Chapter Two:
Darkness shrouded the campus as the signal for lights out sounded from the speakers. A sneeze tickled at her nose as Christy waited for the janitor to lock up for the night. The moment it was safe she reappeared and quietly lit a candle.
Running a hand through her unruly mass of curls, she set right down to work. Her date with Ron the previous afternoon had set her behind. Not that it mattered; the simple potion mixing problems took no time at all. That and she’d rather go for a spin in Ron’s ship than sit through a dull classroom lecture. Quietly and quickly she worked away at the assignments in the lab. Sneaking in extra lab time was against the rules. If she was caught…but there was no need to think of that. She wouldn’t get caught.
She played a risky game and knew it. The way she lived it kept life interesting. It wasn’t as if she paid attention to the rules anyway. She had plenty of time to be a good girl when she “grew up”. Besides, if she knew her brother he’d be in the lab across campus doing the same thing with permission of course. Moments went by and the assignment was finished. After picking the lock on the Professor’s lock box she slipped her paper with the others and cleaned up.
Only when she was outside the building heading toward the dorms did she breathe easily. There was no need to become invisible with the moon covered in clouds. Tucking a stray hair behind her ear she glanced over to where the other lab was located. Sure enough a faint light came from the open window. She could just barely make out her brother’s shadow from where she stood, “Crazy boy, he should get some sleep. This is the fifth night this week.”
Turning around she heard a bird call come from the harbor below the school. A slight breeze carried the sound and with it the smell of salt. She smiled and returned Ron’s goodnight whistle as they did every night. Finally, she began the long walk across campus to her room.
A gust of wind brought by an explosion knocked her to the ground. She rolled over to gaze upon the lab that was in flames. Bright red, orange, and blue flames licked at the building eating away at it. The courtyard was illuminated amidst the dark night by the blaze. In a shot she jumped to her feet as a second explosion threw her across the way. Lights were beginning to come on all around the campus. Ignoring the pain in her wrist she ran toward the burning building.
She plunged herself into the gaping inferno where a brick wall had stood. Outside a crowd had begun to assemble as the fire department arrived. The only thing that could be heard amongst the sirens and the crackling of an overgrown bonfire was Christy’s piercing scream of, “Adam, no!”
Struggling through the flames she coughed at the accumulating smoke and kept searching. The heat grew in intensity as the seconds passed by like hours. From somewhere a faint mist was barely felt. It must be from fire trucks, but where were the firemen and why weren’t they in here helping? A crash and a thud the rafters came down as she darted out of the way. There wasn’t much time left for them, “Oh Adam, where are you? Adam!!” A moan came from the far corner where Adam lie unconscious, “Oh thank God!” Christy made her way carefully over and attempted to wake him.
After several failed attempts the north wall came crumbling down. Another scream escaped from her lips as she realized the building was coming down on top of them. Finally, she knelt down and put her hands underneath Adam’s arms. Inch by inch she dragged the motionless figure toward the opening in which she came, “I swear Adam when we get out of this you’re going on a diet!” The more she talked the calmer she felt. “C’mon Adam, this is no time for a nap! Wake up you big oaf and help me! Now Adam, you’re not going to die on me. Neither of us is.” By this time the fire had grown taking over the whole building. The air reeked of smoke and burning chemicals. Another explosion was inevitable and fast approaching. Then the rest of the building began to come down in an enormous fiery wall threatening to trap them both. “Hang on Adam. Here we go!” She yelled as with the last bit of strength she had threw her brother outside to safety and burst from the flames collapsing in a heap on the grass. Just then a third and final explosion went upward in a blazing ball of smoke, wood, and brick. It was the last thing Christy called before everything went black.
Voices from above brought her back to the world of the living. How long had she been here? Where was she? What happened? In an attempt to collect herself she lay still with her eyes closed. From somewhere Christy heard muffled voices. A trio stood in the opposite end of the room; they whispered quietly in an attempt not to wake the sleeping patient.
“You know she was working late. Her brother probably went in there to drag her back to the dorms…” one voice said.
“Yes, but she saved his life. Some students say they saw her come from the opposite direction…” a second voice replied.
Fluttering her eyes open she looked across to see the Headmaster, her dorm mother, and Professor Himkel standing in a cluster. Now she remembered…the fire, sneaking in Himkel’s lab, and Adam working late. As the conversation grew she became more and more aware of what was happening. They thought she was to blame for the fire! She moaned and rolled over at the punishment that lay ahead of her.
The three stopped in mid-conversation and looked over at the sleeping girl. She lay there with her burns and bandages thrashing about. Obviously they were disturbing her. They slipped out quietly, and Christy peeked and watched them go. She opened her eyes wide and looked about. Much to her surprise it was nightfall out. Jumping out of bed she grabbed the bedpost to steady herself. She was much weaker than she thought. Never mind that there was no time to give into a weak body. She wouldn’t let them get to her. She’d leave quietly. Slowly she made her way across the room and opened the window and let out a whistle. A few minutes later a return whistle came and she set to work.
For a few seconds she wondered where Isabelle her roommate was. There was no time for unnecessary questions. Ron would arrive any minute to take her away. Shrugging her shoulders she took her bag from the closet and filled it with what little she desired to keep. No more of this hypocrisy for her. She’d turn to sea with her Ron. He’d been begging for months for her to run away with him. Before now she never could no matter how much she loved him. She wanted to stay until graduation before. However all that just changed. Checking to be sure she had her clothes, her book of spells, and a photo of her family she was ready to go. The grander majority of her possessions would remain. For none of them were of much use on an old fashioned galleon. All were reminders of her past life. Ironically she found herself laughing at the situation. Gazing out the window she could see that Ron hadn’t arrived yet.
Taking a seat at her desk she dipped her pen in the inkwell and jotted a note for Adam explaining what was going on. “Silly school still using old pens. Haven‘t they heard of my friend Mr. Ball Point?” quietly she muttered and scribbled. She apologized for everything, and for missing graduation. A faint call of a robin came from below her window. Christy took one look around the room as she set her jaw firmly. It was amazing at how little remorse she felt. Nothing could get to her now. She tossed her bag out the window and motioned for Ron to wait a moment. She slipped quietly to the other side of the room and opened Izzy’s closet. Carefully, she tucked the note into Izzy’s Chemistry book. That was the class that her brother and his girlfriend had together. Returning to the window she swung a leg across the sill and jumped. Albeit she fell two stories Ron easily caught her in his arms and set her down lightly. He gazed down at her happily and gave her a quick kiss. Both disappeared into the night as quietly as the sun slips behind the horizon.
Unbeknownst to Christy and Ron one person watched their escape. Adam stood at his window facing the direction of his sister’s room. His carelessness had caused the fire and the grander majority of his vision. He had a hunch that Christy had heard her be unjustly accused of the accident. Since he heard the first whistle echo across the silent campus he knew exactly what was happening. Christy was running away. There was no telling when he would see his younger sister again. A silent prayer went up for his bull headed little sister as he turned to report her missing.
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