[https://img.wattpad.com/story_parts/1256501018/images/1709b362c4bf369f205195977482.png]
All at once the plates all flipped in the air and came flying down towards the students.
"Seek cover!" Mek yelled, pushing the others down under the table.
The first plate hit one of the students at the table next to them. They heard a deafening SPLUTT, and tomato soup flew everywhere. More plates came flying. These were headed for Sophie, but Mek managed to pull her down under the table along with the rest of the class. The plates smashed into their empty chairs. The students at the other tables weren't so lucky. From under the table, the class could hear the sound of students being smacked in the face with their own food as it rang out throughout the dining hall.
"Wh-why is our food a-attacking us?" Vix asked.
"I'll have a look," Sophie said, carefully poking her head up over the side of the table. The gargoyles were flying around confusedly, desperately trying to stop the flying food. The chef was panicking too.
"If we just wait it out," Trom suggested, already making himself comfortable on the floor, "the plates will all run out of food, and then this whole thing will be over."
"I'm not sure that'll work," Sophie said, pointing to a plate that was busily scooping up food from the floor.
"B-but then what do we d-do? Do you think it's a c-c-c-curse?!" Vix asked.
"Maybe it's the teachers testing us?" Varis pondered.
"Oh sure! Because if the teachers wanted to test us, I'm sure they'd do it by throwing food in our faces," Beto said sarcastically.
"I mean, it's possible!" Varis snapped back.
"Varis, Beto, stop arguing!" Mek commanded.
Varis and Beto instantly grew quiet. They almost looked a bit scared. Mek turned towards Sophie.
"Sophie, do you see anything?"
Sophie had looked all over, but she couldn't see anyone or anything that might be causing the chaos. "No, all I see are the other students running from their food."
"Let me have a look," Mek said, getting up next to Sophie.
"We're clearly dealing with some kind of magic, so whoever's doing this might be using magic to hide themselves as well," Mek explained, turning a small dial on her sunglasses. The dark lenses suddenly started to glow orange. Mek turned her head from side to side.
"There! I see him!" Mek darted back under the table, pulling Sophie with her [https://img.wattpad.com/6b72b6012664771c17be00cf4c8ea728fc8bc038/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f46762d6b724c7239755a6f5967673d3d2d313235363530313031382e313730633235356532346331323737633735343132333333343730362e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
"There! I see him!" Mek darted back under the table, pulling Sophie with her. The others looked expectantly at Mek.
"It's Drim," she said.
"Oh, I hate that troublemaker!" Fiff exclaimed angrily.
"And he looks like he's searching for someone," Mek added.
The entire class turned to look at Sophie.
"What are you looking at me for?"
"You don't know Drim all that well yet," Fiff explained, "but he's known for really holding a grudge when someone pulls one over on him... And you've done that twice today already!"
"But won't the teachers come and stop him?" Sophie asked.
"Probably not in time," Trom sighed. He was clearly unhappy with the situation. "Chances are, he'll have put a spell on the doors as well. It wouldn't be the first time."
"B-b-but how do w-we stop him th-then?" asked Vix, who was growing more and more panicked.
Again, the entire class turned towards Sophie.
"So, do you have a plan, Sophie?" Fiff asked eagerly.
Sophie looked at her in surprise, then at the faces of the other kids, who were all staring at her expectantly.
"A plan?"
"I mean, it was your wild ideas that helped us beat Drim," Fiff said encouragingly. "That's more than any of us have ever managed. So do you have any more ideas like that?"
Sophie was overwhelmed. It was only her first day at the school, and now every single one of her classmates were sitting there, ready to help her pull off one of her crazy plans. They trusted her. She had never experienced something like that before, and certainly not at her previous schools. There she'd never been praised for the way she acted or the way her mind worked.
But here they liked her crazy ideas. They didn't care about her differently colored eyes. They even seemed happy that she was a bit different.
She burst into a smile. So, this was how it felt to be accepted for who you are.
"Yeah, I've got some ideas," she said with a grin, looking around at the other students. "But first I gotta know what stuff we have that we might be able to use against Drim."
"I've got a bomb! Can we use that?" Varis asked eagerly, pulling the explosive out of his backpack and presenting it proudly.
That sent a shock through all the other students.
"Why in the world do you have a bomb!?" yelled Beto, who was sitting right next to Varis and immediately started scooting away [https://img.wattpad.com/41d9aec05a81e786dbfe72fda07919d8a4e70fcb/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f7a6b5066715675744869535272773d3d2d313235363530313031382e313730633235363837646265353661343531363732313032363034372e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
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"Why in the world do you have a bomb!?" yelled Beto, who was sitting right next to Varis and immediately started scooting away.
"Oh, relax! It's not that kind of bomb," Varis said dismissively.
Sophie leaned in closer with interest.
"What kind of bomb is it?"
The dining hall was still filled with the screams of students running from their food. Mek had reported that Drim was standing at the end of the hall next to the giant octopus, not looking very happy. Sophie was crawling under the tables along with most of her classmates, while Varis and Beto had stayed behind as a diversion.
"Say, did you see earlier when Drim got thrown in the water, Varis?" rang out a voice from one of the faraway tables. Drim furiously turned in the direction that the voice had come from and spotted Varis and Beto.
"Oh yeah, that was hi-la-rious!" Varis said, giggling and overacting gloriously. "That Drim must really like getting wet. I bet he'd pee his pants if he wore any!"
Drim raised his hand, indicating for the flying plates to stop in mid-air. They did, then slowly turned in the air to face Varis and Beto who had started singing.
"Dumb ol' Drim! His horns are fake! He loves to jump into a lake!"
Drim furiously swung his arms in their direction, and all of the plates flew towards them. Both Beto and Varis avoided the plates handily. Beto quickly transformed into a bat, and Varis jumped high into the air. Drim again swung his arms, making the plates change their direction and fly directly at Varis, who was still mid-jump. Varis gulped. This looked bad.
The plates all came flying at him at full speed. There was no way for him to avoid them. Drim grinned triumphantly. Varis closed his eyes, spread out his arms – and flew directly upwards. The flying food hit nothing except the air beneath his furry feet.
"What the...!" Drim exclaimed with surprise, before noticing the bat that was holding onto Varis' clothes. It was Beto who had pulled Varis further up into the air and who was now strenuously flapping his wings to keep them both airborne.
It was Beto who had pulled Varis further up into the air and who was now strenuously flapping his wings to keep them both airborne [https://img.wattpad.com/39530cec0a2f0b8eb4ab9feb44735c5ed3c34385/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f637563696a7a756f33324b4b4a773d3d2d313235363530313031382e3137306332353730613238616336323832363831333336323433332e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
The plates once again changed direction and flew at the two boys. It seemed like Beto would be too tired to be able to avoid all of the incoming plates, but once again Varis and Beto just managed it. They quickly darted to the side, avoiding the attacking food.
Drim was growing more and more frustrated. The diversion had worked. He hadn't noticed Sophie and the others who had now gotten very close, even though things hadn't gone quite as smoothly as they had intended. Rok, being the biggest kid in the class, had hit his head against a number of the tables, but luckily Drim had been too occupied with Varis and Beto to notice.
Now they were close enough, Sophie decided, so Varis and Beto just needed to finish their diversion. She gave a small nod to Fiff, letting her know that she should send them the signal.
Mek crawled up next to Sophie. She was holding Varis' bomb. Rok, Trom and Vix moved into position as well. Based on Mek's instructions, Sophie crawled under the tables, placing herself on the opposite side of Drim from the rest of the class.
Fiff was supposed to signal to Varis and Beto by changing her color to red, so up until now she had been controlling her emotions so that she only cast a gray glow.
But now she was able to let loose. Varis and Beto spotted the red light right away. Beto quickly changed directions, heading straight for the place where he knew that the invisible Drim was standing – and so did all the plates.
"Ha! As if that was going to work!" Drim yelled mockingly.
Varis and Beto flew right up next to him, so close that they could have almost reached out and touched him, but at the last moment they changed directions, flying straight up into the air. Drim quickly flicked his arm upwards with a superior smile, and all the plates flew up after them.
"I can change their direction whenever I want!" Drim yelled after them. But while all that food was flying past him, it was also blocking his view. Mek seized the opportunity and rolled the small bomb towards Drim.
Unlike everyone else in the dining hall, Mek could see Drim plain as day. That was how she'd kept all of her classmates updated on Drim's whereabouts, and it was also why she had been in charge of handling the bomb, which now rolled perfectly and stopped right in front of Drim's hooves.
The last of the plates flew past Drim, and in that moment, the bomb detonated.
Green slime burst from the small bomb, covering the surrounding tables, chairs, and most importantly Drim in a thick layer of goo. Drim's entire body was covered in the stuff, meaning that everybody in the hall could now see him.
Drim's entire body was covered in the stuff, meaning that everybody in the hall could now see him [https://img.wattpad.com/ffc629845094a3dbcca3c554c59d9d351d7a6d1f/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6b63357562677153384367596e413d3d2d313235363530313031382e313730633235386231656639616534623531343137303830383832372e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Drim stood completely frozen. He had lost his concentration, which meant that his magic stopped working. All the plates started falling to the ground. As they crashed on the ground and shattered, Drim seemed to finally register what had happened. He realized that he needed to hide again and start a new spell.
"Hi, Drim," said a voice behind him.
Drim stopped in his tracks. Recognizing the voice, he turned angrily. He stepped menacingly towards Sophie. His eyes were flashing with both that familiar red glow and a pure thirst for vengeance as the green slime kept dripping from his body. He raised his hand in anger. Small bursts of lightning shot from the tips of his fingers.
"You're not getting away this time, you stinking human!" Drim yelled out, but just then Rok burst from under one of the tables, grabbing Drim in a vice grip. Vix and Trom grabbed him by the arms and legs, and Fiff picked up a tablecloth and used it to tie him down.
Drim was captured, and they were going to make sure he didn't escape justice. Mek and Rok were just getting ready to bring him down to the teacher's lounge, but when they opened the door, Ignortus the masked teacher was standing just outside.
Drim started yelling wildly. "No! Let me go! I need to make them pay! I need to capture their ... Mmmph!"
Ignortus casually shoved what looked like a very old and very smelly large woolen sock into Drim's mouth, shutting him up.
"Um... Mr. Ignortus," Sophie said, stepping a bit closer. "I think there's something wrong with Drim. I mean, I don't really know what's normal, but maybe he's being..."
"Controlled? Heavens no, don't you worry about that," Ignortus said, waving a hand cheerfully. But then he leaned in closer to Sophie and said in a more serious tone: "Of course, if he were, I would expect the creature controlling him to appear very soon now." Then Ignortus straightened up and happily made his way out of the dining hall carrying Drim under his arm without a care in the world.
The whole dining hall started cheering, and while Sophie was worried about what Ignortus had just said, she was soon carried away by the excitement around her.
"How many years of detention do you think he'll get?" Fiff asked, glowing purple with pride.
The small gargoyles had quickly started to clean up the mess, and before long the dining hall was almost back to its usual state. All the students got new servings of food handed to them with great haste, because there wasn't much of the lunch break left. They almost had to swallow their food whole to get to their next lesson in time.
Sophie was particularly excited for their next lesson. Because that would be the third and final lesson of the day: Their adventuring lesson with that mysterious teacher, Nimum. Sophie had so many questions that she hardly knew where to begin.
Sophie was lying in her bed with the duvet pulled up over her head [https://img.wattpad.com/8c8906bfb2eff326a3f9cd52b86ce8ec6d8acc52/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f767862706948304a73664a7570673d3d2d313235333934313835302e313733663230616534623765333861363936343636313337343032322e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]