Chapter 1 ________________ 11:32pm ________________ Great. Mrs. Morris won't be pleased - that's the second piece of furniture I've reduced to ashes this month. I thought I could keep it under control now... I do hope she doesn't send me back to my old room in her chambers. I remember her being in half a mind to keep me there. But thank goodness - that's not what happened. I'm writing this from our dormitory; I get the top bunk. Thankfully Elouise Morgan isn't awake now to try and steal my diary or climb up wile I'm writing. She's a year younger than me, with curly blond hair and savage blue eyes that crawl after you wherever you go. I'm the only one awake at the moment - other than Cleora at the other end of the ward. Come to think of it, she must've seen me singe that old sofa - but I'm not too worried; she's never uttered a word in her life. It's some kind of condition, I think. Mƴ t○rch |§ ruŋnıŋg ł○w §o mƴ hªŋɗwrltıŋg mªƴ ɓə rªthər ilłəgıɓłe. Ị'ð ɓəttər cªlı ił a ŋight!¡ __ July 28 12:17pm __ Seems the sofa incident didn't escape Mrs Morris' notice after all. Perhaps I was a little too optimistic. Molly Callomer was sent to tell me to come to her office at 12:30. I'm walking there now to arrive early; make a good impression, you know? I'm scribbling this down hastily as my feet carry me to the place even the rats fear to go, and I wouldn't be surprised if I don't come back. Honestly- that woman's evil; I wouldn't put mùrder past her. __ July 29 13:05 __ Sheesh - I almost wish I HAD been mụrdered. At least then it would have been over quickly. I can still hear her voice ringing in my ears. I probably shouldn't have said that there was *only* one witness present... I should have lied really, perhaps said that nobody was there. Anyway, there's no danger with Cleora. Though, to be fair, she seems to have been avoiding me. Twice I've passed her in the hall and she's scampered off in a different direction, but oh well. I check my reflection in the pocket mirror Alice gave me - it used to be her mother's, left with her when she arrived here, but she was adopted last year. She was the only close friend I've ever had, and the only person (other than the old bat upstairs) that knows about my... abilities. In its reflection, the tips of my now turquoise hair have curled, probably a mark of my nerves. My eyes are now a hazel brown, shaped like almonds, and my nose has shrank to the size of a button. Checking to see that nobody is looking, I quickly rearrange my facial features, making a mental not to be so reckless in future - though I know I've promised myself the same thing over a hundred times, and though Mrs Morris and I both know that I can't help it some times. It's only a matter of time before one of the others finds out.
