EVANORA

Sitting in the bus on the way to school felt different this time but Evanora thought to herself it would prudent to refrain from throwing any children against hot water services or flexing her new gifts from the forest in the school playground without creating a tsunami of questions and police being involved. So she persevered with the hair pulling, spit balls and bad language hurled at her. She closed her eyes although the hatred and venom she wanted to expel in the direction of the name callers was just below the surface...festering to come out.

School yard bullies are intrinsically strong when they travel in packs preying on the gentle and weaker kids to prop up their false sense of priority in the pecking order and filling their collective ego’s with a sense of authority. The old saying is 'they hate you if your clever and they despise a fool' and the packs of bullies, male and female, that travelled around the school Evanora attended were brutal, vicious and unrelenting. They made learning very hard for Evanora and this matched with what she had to contend with at home with her evil father put her in a very tenuous position. She walked from the bus when it pulled up at school with 5 girls hurling abuse behind her and pushing her repeatedly in the back. Retribution was boiling to come out but she kept a lid on it...until the time was right......and that time was fast approaching.

All morning the same students were in the same classroom listening to a substitute teacher try to contain their questions and stupidity and the same 5 girls from the bus hurled their slings and arrows of discontent at Evanora every chance they could get. Passing notes with horrendous detail of things they wished would happen to her, throwing pencils and abuse then waiting for Evanora to break down, cry or leave to go to the toilets to hide until the bell sounded for lunch. This day all their collective efforts had little effect on the intended victim and with the daily break for lunch just around the corner it was decided by the 5 girls that the lunch yard was where they would inflict the most amount of aggression towards Evanora. Evanora could feel the storm brewing behind her and looked at the clock on the substitute teachers desk and saw she had 10 minutes to go so she got up and went to the teachers side and asked if she could go to the toilet on the premise that she had “lady” problems. There were days gone by when she really did because her father was not very hygienic and as a result she suffered terribly with infections and thrush even as a small girl, but today she just wanted out of the classroom and out before she couldn’t contain her aggression any longer.

As she stood to leave the badgering began all be it quietly...

“Where you going Miss Prissy?”

“We are gonna get you at lunch time!!”

“Your days are numbered bitch!!”

Evanora didn’t make eye contact with anyone as she left the classroom and made for her school locker to get her lunch then it was on to the female toilet block to take up her usual hiding place away from the impending harassment of being out in the school playground. She sat on top of the toilet seat and lifted her feet off the ground and commenced eating her ham sandwich in peace and quiet. Then she heard the school bell go and the voices of the students as they filed out into the playground and...into the toilets. She did her best to watch the ground for girls looking under her toilet door and scanning above her head in case they were peering at her from above. She had to remain vigilant but alas she missed some one who was looking at her from above and the word spread like wildfire that she was in the cubicle with the door locked.

Evanora finished her sandwich and put the rubbish paper back in her pocket and sat with her arms around her legs and just waited for the school bell to announce the recommencement of class so she could leave and get out of the toilet block. It smelt of disinfectant and urine and wasn’t at all like her beloved forest. She was thinking about the forest as the first bucket of cold water was emptied over her as she sat holding her legs. The second and third buckets thoroughly soaked her clothing and shoes. All she could hear was empty buckets being thrown to the ground and the ring leader of the 5 nasty girls slammed her hand against the cubicle door making Evanora jump in fright then she heard more threats being hurled at her.

The school bell rang for class to commence.

The 5 girls outside the cubicle Evanora was in didn’t see the water on the toilet floor turn orange or hear the exit door lock behind them because they were all giggling and checking themselves in the mirrors above the hand basins. It was only as they all turned to leave that the door they pulled on didn’t budge and then they turned around to see Evanora standing behind them soaked to the bone with her hair dripping over her face and on to the toilet floor, hands by her sides, eye closed and taking in very deep breaths. The ring leader stepped forward to push Evanora and she opened her eyes. Orange light filled the toilet block from Evanora instantly and every girl was hurtled into the exit door screaming in terror alerting a teacher checking the hallways for late students. He knocked on the door and he was met with frantic screams for help so he pulled on the door and it opened first time and 5 very scared young ladies poured out into the hallway all talking at once and at a million miles an hour. The teacher walked into the toilet and knocked on Evanora’s cubicle and she said back in a calm voice....

“Im nearly done...have the girls who soaked me gone?”

“Are you ok...Evanora isn’t it?” asked the teacher with a hint of concern in his voice. He was after all male standing in the female toilets so he was a bit uncomfortable at doing this.

“Just a bit wet is all...I may have to get a lift home so I can change my clothes could that be arranged sir?” asked Evanora in a very gentle voice and his response was immediate.

“Yes I can organise this but you have to come out so I can see you first” said the teacher as he heard movement in the cubicle.

The toilet was flushed and the sound heard by the girls outside still recovering from their collective fright. The lock was unlatched and out stepped Evanora still dripping wet from the barrage of water dumped on her while she sat on the toilet seat.

“Yes I think you should go home and change before you catch your death of cold...I will get the secretary to the head master to drive you back ok...so come with me please young lady”

The teacher walked Evanora out of the toilets and right past the 5 girls all still visibly shaken by their ordeal.

“She is a witch sir..”

“She almost killed us”

“Kick her out of school sir I think she has broken my arm”

Evanora turned and looked at them all and the whinging stopped instantly. She smiled at them and said ...

“See you girlies tomorrow bright an early...oh..and by the way...you have to be careful of the water on the floor you could slip up and do yourself a mischief” and Evanora laughed and she turned and walked away with the teacher leaving a trail of water dripping from her clothes for them all to see.

None of the 5 girls spoke. They were petrified and dam sure they would give Evanora a wide birth from here on in. Even before she arrived at school the next day all the girls who had been picking on her now gave her a wide birth and left her alone. Now it was just the male bullies who wanted to flex and see how far they could push Evanora to breaking point....and as with the girls...they all learned the hard way.