Chapter 15
Halloween faded away upon the midnight hour and everyone simmered down to sleep. Days had passed and now it was November 4th, the day of the art contest at the Blackpool Secondary School of Art.
The staff had set up different sections in the auditorium, one for the watercolor, one for oil, another for clay sculptures, and the other for charcoal drawings.
When the teachers were setting up the charcoal section, one put up Grace's drawing and the other teachers were amazed by this.
"It looks like a photograph," one commented.
"Who do you think that is?" another asked, pointing to the Pitch in the drawing.
"He looks like the boogeyman," someone said and they went back to work.
Outside, the students and their families were waiting to enter in the auditorium. The students were wearing their school uniforms, but some were eager to take them off.
Grace looked around, wondering if Pitch was in the school. She looked up at the skyline window and saw him and Erebos.
"It will be all right," he mouthed the words and Grace nodded.
Then, Headmistress Margaret Johnson stepped out and greeted the children and their families. "Hello children, the auditorium is now open," she said and the students with their families entered in.
Grace found Lizzy and both of their families made each of their acquaintance. "Where's your drawing?" Grace asked and Lizzy led the way.
Lizzy's drawing was of a unicorn on a cliff, overlooking the ocean. "Oh it's pretty," Grace commented.
"Where's yours?" Lizzy asked and she and Grace began to look.
They came across a crowd and they had to squeeze through the people to get up to the front. What they were looking at was Grace's drawing and Lizzy's mouth fell open.
"Grace, it looks…so…real…" Lizzy said.
Then, Grace's parents came up to the front of the crowd and exchanged looks of surprise.
"Grace, who is that?" her mother asked.
The girl began to think; she can't tell her parents that she drew a stranger, otherwise they'll go berserk. She replies, "I saw it in a dream."
"Is that the boogeyman?" her father asked and she nods. "He looks sad," he added.
"He looks as if he lost something," her mother replied.
Pitch looked down through the skyline window and he watched the crowd admire Grace's drawing.
"Let's go find Megan's drawing, just a quick look," Grace said to Lizzy, who nodded.
The two girls did find Megan's, or according to Grace, Mr. Honeycutt's drawing of a fairy with butterfly wings. It looked good, but Grace remembered what Pitch said that Megan and her father had actually cheated.
Up on the roof, Pitch was getting impatient in waiting for Jack Frost. Erebos noticed his master's irritation and stomped his hoof.
"I know, but what if Megan does win without anyone realizing that she cheated," Pitch said to the Pegasus.
Just then, a cold wind blew in and Pitch heard the laughter of Jack Frost. The winter spirit landed on the roof and the boogeyman says, "Right on time."
"They started the party without me?" Jack asked and looked down from the skyline window.
"Where's Grace?" he asked, again. Pitch pointed her out and Jack grew wide eyed. "She's…very pretty," he replied.
A half-hour passed and it came the time for the judges to choose the winner. "After viewing everyone's piece, we have never seen such beautiful artwork. We admired all of your hard work, but only one will be the winner," Mrs. Fredericks said to the students. She turned away to face the other staff who were chosen to be the judges and they gave her a slip of paper.
Pitch began to pray, "Let it be Grace," he whispered and his heart began to pound.
"This year's winner is…Grace Dawson," Mrs. Fredericks announced.
The whole auditorium erupted in claps and cheers and Grace released a sigh of relief and so did Pitch.
Grace was led to the stage to receive her winnings; a check for £175 and she shook hands with the headmaster of the University of Art, Mr. James Dundee.
"You can come to the university whenever you are ready for a visit," he said and he handed Grace a slip of paper. It was an art scholarship certificate with Grace's name on it. Grace thanked him and the judges.
When she stepped down from the stage, she came face-to-face with Megan, and she looked very angry.
"I deserve to win!" she shouted and everyone hushed, including Pitch and Jack. "She must've cheated!" Megan said in a loud voice.
"Here we go," Jack said to Pitch and he sent a snowflake down and it hit Mr. Honeycutt in the nose.
"Leave her alone, Megan," he ordered his daughter.
"But daddy, she cheated! I know she did!" Megan whined at her father and everyone listened.
"Actually Megan, we cheated," Mr. Honeycutt replied and everyone gasped in horror.
Megan gave her father a look of surprise and was helpless to stop him when he said that he drew the drawing, not Megan.
"This one will be the icing on the cake," Jack said and a snowflake went down and touched Grace.
"Why did you cheat?" she asked Megan. "You know, for the past two months, you delighted yourself in torturing the other students. Do you want to know why?" Grace asked, again.
Everyone listened carefully to the girl and she goes on to say, "I believe your father spoils you with goodies and he'll grant your every wish. You thought that friends don't matter and that your father will help you get whatever you want.
"You know, one day, you'll look back on this night and say, 'Why did I do this?' You'll grow up and regret in what you did here and to the students. I also believe that no one will ever want to be your friend and you'll live alone for the rest of your life."
Megan's eyes filled with tears, but she looked ready to pounce on Grace. However, Lizzy stood in front Grace and other students followed suit.
"Grace said that bullies never win. Admit it, you lost," Lizzy whispered to Megan and that broke the camel's back.
The bully ran out of the auditorium in tears, her mother following behind. Then, someone started to clap and the parents, except for Mr. Honeycutt, and other students followed suit.
Pitch could not help it and he clapped his hands and so did Jack. "Thank you," Pitch said to Jack and he nodded. Then, a cold wind picked the winter spirit off the ground and he flew away.
The headmistress shook hands with Grace and the other students, congratulating them for standing up to Megan and she turned to Mr. Honeycutt. "I need to see you and your daughter in my office now," she commanded and she led him out.
Awhile later, everyone left the school, including Grace and her family. "Grace, I'm so proud of you," her mother said and hugged her daughter.
Lizzy came up to her and they hugged. "Listen, I would like to split the money with you," Grace said and Lizzy gasped in surprise.
"But it's yours," she replied.
"And you're my friend and friends give gifts. Besides, I'm just going to stow it away until I go to the university, which reminds me," Grace said and turned to her parents.
"Can I tell Mr. Dundee that I would rather wait until I'm older to go?" she asked.
"I don't see why not, but he said we can go and visit. Also, the university actually pays for your tuition, that's what a scholarship is for," Mr. Dawson said.
The two friends and their families departed ways and the Dawson's returned home.
Grace had the certificate displayed on her wall in her bed room. She prepared herself for bed after taking a bath and returned to discover Pitch looking at the certificate.
"Congratulations Grace. I told you that everyone will love your drawing," he said.
At that moment, Grace threw her arms around his waist and hugged him. Pitch was surprised and he returned the hug.
"Just to let you know, I can't wait for this surprise around Christmas," she said and Pitch twirled one of her red and brown locks.
"I can't either. It's late, you should go to sleep," he replied and Grace went to bed.
Pitch went outside, where Erebos was waiting. "She did it," he said to the Pegasus. The two then headed out to perform their nightly ceremony.
In the shadows, however, a black sand wolf stepped out. It had listened on Pitch's talk with Grace and it headed back to the underground to report to its mistress.