Chapter 8 – Nansi Lillian Hubble

That evening Miss Cackle was sat at her office desk and was getting ready to mirror her mother as Ethel walked in.

"Hello Ethel, how are you?" She kindly asked her.

"I am really, really sorry about last year, I didn't think anyone would potentially die" Ethel hung her head low, again she was close to tears.

"I know, Its all forgotten. Is there something you wanted dear".

"I wanted to know if there is anyway that I could help, with the Nansi issue?" Ethel asked quietly.

"Well, there could be something you could do". Miss Cackle said through raised eyebrows.

"What would that be?"

"Did you hear about what happened with Mildred earlier?" Miss Cackle wanted to see if she needed to explain what happened or if the girl already knew.

"No?"

"Mildred and Enid was in her bedroom and Nansi thought she would take some anger out on her" she saw Ethel's eyes widen "She is fine, luckily Miss Hardbroom had heard the girls screaming when Mildred's bed starting moving around on its own. Nansi threw Mildred's bed out the window. I was wondering if you wanted a bedroom buddy. I will understand if you don't want her with you, especially seen as she has become a target for Nansi".

"She can stay with me, I think we have started to become friends, though I could be very wrong" Ethel stated, this had cheered her up.

"I'll have a bed put in your room can you please make sure there is space for a bed to go, It will be in there in around twenty minutes" Miss Cackle looked at the girl and smiled, she really was changing. "It is much appreciated I don't think she would be too comfortable in the same room as Miss Hardbroom do you?"

Ethel shook her head knowing it would be Mildred's worst nightmare and left to see to her room.

Miss Cackle had then mirrored her mother. It didn't take long for her mum to accept the call.

"Ada, how have you been" Her mother Alma asked.

"I am fine however we have a problem". Ada answered.

"Ethel?".

"No, not Ethel although, while you asked did you ever have a student that self-harmed?" Ada queried.

"A fair few unfortunately, is that what Ethel is doing?" Alma asked wide eyed

"Unfortunately yes, how did you sort it?"

"With great difficulty, Mental health is more complex than most people realise and should be treated with caution, It is too easy to make it worse, I will write down some things that might help though they are not guaranteed". Alma spoke softly remembering how she had to deal with some of the students that had depression in the past.

"The other problem we have is a poltergeist" Ada informed her mother.

"Poltergeist don't exist" Alma stated, just after she stated they didn't exist Nansi had appeared just behind Ada to prove a point.

"Shit, I am coming over get Miss Hardbroom, Hecate to transfer me when you see her, this is deep shit" Alma said as she ended the call.

Hecate walked in at that point and Nansi had disappeared.

"My mother would like you to transfer her here, she is coming to help" Ada told Hecate.

"She will have a heart attack" Hecate stated with shock.

"She saw Nansi and it looked like she had seen her before".

Hecate transferred Alma into the office, she had only met Alma twice in the whole time she had been teaching at cackle's.

"Well met, Long time no see" Alma spoke to Hecate

"Well met" Hecate replied

"Ethel has allowed Mildred to bunk with her for the time being, she was asked and she seemed rather thrilled about it" Ada told Hecate.

"They do seem to have become friends, it might be just what she needs, she can't hide from everyone if she has someone there with her" Hecate breathed.

"So how bad is Nansi?" Alma asked

"I didn't tell you her name. You know her?" Ada couldn't believe it

Alma nodded "I have seen her a few times, mistook her a student dressing up at one point, very dangerous one". She looked at the shocked faces on the two women "She was looking for any descendants. Though we didn't have one. She wreaked havoc, causing problems, until she realised I wasn't lying".

"Well, we now have one" Hecate stated not liking the sound of Nansi more than she already did.

Hecate and Ada brought Alma up to speed on what happened they had gone through the scrapping, noises the shrieking, the thrown chairs and the bedroom incident from a few hours ago.

Alma wasn't surprised "so who is the descendant I would like to meet her?"

"Mildred Hubble" Hecate spoke with such fondness and had transferred Mildred to the office.

Alma looked at the girl and instantly liked her "Well, aren't you pretty, I like your plaits, you don't see many gingers these days such a pretty hair colour".

"I use to be brunette and looked a bit different to now, I had an accident first day of last year and this is what happened" Mildred admitted though it was Ethel that had changed her appearance and she had left that part out on purpose.

"How did Nansi die?" Hecate asked Alma.

"Well I did some digging when I first saw her, I was a lot more scared than you lot seem to be. I came across an old file, it had her death written inside. She was pregnant when she was here and she had given birth in her room with no help, she had tried poisoning herself to kill the baby, but it wouldn't die she stabbed her stomach seven times and still it did not die. The baby boy was born alive, though he did have stab wounds through him, someone had heard the screams from her giving birth they had walked in and she was trying to kill him, they only managed to save little Felix by killing her, she had been a nightmare to deal with since she had come to the school, so her death was fairly celebrated"

"So why is she after Mildred" Ada asked already fearing she knew the answer.

"She wanted the Hubble line to have ended with her, she wants all living descendants dead" Alma answered.

"That's sadistic" Mildred blurted out "Why is she hell bent on killing me though? I get she wanted the line to end with her, but I don't get why she is carrying this on.

At that moment Nansi glided out of the shadows, she had heard the whole conversation they were having.

"I want you dead because I can, I hate you, you should have never been born, like mine your death will not matter, your nothing more than a parasite" Nansi got in her face as she spoke to her "You and I are going to have some fun before I kill you".

Mildred responded to Nansi her tone wasn't pleasant "That wasn't very nice was it" Mildred told Nansi. She turned to Miss Hardbroom "any idea on how we vanquish her, kill her for good? she's out of her Era anyway, she definitely won't be missed". Miss Hardbroom had to stifle a giggle at the way that Mildred has asked how to vanquish Nansi.

Nansi backed away, she had a feeling that Mildred wasn't messing about and that she meant business. She noticed her descendant wasn't scared of her and she glided out the window.

"She's a right piece of work" Alma stated the others agreed.

Hecate grabbed Mildred's hands and with a levelled tone she spoke slowly "You are not a parasite; I am pretty sure the majority of the school and your parents would care if you died. Do I make myself clear?" she pulled Mildred into a hug and whispered in her ear. "You are so much more than you realise, and I am right here if and when you need me, you are special Mildred Hubble. Tell anyone I said this and I will kill you myself". She then released Mildred.

Mildred laughed those last few words were definitely Miss Hardbroom. She had thought Miss Hardbroom would be much harder to please this year with her being head girl and having all the responsibilities.

Hecate looked at Mildred one more time. "Every so often we will get in students that we call a success story, those successes are the students that like you struggled from day one in everyway possible and they turned out to be our best students, we haven't had many but there were a few, you Mildred Hubble are our current one. Might I also add, no student is dying on my watch".