Page 22 of The Blackened Blade

I grit my teeth, clenching my fists as I walk through the corridor to class.

I’ll never be that weak and naive girl again.

I’ll train every night, make my muscles and body scream with the burn until I’m brimming with the strength and power I should have always had.

* * *

A few days pass with the same routine; wake, shower, eat, go to my classes, eat again because–meals are important and heavenly–train until I collapse into bed, and then sleep again.

Other than a few snide jokes about my shorter hair, and a few people trying to trip me up, or kick my chair from under me, it was relatively peaceful. The majority opting to ignore me.

The classes were even longer and more boring than I remembered, especiallySpells, Illusions and Curses.

Mrs. Bruswick was a teacher who believed in status and tradition like the rest of the student body, so me being a powerless witch with no proper backing left me at the bottom of her concern, with only scathing looks given throughout the lesson. Even then, I guess that was better than the students around her, who preferred to pretend I didn’t exist at all.

I attended every class this week except for the Defence class, which I had missed when I slept in both on Monday, and then again on Wednesday. I had a particularly gruelling training session on Tuesday night when I’d switched up my routine and added a few laps around the clearing. I couldn’t pull myself up in time for breakfast, let alone class.

I hadn’t attended the Defence class in my previous life, having been too physically weak and opting for a less active class, but this time I was genuinely looking forward to it.

The teacher, Mr. Valor, was known to have a reputation for his serious teaching and strong fighting skills. He had only joined the faculty this year and was a master of weaponry and battle strategy. And apparently he treated everyone equally and disciplined everyone regardless of status or strength fairly.

Making my way through the cafeteria doors, I head straight toward the food.

I had made it my routine as much as I could, to get a delicious breakfast and dinner here. Staying on guard with my food and learning from my previous life, I had not let my meals out of my sight for even a second. And so far, so good.

The smell of cheese hits my nose. There was freshly made lasagne, vegetable risotto and beef wellington on the dinner menu tonight.

The server gives me a small smile as I almost foam at the mouth over the delicious-looking food.

“What will it be tonight, Micai?” Grinned Finn, a friendly strawberry-blonde haired server. His bright blue eyes curve into crescents as my eyes flicker back and forth between the beef wellington and lasagne.

Finn and a few of the other servers had gotten used to my presence over the past few days. We’d even gotten into the habit of greeting and chatting from time to time. I think we bonded over our dislike of the pompous students and their snobbery in this school. That and they always gave me extra food.

I can’t not like people who feed me.

“The cheesy lasagne please.”

He chuckles and cuts me an extra large piece, handing me a bottle of water as he leans in a little closer.

“I’ll save you some Wellington if there's any spare.” He gives me a wink and goes to serve another student behind me.

I’d been training every night, strengthening my muscles and body, and needed all the extra calories I could get. So it definitely helped having connections in the kitchen.

I make my way over to my usual spot, the table always being empty. And just the way I liked it.

I didn’t usually like to stay too long during dinner time though. It became too crowded and too noisy, but today that cheesy lasagne was calling to me, and you can’t rush a meal like this.

Digging straight into the extra large portion of lasagne as the room became noisier, I glanced up, watching the tables fill up with students as classes finished for the day.

Taking another big bite of my meal, the soft and creamy pasta and tender meat pulls all my attention back to the plate in front of me.

I take a few more delicious bites, enjoying every morsel, the lasagne only half eaten, when suddenly a bright purple liquid is poured all over my plate, drenching my lasagne in the watery substance.

“You're finished now, right?” A familiar high-pitched voice calls. “So move.”

Ivy drops an empty can beside my plate, and raises a brow. A beat of silence passes as I stare at my tainted meal.

“What? Are you deaf, as well as uglyandstupid?” The group of boys around her laugh as they look down at me.

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