A Seat Among Strangers

The next day, Scarlet was packing some belongings into her school bag. She started to sort her dresses and other items into her bag, but Pim kept pulling them out with his teeth. Then, he lightheartedly tossed them into another part of the room. He seemed to enjoy playing with Scarlet this way and seeing her run around in panic mode.

“Hey, stop Pim!” She went into the other room to pick up the clothes off the floor. She shook her head in disappointment, staring at the dresses with little holes gnawed into them.

“Woo, woo,” Pim howled in delight.

She walked closer to the excited creature and patted his head. All three of his eyes closed, surrendering in pure pleasure. She struggled to lift him up, it felt like he weighed a ton even though he had a small body. He protested, trying to wiggle himself out of her arms. She carried him all the way to the kitchen. Then, she gently placed his four hooved legs on the tiles. Pim did not like to be held for long and stretched out his legs mischievously.

Grandmother Mimi looked down from her chattering newspaper and her eyes narrowed in disapproval when she saw Pim, “Oh no, don’t you put that monster in here.”

Scarlet insisted, “It’s only for a little moment until I finish packing.”

Pim showed a toothy grin and leaped over licking Grandmother Mimi’s face.

“Hey, quit that, you’re getting slobber all over me.”

Back in Scarlet’s room, she was gathering the clothes she wanted to pack in peace. She also decided to take Rose’s memory book with her.

She brought out a fishbone comb and brushed through her long hair. She fixed a blue rose headband on top of her hair, completing her hairstyle. She then adjusted her dress with a twirl in front of a mirror. Lastly, she clipped the device Theo gave her on her dress collar.

“I’m ready.” Scarlet mumbled to herself. She started walking back into the kitchen.

Pim huffed and puffed. He then rolled into her school bag to come along with her.

Grandmother Mimi handed her a boxed lunch.

“You look as beautiful as my granddaughter did.”

“Thank you, Grandmother Mimi.”

“Now, be safe and remember to visit me!”

Scarlet waved bye, “Don’t worry, I will.”

She was on her way to the academy. She was feeling nervous about attending another school.

I wonder if this school will be like my old one; I hope I can help Theo somehow.

The academy was as big as an estate. There was a giant grey porcelain fountain in the middle spewing water. The sun reflected on the water shimmering.

A pair of gardens stood sentinel on either side of the entranceway. One garden had large Venus fly traps growing in the soft dirt. They were cared for and spoiled by the local gardener who fed them wasp pancakes. They spent their time nipping on oblivious passerby’s ankles. They were salivating until another unsuspecting prey came along. On the other side, there were sleeping flowers that gave off an aroma of freshly baked goods. They often grew restless due to the constant loud snapping of their Venus fly trap neighbor.

Scarlet took out a brass compass from her dress pocket. It was one of the items Theo gave to her to help whenever she was lost.

“Take me to my classroom.”

A strange light emanated from the compass arrow as it twirled and spun uncontrollably. Suddenly, it stopped moving and pointed in one direction. Her feet traced the curves of the pathway. A strong surge of energy from the compass pulled her from a stroll into a sprint, guiding her to the destination. The force was so powerful her feet left the ground, and she was unable to stop her movement. She clung on with all her might.

The ivory painted door read “Live” in gold letters at the top. She pushed her way through into the classroom. The room was built like a stadium. The seating was arranged in layers all around a circle, and in the center, there was the teacher's tall grand wooden podium.

There was assigned seating; the names of the students were hovering over the desks. Once seated, their names vanquished. If a student tried to sit in another seat, it made them fall flat on their faces.

Scarlet’s name was hovering over her desk. It was close to the front of the room to her dismay. She was used to sitting in the back away from all the attention of her peers and teachers. In this new seat, she will be visible to everyone.

As she headed over to her new seat, she noticed an object lying on top of her desk. At a closer glance, she noticed it was a maroon box tied with a ribbon.

Upon seeing this, she began to pull the ribbon by its ends, untying the box. She lifted the top and she saw a book.

Scarlet, can you hear me?

She was startled by Theo’s voice. She surveyed the entire room for him, but he was nowhere to be seen. She then remembered she was wearing the clip-on device that he gave her.

He started to give her some instructions.

Did you get the book? You will need to write down all the details of your everyday activities in it. It needs to be turned into the big steel metal box near the offices every night.

Snap Snap

Out of nowhere, she heard some loud snapping up against her ears.
Scarlet's eyes opened, and she could see two long slender fingers flicking in a quick motion in front of her face.

"Ah she's alive." Sneered a girl. She had short strawberry blonde curly hair with a hair clip shaped like the letter “W”. She had 3 strands of hair that shifted in opposite directions. Her eyes were of a bright emerald color.

"Waah, Kina’s so cool!” Exclaimed someone in the back of the classroom.

She took a seat next to Scarlet. She was chewing loudly on her gum. It gave off a strong scent of horseradish. Scarlet crinkled her nose when the smell reached her nostrils.

"You ought to pay more attention, or somebody will eat you alive." Kina motioned her hand in an alligator motion moving the mouth to close and open. She laughed.

Scarlet found Kina to be too loud, but she had no choice but to sit in the seat where she was assigned. She was used to being ignored by her classmates in her home world. In this one, it proved the opposite.

The noises made Pim restless in the school bag. He was tossing and turning until he had enough. Pim was not fond of abrupt loud noises. He also sensed that Scarlet was in some sort of distress.

He popped his head out of Scarlet’s bag and nibbled on Kina’s hand.

Mmmf Pim sunk his teeth into Kina’s hand.

“Ack, what in the creature is that?!” She quickly pulled her hand away and firmly massaged it to ease the pain.

"You're a freak. Even that lowly being in your bag is one, too."

Scarlet averted her eyes.
She put one finger to her lips and shushed Pim.
Pim whimpered softly, lowering his head in response feeling ashamed.

Suddenly, there were two sharp resounding clapping sounds that cut through the room.

“Now quiet!” The floorboards groaned under each approaching footstep.