hair was not in its usual style it was just in a lose ponytail she had taken two seconds to throw up. Her eyes were red and puffy as was her nose and her uniform was scruffy and crinkled. The girl walked to Ethel's room and knocked.
"You look horrible" Ethel commented taking in her sisters appearance as she let her in.
Esmerelda shrugged feeling like she was about to burst into tears again and Ethel left her room walking in front of her, trying not to to mention anything knowing she was seconds from cracking and was putting on a brave face for her benefit.
At breakfast Ethel played with her lumpy cold porridge with her spoon, pulling a disgusted face but not eating it.
"Ethie you are…...eating…..for two…." Esmie whispered "You can't skip meals" Esmerelda told her sister with a sigh, Ethel sighed too.
"I can't keep it down, I keep throwing it up" Ethel replied thinking it was the fact the food was so disgusting that was making her baby reject it. Her baby was clearly wise enough not to want this rubbish already.
"I will talk to the dinner witches and see if they can make you other food" Esmerelda told Ethel who turned to look at her with a look of amazement.
"Do you have a death wish?" Ethel asked her sister knowing the dinner witches should never be approached. They were horrible to all the students.
"I am not scared of them, what they going to do? Make me eat porridge?" Esmerelda said sarcastically and Ethel smiled slightly at her sisters attempt to lighten the mood but she was to sad to smile properly. Esmerelda was an absolute wreck and people around the hall were noticing. Sybil went and sat with them and had tears streaming down her face.
"Ethel!" she said before bursting into tears. Esmerelda sighed and went and sat next to her sister to cuddle her, even if she wished she could sob like Sybil was.
"I know Sybil….it could have been worse though, he could have attacked you" Ethel commented knowing that would have been a hell of a lot worse, Sybil was such a sensitive shy child, and it would destroy her, she doubted Sybil could deal with it at all, not yet. That just made Sybil cry more.
"Everyone knows about the pregnancy" Sybil told her sisters who both gasped together.
"Sybil, did you tell?" Ethel asked her feeling betrayed.
"I didn't say a word to anyone, not even Beatrice or Clarice I swear!" Sybil replied looking at Ethel with such a sad look she knew it was true.
"I believe you...wait a second….do they know about….?" Ethel asked before trailing off.
"I don't think so, it must have been someone who overheard and only got half the information" Sybil replied. The bell for lessons went in that moment and Sybil said she had spell science so she ran off. Esmie stopped Ethel.
"What lesson do you have?" Esmie asked her sister talking quietly not wanting someone to overheard them again.
"PE….I don't know what I am going to do…..I don't know if it is good for the baby to be doing so much physical activity, and you know what Drill is like….she always makes us do something that involves running" Ethel replied and Esmie nodded.
"It is alright Ethie….go lie down….it is to dangerous for you to be out there" Esmerelda replied knowing it was not just running that was dangerous, what if they were playing witch ball and Ethel got hit? It was not safe for her to do PE and even if she was not keeping the baby, which she had not decided yet, it did not mean she was going to let it come to harm.
"But what do I tell Drill?" Ethel asked her sister knowing the woman always asked a lot of questions.
"Don't worry about it, she knows you haven't being well I will just tell someone in your year to tell her you are throwing up….do you want me to come with you?" Esmerelda asked her and Ethel shook her head.
"No Esmie, you have exams coming up in a few months, I will be fine honest" Ethel told her. Esmerelda nodded and hugged her tightly letting a few tears fall, Ethel pulled away with a small smile not wanting to cry again, she knew if she cried she would start her sister off and they would probably never stop.
"See you later" Ethel said making her way out of the hall. Esmerelda wiped her tears and caught sight of Mildred and her friends about to leave the hall.
"Mildred...tell Drill Ethie is throwing up again" Esmerelda told her not wanting to do it herself. She knew if she had to talk to Drill she would have some sort of mental breakdown if she questioned her.
"Oh is it because she is pregnant?" Enid asked before Maud thumped her at the look Esmerelda gave her.
"Sorry about that, we shouldn't even listen to rumours, we will tell her" Mildred replied and Esmerelda nodded making her way to chanting.
The girl didn't even attempt to sing today, the last thing she felt like doing was signing about toad eyes when she had just discovered her precious sister was raped and preganant. Miss Bat played the piano as pupils around her sang in a bored, dreary way and then she looked up to tell the girls to put more passion into it.
"Come on girls, if you sing like that at your exam, none of you will pass" Esmerelda heard the woman say but she wasn't looking at her she was looking out the window.
"Miss Hallow?" Miss Bat said and the blonde slowly turned her head to look at her teacher. The woman was worried, sure the girl had been distracted recently but today she looked like she had rolled into a bush and couldn't be bothered to do anything else, she looked like she was not all there.
"Are you with us?" Miss Bat asked the girl in more a concerned way than angry way. Esmerelda shrugged and then a girl in Esmerelda's year spoke up. Meredith Fey was tall and slender with long brown hair, blue eyes and a mean face. She was the trouble maker of the year group and Esmerelda tried to avoid her a lot of the time, she was childish and cocky. Esmerelda was not the type to have any enemies but it did not mean she liked the girl, she interacted with her when she had to not out of choice.
"Oh don't mind Esmerelda Miss Bat, she is probably upset as her sister managed to get herself up the duff" Cynthia told her teacher and her friends around her laughed. "I overheard her telling Sybil about it" the girl laughed and Esmerelda turned to glare at her. Of course it was Cynthia who spread it around, she was just the type too. She didn't care who she hurt.
"Cynthia, please keep your nose out of things that don't concern you" Miss Bat said even if she was concerned about this rumour.
"Is it true though?" Cynthia asked looking at Esmerelda. "is she pregnant?" the girl asked and Esmerelda rolled her eyes.
"Who is the daddy? Are you not upset your sister has been sleeping around?" the girl went on. That was Cynthia's problem, she never knew when to shut up. She was always blunt even when talking about people's family.
Esmerelda had scolded Ethel before for her violent outbursts. She had told her time and time again there was no need to get so angry about things, but in that moment she understood how Ethel was pushed to the edge, she was so angry right then she didn't even think it through before she got up and slapped Cynthia. The class stared at her shocked and then laughed. No-one really liked the girl so they thought it was well deserved.
"Esmerelda….Miss Cackle's office now!" Miss Bat told her. Esmerelda walked out kicking her chair over in the process and then went to the office.
"Attacking another pupil is bad enough, but you are head girl what type of example are you setting the younger pupils or your sisters? We are trying to help Ethel with her behaviour and you are meant to be her example" Ada said once the girl had told her why she was there. Esmerelda kept her head down letting the woman tell her off.
"It is not like you to attack anyone, is everything alright?" Ada asked her really concerned. This was so out of character something didn't sit right with her.
Esmerelda sniffed letting tears fall down her face as what had happened to Ethel came back to her, she felt so broken inside. She had never felt so sad in her life and it was not something she could make better for Ethie either, this concerned Ada more, Esmerelda was not a crier.
"Is there a truth to this rumour?" Ada asked her gently as she glanced at her deputy wondering if she was thinking this was the course for the girls behaviour. She knew if the rumour was true Esmerelda of all people would be upset.
"No of course not" Esmerelda lied. "I am sorry Miss Cackle" Esmerelda replied to her and Ada was not sure if the girl was lying, she didn't know the girl well enough to know if she was being truthful. Ada produced a tissue and handed it to the girl with a small smile. Something was clearly really upsetting the girl and somehow she didn't think it was the mugging. She had being fine the night before.
"Thank you for the apology but I am afraid I will still have to give you detention, and I don't want to see you in here again, I can easily take your head girl status away" Ada told her warning her. She didn't want it to come to that but she couldn't have her head girl attacking people, she was the shining pupil of the school as head girl, she had to be a good example.
Esmerelda nodded and then Hecate flicked her hand and the door opened.
"You may go" she told the blonde and Esmerelda rushed out leaving Ada and Hecate to be highly concerned about her behaviour and both of them glanced at each other wondering if there was any truth at all to this horrible rumour. One thing was for sure, something had destroyed the Esmerelda they knew.