Chapter 6: Shake It Off
A few glasses and plates fell into the ground and broke, and some students screamed. The headmistress raised her hands. A blue halo surrounded her fingers, and suddenly all tables and dishes immobilized.
"What is that?"
"An earthquake, Kenna, what do you think it is?" Mina retorted with the same tone.
Instinctively, several students went under the tables, and Mina grabbed Roxanne's arm at the moment Sebastian grabbed her hand.
"Under the table!" he ordered them.
This time, not even Nathan protested. All eight of them were about to obey when, during several seconds, some kind of gigantic purple lighting blinded them and provoked some screams.
"Are we under attack?" Raphael asked.
He had barely finished his sentence when the earthquake stopped. Time stopped for a second, and Nathan rose up to have a look behind the table.
"It's all good now," he laughed.
A few students imitated him, and a moment later, all students were back on their seats, loudly talking about what just happened.
"Let's have some calm here, please," Mrs. Roth said, and silence fell over the room. "I think it's over. Is everybody alright?"
Most students nodded, and Mina silently thanks the First Three. Mrs. Roth undid the spell, and Roxanne went to comfort some young first year student who was crying, and all teachers walked between the tables to make sure nobody was injured.
"What the hell was that?" Sebastian asked.
"Did you guys see the purple light?" Mina added.
She was really curious to know what it actually was, and found it fascinating – even awesome.
"Look at the teachers' table" Sonia with a low voice. "Be cautious, for God's sake!"
The teachers, talking in front the stage their table was on, formed a circle and looked like a bunch of basket-ball players whose coach asked for a timeout. Mina couldn't hear what they were saying but they all looked agitated. A few seconds later, the headmistress once again asked for their attention.
"The teachers and I will go check if anything is damaged. Please do go in the courtyard, classes will be suspended this afternoon. Please come and find us if you need to talk to someone. Oh, and those of you who haven't finished their dessert yet can take it with them."
The few students who were in that situation didn't hesitate. A line was growing to get out of the canteen. Once they were outside, Mina and the others decided to go sit in the grass, and were soon joined by Max.
"How are you?" Min asked him.
"I'm good, you?" her twin answered. "It was something, huh?"
"True."
"What do you think caused it?" Alden asked the group.
"How could we possibly know?" Nathan answered. "You're supposed to be the genius."
"We're not on a tectonic plate's limit," Alden said, and Raphael approved with a nod. "The chances of having an earthquake here are not high, believe me."
"So it was caused by magic?" Max said.
"Guys," Mina spoke.
They all turned to her, and she rose her finger towards the sky. Its color was a perfectly normal blue, but if one were to examine it, they could see some bizarre purple glints and shades, and some long lines that looked made of shattered glass pieces.
"What are we supposed to see?" Nathan asked after they all had looked up.
"Do I need to put my glasses on or is the sky, like, purple or something?" Raphael asked.
"I see it too." Sebastian said.
Raphael and Roxanne nodded.
"I don't know how the hell your eyes work but I- What the hell, I see it too."
"Me too," Kenna said. "Is it normal?"
"What are you guys on?" Max laughed. "I for one don't see anything."
"Want my glasses?" Mina asked him, putting them on.
Her phone ranged, and she saw that it was Nan calling.
"Hi, Nan, how are you?"
"Mina, are you alright?" the panicked voice answered. "There was an earthquake here."
"Oh, here, too. We're fine, you?"
"Yes, I cast an immobilization spell, but the neighbors' houses are a bit damaged."
"Yeah, well, what matters is that you are okay. How is Alice?"
"She's fine, she's at school. Is your brother near?"
"Yes, unfortunately," Mina joked, turning towards the said-brother.
She handed him her phone, and formed the word "Nan" with her lips. Max rolled his eyes and put the phone near his ear.
"Nan just told me there was an earthquake at Crymston Hall." Mina said to the others. "You guys should call your parents to see if it was also the case where they are."
"My parents are working, they won't answer," Sebastian answered with a small laugh.
"Mine too," Kenna said.
"Same for mine," added her boyfriend.
It was also the case for Alden, Raphael – whose mom was teaching in elementary school – and Sonia. At the same time, Max gave Mina her phone back.
"I don't have any parents, it's easier," Roxanne laughed.
Mina had forgotten about that, as Roxanne only mentioned that on very rare occasions, and felt bad. She took her best friend's hand in hers and tried to apologize to her.
"I'm so sorry, Roxy, I didn't think-"
"Oh, don't worry," the blonde reassured her, holding her hand tightly. "You had a good idea, we need to know if it happened somewhere else in this country."
"We'll call them later," Raphael said.
"I could call Simon, my butler," Sebastian wondered out loud. "Or my parents' assistants."
"Same," Kenna said in an indifferent tone, raising her shoulders and crossing her arms.
"Our parents are not the kind to worry about our safety, right sis?" Max laughed, turning towards his twin.
"Indeed," she mumbled.
It was Roxanne's turn to hold her best friend's hand, and Sebastian gently stroked Mina's arm.
"Alright, I'm gonna go see my friends," Max said. "See ya."
He ruffled his sister's hair and walked away, laughing at her cranky face. They spent the afternoon in the courtyard, until Miss Gardner walked to them and asked them to gather around her.
"You can go and have a snack in the canteen," she said. "You are free for the rest of the evening. Diner will start at the same time as usual."
"Nice, I'm hungry." Nathan murmured.
"Me too," Mina said.
Miss Gardner told them to enter the canteen by the door which they usually used to get out of it, and inside, they saw that all chairs and most tables had been pushed against the wall in the back, and the rest of the tables had been aligned against the wall on the left and had some plates filled with sweets and cakes, and next to it there was some sodas and juices. Everyone took some of it, and the conversation went on.
"If it was caused by magic," Raphael said, "there will be consequences in the future, that's for certain. We just have to guess which ones."
"Haven't you read a book on that?" Nathan asked Sonia with a tone that sounded a bit mocking.
"No," she answered, not bothering to notice the mocking. "But we could go to the library to get some information."
"I'm in," Mina said, excited to know everything about the purple lightning.
"Me too." Roxanne said with the same tone.
The boys, except for Nathan, approved and they quickly finished their snacks and their glasses of sodas. They sneaked through the crowds of students and arrived at the door they usually used to get in. They walked to the fourth floor of the C building, and walked in front of the librarian, who was busy with taking care of some books. They all started to look for books that talked about what interested them, and after a while, they all gather around a table near a window. They sat down, and leafed through the books the brought – Kenna with an uninterested eye over Sonia's shoulder, and Nathan with long sighs which annoyed Mina very much. They read for a long moment until Alen rose from his chair and screamed that he had found something.
"Not so loud, pal, you want that damn woman to come over here?" Sebastian said.
"My bad. I think I found something."
"We get it, just spill it out."
