Tuesday 11 October 2005, Luna Nova
"Daniella is unable to keep her mouth shut because of all this, she spread the word to the school about whomy adoptive mothers were and also about the homosexual relationship they had with each other, whichbecame the most shocking news at the time and earned us the heaviest scolding, which I honestly don'tknow why I got involved in such a thing, but there we ended up in Professor Finnelan's office because ofthese rumours."
The week has barely started, and now the school newspaper has even published an announcement about the couple who were my mothers. Luckily, there was no publicity about me being their adopted daughter, well, it's just written that I told them about it and I'm a supposed adopted daughter, so far so good, but I don't understand why I ended up in this room.
"Very well, spreading rumours about former students, I thought that stuff wouldn't be brought back here, after 15 years since they graduated it's still very much alive" said Professor Finnelan.
"I haven't spread anything, I've asked Daniella to keep quiet, she's the one who opened her mouth to tell half the world who I'm related to and about my mum's past" I tell her.
"So you lied? Did you do all this just to get attention? Are you really that big a liar, Chariot?" I feel a bit silly about it all, but it's not a lie, I can see everyone's face looking at me with disgust.
"No!" I didn't lie, until I saw the teachers raising their hands.
"Well, allow me to talk to Miss Du Nord more privately about it, leave the room and come back only when I call you, we have to clear this up with her" says the teacher and I swallow my saliva.
The girls, on the other hand, are leaving, they look at me with a bit of anger, I think I've really lost their respect after that, I only see Daniella still calling me a liar, whispering and with that everything is closing the door, I'm getting more and more confused, why do I have to stay here alone and sort this out? What's wrong with my presence? I can see that even the teacher is asking me to sit down.
"You'll say you lied" said the teacher.
"What?" I say shocked.
"You're not lying, I know they're together, that's why I want this rumour to be buried, I don't want Laura McLaren and Bernadette Cavendish's homosexuality to resurface, it's not enough that there was a wave of homosexual students in the 1990s, which led to many places having to be closed and refurbished to stop it, now there's a new wave in the 2000s, that is, if you still like studying here, you can deny it" But this is pure homophobia, there's no reason to erase my mothers' history.
"That's unfair, it's erasing a history that happened, they were great students here, they made history, why would it be wrong to talk about them?" I ask the teacher.
"Because people are easily influenced, there's a social contagion that makes them want to be homosexual in order to feel more popular, since now that's what kids think is so popular, to be different and we don't want that, it would be the end of the witch lineage, the fall of Luna Nova, I can't let this degeneration continue here, or else I'm going to have to take more drastic measures, I don't want this to influence younger generations" She's such a homophobe, I even clench my fist and glare at her.
"What if I don't want to?" I ask her.
"I'll make your life in Luna Nova a living hell, you'll still come out as a liar, only you'll lose all your privileges, so what do you want? I can make everything worse for you, make you do even more work, even more lessons, even get you kicked out of your team's room even if you're still on their team, you choose... You're not Laura McLaren, you're not going to achieve anything with this revolutionary mentality you got from your foster mum" I've never seen her like this with me, I'm literally being blackmailed.
"You can't do this," I say with my fists clenched tightly.
"If you deny everything the way I want you'll be well rewarded, I guarantee your reputation won't be ruined and we'll even stop picking on you about being a bad student" I really have to make a decision like that.
I'm all silent, a bit tense, I don't know what else to think, if I make a decision my school life in Luna Nova will be hell, but I stick to my principles, but if I choose the other one I still have my comforts, I have less chance of failing, what now? This homophobic teacher really wants to prevent the truth from coming out... Damn it, why does this have to happen right now... For the nine witches.
It was even signalled to go and get the girls, but they came back into the room and stared at me angrily, already thinking that I'd lied, which I don't know how to react to, do I tell them the truth, or do I do what the teacher wants, she even stares at me deeply and I take a deep breath.
"I lied... It was a story I made up, Laura McLaren and Bernadette Cavendish aren't a couple, they were just good friends... I just wanted you to like me for having her as a mentor, it could have been a headline-grabbing story, but you spread it to the whole school and now I don't know how to deal with it all" I had to make the decision to lie, I can even see a smile coming across the bloody teacher's face, she's the one who forced me into it with the biggest face, that's for sure.
"You lied to us? You lied to us? So that's it? Laura McLaren is your hidden mentor and there's nothing to that crazy story you told? Why did you make all this up? Did you want to impress me? You succeeded, but now I don't know if I respect you any more" said Daniella and I became more shaken.
"I was loving where this was going, it was an interesting story, but it's false, I was even believing it, it was too good to be true, but what do you expect from thinking that a woman with a woman is going to result in two children, you just wanted to purify everything, but deep down we know what happened" Becca said.
"That's why as a punishment I want you to announce to the whole class that it's a lie, at lunchtime you'll go to the canteen and announce that you lied, or else you'll be put in detention and you'll have to pay a penalty" said the teacher and I'm already even more devastated, there's no need for that.
"Why all this? Haven't I already done what I wanted to do?" I ask her and she shrugs her shoulders.
"I want this to be cleared up once and for all, now go on, you've got the message, haven't you, Miss Du Nord?" said the teacher, and I left angrily.
The girls are the same way with me, but they don't know that I have to lie to everyone, erase the true story just because she thinks it's better, I don't know how to react except that they're very angry with me, I'm being taken by them to the classroom and I'm not reacting, we're just very quiet, I honestly know that both of them are very disappointed with me for all of this.
[...]
It's time for lunch, I've finished my lesson and they're still very angry with me, so I end up in the canteen and there's even a stage there so I have to say something, but damn it, why did this happen? Why are they putting me through this? I get to the stage, pick up the microphone and see that the teachers are there too.
"You've heard certain rumours and gossip around here in Luna Nova, even to the point of making it appear in the Luna Nova Times, but the reality is quite different and I unfortunately have to reveal it, the truth is that Laura McLaren was just a mentor of mine, that's why I know how to fly a broomstick well, but also that she and Bernadette Cavendish are not a couple, I only told that story to impress my friends and I ended up lying and causing everything to take on the proportion that it did, I'm sorry..." I see that everyone starts to have a negative reaction, I even get booed, which then leads to food being thrown at me.
The teachers left and even created a shield to protect themselves, but not me, I continued to be hit fiercely by these foods, getting all wet, being humiliated and the teachers did nothing, they just left, I'm simply being bullied and I don't deserve it, I was forced to lie, that's not right, what bastards.
I even ran out of there, very scared, crying, while everyone was still attacking me, feeling weak, feeling useless, this all hurts me a lot, I didn't expect such a violent reaction from the staff, but what the hell.
I got to my room and took a deep breath, panting a little, and there I simply saw my mums... It was something I hadn't expected, had I let them down? I don't know... I didn't want to lie.
"Chariot?" Mum Bernadette asks.
"People are horrible, aren't they, come and give me a hug, I don't mind getting dirty, you don't deserve to go through this" said Mum Laura and I ran into her arms.
They're going to comfort me, make me feel better, I think they already know everything that's going to happen, I'm sorry, I'm useless, I've really failed in all this, I'm a bad student, a bad person, I'm a liar, I keep crying some more and the two of them keep comforting me, stroking my hair and giving me comfort.
"We already know everything, that bitch Finnelan wants to erase our history as usual and there's nothing we can do about it" said Mum McLaren.
"It's always like this, unfortunately now we really have to keep the story quiet, Diana could risk finding out indirectly and going after Laura, but you didn't do wrong, I know you wanted to tell the truth... But sometimes sacrifices have to be made" said Mum Cavendish.
"It doesn't matter if some people don't believe you, those who know the truth know that you were forced to lie, I'm sure of it, now come on, we've brought you food and also a lot of affection, get out of those dirty clothes and let's have a family bath, I'm a bit dirty myself" I just nod my head and get all relieved.
"I love you" I say to them, and they give me their love.
So we get undressed, go into the bathroom, have a shower together, take off all those dirty mashed potato clothes, as I remember Mum Laura always puts a shower cap on her head and so does Mum Bernadette, I sit on a stool and have my hair washed, it gives me a little extra comfort to have family time like this.
"Why are you here today mums?" I ask them.
"We're going to stay here for the week, as the day after tomorrow is Croix's birthday, April is in town too, so when Thursday comes around you can go into town and we'll find a little place to celebrate, there'll be all sorts there" said the cabbage-haired mum.
"It's sure to be a very interesting birthday and you're invited, you have to get to know Croix better, she looks like a dead fish sometimes, but she's a wonderful girl, April and I looked after her a lot when I was forced to leave Scotland and move to Ireland, Croix has had a wonderful life there, I recommend making more friends and getting to know the fantastic story she has" said the red-haired mum.
[...]
I don't really care about the comments anymore, I may have been seen as a liar, everyone ignores me and wants distance but after seeing my mums at lunch and still eating something wonderful I feel less worse, it amazes me that mum Laura still manages to bring salted food down the Ley line with such tranquillity, she really is a complete witch.
It's time for afternoon classes, I'm leaving, the sunset is really beautiful, we still had to stay a bit longer, the teacher made us stay two hours in detention because apparently I caused the mess in the canteen earlier, which my friends are already ignoring me, since any punishment goes to the group.
I'm walking around the Luna Nova courtyard, watching the sunset, sitting on a stool, until I see that the Luna Nova Times has a news item defaming me
"Luna Nova's liar, the Cookie Witch, gets a new nickname after her crazy story"
"After all this lying with a fictional story about former students from 18 years ago, the Cookie Witch will have to be more creative in lying, It's absurd to imagine that an exemplary ex-student like Bernadette Cavendish would get involved with an ex-student with rebellious behaviour and very controversial attitudes, a simply impossible couple that tarnishes the perfect reputation of the Cavendishes, but of course such an absurd story has been disproved, in the end this kind of absurdity and degeneration will no longer pass through this academy of witches"
I crumple up the newspaper and throw it in the bin next to me, this is absurd, they are a couple, yes, I was with the mums in the morning, I wish I hadn't told the girls about this, I think my mum was right in saying that I can't trust everyone around here, I've already seen that I suffered the first consequence of this, I was simply abandoned.
Well, that's it, my future in Luna Nova is over and I don't have much choice in the matter. I soon see something casting a shadow while I'm down, and when I look up I see that it's Croix, she doesn't have that dead fish look on her face, and she strokes my head.
"My mum told me a lot about you, the mysterious adopted daughter of Aunt Laura, she said she was my age and because of homophobia she was expelled from where she was living well and forced to return to France, her story is very interesting, she never revealed her name because she said I would find you, nice to see you here" she said and I smiled.
"Oh thank you, my mothers have also spoken about you, Aunt April's daughter, it seems we're practically cousins haha" I say trying to be humorous.
"The way they're so close, I'd swear they were sisters, but then I think you're very determined, do you want to be my friend? You don't care what these people have been doing and treating you like, those who know the truth know it, it's not like we can be safe in a place like this" said the one with glasses.
"What are you saying, you have more experience than me in this place, is there anything else you know?" I'm really curious.
"I know, it's not easy to be someone against the conventional system like you and me, I saw the story of the little cookie witch in depth, I thought it was the greatest injustice that you were forced to stop, it's precisely people like you who motivate more people to become interested in magic, I don't like this conventional and boring way of being a witch, It's all standardised, there's nothing revolutionary about being the same as everyone else, I'm also very spoiled, a lot because of my passion for technology, something my mother is already great at and I've been learning, I want a future where modernity could go hand in hand with magic and thus bring about a new era of magic, without all this conservative witch stuff, something new, that not only helps us witches, but helps everyone, magic is powerful Chariot, it can help the problem of global warming, inequalities, hunger, wars, everything can be solved with magic, I believe that, but witches don't and that's why I end up being put down, there's no point in being the smartest student if what I want to be recognised for is something else" Woah, she really is more interesting than I thought, she's very smart and very angry.
"You're so cool! You're a very cool witch, I want to change the world too, I want to bring happiness to people with my magic, show my performances" I say all excited.
"And you will succeed, your magic is believing in yourself" she said, pointing to my chest, which made me blush a little.
"Friends?" I shake her hand and she shakes mine.
"Friends" she said, smiling.
"I know it's a lot to ask, but you could help me understand the complicated subjects at Luna Nova" I said, lacing my fingers together, and she went on to stroke my hair.
"Difficulties with magical numerology? Or anything else, I'll be happy to help, then I'll show you some more nice places to go round here, I know some very nice secrets about Luna Nova" Croix is a good person.
She left and then I think she went to her room, I feel better after that conversation, at least someone from Luna Nova is eaten and that's always very good, people look around and stare at Croix in disgust, I hope they do, they don't know that she's the one who knows the truth, these people from Luna Nova are really a bunch of bad people.
I then see a group of them starting to laugh at me, taking debauched photos, laughing, and then picking up pens, drawing over them and showing them to me, making me look like a clown.
"Look what a liar you are" said one of the girls.
I just shrug, get up and go to my room, listening to everyone's mockery, in the end I know everything, Croix gave me the advice, it's all against me, I'm going to have to swim against the tide and I'm going to make it, I haven't given up on my dream, I'm still going to overcome myself and become what I dreamed of, as she said my magic is believing in myself.
I get to my room and there are the girls, they look at me with the biggest frown, as if I had done the worst crime in the world, but it was literally something out of my control and I was forced by Finnelan to act like this.
"The liar has arrived, I don't think she'll be able to sleep tonight because of the weight of her lies" said Daniella.
"I can't sleep with someone I swore I was friends with" I tell her.
"Don't play the victim, you lied and made our team a joke all over Luna Nova, do you have any idea how serious this is?" This kind of talk is always about image.
"And you only think about your nose, you narcissist! I told you not to spread the word, don't come talking to me when you've betrayed my trust, I'm the victim of all this here, you couldn't bear to go through even 1% of what I went through to get here, you starched little rich girl!" I tell her I'm sorry.
"And who do you think you are to talk to me like that? Have some respect for your roommate, if you keep talking shit like that we'll get the worst part at the Samhaim festival, have you ever thought about that? At least do something about it, be someone good, instead of sinking us, be a decent witch" She's angry with me.
"Make it count then Parker, I was the one who almost won the broom relay, you were the one who made us lose, don't forget that, you trained badly and you still want to blame me, you talk so much about your parents, but I never see you making the slightest effort to improve" We face each other closely and end up being pushed by Becca.
"Woah, don't fight about it, we have to calm down, the important thing is that we're united, if you want to do well at the Samhaim festival so much" said the blonde.
"I'm not going to work with her, I'll embarrass myself" I'm going to punch her, I'm losing patience.
"So show me if you've got some choreography, I want to see who's going to be embarrassed here" I say to her, who gets all self-conscious and turns round to go to bed.
Idiot, she's always trying to humiliate me, I may not be one of the best either, but I try to be, I can still surprise at the Samhaim festival, after all I've done theatre, I've done ballet, I still have the lightness of those years, I'm not the least bit rusty, that can help a lot, so I know how to impress.
I even go to the video game because I'm a bit fed up, which I see Becca coming to want to play with me too.
"Can I play with you? Sorry about earlier" she said.
"At least you didn't spread anything, unlike a certain someone, well I don't have any bad feelings towards you" I say to Leyland.
"I heard Finnelan, I know she was forced to lie" whispers the blonde in my ear.
"Now it's gone, the damage has been done, well come on, better than having the worst of it here" I say, rolling my eyes and going to play.
And I'm doing this to pass the afternoon, since there's not much to do, I really wanted to be with my mums, at least Becca I know is with me, I hope so, or she's also on the side of someone who's different, in any case I know that Croix is the only one I can trust in this school since all the rest are pretty disgraceful, not to say the opposite.
[...]
It seems that the dust hasn't really settled here, even a day later I'm still being showered with hatred, they've spray-painted our room, we've had to clean the wall and the door to punish the teacher, then they've been spreading leaflets calling me a liar, and that's only been a day, I can't take it any more, it's hell, come lunchtime, I know I'm not going to have any peace so I leave the classroom and go to my room.
I get there and see that the mums are eating Chinese food, and they offer me a box of yakisoba, which I'm happy to take, as I was starving and craving one.
"The dust really doesn't settle, does it? It's good that we can stay here in your room and pop in from time to time, but then April told me that you finally went to see Croix, what did you think of her?" Said my mum Laura with her mouth full while my mum Bernadette swallowed all her noodles.
"Don't talk with your mouth full in front of our daughter" said Mum Cavendish, patting her on the back, and I was already swallowing my food.
"Croix is very angry, she said she wants to revolutionise magic with technology and she thought it was very cool that I was the cookie witch, that I was someone who was doing the right thing, she thought it was unfair what they did to me, she's very beautiful, very intelligent, she's as brilliant as Aunt April" I tell them both and then I go to eat, listening to some giggles from Mum McLaren.
"You seem to like her a lot, Croix is a good girl, I told her about the legend of Claiomh Solais and she really wants to be the chosen one, you can do well exploring the forest of Arcturus together, maybe you'll find the answers there, Woodward is always wandering around and will undoubtedly help the right witches, you both have the potential for it" said the red-haired mum.
"Claiomh Solais?" What is that thing? I think I've heard its name somewhere.
"The staff I used to have, but I had to give it up to have my daughter with me, I was getting quite far, but I always put it aside, I think that with you being younger and with such a desire to change the world you can work on it together, I couldn't do much because adulthood came with everything and my plans were always put on hold, in the end I don't have that charisma here to move masses like you have Chariot" Now I remember it's that shiny sceptre that turned into a bow and arrow and other things.
"Oh yeah, that's great, then we can end up getting it, I'm sure it'll be better in Croix's hands" I say all smiles.
"She really has enormous potential, as an engineer she's already proved to be smarter and more intelligent than April, you know that generator you're using? It was made by Croix, she reverse-engineered April's old generators and made a compact and more efficient version, it's really impressive, even more so because before when I studied here the generator was a huge cylinder that was the size of a television set, not to mention a bit heavy, now it's this little thing, with much more efficiency of everything" Wow, she's incredible.
I just eat and listen to Croix's genius, filling my stomach with knowledge and she's smarter than she looks, I don't know how a person like that isn't recognised, she deserves even more than I do to make her dreams come true, Aunt April really has created a genius mind, I can only imagine how they must have the coolest things at home.
I'm already full and wow, the food is marvellous, hearing about Croix was also very good, I could feel better, she's very cool.
"This Croix is really good, she's going to be a great witch" I say happily.
"You too girl, your talent in presenting and charisma is another thing to take into account, if you work together you can change the world, you enchant the children, Croix takes care of the part of showing the innovation, since everyone could be impressed by your presentations having her technological magic, have you ever thought, adults will want to take these things she does, you can together manage to attract the attention of mundanes and younger witches, the older ones would not be able to maintain conservatism" Said Mum Laura.
"Me? I've only done the cookie witch performances and a few theatre plays, a ballet recital, but nothing much" I say to both of them.
"Your beautiful face and charisma attract more attention than you think, my child, with all that you could go far, we've heard about everything you've done and from an early age you've shown your talent, you can move crowds with your charisma, make people fall in love, that would only attract more attention, what can we work on together, what do you think? You could start a career as a great stage entertainer" my eyes even sparkle.
"Really? You're going to help me?" I say excitedly.
"You can start performing in the street, we'll find you a businessman, just do it for now, I guarantee you'll be able to do it in no time, we'll start next year, as soon as we hit 2006, we'll get the year off to a good start, your talent must be recognised, the Cavendish family's money will be used for something good" said mum Bernadette.
"Finally, that whole castle is very unnecessary, but I'm not even going to say anything, I know how attached you are to things" said Mum Laura.
"You know I hate that castle as much as you do, but there's nothing we can do about it for now, as long as Daryl still has control over our daughters, as long as we don't get her out of there and have good family security, we're not going to take the family heirlooms and demolish that castle, I can't wait to turn it into a cosy little house, I can't wait to stop being an aristocrat, enough of this life, since you left, love... I've only ever been forced to go to lavish parties to maintain the family's image" God, it must be awful, at least the mums will help me a lot.
"Back to the subject of introductions. What about older witches? Can't they cause something to go wrong?" I ask them.
"If there's one thing they can't fight is the power of worldly money, there's nothing they can do to sabotage you, taking you out of Luna Nova because of this is against school policy, they can at most defame you, I know the laws, so don't give up Chariot" said Mum McLaren.
I'm really happy to know that I'm going to have mums to help me, they're going to be marvellous in all of this, I'm going to be able to start getting better, to know that I have a chance of starting my career, that I have potential, that's all I needed.
"Look Diana, if the Cavendishes are in a bad way because of their financial situation, I think I was partly toblame for that, the money that was going to come in was a good part, but I'll get to that later, but in any case,my mums made a point of sponsoring me to start my career as a stage entertainer. Anyway, now you knowhow I met Croix and that my time in Luna Nova wasn't all that magical, people actually spoke badly of me,especially behind my back, I knew everything, but I couldn't do anything about it."
See you, liar witches...