The Beautiful Monster

Melina needed to study, but she figured that she could take a quick break to spend some time with a friend. She smiled and nodded.

"That sounds nice," she replied.

Blair whisked Melina off to the cafeteria, where they picked up slices of vanilla loaf and cups of lemon tea. They sat down at a table far away from where the girl was attacked. The school staff had done a good job of cleaning the blood off the floor.

"Can I borrow some ingredients from you? I need mugwort and black salt for my next class," Blair asked.

Melina checked the time, grimacing when she realized that she would have to take off sooner than she thought to get to her next class.

"Yeah, they're in my room, but I have to go to class soon," she said before downing the last sip of her tea. "I can give you my key, but I'll need to get it back after my class.

Blair waved her hand dismissively.

"Everyone here knows how to pick locks," she said before popping the last bite of her vanilla loaf into her mouth. She brushed her thumb over her lips, wiping off any crumbs. "Thanks, Mel."

Melina nodded, unable to say anything before Blair already took off. She glanced around the cafeteria, noticing that it was quieter and emptier than usual. A lot of people studied in the cafeteria at times, motivating themselves with tea, coffee, or some sweet treat. Now, there were only a few people occupying the dozens of wooden tables.

She felt uneasy sitting there alone at her table, even if there were other people in the room. She needed to get to class anyway.

After tossing her things in the trash, she walked out of the cafeteria quickly, feeling a dark feeling loom behind her as she moved. She didn't know what to think about anything, and the uncertainty was steadily eating her away.

******

"You're my powerful than you think that you are. You can sway the elements, manipulate gravity. Just never lose control."

Melina stared at the feather levitating in front of her, concentrating hard to keep it floating. Professor Samson's voice droned on in the background as she focused, but she didn't miss the message in his words. Witches were powerful in their own right, making nature bend to their will. It was a huge responsibility, and it was one that plenty of witches had abused before.

She never wanted to use her powers for evil. It was against everything that witches stood for, and dark magic was highly frowned upon. At school, they didn't learn any attack spells. They learned element spells and defensive spells. Of course, anyone could tweak a few things and learn an attack spell on their own, but most only used them for protection.

"Good, Melina. Good control," Professor Samson said as she moved to her side, watching the feather drift in the air slowly. Some of the other feathers from other students were wildly fluttering from a lack of control.

"Will we only practice this on feathers?" Melina asked. Feathers were easy for her to control, but she couldn't help but want a bigger challenge. That was the only way that she could learn. She had to push herself.

"Later on, we'll move on to heavier objects. For now, practice your control. That's the most important thing," Professor Samson replied before walking off to check on another student.

Melina supposed that she could stand to practice her control a little more. She didn't want to blow up more lightbulbs. By the time the lesson ended, she was mentally exhausted. Practicing magic, even low-level magic, for so long wore her down, but school also helped her endurance. She could practice much longer than she could back in her first year. If she tried to make a feather float for thirty minutes in her first year, she would've passed out.

She dragged herself out of the classroom and to the stairs to get to her dorm. She was ready to rest after today. As she got closer to her dorm, her body grew heavier and heavier as she started to relax. She was so close to her bed.

That relaxed feeling immediately went up in smoke when she saw that her door was cracked open. Panic shot through her as she froze in place, staring at the door and wondering what to do. She could hear light movement from inside the room, so she knew that someone had broken into her dorm. But who?

She considered running down the hall and grabbing a school official, but what if the person was gone by the time she got back? She had to at least see who it was. She quietly pushed her door open, peering through the crack and feeling her heart drop at the sight of Tyler looking in her wardrobe.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, hearing her voice shake slightly. She was so confused, so shocked. Honestly, she was disappointed too.

Tyler whipped around to face her, a surprised look appearing on his face. He hadn't expected her to walk in on him.

"Melina… I can explain," he said in a calm voice.

Melina immediately shook her head, not wanting to hear some stupid excuse for why he was in her room. She didn't even know how he got inside in the first place. He must've picked the lock to her door. But why?

"You can't just break into people's rooms! That's weird!" she snapped at him. She felt uneasy and violated. There was no telling what he had been doing in her room before she got here.

Tyler parted his lips to speak, but Melina cut him off.

"I was warned about you, and I didn't listen. Maybe I should've. Just get out!" Melina shouted, pointing to the door. She didn't miss the way her heart ached. She wished that things hadn't come to this, that Blair and all the others hadn't been right.. She really thought that Tyler was a nice guy, not some creep.