Alice Corey and the Hollows Curse

by Jimi Alan

  Inside the academy, Alice noticed how most of the halls looked the same. She heard a whisper coming from behind them as a student in a blue robe walked up to them. He walked up to Gloria’s side. Patting her head as a greeting, before continuing to the teacher before them.

  “Sorry I’m late.” The student sighed. “I got caught up in my studies and lost track of time.”

  “That’s alright.” The teacher smirked at him. “We are heading to the first years quarters and then to the Dining Room.”

  “Cool.” He looked at the crowd of first year students before him. “I’m Giles Parker. A third year student at Graves Academy.”

  The teacher told them. “He’s an honor student, studying in Mystical Creatures. I do believe that your younger sister is attending the academy this year.”

  “Yes.” Giles smirked. “She’s right there.”

  He gestured towards Gloria who blushed as her fellow students looked at her. Alice nugged her shoulder against Gloria’s hoping to give her some kind of comfort. The teacher lowered her hands down to her side.

  “We have a lot to show them.” The teacher reminder Giles. “Let’s go.”

  Giles walked beside the teacher. Alice and Gloria kept up with the other students as they walked down the hall towards another archway. She studied the halls, hoping that looking around them, she can keep herself from getting lost.

  The teacher walked with Giles into the hall of the first year students. The hall was empty like the one before them. It looked smaller as Alice remembered they were standing in one of the towers of the school.

  Keeping up with the group, Alice walked up a staircase with the teacher leading the group. They walked to the second store of the quiet tower. Alice kept her eyes on the stone staircases, hoping to reach the top without losing her steps. She glanced up from time to time, spotting Gloria smiling over her shoulder at her. Alice guessed she was over how her brother pointed her out among the crowd.

  Alice reached the top of the staircase, where the teacher was standing in the middle of an entryway. The teacher folded her hands in front of her dress. She looked down at the freshman class with her golden brown eyes creeping over the black rims of her sunglasses.

  Looking over her shoulder, the teacher waited for the class to gather. Her eyes met with Alice’s, only for a second. A cold shiver crawled down Alice’s spine. She glanced down at the flooring below her feet. Alice looked back up as she saw Gloria looking at her.

  Gloria worried. “Are you alright?”

  “Yep.” Alice nodded her head with a soft tone in her voice. “Just a little nervous, I guess.”

  “Don’t be.” Gloria said. “You have me.”

  The teacher raised her hands in front of her. She looked over the student’s head against the wall of the staircase behind them. Alice thought it was strange, she would make all of the students stop on the staircase.

  A smile went across the teacher's face. “I should introduce myself. I’m Madam Highfield. The professor of Magical History and Historical Past. I will be seeing each and everyone of you, the first thing tomorrow morning.”

  Madam Highfield lowered her hands as on the side of the staircase, several stones began to unfold. The stones gathered away, making archways appear from where they lay. Alice took a step back, bumping into Gloria who grabbed ahold of her shoulders, keeping Alice from tripping off of the step.

  She muttered. “Thanks.”

  Gloria smirked. “No worries.”

  Alice looked in front of her were the moving stones once was. She could not believe the sight in front of her. An archway had appeared from the wall, with a spacious classroom inside.

  “From what you all can see.” Madam Highfield spoke loudly for all of the students to hear her voice. “This staircase has access to every classroom. You may find many of them all over the school, just whatever you do. Don’t get lost.”

  She turned around, heading into an archway that appeared from the stoned staircase walls. Alice and the rest of the freshman class followed behind her with Giles keeping up with the teacher. Alice thought it was strange how Giles kept by her side, like he was waiting for his turn to speak to the class.

  Walking into a large hallway at the top of the staircase, Alice realized how different the academy looked on the top floors. She felt like she was walking for hours already. Gloria grabbed ahold of her hand and pulled her out of the crowd. The two of them leaned against a wall in the hallway, out of sight.

  Alice peeked her head from around the column at the side of the hallway. She wondered why Gloria had taken them away from the crowd. Thinking of what to say, Alice placed her hand onto the column. She felt a warm feeling in her hand from the column of the academy.

  Gloria told her in a faint whisper. “This is the dorms. My brother told me all about them when he was a freshman.”

  “Um.” Alice wondered if Gloria wanted to show her something Giles told her about.

  “He explored most of these halls.” Gloria told her. “Some of the rooms are off limits to the students. Making it so much fun to explore.”

  “Really?” Alice heard a voice from behind them.

  She looked over her shoulder at the hall. Alice saw Lucia standing against the wall on the other side. Hiding behind the column, she blended in with the other students with her dark green and silver robe over her white outfit.

  Gloria smiled. “Nice to see you Lucia.”

  “You too Gloria.” Lucia seemed to be friendly towards her. “Whatever you two plan on doing. You can count on me helping out.”

  “Sure.” Gloria smiled. “I thought we could go to the library and look at some of the spellbooks. They have like a million of them.”

  “Sounds like fun.” Lucia smirked as she rushed down the hallway towards the staircase. “I think it’s this way.”

  Alice was a bit surprised the Gloria wanted to follow Lucia. She seemed to not be a fan of her family. Alice walked beside Gloria, looking over her shoulder at the crowd of students approaching the other end of the hall.

  Gloria kept behind Lucia, keeping her distance. She kept her hands in the pockets of her robe, like her hands were cold.

  Alice kept close to her. She remembered her wand. Sliding her hand into her pocket, she reached the staircase, with her newly acquainted friends.

  Lucia told them as they walked down the staircase. “I think it’s down this way a few steps.”

  Keeping behind Lucia, Alice placed her hand onto the wall beside her. They past a few of the classrooms, which a couple of students seemed to be wandering around. Alice guessed they were not the only ones who had the idea to separate from the group.

  Lucia explained with each step. “I heard Madam Highfield explain the enchanted staircase to those ahead of us. I was way behind the crowd and some of the students ran off into the rooms.”

  “Good.” Gloria smiled. “I wouldn’t want to be the only ones.”

  Walking down the staircase, Alice looked into an archway that opened by Madam Highfield. She guessed the teachers were able to make the enchantments change on their command. Alice kept on walking down each step, looking into the archways at the classrooms that were hidden before.

  “Just a little further.” Lucia smiled. “I think.”

  Alice placed her hand onto the wall, hoping to relax for a bit. She felt the stone her hand pressed against, move slightly. A scraping sound of the stone moving echoed down the staircase.

  Gloria worried. “What was that?”

  “I don’t know.” Lucia told her.

  Moving her hand off of the stone, Alice looked over her shoulder at the wall. She watched as the stone moved back to where it was before. The scraping sound continued as the stones began to move.

  “What’s this?” Alice wondered.

  Lucia and Gloria looked at the wall as the stones began to stack around each other, shifting around the staircase. Behind the stones, a heavy looking metal door appeared from behind. Alice looked at the door. She saw no hand
le on the door with a small seal keeping it bolted shut.

  “That’s strange.” Lucia said. “We should keep on going.”

  Gloria said. “Sure.”

  The two of them took a step down the staircase, looking into the archways for the library entrance. Alice wondered why the door was sealed. She thought a sealed door in such a magical place seemed out of place.

  Gloria’s voice echoed up the staircase. “Alice. Are you coming?”

  “Yea.” She sighed. “Right behind you.”

  Alice took a step, making her way down the staircase. She headed down the staircase, stopping in front of a larger archway. Alice noticed Gloria and Lucia standing beside the archway.

  She walked into the archway, looking around at the library. Bookshelves lined up the walls of the room, stretching from the floor to the ceiling above. Alice admired the many books with a slight nod of her head.

  Gloria took a step into the library. She looked down each hallway, looking for the right shelf she wanted. Lucia stood beside Alice with her hands crossed over her chest.

  “Are you looking for something?” Lucia asked.

  “I’m not sure.” Alice sighed. “Gloria wants a book about some spells.”

  Alice took a deep breath in, stepping past a few of the bookshelves. She headed towards the bookshelf were Gloria rushed off to. Alice stopped as she heard a voice further down the library.

  “You hear that?” Alice asked Lucia.

  Lucia took a minute to listen to the quiet library around them. “Yea. It sounds like...”

  She took a minute to think about the soft voices in the library. Alice took another step with the voice getting closer with each step. She reached an ill of bookshelves.

  Alice looked over her shoulder, hoping to see Gloria standing between them. She was surprised to see the twin sister of Lucia standing between the bookshelves. Her eyes were narrowed as she scowled at a boy standing in front of her. Lucia’s twin sister crossed her arms over her chest. She glared at the boy wearing a new dark green robe with silver trims along the edges.

  The boy placed his hands up in front of his chest. He looked like he was apologizing to Lucia’s twin sister for some reason. Alice took a step towards the book shelf with the boy softly whispering his apology to Lucia’s twin sister.

  Lucia’s twin sister stopped him. “Your just a dump klutz of a half-mag.”

  Alice heard the word that Lucia’s twin sister said. The way she said ‘half-mag was like she was offending the boy. She wondered what the word meant.

  Lucia’s sister slapped her hands onto the books in the boy’s hands. Making him lose his grip on the books. The book fell to the floor of the library. Alice placed her hand onto her wand, taking a deep breath in. She wondered why Lucia’s sister was picking on him.

  Alice rose her hand out of her pocket. She held the handle of her wand in her hand. Alice took a deep breath in, trying to make herself calm down.

  Lucia’s sister glared over her shoulder at Alice. “Your that girl from Harrings Shop.”

  Alice was surprised that she noticed her. “Why are you picking on him?”

  “This half-mag bumped into me.” Lucia’s sister smirked. “I was just putting him in his place, like us Parkers do.”

  Alice glared at Lucia’s sister. She clenched her hand onto the wand handle. Lucia walked up behind Alice. She placed her hand onto Alice’s shoulder.

  “You shouldn’t say that.” Lucia glared at her sister. “It’s not polite.”

  “What are you going to do?” Lucia’s sister snickered. “Tell mom.”

  “Maybe I will.” Lucia told her sister. “Lailah.”

  Lucia’s sister stormed away from them. She brushed against the boy she was scowling earlier, making him fall into the bookshelf beside him. Alice guessed Lucia’s sister's name was the word she said, Lailah. The sister walked away from the bookshelf with her head up like she didn’t care what anyone else thought.

  Alice lowered her hand down to her pocket. She let go of the wand handle from her grip, hoping no one noticed the handle in her hand. The boy stood back to his feet. He looked slightly flustered by what happened to him a moment ago.

  He told them. “I guess you know her.”

  “That was my reacted sister, Lailah.” Lucia told him. “I’m so sorry for her rude behavior.”

  Lucia bent down to the floor of the library. She picked up the books that her sister smacked out of the boy’s hand. Lucia passed the books back to the boy with a polite smile of kindness on her face.

  Alice thought Lucia was the opposite of her sister. She was polite and kind to people she barely knew. In a way that made everyone she met feel like her friends, while her sister was someone everyone wanted to stay away.

  “I’m Lucia Parker.” Lucia told the boy. “And this is my friend.”

  “Alice Corey.” Alice nodded.

  “Nice to meet you.” The boy told them. “I’m Justin.”

  “It’s nice to meet you.” Lucia told him. “We should get back to looking for, Gloria.”

  “Oh right.” Alice remembered.

  She walked out from the bookshelf heading deeper into the library. Lucia and Justin followed behind her. Justin carried the books in his hands. He seemed kind as he walked with them.

  “I seperated from the group.” Justin told them. “And came across an archway that led me here.”

  Alice asked him. “What books do you have?”

  “Oh.” Justin sound like he forgot about the books he was carrying. “Just some light reading, Magic for Beginners and the Magical works of Bewitching.”

  “Cool.” Lucia told her. “Maybe I can borrow them from you after your done with them.”

  “Sure.” Justin smiled at her. “But I’m supposed bring them back when I’m done.”

  “I get it.” Lucia winked. “Can’t go breaking the rules.”

  Alice stopped after walking past a few bookshelves in the library. She looked over her shoulder towards the humming sound. Alice looked at the bookshelves, spotting Gloria standing on a metal ladder.

  She held a book in one hand as she reached out for another book on the shelf next to her. Gloria seemed to forget she was standing on a ladder. Her shoes crept to the edge of the ladder as she reached for the book.

  Gloria’s finger grazed the book. She tapped the spine of the book, losing her balance in the process. Gloria used her other hand to grab onto the bookshelf. She kept her grip as she dangled from the shelf, almost ten feet from the floor below.

  Alice rushed down the ill of bookshelves towards her friend. Lucia and Justin followed behind her. She reached Gloria just in time as Gloria’s fingers slid off of the wooden bookshelf.

  Justin placed his arms out, catching Gloria before she could touch the floor. His arms wrapped around her waist, as his books fell onto the floor before him. Lucia picked up the books as she walked towards Justin and Gloria.

  “That was a close one.” Lucia told them.

  Gloria stared into Justin’s brown eyes. She blushed softly as he moved his hands away from her. Alice noticed a spark between the two of them. She wondered if they could become something more.

  Lucia clenched onto Justin’s books in her hands. She smiled at her friends as Justin took a step away from Gloria. He nervously placed his hand to the back of his head.

  “I’m sorry.” He apologized. “That wasn’t appropriate.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Gloria smiled. “You saved me. I should be apologizing to you for almost landing on top of you.”

  “Oh.” Justin sighed. “Sorry.”

  “You apologize too much.” Alice noticed.

  “I guess.” Justin shrugged his shoulders.

  Lucia passed the books Justin had back to him. She gave him a kind smile as he whispered in his ear. Alice thought it would be rude to listen to what she was saying. She looked over at Gloria, who was searching the floor of the library for the books she had.

  Several of the books on the bookshe
lves fall down as Gloria fall from the ladder. She seemed to not care much about the fall. Gloria grabbed a few of the books before standing to her feet.

  “Got them.” Gloria told her friends. “Let’s go to our dorms.”

  Lucia said. “Maybe we got placed in a room together.”

  “Unlikely.” Justin told her. “They don’t allow girls and boys to share a room.”

  Alice could not help herself but to laugh. She thought it funny for a guy to say such things, like he was hoping the academy would allow coed rooms.

  Gloria tightened her grip onto the books in her hands. She took a step away from the bookshelf. Alice followed behind her, keeping close by her first friends at this academy.

  Lucia walked with Justin in front of Gloria and Alice. The four of them heading out of the library. They walked out of the library from the stone archway, which seemed to stay open to the staircase on the other side.

  Alice placed her hands into her pockets. She placed her hand onto her father’s wand handle in her pocket. Alice was curious about the wand. She knew the word to make it expand, but she thought it was strange she saw no other students with a wand in their hands.

  Keeping up with her friends, Alice walked beside Gloria up the staircase. She wondered if Madam Highfield noticed them sneaking off. Alice looked over her shoulder to see a classroom beyond one of the stone archways. She saw the classroom was bare, with no freshman inside.

  Alice and her friends stopped at the top of the staircase. She almost bumped into Justin who was walking up the steps in front of her. Alice caught herself as she saw Giles standing before them.

  Chapter Trouble for Beginner

  Giles crossed his hand over his chest. He glared down the staircase at Alice, Gloria, Lucia and Justin. He smirked softly.

  “Follow me.” He heading into the hallway with his hand lowering to his side.

  Gloria gave Alice a wink of her eye. Alice guessed that meant they were not in trouble for skipping out of the tour. She walked with Gloria beside her down the hallway. Giles led the group towards a staircase at the end of the hallway. Some large doors filled the hallway before them.