The Hunter Mage

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

The door suddenly pushed open and Madame Rebecca's voice thundered in. "What is going on here?" The response was automatic, the boys flew to their bed and whatever group was formed was quickly disbanded as everybody tried to act like they weren't a part of the mess.

"Nothing!" Dev returned, looking down at his feet.

"I don't want to hear anything else from this room. If I come back you are all going to be punished until dinner time, don't try me." Madame Rebecca yelled out pointing into the room.

Nobody could dare make eye contact with her so all she got was yeses and nods. "Don't test me!" She continued. "You boys know very well what I am capable of."

"We won't," Dev was the only one who spoke.

Madame Rebecca gave them one last glare before she stumped out of the room, closing the door with a loud bang that it shook on its hinges. The sigh of relief echoed in the room at her departure.

Vernon was still covered in his blanket, he did not move when Madame Rebecca broke into the room, he had been shocked of course but nothing she had said held any interest for him.

Somehow, he was a little glad about her intrusion at least it would cut off whatever discussion that was about to happen to later on as everybody feared her and he doubted they would go against her commands.

Vernon bit the inside of his cheeks as he could feel another wave of tears pour over him. He wiped at his face a little too forcefully as he tried to stop the tears. He wanted his mother, she would be able to figure this out.

He hated troubles, hated being sad but especially hated when he wasn't on good terms with people around especially when it was because of something he had a hand in. He remembered the first time he had fought with Nevil, he had cried all day that his mother had to take him herself to Nevil's house so they could settle, she made sure they did.

Wiping his face didn't stop the tears so, he just let them be as they trailed down his face, his nose didn't waste any time as snort dripped down his nose too. He wanted to sniff them but he was afraid his roommates would hear him sniffle and they would figure out he was crying.

His kids started to feel heavy and he fell asleep before he could overthink himself to sleep. Crying was more than enough. He dreamt of home, of running around Nevil's garden with Nevil. Their fight was completely forgotten.

He was super happy, their mother came out of the house to watch them and would often way at them. Nevil noticed a dying plant and immediately fixed it while he ran to go bring some water. As they watered the poor plant, it began to grow in front of them and they gasped in excitement.

Vernon's happiness seeped out of his dream to the real world as a smile appeared on his lips. He didn't wake up until it was time for the last supper of the day. He woke up with puffy eyes and clogged nostrils.

Dinner was a blur and he couldn't wait for it to be over. He made sure not to sit with them and ended up sharing a table once again with Sandra and her friend, he didn't know her name.

She scoffed at him as he took his seat and then proceeded to ignore him throughout the entire meal. He was almost grateful, he really wasn't in the mood and the chances he would snap at her or burst into tears were very high.

Vernon wondered how fast word got around and from the whispers and stares he got, it was pretty easy to assume the answer was very fast. He wasn't sure though if they knew the whole details as the stares drifted from him to the rest of his room members.

Irrespective of his urgency to leave the cafeteria, he still took his time to eat his meal. There wasn't any point rushing through it, he would still have to wait for the bell before he could leave the cafeteria.

"Um hello," he heard a voice say. It was the girl with strange pretty eyes. He raised his head to look at her and caught Sandra giving her a stare that could send anyone to an early grave.

He swallowed, momentarily stopped eating as he wanted for her to say more when she didn't, he spoke instead. "Yes, hello."

Encouraged, she opened her mouth to speak more but suddenly yelped out in pain. Vernon squinted and turned his gaze to Sandra, he didn't need a soothsayer to tell him she must have done something to the girl with strange pretty eyes under the table.

"Nothingg!" She stuttered and returned to eating.

Vernon's mind was made up, hate was too strong of a word but he was sure he didn't like Sandra. He continued his meal and paid full attention to his meal, ignoring them completely.

As soon as the bell rang, he stood up and left. He ignored everybody that tried to speak to him and went directly to his bed. He laid on it even though he knew he wasn't sleepy at all but he figured if he laid down long enough, he would feel sleepy soon enough.

He turned his thoughts away from the incident that had occurred earlier and tried to think of his mother and how she was faring. He was worried about how his dad was faring too but couldn't help but be more worried about his mother especially since she was pregnant with his sibling.

He wondered if he would be able to visit her soon. He doubted that none of the children here ever spoke about their parents. He wondered if it wasn't allowed or they have been here too long that they have forgotten. He felt a little fear at the thought that he might forget his parents.