2/25/18

….

Cursed

Chapter Twenty-Six: Memories

….

December 30, 2008

The day is almost here.

Tomorrow is my graduation ceremony- the day I will leave the Junior HIVE Academy forever and join the ranks of the HIVE Academy. I can barely contain my excitement. For years, graduation seemed so distant that I just didn't think it was possible for the day to ever arrive. The thought of ever leaving just didn't seem real. Even now, it feels like a dream.

Earlier today, our suitcases were passed out. They warned us that we could only take what would fit, and that we would probably have to leave a few things behind. The statement seemed odd to me, because I had plenty of room for everything. Even my backpack of belongings from before I was kidnapped managed to find a place in the suitcase, snuggled between the stack of newly made uniforms based on my sketch.

I carefully place my last sketchbook in the suitcase, closing the lid and zipping it shut. I check my room for anything I may have forgotten, but it's completely bare. It looks so empty without my homework spread out on the desk and my stuffed animals smiling at me from the bed. Has my room always been so small? Did it shrink?

No. I've just gotten bigger.

I sit down on Jade's bed, running my hand along the faded yellow comforter. Memories of the two of us jumping from bed to bed as Roy chased us around the room resurface from some abandoned corner of my memories. Those were the days. I remember all the adventures we had, all the trouble we got into… I didn't realize it back then, but I took all that for granted. My childhood feels like such a distant memory. It was fleeting- over in the blink of an eye.

Memories of not only Jade and Roy, but also my parents and Felicity, and my friends Holly and Dawn, begin to play through my mind like a slideshow. Where did those days go?

Tears begin to well up in my eyes. I blink them away and stand up, smoothing the comforter as I do so. Now I know what the Headmistress meant when she said we couldn't take it all with us. This comforter as well as my own will continue to sit on the bed for the next scared little girl who enters the doors of the academy. And after she graduates, another kid will use it. As time goes on, we'll both forget about the tattered yellow blanket we once loved. It will fade away from memory, and who knows what other memories linked to it will leave as well?

I take another glance at the empty room, and walk out into the hallway. It may be past curfew, but since when has that stopped me? Besides, I can't leave without breaking the rules one last time.

I open the storage closet across from my room, committing the interior to memory. So many secret meetings took place in that little closet. It was our base of operations when I sneaked out with Jade and Roy. I doubt all three of us would fit now. We've gotten taller, and the closet has gotten fuller. With a sad smile, I close the door and walk past Baran's room- the one he used to share with Roy. He and Mikron share it now.

Traveling the familiar path to the cafeteria, I try to take in as many details as I can. The pattern of the tile flooring, the perpetual musty scent in the air, the sound of my footsteps echoing throughout the hallway. I'm going to miss this place. I'm excited to move on, but it's heartbreaking to think that things will never be the same again. As you grow, so do your problems. I miss when things were simple.

Yet at the same time, the thought of not graduating is worse. And if I can't come up with an alias by tomorrow night, that will be the reality I must face. Either way, I lose. There's no way to win this, is there?

My shoulders sag as I enter the cafeteria. I lay my head on one of the tables, closing my eyes wistfully. It's odd that they didn't put up all the tables like they usually do. Some are even dirty from tonight's dinner. It's almost as if the cleaning staff just didn't come in after we got done eating.

I must have dozed off, because the next thing I know I'm startled awake by a loud noise coming from the kitchen. I jump up, looking for a place to hide. The last thing I need is to get caught sneaking around the night before graduation.

"Jasmine..." a voice whispers.

"Jasmine."

My muscles feel tense. Something feels familiar. Not necessarily in the deja vu sense, but familiar.

The voice starts up again.

"Liiinda. Linda Paaark."

Now I know something's wrong. I never told anyone my real name. Readying a hex, I tiptoe towards the kitchen. My heart-rate increases, and a feeling of dread courses through my blood. When I make it to the kitchen, I feel my heart stop.

In front of me stands the witch.

I can't speak, can't breathe. I thought she was gone forever, but here she is. Why isn't she dead? She should be dead, unable to ever hurt anyone again. A million questions race through my mind. There are so many things I need to ask her. Things about who I really am, about my powers. Things that I'm sure she would know.

Before I can say anything, she disappears. All that remains is a blue cloud of smoke.

…

Hi again! Sorry it took me a while to update. When I finished outlining this thing last summer, I had no idea how close to home this chapter would hit when it came time to write it. It feels like everything in my life is changing at once, and I really don't like it to say the least. I don't know why I put off writing this though- it was actually kind of therapeutic.

Follows/Favorites/Reviews:

KF fan- Thanks! I'm actually pretty proud of it myself ^.^

Vatara- Hi Nessa! Thanks for following!

Nomnomthegreat- Aww, thanks! And yes, I understand about the strict parents thing, lol. I'm having a lot of fun throwing around those Easter eggs, so I'm glad other people are enjoying them too. At first I tried to make Young Justice work with the continuity, but after a while I just came to the conclusion that the shows just have to exist separately. However, the Team will appear later on to some degree, and quite a few other aspects of the show will as well (for example, Wally and Artemis are still Wally and Artemis, they're just not in a relationship this time around). Jinx will meet the League, just in a different fic. And you're onto something with the bigger plot. The other fics in this series are actually going to build up to that ;)

Quote of the day:

"You have invented a new kind of stupid. A damage you can never undo kind of stupid. An open all the cages in the zoo kind of stupid. A truly, you didn't think this through kind of stupid." -Angelica Schuyler, Hamilton

God bless!

~Spectrobes Princess