she is drawn to the fire.

VALERIE CLARK SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD STUDENT AT LAKE PLACID

[zuby]

“Did you hear? Babysitting required if students want to leave. Rumor has it they’re grabbing wixes off the street.“ Oliver flicked through his phone, paying half-attention to the newly arrived company in the library. “If I vanish, make sure they pick a photo from my IG for the missing poster. Not one somebody tagged me on Facebook.”

[inglcts-blog]

Valerie frowned, the softest sigh escaping her lips at the mention of the KIDNAPPING. It was something she’d been thinking about a lot lately: terrified children being taken because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, because of their  m a g i c. It wasn’t something to make fun of. “You mean, you don’t want it to be a crazy Snap Chat pic with a ridiculous filter?” she tried to make it sound like a joke. “Can we please not talk about it?”

[dragonrder]

A soft humming tune carried out threw the back section of the library. Tucked in a little corner where no one frequents, Ophelia had wedge herself in am empty shelf at the bottom. She popped her bubble gum often, too entranced in the story to care if she was being loud. To be honest, she was positive everyone in the front couldn’t hear a thing; they most likely had no clue she was even back there. At least thats what she had thought until she caught sight of a pair of shoes stepping in front of her. She didn’t bother to look up, only speaking after she added one last pop of her gum.

“ Was the popping  bothering you ? ”

[inglcts-blog]

What a CURIOUS thing, Valerie thought, her eyes widening when they landed on a pair of feet sticking out from the book shelf. She’d always prided herself on seeing what others couldn’t, but nothing could have prepared her for the sight of the Wardlaw girl hiding away. “No, not at all. Keep doing what you’re doing,” Valerie smiled at Ophelia. No time like the present to start making friends with her new classmates. “I just ... I never would have thought to have read here.”

[inglcts-blog]

maeragrey:

Valerie’s enthusiasm was starting to wear on Grey’s nerves already. Maybe 10 seconds into a conversation and she was ready to shake her violently by the shoulders, get it into her head that people were not as kind as she was, as she wanted them to be.

It was probably pointless, but Grey felt the need to pound some of her cynicism into Valerie’s head. It was time for her to understand how the world worked.

“There is only one reason a teenage boy is ever intrigued with anyone,” she said coldly, stopping to face Valerie. “And as for the girls, don’t expect them to come knock on your door for a sleepover. I promise that every single one of them is looking at us, convinced that we’re not ‘real witches’. They might not have a choice in being here, but they will certainly take the opportunity to prove that they have more of right to practice magic than us.” She looked at the smaller girl, looked right into her sparkling eyes. “Don’t trust them.”

“Perhaps they just want to be friends,” Valerie argued, referring to Grey’s words about the boys’ intentions. “How would you feel if they said those things about us?” She shook her head, recognizing that Grey was correct when stating what the Wardlaw girls said about them. They had no right in saying that she wasn’t a real witch, but they had to be the better people. “Perhaps it is us that needs to invite them to a sleepover,” Valerie suggested with a laugh. She couldn’t imagine Grey at a sleepover, but at the same time, Val put the idea at the bottom of her bucket list. One day she would have a Grey sleepover.

“Our turf, our rules ... right?” she smiled broadly at the other girl. Val wasn’t sure she believed that in her heart, but it sounded cool. Besides, she was sure that was what Grey wanted to hear. And a little white lie never hurt anybody. “We can both practice magic in peace, don’t you see? I think we have a lot to learn from those girls. And them from us.” Everything Valerie knew about magic was based on her elemental powers, but she wondered what she could do if she wasn’t trapped by the FIRE. “Let’s just try,” she said. “It’ll be fun...an EXPERIMENT.”

[inglcts-blog]

tectonichills:

“Someone…else. I’ve been expecting someone else but am I glad to see you.” He grinned back, wrapping his own arms around her and allowing himself to feel that relief for even just a second. After all the worrying he’d been doing, it made everything seem fine now that he knew Valerie was back and safe where he could see her. “Let me guess - had to have all the lights set upjust the right ways, your sheets have to match the walls, what else?” Jax teased, letting her go and taking a step back. “Your break was good? Sorry I didn’t get to write you much, I’ve been a bit…occupied.”

She knew she was being teased, but everything Jax said sounded remarkably ACCURATE. She wouldn’t have been able to sleep at night if her lights were a centimeter to the right. “My sheets are a nice contrast color to the walls, actually. They do match my curtains and fuzzy carpet, however.” A rosy flush appeared on the apples of her cheeks, but she wasn’t quite embarrassed. If anything, Valerie was insanely proud of how her room looked ... and that was probably why people liked to hang out in it. “It was good. Grandfather and I went on a tour of museums and it was enlightening. Just the kind of thing I feel you’d love.” Valerie pushed back on one of the desks, swinging her legs as she sat down on the top. “What about you?” she asked. She’d always been concerned about her favorite teacher. “Is there anything I can do to relieve you of some of that?”

[inglcts-blog]

valerie clark &&. fire

“the sun’s made of fire, isn’t it?” she asks, her heart racing like its own INFERNO as she stares into the home - made flames. relief and dread flood her veins in equal measure but she swears she knew. 

what else could it have been?

“it’s always been the fire,” she says, and it sounds more like an apology than a statement. she can feel the flames dancing in her darkened orbs, and it scares her ... almost more than she was scared the  f i r s t  time.

her proctor watches her like she’s the latest fire prodigy. “you could be the best,” he says, and he doesn’t notice the way she clenches her fists and squeezes her eyes to stop from crying.

she can feel the fire CONSUMING her. “please,” she says. “can you put it out?”

[inglcts-blog]

maeragrey:

Grey sighed as she heard Valerie’s voice from behind her. By the time they were walking side-by-side, her smile was practically glittering. The Golden Rose, The Good Girl. Those were the words that came to mind.

It was almost impossible to dislike Valerie, which made things difficult for Grey. Disliking and ignoring, those were her strong suits. There was this strange place that Valerie lived in, somewhere between tolerating and distantly affectionate. As she said, difficult. But she threw a friendly eye-roll in her direction, feeling closer to affection when Valerie danced over the line of perfectly polite.

“Derogatory?” she repeated, a mischievous glint in her eye, “Those are fighting words.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean it like that,” Valerie backtracked quickly. The last thing she wanted was to make things more difficult between the Wardlaw and Lake Placid girls. She only thought it was i n t e r e s t i n g. “Besides,” Valerie added. “It’s not like the boys feel that way about us. I get the feeling they’re intrigued.”

It was true that having students from another school was just FASCINATING. Valerie cared a lot about all the new things they could teach her -- all the different experiences they’d had. “If we’re aiming for fighting words, however, I’d argue that you’re not fighting with anybody unless you’re talking face to face. Though I’d prefer if we just grabbed some coffee and talked about our favorite television shows.”

[inglcts-blog]

tectonichills:

Jax didn’t bother hiding his surprise and honest joy at seeing the familiar face, a grin spreading over his face as he looked at Valerie. “Sorry, I thought you were someone for a second, there.” He said, quickly standing up and walking away from his desk and over to her. “You should’ve told me or something - moving in wasn’t too hard? Do you need help, still?”

Valerie laughed, approaching Jax for a hug with open arms. It was an amazing feeling, being back on campus, but she was even HAPPIER about seeing her favorite teacher in her favorite classroom. “I would argue I am someone,” Val told him with a grin. “Moving in was fine. Besides, you know how PICKY I am about my room. I’m sure after an hour of ‘Interior Design with Valerie Clark,’ you would be so over our friendship.”

[hellxhq]

“I honestly thought the thing I could have missed the most would be my family, or my dog, or something,” Anika said with a short, humorless laugh. “But it was kombucha. Goddamn kombucha, and now someone has stolen it out of the fridge.” She slammed the door to the mini fridge with more force than was necessary. “I will kill anyone who drank it.”

[inglcts-blog]

“Are you ENLISTING ME in a search to find the culprit?” Valerie laughed, her hands already in surrender. She couldn’t believe Anika could think she was the one responsible for stealing the kombucha. Val didn’t even know what kombucha was. “I’m a strong believer in adhering to the labels in the fridge. I promise it wasn’t me.”

[maeragrey-blog]

Arriving at campus was always such an ordeal. It’s not a day to face without headphones and a look that says, I can ignore you in five languages, don’t try me. She could already tell, it’s going to be a long year with all these new people in her territory.

“Is there any place on campus not crawling with British kids? This is ridiculous.”

[inglcts-blog]

“Somehow I don’t believe this is what the Dean meant when he said to welcome the new students with open arms,” Valerie teased, falling into step with Maera as the dark - haired girl headed away from main campus. “Also, I can’t help but feel that it sounds so much more derogatory when Wardlaw calls us AMERICANS, then when we call them British. It’s very strange if you ask me.”

[lillicna-blog]

“Are you excited for classes to be starting up?” She looked at the person next to her, her lips in a soft smile. “It’s always nice to feel the buzz in the air.”

[inglcts-blog]

“Excited?” Valerie repeated, gazing up at the teacher with a bright smile. “Not to sound corny, but I LIVE for Lake Placid. I’m more than ready for classes to kick back up again.”

[ofchvrming]

The empty classroom felt like home again, and Jax really did appreciate the quiet moments like these - he watched the leaves dance through the windows, the students rushing by, never-ending chit-chat in his ears. He only jumped when he thought he heard someone nearing him, turning his head quickly towards the noise. 

“I - oh. I think you might have the wrong room; I don’t think I have lessons scheduled until later today.” 

[inglcts-blog]

“Not the wrong room,” Valerie glanced over her shoulder, giving the teacher a soft smile. Goodness knows, she’d been in his classroom enough times throughout the years to know. “I just finished unpacking,” she explained, her eyes lighting up when she caught his. “I thought I would come over and say hello.”