*Thwack!* *Thwack!* *Thwack!* *Thwack!* *Thwack!*
The arrows were fired at high speed and in very short intervals. William fired and immediately drew another arrow from the quiver at his waist. His aim was perfect; each shot hit the centre of the target, just millimetres from the previous arrow.
*Thwack!* *Thwack!* *Thwack!* *Thwack!* *Thwack!*
He moved quickly from left to right, controlling his pace and adjusting his shot with each step. In seconds, ten arrows hit five targets, and the last one split the previous one in half.
"Weems will start charging you for arrows if you keep breaking them like that." (Xavier)
"I bet Headmistress Weems won't mind a couple of arrows if I win the archery tournament trophy next year. Thanks." (William)
William lowered his bow and accepted a bottle of water from Xavier. His bow still had no name, as William could not read the letters of unknown origin carved into its body and barely understood some of the runes that covered the rest.
*Knock* *Knock*
The light knocking on the door caught the attention of all the students, most of whom were resting after practising for a while, which allowed William to have all five practice targets to himself.
"William, sorry to interrupt your practice, but Mr Plaza is here to see you. He's waiting for you in the hall." (Weems)
"So he's here already. Thank you for letting me know, Headmistress Weems. I'll be right there." (William)
William left his quiver on the floor and placed his bow near his backpack on the floor. He took his blazer and smoothed his golden hair before walking towards Weems.
"Make sure no one touches my bow." (William)
"Sure, if you let me shoot with it afterwards." (Xavier)
"Okay, I'll lend you my glove afterwards. You saw what happened to the last one." (William)
"William, after you meet with Mr Plaza, could you come to my office? There's something I want to discuss with you." (Weems)
"Understood, Headmistress. I'll be there in ten minutes." (William)
After receiving William's affirmative answer, Larissa walked away, swaying her hips as her red heels tapped the floor with a pleasant, rhythmic tone.
Nevermore Academy Lobby.
"Here you are, Mr. Plaza, the manufacturing orders for the previous month."
William had to return to his dormitory from the Archery Club lounge and then meet Mr. Plaza in the main lobby. A brown leather briefcase decorated with gold trim was what he had come to pick up.
"Very well, everything is in order. I just have one small question, Mr. Stone." (Mr. Plaza)
"William, Mr. Stone is my father. What's going on?" (William)
William gave Mr. Plaza a questioning look as he crossed his arms. The orders, address, and items were all there. He had spent a long time checking that everything was in order.
"The name Maxxine Stinger does not appear on the delivery list your father gave me for this month." (Mr. Plaza)
"It's a private delivery to a friend. Could you please keep this between us?" (William)
"I won't tell your father on my own, but if he asks, I'll have to tell him." (Mr. Plaza)
(After all, I work for your father.) (Mr. Plaza)
"That's enough. If any problems arise, I'll talk to him." (William)
"We won't see each other next month, William." (Mr Plaza)
Andrew Plaza, a man dressed in an elegant grey suit, hat and brown hair, took the briefcase William handed him. After saying goodbye with a few simple words, he walked until he was outside the grounds of Nevermore Academy, crossing the large cast iron gates, just a few steps away from entering the forest.
(There's no one around here.)
He quickly scanned the area and, after confirming that there were no witnesses, Normies, students or cars, his eyes turned completely black, a thick black mist covered his body completely, and a few seconds later he disappeared from his position.
He was an Outcast named "Hermes" capable of travelling great distances by transforming his body into an incorporeal state and opening a smoke-like portal that connected two places into one. Various restrictions meant that it was not an overly powerful ability, but it was convenient for his work.
Delivering or moving valuable items in an instant, sending a bulletproof bracelet by courier was not exactly a good idea, and buying something like this was not as easy as going to any shop.
Main Archery Hall - Nevermore
"Xavier, your girlfriend is looking for you. She says she wants to talk to you about something."
Xavier lowered his bow and looked towards the door. Bianca was leaning against the frame next to Divina and Kent. Apparently, they had plans and wanted to talk to him, but he had no idea what they were.
"Come on, this is your chance. You wanted to ruin William's bow, didn't you?" (A)
"That smug guy's bow? Ha, no way." (B)
"I saw how you looked at it. Don't be a wimp and cut his bowstring." (A)
"Did you hear what happened with Luca? He threatened to gouge his eye out." (B)
Olden was a student a couple of years older than William, and of course he was extremely jealous of him. Being around him and not even remembering his name only made things worse. He had spent several hours every day practising, and yet William, who had only been doing it for a year, was better than him at archery, which made him feel humiliated.
The second student was Samuel, a quiet and lonely guy, but his resentment towards William came from his supplier of exam answers, who was no longer around because of him. His parents had given him a stern warning about his grades, and with this happening, he was screwed.
"That was a lie. Anyone would scare that dwarf. Here, use this." (Samuel)
Samuel took a pair of cutting pliers out of his pocket and handed them to Olden. He had borrowed them from the caretaker's toolbox.
"Right, let's do it while no one is watching." (Olden)
Olden finally agreed, approached Samuel, who would hold the bow, and Olden would cut the string. As soon as his fingers touched the string and pulled it, blood spilled from his new wounds.
"Arggghhh."
Cries of pain filled the room. Two of Olden's fingers were completely severed, cleanly cut off. Blood bathed the wooden floor. The screams caused everyone to surround Olden in a circle as he held his bloody hand. The cut looked like it had been made with a laser; it was so perfect that it even cut the bone in two.
"Shit" (Xavier)
Xavier pushed the students aside to see Olden and the state of his hand. Surgery was necessary if he wanted to have his hand back.
Headmistress Weems' office.
"You can take a seat, William. Yesterday afternoon, I received an email with the results of the art competition between the academies." (Weems)
"I thought the results wouldn't be out until next week." (William)
"Do me a favour, many judges disagreed with the final result, calling the theme of your painting 'too strong' and inappropriate, but the head judge loved it and silenced the rest of the judges." (Weems)
"He said he could feel the painting was alive, first place will be yours along with the prize and the trophy." (Weems)
William had a happier smile than usual on his lips, crossed his arms, and let out a sigh of satisfaction. Anyone would be happy to have their work recognised and appreciated by more people.
"Mr. Vivero, the head judge and financier of the competition, made me a private offer for you: $25,000 for the painting and a percentage of the total sales during the event to be held at one of his art galleries." (Weems)
Weems had a proud smile on her face. William was something like her best student, and Nevermore would gain some reputation among art schools and publicity for the academy.
"You can decline the offer, Headmistress Weems. I plan to hang the painting and the trophy on one of the walls at Nevermore, of course, only if you allow it." (William)
"Fabulous! I'll make a space for it in the display case next to your mother and father's awards. The painting will be in the main hall, decorating the walls of Nevermore for years to come!"
Weems applauded, pleased with William's decision to keep his work in the academy.
"The news will be out in a few days. Some magazines and newspapers want a short interview and some photos of you and your painting. They'll be coming over the weekend for Parents' Day. Catherine will be very happy with her son's performance." (Weems)
*Vibrate*
William felt his phone vibrate in his blazer pocket. Weems noticed, but they had one more thing to discuss with him.
"Thanks to your performance this time, William, I have a little surprise for you." (Weems)
Weems didn't prolong the matter. He took a pair of keys from his jacket pocket and placed them gently on the centre table.
"Keys?" (William)
"They're for a disused room. You can use it as your studio and move your workshop there. You won't have to go to the shed far from the academy anymore. It's bigger than the art room you've been using these last few months." (Weems)
"Did you have them ready?" (William)
"Let's just say I was prepared to use other means if you agreed to sell your work to Mr. Vivero. Now you can go to your friends. It seems they need you urgently." (Weems)
The sounds of incoming messages for William continued to ring out in the office.
"Thank you very much, Director Weems. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go see what this is about." (William)
Main Archery Hall
"What happened?" (Bianca)
"They touched Will's bow." (Xavier)
"Bow?" (Kent)
"It's new. Will asked me to watch it. It has a kind of lock so that not just anyone can use it." (Xavier)
"That's what cut off that boy's fingers." (Bianca)
"That's enough... All of you, sleep!" (Divina)
Divina quickly clenched her fist, and the silver ring decorated with starfish on her hand glowed. Her Siren Song carried her words, accompanied by a pink mist, to all the gathered students.
*Thud* *Thud* *Thud* *Thud*
All the students fell on top of each other, fast asleep. Divina reacted as soon as she heard that it had something to do with William.
"What are you doing?" (Bianca)
Bianca panicked and backed away. Seeing all these students fall to the ground at the same time was more than just a harmless joke.
"Cover a friend's back, Xavier call William he can solve the finger problem, Kent you watch the door so no one comes in." (Divina)
Xavier quickly took out his mobile phone and started calling and texting William. Kent hesitated but finally went out to guard the door. Divina took a couple of strips of ribbon out of her pocket to make a tourniquet around Olden's severed fingers. Her best friend was a vampire, so she was used to seeing blood, and after the incident during the Harvest Festival, her resistance had increased a little, unlike Bianca's.
"We should tell Weems and take this boy to the infirmary." (Bianca)
"He finally answered!" (Xavier)
Divina breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Xavier's words. William would take care of the rest.