Trivia
Thursday, a pleasant September day. You loved this month and the next, you loved the fall. You woke up rather late, though it didn't matter much as everyone would already be in Jericho. You were kind of excited to explore Nevermore with nobody else around, no interruptions. Playing Arabella by Arctic Monkeys and throwing on a black tight fitting dress with a corset, you were feeling rather feminine today, as opposed to how you felt yesterday. You found yourself in the library, wanting to read every single book on the shelves. You did that at your old school in Italy, but the library there was maybe half the size of this one. Making your way to the Botany classroom, Sciences, English, History, Math, Fencing, and electives within the school, you found everything up to standard and nothing that the school could be written up for. Heading down to the main entrance, you realized there were many ways to get outside. Taking a minute to remember the school map in your head, you went outside into the quad. A large statue of Edgar Allan Poe was found down a somewhat lit alleyway. "Hm, fitting" you said to yourself. Looking it over, you read the book held in the statues hand. "The opposite of moon, a world between ours, two months before June, what kind of poem is this Edgar?" You kept reading and realized that it must be a riddle. Writing the answers down in your phone, you stared at the words. Your stomach growled, and you figured you would make your way to meal hall.
Sitting down with a salad and cookie, you kept thinking about the riddle, if it even was one. After eating, you looked around, trying to find something else to do for the day. Just then you thought, acrostic. You looked to the words in your phone and realized as an acrostic poem, it would spell 'snap twice'. Finding your way back to the statue you stood in front of it. Was this just a poem? What if you snapped and nothing happened? Remembering nobody was around, you picked up your hand and snapped twice, loudly. The statue opened slowly, and you walked down some creepy stairs. The room that you thought would be a dirty old cellar was filled with more books and old photos. There was an old fencing photograph, and a photograph of Morticia Frump and Gomez Addams, whoever they were. A photo of Cousin It was on the wall too, you knew who that was. You opened a few books, observing the same symbol on each. After looking through most of the room, you concluded that there was a group called the 'Nightshades'. Was this group still a thing, or was it old? The board couldn't already know about this, or you would've been instructed to check it out. It also wasn't on the school map. Taking a few photos with your phone, you went back upstairs and into the main part of the school. You were happy that Larissa was so on top of everything around here, and that you found nothing that the school could be written up for, until this.
You stepped out of the front doors, nobody was around. You pulled a pack of cigarettes from your bag, another bad habit. Well, I guess you can't quit them all at once. Lighting it, you walked along the main entrance grass and found yourself standing among some interesting flowers. Sitting down, you observed the types of flowers that you haven't seen before. You took in the slightly chilly atmosphere. You didn't like it when it was hot and sunny anyway, so you were content for awhile. As you pulled out and lit another cigarette, you heard a door behind you slam and you turned around quickly, till sitting down. Principal Weems, what was she doing back? She caught you in the flowers and started towards you. You felt like the student now, doing something you weren't supposed to be doing. Panicking, you went to throw your cigarette away, but remembered you were in a garden, so you held onto it. "Good afternoon Mx. Ricci, smoking in the flowers I see" she said with a grin and tilt of her head. Your mind was somewhere else, busy thinking about the way she walked, like a model would. How she wore heels even though she was always on the go, and even though she was already so tall. How the scarf she wore around her done up hair today looked so good on her, even though in general you hated that style. Standing up you carefully walked out of the flowers to her. "Yes, a bad coping mechanism I wish to quit actually" you spoke with fake confidence. "What, admiring the pretty flowers?" she laughed which in turn made you laugh louder. Most people wouldn't normally find this funny, but you loved the middle age woman's sense of humor. "Oh yes, my bad habit of admiring flowers always gets the best of me. How is Jericho treating the students today?" She started walking toward the school, so you followed. "Very good actually, I am pleased as they seem interested and eager. Perhaps they don’t get out much" she turns and smiles at you. "I am grabbing something from my office, then going back to round them up for dinner. Would you like to come for the drive?" Pondering, you remembered the nightshades library. You weren't sure you wanted to bring that up honestly, but you had to have an answer for anything questionable for the board. "Yes, I would love to accompany you."
On the drive to Jericho, Larissa asked you about yourself. She asked about where you lived, if you had a partner, and if your first name meant anything. "Yes actually, Anura means a few things in Sanskrit origin, but mainly it means 'knowledge'." She looked at you, pleased with your response. "So, are you knowledgeable?" she questioned. You smiled, knowing she would have figured out your ability sooner or later. "Extremely. Actually, I'm the most knowledgeable person I know, and I don't care if that makes me sound cocky. Try me" you quipped, proud of your ability. She laughed and thought for a moment. "Well, tonight the staff from Nevermore are going to Trivia in Jericho, would you like to come? If you do though, you must be on my team, it's the rules." You got excited, trivia was your favorite because you ALWAYS won. "Bet, can't wait" you said, turning toward the window as she pulled into the town.
You found yourself in the Weathervane again while waiting for Larissa to round up the kids. You were thinking about ordering a tea when a short red head walked in and up to the counter. "Good afternoon, can I have a matcha latte please" she said with a bubbly smile, then paid and turned to wait. She saw you looking at her, she didn't recognize you and wasn't aware of what you thought about outcasts. Not that she was one, but she worked at the school. Walking over to her you introduced yourself and held out your hand. "Hi, I'm Anura Ricci, from the outcast school board." She took it and smiled, "Marilyn Thornhill, botany teacher at Nevermore." Just as her drink was served to her, Larissa walked in and over to you both. "Ah Mx. Ricci, I see you have met Ms. Thornhill" you shook your head yes and Marilyn turned to look at Larissa. "I didn't know we were getting a visit from the board so soon" she said worriedly. Why is everyone so worried around here, you weren't mean, you didn't think. "Don’t worry Marilyn, Anura is very friendly. I asked her to join us at trivia tonight, hopefully we will get to know her a bit better!" she looked excited for tonight. You smiled, happy that she seemed happy, but caught something. "I'm excited for tonight! Um- I thought I would let you both know, if you're okay with it, I like to use they/them pronouns." You looked at Larissa as her smile dropped. Shit, they weren't woke you guessed. Her face changed to worry as she hurried and said "Oh Anura I'm so sorry, I didn’t even think to ask. Of course darling, that's perfect with us." Marilyn then left to go back to the school with the students. Turning to you, Larissa asked if you want to sit for a bit. "Yes, I actually wanted to talk to you about something" you said as you saw her real smile convert to her fake one. "Yes of course dear. You should try the hot chocolate, it's really good."
Telling Larissa you didn't like hot chocolate probably wasn't the best idea before bringing this up. She quite obviously loved it, considering the faces she made when she sipped on it. "So Principal Weems, there are a couple things that I didn't want to bring up, but feel that I should." She looked at you like she was ready to defend the school with her life, even if that meant to lie. "I don't want to be a snitch, but I also don't want to start our relationship off with any lies. When I said that Sydney and Bella were showing me to your office, that was a lie. I found them here at the Weathervane during lunch and drove them back to the school." She looked relieved when you said this, then you could see a bit of anger creep up. "Oh dear, they do sneak off every once in awhile. Thank you for bringing them back, I will have to talk to them." "Don't tell them I told you" you said with a wink. "Secondly, I would like to know what the 'Nightshades' are." When you asked her this her smile dropped and she looked like she was trying to form a response. Nobody from the board had found out about the Nightshades before. "Mx. Ricci, I don't want to start our relationship out with any lies either. The Nightshades were a secret society years ago. It was disbanded due to the death of a boy, a normie, back when I attended Nevermore as a student. I do believe that the Nightshades are no longer a society, but we haven't done anything with the room." "So, why does the room look like it's been used and kept clean?" you asked. "Honestly, I haven't been down there in years, but I assure you, it’s not being used." Feeling like this wasn't honest, you figured her reasoning was good enough for you to report to the board. "Thank you for being honest with me Principal Weems. Well, otherwise I've found nothing at your school of any concern and nothing worth writing you up about." Smiling big at her, you took a drink of your tea. "That is wonderful news!" she looked relieved, and that made you extremely glad. As she took a big drink of her hot chocolate, you focused on her features. She had big eyes, the color of Lapis lazuli. Her hair light, like silk made in Italy. Being tan yourself, you took in her skin; pale, soft, a blank canvas you wanted to draw on with your fingers. White teeth, almost as white as her eyes. You found interest in her chunky gold jewelry and wondered if it meant anything. The lip brooch on her jacket was really interesting, kind of fruity you thought. Just joking, unless? Grabbing your attention with her soothing British accent, "Are you ready to get back to the school? We have to get ready for trivia soon!"
Lost in your Latin papers, you took a drink of your mixed rum and coke. If you were drunk at trivia you thought, others would have a better chance at winning. Not a very good chance, but a better one. You chuckled, excited to show Larissa and the others what you had. You made your way to Larissa's office and knocked. She opened the door, glass of wine in hand. "Hello you, come in for a glass?" Sitting down on the couch beside her, you took in the warmth from the fire. It was rather chilly out now, perhaps you should've put on a jacket. Passing you some wine, Larissa stated, "Mx. Ricci, I do apologize for earlier. I should've thought to ask you your pronouns. I thought I was getting better at being more open and accepting lately." Looking over at her, there was disappointment on her face. You felt bad, you could tell she was a sweet woman. "Oh Principal Weems, no worries at all! It's hard to keep up with change sometimes, I know you have a lot on your mind. I appreciate you trying." She smiled with her teeth and took a sip of her wine. "I appreciate your confidence, and your kindness. I was super stressed about this board visit, but I'm so glad that you're here. And please, call me Larissa." You smirked and blush crept up to your cheeks, you looked to the fire to try and hide it. "Thanks Larissa. You can call me Anura, I like the way it sounds when you say it."
Sitting down at Trivia, you were on a team with Larissa, Marilyn, Coach Vlad, and the Math teacher. There were two other teams consisting of Nevermore staff who were having a fun duel with each other. "We got the full shebang on our team. The Sciences, English, History, and Potions. You're going down Principal Weems" the history teacher yelled across the room. When you heard this you laugh snorted by accident. You turned to Larissa, who was pulling you close to her to whisper in your ear. "Help us win and I'll buy you as many drinks as you want" she grinned and winked at you. Hell, she didn't know what was coming. You were the whole package, all the subjects in one. On top of that, you knew many different languages. A bit unfortunately, this was the type of trivia where you didn't write the answers down and total them up, but where whoever screamed the answer first got the point. Unfortunate, you thought, for everyone else. The first few questions were easy, as they always are. Some people from your table hollered them out as people from other tables screamed them too. It was fun to see stupid fights break out. Laughing at their eagerness, you didn't want to answer anything yet. It was always annoying when one person answered every single question. Larissa got a couple right, and the other tables got a few right. They called a small break and you went to grab a drink. When you got back to the table, Larissa was giving you a look. "Anura, I thought you said you were good at trivia, you haven't answered anything yet" Larissa was faking being mad. "Oh Rissa, I'm just waiting for the questions that you can't answer" you quipped at her, fake pouting. You looked her up and down, she looked less like Principal Weems tonight and more like Larissa. You could see how long her legs really were in her light green satin blouse and grey dress pants.
This was general trivia, questions of all levels were asked about a variety of subjects, so it really wasn't hard. You answered a few times, figuring you better step in to keep your teams points up. The last two subjects came up, languages and chemistry, two random subjects you thought. "What is a subatomic particle that is similar to an electron, but has no electrical charge and a very small mass, which might even be zero?" Looking around you figured someone would get this. "A neutron?" the English teacher guessed. Smiling, you knew that was wrong. You were surprised when nobody else guessed, so you said "a neutrino." Ding, ding, a point for your table. "What is the English translation for the Italian saying 'Occhio non vede, cuore non duole'?" You waited for an answer. Nobody spoke Italian, cool. "Eye does not see, heart does not hurt" you said quickly. Marilyn turned to you and gave you a "good job." Larissa looked to you with a sly smile on her face, but didn't say anything. Perhaps she knew she would owe you multiple drinks by the end of the night. "On the periodic table, the names of which two elements, besides iodine, begin with two vowels?" You thought for a few seconds, going through the periodic table in your mind. When nobody else guessed it, you leaned to Marilyn and whispered, "europium and einsteinium." "OUU europium and einsteinium!" she shouted. Everyone at your table laughed at her eagerness. "Aaaand another point for Einstein's table" screamed the trivia host. "Last question, what does the Latin phrase 'Responsum non habemus' translate to in English?" Oh my god, you were just learning Latin. Responsum must mean response, non habemus? You were stumped. Larissa turned to you, mouth dropping open at your lack of answer. You laughed embarrassed, you didn’t want to be all talk. She leaned close to you and said "I guess I won't be buying you any drinks then" and you acted disgusted with her. Just then, you thought of something. As if your brain wouldn't let you be embarrassed in front of the statuesque beauty sitting next to you offering you drinks, let alone her time of day, you had the answer. The answer was going to sound stupid, but you thought that it was right. Excitedly, you grabbed Larissa's face and leaned close to her. You did have to be professional, but you were a higher up and you moved around a lot, so you knew you could be pretty flirty sometimes. You whispered loudly in Larissa's ear "We do not have an answer!" She looked you in the eye and said "Yes, I know, we don’t know Latin." You let out a loud laugh and hid your face, did they ask this question to make us sound stupid? "No Larissa, that's the translation. Yell out 'We do not have an answer'." She yelled it out and the other tables laughed at her. "No shit, nobody here knows Latin" said the history teacher. "We have a winner!!" exclaimed the trivia host. Everybody else looked super confused, but your table was ecstatic. You hugged Larissa and whispered "You owe me a rum and coke, and make it strong."