Avis Blackthorn: Is Not an Evil Wizard! (11 page)

Then, Straker appeared, with his form the
Eagles, dressed all in red. Leading them out was none other than
David Starlight. Straker stood next to Partington, who ignored
him.

“Okay…” called Underwood, who had a whistle
floating just in front of her mouth. “Take your positions. As we
let the Habitat
change
!” Then she gave a gigantic blow on
it.

There was a great roar from the crowd and I
had to shield my eyes as a blinding white light lit up the green
pitch., Suddenly we were standing on this sandy desert with small
mud huts and cactus plants. It was surreal, all at once we were in
the wild west. The cactus plants were huge and spiky. The tall mud
hills steep, and the sand was hot.

“Ooo, a nasty one for this match,” said
Underwood. “Your flounders will appear in your bold-hole in five…
four… three…”

I wheeled around to look at Hunter, the ball
would be appearing right next to him. “Two… One…
PLAY
!”

Twelve shots of fizzing Spells went straight
for us. One hit me in the face and I felt my body swell into the
air. What was the bloody Spell called!

“Kady… Kadie…
Kadriepop
!” I cried,
falling to the floor. As I wheeled round surveying the scene as
time seemed to slow: Hunter hadn’t spotted the blue flounder in our
bolt-hole, but that was the least of my worries. Robin, Jess,
Dennis, Florence, Ellen and Simon were hanging in the air, then all
at once a streak of blue light zapped them off the pitch. Oh no.
Now it was only me, Gret, Jake, Graham, Joanna and Hunter left. The
Eagles began running full pelt across the sand towards us. I ducked
behind a mud mound and saw this red ball go flying through the air
towards our bolt-hole. Hunter finally realised, with Joanna
screaming at him, where the ball was. He picked it up and threw it,
but not before a fizzing Spell flew through the air and smacked him
in the face, raising him into the air. What’s worse, our blue
flounder stopped in the air and flew back towards our own goal!
David Starlight burst past me hiding behind a mud mound, kicked off
a cactus, launched himself into the air, caught it and smashed it
into our bolt hole. A shot of blue light erupted into the sky.

I could have Spelled him, that was my chance!
But he was so quick I had no time to think. We had to get the other
ball. I looked up round the mound. The other ball was…

“
AHH
!” I cried as I was launched into
the air. I hung upside down with David Starlight’s face grinning at
me.

Then the git laughed. “Did you really think I
didn’t spot you?”

Before I knew it, this blinding light took
hold of me and yanked me by the toes towards our team bench, which
was quite full already. I sat breathing heavily, and took in my
surroundings. That could not have been any more humiliating. Robin
was on my left looking green still. We were sat in a line, on a
long bench, set just away from the crowd near the pitch. It was a
humiliating position to be in as everyone could see you. This was
more brutal than we imagined and the crowd was laughing!

Gret and Jake soon zapped back, so poor
Joanna was the only one out there now. We couldn't even see her.
The Eagles had found our other ball and scored, but now, with eight
minutes left they could Spell Joanna and receive full points.

It didn’t last much longer than a minute,
somehow Joanna had found an Ornament which turned her invisible,
but one of the team spotted her footprints creeping through the
sand and they got her.

The announcer suddenly called out, nearly
scaring me half to death — “AND THATS THE END OF GAME ONE! 5 POINTS
TO THE EAGLES!”

Straker smiled smugly. The worst bit about
this was — we still had four games left.

The second game was another white wash, they
won 4-0. Only because Hunter managed to throw our ball out of the
stadium! I think it caught a charmed tree on the Habitat, which
this time resembled a thin dead forest, and was belted away by it.
The games were getting rougher too. As we ran through Robin got an
elbow to the jaw and hung in mid air while blood dripped all over
our ball.

By the third game, I lasted two full minutes!
The habitat was this grey rocky plane with hidey holes, cracks and
tunnels. One of the Eagles ran straight past me. I lifted my hand
and aimed for him.

“
Pasanthedine
!” I called. The tornado
zapped straight for him as my channeller burned red hot. He shot
into the air and dangled helplessly. Zapping back to his bench. God
that felt good. The crowd who had taken to laughing at our
ineptitude were quiet for about thirty seconds. Jess had the ball
and had managed to make it invisible. Robin, Graham and Joanna
stumbled upon us, and together we charged towards their bold hole…
only to
all
fall down a large crater in the rock. I grazed
my knees and the Eagles almost didn’t Spell us in time, they were
laughing so much. Partington had his head in his hands.

By the forth game, there was this long grass,
surrounded by bracken, and we lost 2-0. We still hadn’t even
scored! It took until the final game for us to actually score a
point! The Habitat was a terraced house street from the Outside
world. Florence found an Ornament in one of the houses that gave
her flight. When the Eagles tried to Spell her they all missed as
she circled above the pitch Spelling all the Eagles. Joanna ran
clean through as they were all looking up and scored! The crowd
didn’t clap or celebrate though, only a few ironic cheers greeted
us.

“WELL DONE TO ALL WHO PLAYED TODAY. TO THE
EAGLES…” there was a massive cheer. “AND THE CONDORS…” There was
nothing, except maybe laughing. “NEXT TIME… IT’S THE MANTICORES
AGAINST THE CENTAURS IN HAILING HALLS RIPTIDE!”

So that was it. Our first venture as The
Condors into the world of competitive Riptide. And we were awful. I
mean, absolutely rubbish. We were laughed off the pitch. Partington
couldn't get out of the stadium quick enough. We tried to keep our
heads down as we mooched away down the tunnel and back towards our
form class. We all huddled together. I had cuts and bruises all
over me and my shirt was torn in several places.

David Starlight had made sure to clatter into
me at every opportunity and my knees were grazed and sore. Robin
was all but crying, he had scraped all his palms and couldn't move
his jaw. Jess and Florence looked disgusted with themselves as they
waddled back, caked in mud. Gret and Jake whispered
conspiratorially in their own Golandrian. And Dennis was actually
sobbing because his shirt sleeve was ripped. Ellen put her broken
glasses back on and Simon bemoaned to Graham the lack of
training.

As we walked back, some people were pointing
and laughing. I heard people saying:

— “He’s a
Blackthorn
? You must be
kidding me!”

— “A Blackthorn? He’s got about as much
Magical talent as a gnome!” followed by cackles of laughter.

“Hey little brother,” said this ominous voice
that sent shivers down my spine. Bloody Ross with more of his goofy
strange friends, sidled up to me. Some of the faces around us
turned to look. I carried on walking, climbing the stone stairs
back to the school. He was going to Spell me, I knew it, after
years of him at home I could read him like a book.

“So you’re not signing up for the Riptide
All-Star team at the end of the year then?” he cackled in his best
impression of Mum. I ignored him. “I cheered you on, you have to
stick up for one of your own don’t you? But the thing about Riptide
is, you really need to THINK FAST!
Aperincho
!” He called. A
whizzing red and purple ball of wind shot at my face.

“
Dancidios
!” I had it ready in my
mind. And miraculously, his ball of thorny light fell to the floor
leaving only a scorch mark. His face dropped. I’ve never seen it do
that. The people around us who had stopped to watch, crooned.

“Looks like little Avis has learnt a thing or
two at school,” he spat.

“Not enough…” said another voice behind me.
“
Parsanthedine
!” Yanked up by my toes, I dangled helplessly
in mid air as David flipping Starlight grinned at me again. Again!
Blood boiled in my veins.

“You bloody coward!” I called. “That was from
behind!” The crowd carried on walking. David and Ross high-fived,
and walked off together.

“Kadriepop…
Kadriepop
!” I must have
been there for an hour, I had no strength left to wave my arms
round. Fortunately, Partington spotted me out of his window,
Spelled me down again and walked off without a word.

I was fuming. I thought this school was
supposed to all be about being nice to each other, helping one
another out and cheering each other on? The crowd had just laughed
at us playing Riptide, did they not know that we had less than a
days training? I know we were awful, but still. I couldn't help
this burning cauldron of fury burn inside me all the way back to
the dorm. I wasn’t going back to the classroom, no way. I stomped
mud all the way back up the corridors, several ghosts chased after
me and shouted at my dirty insolence. So I returned some choice
words for them and they soon disappeared.

I was sick of it. The humiliation, the
teasing, the bare faced bullying, the not being good enough, the
lack of respect from everyone. I couldn't face it anymore. As the
blood rushed back to my head, I decided…

I would make them all regret the time they
crossed Avis Blackthorn
. It was time I did what my family had
always wanted, and got my revenge. Time I became a real Blackthorn…
it was time that I became
evil
.

***

I didn’t really speak to anyone for the next
week, keeping to myself. I had been making copious notes about how
to be evil and what I could do to get my own back on:

• David Starlight and the Eagles, (the image of them
laughing at us in the crater still echoing through my mind).

• My git brother Ross.

• Anyone else who had crossed me.

What was even more unfortunate was the fact
that we, the Condors, were kind of infamous now for being ‘
The
worst Riptide team in Hailing Hall’s history
’ — even though it
wasn’t true.

Everywhere we went as a form, people would
point and laugh and remind us of our ‘huge loss’ or remark on the
awful Spell I did or something else that was equally appalling in
their eyes. I would try and ignore it, but it just made me more
fired up about being evil and making a note of each git face who
laughed at me in the corridors.

Hunter was so upset about being continually
teased as he walked the corridors that he took to being late for
lessons so he could walk the corridors alone and in peace. Add that
to the fact that he’d been sleepwalking. Me and Jake saw him, the
night before. He got up to dress, but then put his trousers on his
head and proceeded to crawl around the floor searching for the
door. The stress had got to all of us. In class, an argument had
erupted between the girls. Dawn and Florence began tearing each
other’s hair out and had to be separated by Partington.

One night, sitting by the fire, me and some
of the boys were doing
more
Straker homework, the git had
given us an assignment on
the
rules of Riptide
. None
of us had properly spoken since that day.

Robin, who was rubbing his jaw, looked up.
“Do you think we’ll ever be like… cool?”

Graham sniffed. “Not while we’re at this
school, not unless we modify
everyone’s
memories.”

Hunter, who had a right sour face, said.
“We’re the
losers
aren’t we?”

I wasn’t listening too much, concentrating on
my evil plans which I was brainstorming, having finished my
homework. I put my ink pot and pen down and looked up at them,
trying to be cool and mysterious.

“We’re not losers,” I said. “We’re just not…
respected
, yet. We cannot blame ourselves, we had one day to
learn Riptide. Straker’s form had a month,” they all nodded, I had
them onside. “What we need to do now, is show everyone, that we are
not to be
messed
with…”

Some of them scoffed. “And how?” said Simon.
“Do we do that?”

“My parents are evil. I’ve learnt a lot from
them over the years. Whenever they think that someone has
disrespected them, they show them how mistaken they were. They
scare the living daylights out of them.” They were all looking at
me with wide eyes. “We do something
evil
… Something that
will make people so scared of us, that they daren’t say anything
else.”

***

I had the formation of a plan. A plan to
resurrect what dignity we and I, had left. To be honest with you,
this plan benefited me more than the others but they knew it would
only work with me. Anyway, if we pulled this off, no one would ever
say or do anything to us again.

Over the coming weeks, me, Robin and Hunter
talked non stop about the plan. Graham occasionally came over to
join us, but I don’t think he could decide if he was wanted in or
not. Jake refused point blank when I told him the plan and Simon
shrugged and sat on the window seat in silence. Dennis spent so
much time in the girls dorm, that we hardly had chance to tell
him.

“We ought to tell the girls you know,” said
Hunter. “They might want to join in, get some girl power back!”

We laughed at him, he was funny. “Yeah, they
have been a bit… what’s the word?”

“Hormonal?” Hunter offered.

“No, no…” I said. “Just depressed. Joanna
sits on her own in the lunch hall, Jess has come out in Hubris
stress spots, Florence and Dawn try and rip each others throats out
at every opportunity, Ellen has retreated firmly back in her shell
and Gret…”