13: This is who I Am
The next morning, Phantasia was heralded as some kind of superhero, said to have banished an evil demon ghost from the darkest of hells. Her teachers gave her knowing looks, but all she received from some students were scowls.
“Heard about your little excursion, Albino,” Astrid said during morning break, “Exorcising demons without a license? Do you know the punishment for that?”
Phantasia wanted to snap a comeback at the self-proclaimed ‘Inquisitor’, but was held back by Kaori. Astrid didn’t gift them with a reply, flung her long ponytail over her shoulder, and left them with her head held high.
“It’s not worth it,” said Kaori, “She doesn’t have any evidence, so she can’t do anything unless you’re provoked into reacting…”
Kaori was speaking to Phantasia again, and acting as if she’d never started ignoring her. Phantasia found it a curious reaction, but was happy they were friends again. Joel also seemed to have changed and now wore a more serious, determined look on his face. He was also clutching a handful of books he’d acquired from their English teacher, Ms Anderson, but would only say they were for ‘further reading’
Neither Joel nor Kaori seemed to mind when Phantasia was accosted by Shelley, although Kaori did give the Hawk girl a rather contemptuous look when she noticed what she had started dressing in the same quirky style Phantasia was becoming known for. She’d even attempted to style her hair with the same side-parting.
“You’re my new idol,” said Shelley, “I hope you don’t mind, but the things you’ve said are the nicest thing anyone has said to me…”
Shelley spent that lunch hour latched on to Phantasia’s arm like a leech – albeit a pleasant, if talkative one. The most disapproving looks were no longer coming from Kaori, but from Shelley’s own social circle, whom Phantasia was beginning to grow wary of. Vincent, their apparent leader, had shown very little concern for his friend’s attempted suicide. The Hawks sat in a corner, watching her with eyes akin to their namesake, unaware she could see their piecing glares as if they were standing right in front of her.
That afternoon, when lessons were over and most students were heading home, Phantasia was stopped by Phoenie, whose overdramatic arm gestures and twitching movements suggested she had something exciting to talk about.
“Katrina’s had the auragraphs developed!” she said, dragging Phantasia along the corridors to the classroom she used for their office. Inside, the whole Veritas crew, alongside Kaori and Joel, were gathered around a table looking at a selection of auragraphs.
“These ones clearly show the ‘leansídhe’ feeding on Ms Shimomura and Ms Edwards, as well as its true demonic form!” explained Phoenie as she thrust image after image into Phantasia’s face. Indeed, the pictures showed the leansídhe’s true form gorging on the corrupted mana surrounding Kaori and Shelley, while a luminous Phantasia’s sought to save them. In the last of the images, a blurred, badly angled shot that looked like it had been taken in a hurry, Phantasia could see the blurry silhouette of white butterfly wings, filtering a pale rainbow of colours.
“If only I were free to publish them…” sighed Phoenie as she collapsed into her chair.
