Chapter 2: It Happened Again

Cent almost fainted when she opened the back door of the studio where Madame Lira's class was being held. No matter how slowly she opened the door, she was met by the blazing look of the middle-aged woman.

I'm gonna die.

"Crescent Smith!" Madame Lira's thunderous voice boomed inside the spacious studio. Cent could not help but wince as she heard her dreaded name.

Crescent, the name embroidered on her silk blanket that covered her bloody and small body. Sister Tasha told her that she might be a rich man's long-lost daughter since the basket that she placed was embroidered with gems that saved the shelter from bankruptcy at that time. Cent held into the thought that someday her parents would find her. So Cent refused to be adopted until Sister Tasha decided to give Cent the latter's last name.

"You dare to be late for this class! Did you forget that you are only here because of your blasted scholarship?"

She heard the snickers of her classmates. She hated the thought of being the center of attention with the fear that they would notice that she was not normal at all and that would lead to her being a total outcast. The very thought made her body shiver she felt like she was going to throw up. Cent just looked down as if she found something interesting on the floor as she clenched her fists.

"What? You turned into a mute now?"

The clicking of Madame Lira's heels made the shadows lurking inside her shadow hissed with obvious contempt. "No," replied Cent in a hushed voice. She was not afraid of Madame Lira anymore. Instead, she was afraid of what would happen if she would come near her when the shadows within her were agitated.

They were hard to control when they were agitated. And they were only in this state if she was in a perilous state like now. "No what?" Madame Lira's looming silhouette covered Cent's cowering frame. Cent still refused to look up. She remembered the state of her mirror in her room, if she dared to look at Madame Lira when her mood was in disarray, Cent could not guarantee the professor's safety.

"Are you daft? Or have you lost your common etiquette along the way? I said, no what?"

Cent felt the cold and painful touch of Madame Lira's fingers on her chin as the latter forced Cent to look at her. Madame Lira succeeded. Cent's once cobalt-colored eyes turned into hideous lime green as if they were shining beneath her bangs. "No, Madame Lira."

Madame Lira's perfect eyebrows arched but let her chin go harshly. She walked back to her table in front of the studio. Still looking down, Cent sat to the farthest chair from the others to avoid being talked upon. But, her efforts were futile when she already became the center of attention after the scene earlier. She heard every word that her classmates uttered.

"What a weirdo."

"Who is she?"

"I can't believe I failed to notice that we have a freaky classmate in this class."

"Shh. She might be a stalker. You don't want to be stalked by her, right?"

I am not a stalker.

Cent felt the comforting hiss of the shadows as they patted her shoes. Smiling bitterly, Cent bit back her tears. They are right about one thing though. I am weird. Cent wished to run away from this class, but if she did, she would lose the only purpose that was worth living for her. If she ran away, she would need to adjust again to the new environment. And being new meant being the center of attention. Cent hated that thought so she needed to steel herself to maintain being the wallflower of Julliard.

THE NEXT day, Cent was an hour early for Madame Lira's class. She sat silently at her spot. Two black butterflies flew around her as if they were playing with her while the shadows with her hissed like they normally did.

Time passed by but she never minded it. She kept reading in advance. After all, she had a grade to maintain. And with the qualifying ice skating completion only a day away, she needed to prepare by studying her patterns for later practice.

The bell rang but no one came so Cent started to wonder. Thirty minutes after the bell rang, a teacher's aide came in. He looked surprised when he saw her which caused her to wonder more. "Why are you here? Haven't you read the post from the school's page?"

I don't have a gadget. Cent wanted to reply but she just shook her head. "What happened?"

"Your professor in this class croaked last night." He replied casually. Those three words froze her.

So it happened again.

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