Nelgomi continued being secretive over the next few weeks, but Cary mostly wrote it off to him being a dwarf. He was one of the only dwarves that she had ever met, and the only child dwarf. It was obvious that he was hiding something, though, and Cary wasn't sure what it was. She figured that, whatever it was, Nelgomi would tell her about it when he was ready. But whenever she saw him staring at the fountain, it was clear that something was bothering him.

By mid-November, it was starting to bug her to no end. As Math class lagged on, Cary was starting to think that she should confront him about it all. Insist that he tell her whatever was going on. Maybe she could help with it. With how patient and considerate Nelgomi had been while Cary was struggling with her faith, she wanted to return the favor. And standing by, watching him struggle with whatever it was, was eating away at her.

"Why do we even need to learn this?" Greg asked.

Greg tossed his Math book against the back wall of the room. Cary figured that the bully was just frustrated. Greg had always struggled with Math, no matter which world he was in, or how it was being taught. It was almost enough to make Cary feel sorry for him.

"We're sorcerers, now, right?" Greg asked. "What do we need math for?"

"What? You thought that just because you're magical, you don't need math?" Ms. Shultz asked. "Math is the multiversal language. It works the same everywhere. And you need it for science and for magic. Algebra more so. If you're looking to heat a dragon's egg safely to 300 degrees, how much energy do you put in the spell? It's hard to judge the strength of your spell, but harder still if you don't know what strength you need to target. Maths matter. Now, turn to page thirty."

Cary snickered a little at the comment, at comparing math to magic like that. But clearly, that was the wrong thing to do when Greg was in one of his moods.

"What are you laughing at, Freak?" Greg asked, glaring over at Cary. "Shouldn't you still be moping over your break-up with your boyfriend?"

"What?" Cary asked.

Her face went pale at the comment. She knew that he was referring to David, though Cary and David had never been anything more than friends. She never thought of anyone in that way. And yet, from the way that Greg had said the comment, it almost sounded like they had been dating for years. Or maybe it was just that he was–

"Jealous?" Cary asked, the word slipping out against her better judgment.

"Woah," Siobhan muttered from the seat next to Cary. "Nice one."

"Why I–" Greg started.

Cary knew that tone. It was a bad tone. One that often led to pain. Worse was the fact that it was the middle of class. There was no escape, no way out without the teacher noticing.

Cary's eyes went wide as she slowly turned back towards Greg. She wasn't surprised in the least when she saw him jumping out of his chair, storming up the aisle towards her. The students between them all jumped out of his way, pulling their desks along with them to clear his path. While Rachel joined them, she had a broad smile on her face, as if she were eager to see the fight to come. Greg's hands clenched at his sides in huge fists, just begging to be thrown.

Halfway up the aisle, Greg suddenly stopped in his tracks. His hands were still clenched, his teeth bared, his eyes still locked on Cary. The anger stayed on his face, only intensifying as he stayed there.

"That's enough, Mr. Munts," Ms. Shultz said.

Cary looked between Greg and Ms. Shultz. Her hand was raised, pointed towards Greg from across the room. Cary could almost see the spell flowing off of her. But the weird thing was that the Math teacher wasn't wearing a ring on that hand. On either hand that Cary could see. And yet, she seemed as in control of her magic as any of the teachers that wore them.

"Do I need to send you down to the headmaster's office?" Ms. Shultz asked. "I can do that right now, if you'd like. You won't even need to walk there. I just snap my fingers and–"

Suddenly, a loud thump came from the door to the room. Cary's head snapped around, staring over at the door. There was nothing there, no hint at whatever happened to the door. It looked the same as normal. At first, Cary just wrote it off, figuring it was something happening in another classroom. Or a student stomping their feet outside the door on the way to the bathroom. Only when she looked back at Ms. Shultz, she realized that everyone was still staring at the door.

That Ms. Shultz was still staring at the door, and her face was as white as Cary's was when Greg was charging at her.

"Oh, right," Ms. Shultz said. "I forgot the lockdown drill was today."

Despite her words, she didn't look relieved. Her face stayed pale, her voice strained, as she looked back at Greg. He was still standing there, still held under her spell.

"I guess that's just your luck, Mr. Munts. Lockdown trumps sending you to the headmaster's office. But don't begin to think that you're getting out of anything. We don't take kindly to physical violence at this school."

"Now, magical violence, on the other hand," one of the students said, causing several laughs from the other students.

"Will you behave, Mr. Munts? Or do I need to put you in a time out?" Ms. Shultz asked.

There was no response forthcoming from Greg. The hold that the spell had over him prevented him from speaking. But Ms. Shultz seemed to be able to hear him just fine. After a moment, she let the spell fade, giving Greg back control over his own body. Cary stayed on the edge of her seat, staring over at Greg, worried that his anger would return. But instead, Greg slowly backed away, returning to his chair in the back of the room.

"Now, we won't be expecting the bell to ring anytime soon," Ms. Shultz said. "Lockdowns can last a while."

"What about seventh period?" Cary asked, raising her hand. She didn't want to miss out on another Art class. With the progress that the class had been making on Snoiod Suas, she had a feeling that they would be moving on to a third spell soon. But it seemed like this lockdown would get in the way of that.

"Classes will most likely be over after this," Ms. Shultz said. "We'll be getting instructions once it's over."

"Don't you already know how long this is going to last?" one of the students asked.

"Shouldn't we be putting our desks against the door?" another student asked. This one was sitting next to the door, and he was staring daggers at it. Clearly, he wasn't liking being that close to it. Cary figured that he was worried he'd be the first killed if an active shooter came through there.

"No one is going to be able to get through that door," Ms. Shultz said. "It's magically sealed and reinforced. They'd have to be twice as strong as the headmaster to break it down."

"So... not no one," someone said, snickering a little.

"No one on this campus," Ms. Shultz clarified.

"I don't get these lockdown thingies," another student said.

When Cary glanced towards the almost feminine voice, she was surprised to see that it was one of the male elven students. The two elves that were in her Math class mostly kept to themselves, never so much as raising their hands or asking a question. This was the first time she had heard any of the elven students speak. His voice was soft, subtle, and a higher pitch than she was expecting.

"What exactly are you trying to protect us against?" he asked.

The question hung there for a moment in the dead air of the room as everyone looked towards Ms. Shultz. It took Cary a moment longer to realize what the obvious answer was. The answer that, had the question been asked weeks earlier, she would have known instinctively. But as she had gotten over her fears of the witches that were supposedly all around, she had started to think that there was nothing to be afraid of.

Only, the headmaster never said that there were no witches. No one had. They just said that there weren't any on campus.

"Witches," Cary muttered, her eyes shifting back towards the door to the hall.

"But... It's just a drill, right?" asked the student by the door.

"Yes, Mitchel," Ms. Shultz said. "It is."

But her voice told a different story, and soon, all the students could tell. Silence filled the room as everyone stared at the door. The student next to it got up from his chair, heading over towards the far corner. The fact that Ms. Shultz didn't say anything, didn't stop him, spoke volumes about what was happening on the other side of that door.

Cary reached into her backpack, pulling her new bible out. She wanted to read through it. To find all the passages about witches and go over them once more. She was hoping that would lend her comfort, or at least tell her what was happening right outside that classroom door. But her eyes refused to turn from the door, from where the witch might be coming from. Where they might make their way into the room.

"Let's... Let's get back to the lesson," Ms. Shultz said. Her voice broke twice as she did. And when none of the students turned to her, she gave up on trying.

"Does anyone know who it is?" Siobhan asked. "Is it someone from outside the school?"

"I'm betting it's one of the students from our school," someone said. He and the two kids next to him all glared over at Rachel.

"Hey, don't look at me," she said, raising her hands in surrender. "I don't have anything to do with this." And yet, when she looked towards the door to the hall, Cary thought there was more longing than fear in her eyes. As if she were feeling left out, rather than worried she would be a target. When people started staring at her, though, she let out a little cackle. Cary purposefully shifted her desk away from her when she did.

"Wait, didn't the headmaster say something about a lockdown drill during the Halloween Feast?" someone asked. "Maybe it's not really a witch."

"Or maybe he knew this was coming... and did nothing to stop it."

Comments came from all over the room as people speculated about what was happening outside that room. The silence was suddenly broken, the room returning to the loud volume conversations more common in the mead hall. Cary wasn't sure if that was better or worse. Better because the students were starting to relax, no longer worried that the witch was going to come for them. Worse, because if the witch did come, they wouldn't be able to hear it.

Or at least, Cary didn't think they would.

But then, the door let out the same loud booming sound, and everyone instantly quieted. Everyone turned back to the door, as if expecting an answer to come from it. Or expecting the witch to barge in right then and there. Neither came from the door. But then, a voice came over the intercom.

"Lockdown has been lifted," the voice said. As the students started to relax, Cary looked around the room, trying to see where the voice was coming from. It was the first time the intercom was used while she was there, and she hadn't seen a speaker before. The voice seemed to come from everywhere all at once, as if the room itself, or perhaps the building, was speaking to her. "Students are instructed to return to their dorms. Teachers, head to the admin building to report."

"Wait, that's it?" asked the student that had been sitting next to the door. "That was nothing."

"As I said, it's just a drill," Ms. Shultz said. The confidence had returned to her voice, but Cary wasn't so sure. "Everyone, head to your dorms. You'll be asked to sign in once you get there. Please, no dawdling along the way. The last thing we need is for someone to go missing right now. Understood?"

"Yes, Ms. Shultz," the class called out.

As the class started heading for the door, Cary glanced towards the clock. All told, the lockdown only stretched the end of class by ten minutes. And yet, it felt like so much longer. Worse was the fact that they were still missing out on seventh period. She was still missing out on Art. All for the sake of the missed ten minutes.

Only, the moment that they headed outside of the room, all thoughts of Art left her mind. The posters advertising the next Cadavraball game and mixer, this time at Michael Scott Prep, were all scattered across the floor. And just three doors down from Ms. Shultz's room was a huge dent in the tile, showing the cement floor underneath.