“You can draw what you like,” Miss Olive, the art teacher, told the class. She was a slightly heavy-set woman in her twenties. “As long as you fill the whole canvas. Leave not a spot blank.”
Already annoyed, Milly twirled her pencil as she stared at the piece of paper on her desk.
That wasn’t a canvas. Maybe in a metaphorical sense. More importantly, she didn’t like the idea of filling the whole thing. What was that good for? What if she wanted to draw clouds? Such a dumb thing to say. It sounded like something Miss Olive was just repeating verbatim. Like maybe her art teacher said the same thing to her once.
Milly sighed.
What made her so worked up? This was supposed to be her favorite subject. It couldn’t be just the teacher’s choice of words. Maybe she was just frustrated.
It had already been a couple of days since school began, and they had been entirely uneventful. Little more than a daily routine of classes and homework. The material was tougher than she was used to and it took up so much of her time and energy that she’d not been able to make any progress in her investigation. She still had no idea what had happened to Niki, if anything.
To make matters worse, there’d been no news reports of Meatcrawl. It was still out there somewhere, readying for its next attack. The heroes of ACE apparently didn’t feel like blindly trudging through the sewers in search of an angry teeth and eyes stew was a productive use of their time.
Milly tapped her pencil on the paper.
That wasn’t exactly all bad, but she’d have to wait until the evening to enjoy her perk.
“Having trouble deciding?” Miss Olive asked from behind Milly, peering over her shoulder at the blank paper. “You seem to have something on your mind already, let’s go with that?”
Draw Niki?
Blushing, Milly quickly shook her head. She wasn’t crazy. There were so many people around! What if Niki heard about it or, even worse, asked to see?! Though… it did feel like something Milly would like to try at some point. In private. Where she could burn it if it wasn’t perfect.
“No? Well, perhaps the second thing instead.” Miss Olive remarked before she moved on to the next student. “Nice use of color!”
Draw Meatcrawl?
Milly felt a chill run down her spine. She couldn’t blame the teacher for not being a mind reader, but that was a terrible idea as well.
How would she even go about that? Mhm, well last she saw the creature it was on fire all the way across the street. That wouldn’t work. If she was going to do it then maybe the moment it was closest would be her best point of reference? It had taken up nearly all of her field of view at that point so maybe…
She drew a few faint lines around the paper, outlining the hulking form as vaguely as she could. There was only the checkered floor below and the wooden arch with a light above. That was the easy part. Next came the walls to either side of her wood and glass, constricting and suffocating.
The feeling of being hopelessly cornered was coming back to her.
There wasn’t a single bit of detail on the creature yet, all her effort had gone into the surroundings, but she could picture it clear as day. That one moment that had seemed to drag on forever.
The eyes.
There were the ones spinning madly, the ones sizing up each part of her and Niki, the ones that roamed over the people outside. None of them she remembered as clearly as the two that met her own the whole time. Wide, wild, unwavering, and green.
Her heart was pounding in her throat.
The school bell chimed.
Milly pushed the paper away and set down her pencil with a relieved sigh. Saved by the bell.
For all her efforts, all she had to show for it was a white void surrounded by overly detailed drawings of the pizzeria, and a single pair of eyes floating in wrinkled nothingness. It was almost comical if she tried not to recall the scene it was drawn from.
When had she gotten so sweaty?
“Oh, that’s an unusual piece,” Miss Olive commented while she picked up the paper and studied it. “You don’t usually start at the edges, but you can fill in the rest next time.”
Milly wasn’t sure she wanted to.
“No, I… I think it’s done.” Milly said while she packed up her bag. Thankfully, she didn’t have to take the drawing with her. Each student had a big cardboard folder for ongoing projects with their name on it. Milly slipped the paper inside and turned to leave the class. Most of the other students had already started their cleanup before the bell rang. The benefit of not losing sight of time.
Thankfully, it was the last class before lunchbreak, so she wouldn’t be late to anything.
Miss Olive followed her out and locked the door behind them. “Well, if you are sure, you can turn it in for a grade at the end of the next class. It’s too bad, though. I was looking forward to seeing what you’d do with the face. There was such a good sense of terror.”
“Terror?” Milly asked. She hadn’t expected Miss Olive to divine how she’d felt in the moment. “You could tell?”
“Of course, you did a nice job conveying the emotion with the eyes already. Maybe you’ll reconsider finishing it next time?” Miss Olive smiled then headed off toward the teacher’s lounge, leaving Milly behind.
Whatever had given Miss Olive that idea?
Milly watched her leave then stared at the locked door separating her from the drawing. She wished she could take another look now. Maybe next time.
Wait, was that Ruth?
Through the window, Milly noticed Ruth pass by in the opposite direction of the cafeteria.
Where was she going?
----------------------------------------
Ruth wandered deeper into the park, making her way down the gravel path that snaked through the grass. Without a care in the world, she let one hand brush through the fresh green leaves of the trees that hung just low enough to be touched.
Milly quietly followed her at a distance. Ever since she’d spotted Ruth after class, she had been covertly following Ruth around. She knew she wanted to talk to her, maybe even confront her now that she was alone. Well, as soon as she’d actually figured out what to say.
The problem was that over the past couple of days Milly had asked around between classes, and she’d heard more than a few stories of Ruth abusing her power. It would’ve been nice if that bit had just been part of Niki’s paranoia, but no such luck.
On the plus side, none of the believable stories included anything too terrible. Mostly mischief and misguided attempts at matchmaking for Ruth’s own amusement. Milly very much doubted that Ruth was really puppeteering the entire government body of Bulwark Bay.
For now, Milly just had a quiet hope that maybe Ruth came here to protect some terrible secret, like her love for singing paired with the voice of a thirsty mule. Something suitably embarrassing she could record to make her fess up to whatever she’d done to Niki.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
Just as Ruth passed by one of the decorative stone garden walls that curved around some roses, a girl suddenly dashed out from behind the rose bushes and stood in the middle of the path, folding her arms as she glared.
Milly hurried to circle around and keep the little wall between herself and the stranger to avoid getting spotted. Though Milly only got to see her for a second, she could tell it wasn’t Terra or Stella, this girl had brown hair.
“That’s odd. I didn’t mess with the track team, did I?” Ruth asked while she ducked down to pick up one of the gravel stones then idly rolled it around in her hand. She rested her other hand against a nearby tree as though the mere prospect of having this conversation was already exhausting. “Fine, I can spare maybe five minutes. Will you be requiring my participation in this or can you just yell at me until you feel better?”
“Don’t you play dumb with me!” The brunette girl stomped her feet on the gravel path, scattering stones in all directions. “This is real simple, Ruth. Give Penelope the lead role back.”
Milly dropped back down behind the garden wall just before one of the pebbles bounced off the brick. She knew the girl had looked familiar. It had to be Hilda, the star of the track team. Milly had briefly met her when she’d met the team during orientation. After all, it had been what she’d originally been invited to Arkwright for, her supposed athletic talent.
Milly idly wondered if they were having second thoughts about that yet. She’d missed training on the very first day, and she’d not even called to let them know. Principal Arkwright had said it was alright, but it still felt crummy.
Milly fumbled with her phone to turn on the camera and push the tip of it just above the wall, so she wouldn’t have to peek over it to look and expose herself.
“That was her own decision.” Ruth rolled her eyes as she looked up at Hilda. Way up. “I get this stuff every couple of days.”
They were both fourth years but they couldn’t look more different. Hilda was tall for her age and had the physique that came with dedicated daily workouts, while Ruth was shorter, softer, and probably hadn’t had much cause to run anywhere with Stella around to teleport her.
Hilda was plenty intimidating but Ruth wasn’t looking impressed.
Or at least, Ruth was trying very hard to look bored and above it all. But from her angle, Milly could see Ruth clutching the rock behind her back so hard her knuckles were turning white. Like it was a lifeline.
“Yeah, I bet you do. Fine then,” Hilda said while she grabbed her hard by the shoulder, making Ruth wince. “Total coincidence that Penelope had the main part in the school play and you were just understudy, right?”
“Oh, Penelope. Right, I see how that might be confusing.” Ruth grimaced in pain while she grabbed at Hilda’s wrist. “We did get to spend a lot of time together going over the lines, you know. Darndest thing, she mentioned—”
“YOU told her to swap.” Hilda shook Ruth back and forth. “With your stupid power.”
“And YOU are trying my patience. Penelope just doesn’t like acting,” Ruth offered while she looked left and right.
Milly held her breath as if it would help her avoid being spotted.
“I’m telling you that by tomorrow Penelope is back in the main role, one way or another.” Hilda lifted Ruth by the shoulder until her heels left the ground. “You get me?”
Whatever Ruth was looking for, she must not have found it. She put up her hands in a surrendering gesture. “Alright alright. Crystal clear.”
“Good.” Hilda dropped Ruth. “Now scram.”
Milly shuffled a little further behind the wall to avoid getting spotted if Ruth came back this way. It struck her as odd, though. This whole exchange didn’t make sense. What was stopping Ruth from using her power here?
Ruth took a quick couple of steps back down the path, then turned. “Actually, I do have two questions. If she really doesn’t want to, should I make her do it anyway?”
“Obviously, you…” Hilda quieted down as she thought the question over. “If I say no, you’re just going to claim that’s the case. No excuses, get it done.”
“Got it. Lastly, if I’m going to have to use my power anyway, why shouldn’t I just make you think this is for the best?” Ruth’s tone darkened. “You’re already here. It’ll save me the walk. Don’t you agree?”
There it was.
Milly felt a cold chill. This was exactly what had kept her from confronting Ruth directly like this. She needed some kind of plan first. Hilda had to have known this as well.
“I’m so glad you asked.” Hilda dug through her bag and held up a pair of headphones. A tap on her phone later, blaring music was audible even from Milly’s hiding spot. “If I walk out of here with my mind changed, you better hope I’m armed with an argument good enough to convince the rest, without mind control.”
Ruth looked visibly disgusted. “I thought it was weird that you didn’t bring your flunkies. So, that’s your game? I have to mind control your friend for you or deal with a horde of deafened monkeys?”
“Plus whatever other countermeasures were set up that I might not even know about.” Hilda grinned at Ruth’s loss of composure. If Hilda caught Ruth’s accusation, she wasn’t showing it. “Fun, isn’t it? You could turn me completely to your side and it still wouldn’t stop you from getting your ass kicked. Only agreeing with me will. How's that for poetic justice?”
“Very funny.” Ruth grit her teeth. “I’ll keep your great sense of humor in mind when you suddenly pick up an interest in streaking across campus every hour for fun. Might be worth the bruises.”
That was disappointing. It made sense, but it wasn’t a method Milly could copy. She barely knew a handful of people here and most of those were on Ruth’s team anyway. Although…
“Hey!” Milly strode onto the path and held up her phone to make it obvious she was filming. “That’s enough. I got all of it and I’m already sending it to a friend for safekeeping.”
Ruth tilted her head. “Aren’t you the girl from the pizzeria?” She flashed a grin, clearly feeling the tables had just turned.
Good. That meant Ruth felt the video had value.
“Milly?” Hilda asked before her eyes drifted down to the phone. She stuffed the headphones back into her bag. “What are you doing here? I heard you were sick or something.”
“Nevermind that,” Milly waved the question off and turned to Ruth. “First, uh, I just realized I never actually said this so, uhm, thanks for the help.”
“Heh, you’re welcome.” Ruth smiled and held out a hand for the phone. “Right back at ya, I suppose.”
“That’s gonna make this next part a little awkward, though,” Milly said before she took a step back, out of Ruth’s reach. “Tell me what you did to Niki, the girl I was with.”
“Oh…” Ruth’s smile faltered. Milly had expected her to get angry, but Ruth looked genuinely hurt for a second before she adopted a smug smile. “I see how it is. Did she try to hit on you or something?”
Maybe she was making a mistake. Or, maybe Ruth was making her feel like that.
Drat!
Milly did her best to tune Ruth out while she fussed with her phone. She had to act quickly and make some preparations!
“Wait so, she’s not your stooge? Hah, dang!” Hilda wrapped an arm around Ruth’s shoulders and swiftly overpowered her attempt to squirm out of the grip. “Imagine being such a bitch that even the freshies hate you before the first week is out, huh?”
“You do realize her bargaining chip is a video of YOU threatening me, right?” Ruth said while she elbowed Hilda. “It’s your scheme that’s being interrupted here.”
“Huh, I guess that’s true.” Hilda frowned.
While they were busy, Milly quietly sent the video to Niki with instructions not to give it back to her. Once that was set, she deleted the original. The whole thing was moot if Ruth could just tell her to hand it over.
Once Milly felt she was set to go she stashed her phone and clapped her hands together, drawing the attention of the pair back to her. “Okay! Sorry, ‘bout that. What I meant was, what did you do to Niki before the school year started?”
“Before?” Ruth looked puzzled as she pulled her own phone out and brought up the picture she’d taken of them after the rescue and studied it. “I’m not sure what you are talking about. I don’t know her.”
Hilda rolled her eyes and squeezed Ruth tighter. “Right, like that’s not your go-to response.”
Milly wasn’t sure what angered her more, the idea that Ruth would pretend not to know, or the idea that whatever traumatic encounter Niki had with her mattered so little that she’d genuinely forgotten. “Well, think harder. Niki Krishna.”
“You know what? Screw this.” Ruth blindly swung up hard and decked Hilda in the face with the rock she’d been hanging onto, forcing Hilda to stumble back and loosen her grip enough for Ruth to slip out of her grasp. Ruth distanced herself from the two of them, holding up the rock. “I’m not playing this stupid ‘guess the accusation’ game.”
“Are you nuts?! You nearly took my eye out!” Hilda hissed through gritted teeth as she held a hand to her face, blood trickling down from her brow.
“See?” Ruth pointed to Hilda while she stared Milly down. “Clear and concise. Now you.”
Milly was taken aback by just how sudden the violence was and how little concern Ruth was showing over how badly she could have hurt Hilda. It was pure luck that the blow hadn’t been a little bit lower. Milly knew for a fact that Ruth hadn’t aimed that swing, she hadn’t even looked up. “I-I don’t know.”
“Seriously? Then what are you wasting my time for? At least Hilda had an actual complaint! Speaking of which.” She turned toward Hilda who was gearing up to tackle her. Ruth threw the rock to the ground. “You win! What do I care? Go fetch Penelope. We’ll sort it out.”
“What? Uhm, I mean, yeah. That’s what I thought.” It wasn’t clear whether Hilda was dazed by a concussion or just confusion, but it took her a moment to even process the demand. “Stay right here.”
Milly watched Hilda march off, still nursing the head wound. Milly wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do now. She probably ought to be concerned about being left alone with Ruth like this.
Ruth trudged over toward the little stone wall Milly had hidden behind a moment ago and let herself sink down on it. She was seemingly resolved to just sit there and mess with her phone without acknowledging Milly’s presence.
Awkward.
“Hey,” Ruth called out to Milly without looking up. “Tell me something. What did you think you were going to accomplish? Like, I tell you I made her cluck like a chicken for three hours, and then what?”
“I dunno,” Milly admitted dejectedly. “I guess, I thought that if I understood the problem, I could help her feel better. She seems to be really stressed out after meeting you and knowing you messed with our heads.”
“Trust me,” Ruth said while she inspected the bruise on her palm, picking bits of grit out of her hand, “you’d both be bigger messes if I hadn’t, but if she’s that rattled when all I did was calm you two down, it sounds like she had a bad experience before I ever got to her. Just because I’m the only psychic you know about doesn’t mean I did it. Did that not occur to you?”
Milly bit her lip. “...No.”
“Well, why don’t you go fetch Niki, and we’ll sort that out too, then?” Ruth asked while she made a scissor snipping gesture near her head. “Seems to be all anybody ever wants me to do anyway.”
There was no way Niki would go for that. Milly realized she’d be too afraid of Ruth to even consider it. Not that Niki would be if she could see Ruth now. Milly didn’t feel the least bit afraid of her when she was like this. More guilty than anything.
“Look, uhm…” Milly took a seat next to Ruth, feeling the mossy stone under her palms. “I’m sorry. I heard some bad things about you and then when I got here there was that whole thing with Hilda and I guess I just assumed it was true.”
“Eh, you’re not wrong, mostly.” Ruth leaned back a little, balancing on the wall as she kicked her legs. “If you’d fallen for that one, I’d have made Niki give me the video file and solved the whole issue. That’s who you sent it to, right? Don’t worry, you’ve got nothing to be afraid of now.”
“Yeah,” Milly admitted easily.
“Well, that’s a relief. That’ll make it so much easier to explain.” Ruth nodded to herself then hopped to her feet, extending a hand to Milly. “Let's go find her.”
There wasn’t anything to be afraid of.
“Sure.”