Mrs. Wannelsker looked at me sternly, fixed her gaze on her soiled right palm and scratched knee. Her face was disapproving.
Behave like a real lady! She announced loudly, looking through me. The fussing behind him immediately subsided. And I felt insulted.
The teacher moved her hand along the walls of the dungeon, illuminating them with the light of her magical flame.
«As you may know, there is a lake called» Living Inshon «to the north of our school. In fact, it is a small bay from the north sea. It connects with it underground flooded caves. During high tides, the water level in the lake rises significantly. So, these flooded caves come close to the castle itself. We can say that the castle is on the water Please follow me!
I was scared. These words gave me terrible thoughts. So, the castle is about to collapse under water?
Hurrying to follow Mrs. Wannelsker down the corridor, another thought struck me: why then is she talking about this so calmly and even indifferently?! It means that there is definitely no smell of flooding here.
We soon found ourselves in the vaults of the oval hall. Mrs. Wannelsker said to stop and wait for her. And she herself disappeared, and when she reappeared against the wall, the vaults of the hall lit up with a yellow-red light. About two dozen torches flashed together with fire, which rustled and caressed the ear. The vaulted arches reminded me of the vaults of a church. On the far wall I could see mountains of some kind of scrap metal. Large parts of an unknown mechanism. The large toothed discs were like train wheels.
I shivered. Someone touched my elbow, and I pulled my hand away. It was Bridget. Only now I noticed that I was trembling all over. I rubbed my palms. They were icy. Of course, it was cold in the dungeon.
Mrs. Wannelsker walked over to the metal door on the left. This door was «unusual» to say the least. Then I noticed that the entire left wall of this oval hall was special. It consisted of brown metal plates in which large rivets were visible.
Not without effort, the door gave in, and with a resounding groan, a creak showed us a black mouth. Mrs. Wannelsker stepped briskly into the new room.
Through the dungeon, amplified by the echo, a formidable rumble of thunder rolled, which immediately turned into a quiet uterine muttering. Everyone shuddered. And I even screamed out of surprise. For this roar also vibrated the floor beneath me.
A second later, in the bowels of the room in which the teacher had disappeared, a gray light shone, more powerful than the teachers amulet or her conjured fire.
well! Mrs. Wannelsker said, appearing in the doorway, and beckoned. Come over here!
I didnt want to go inside, and I stepped aside. All the sounds that came from the new room were strange, with a kind of tinny echo. And it was more frightening than ever.
Other girls walked past me, someone pushed me. Matilda. But maybe this is one of the guys from the second Grant. I stood in the way, and it could have happened by accident. I stretched out my neck and tried to consider what awaited me inside the new room. The room looked more like a classroom than everything in the dungeon. But unusual. There were chairs, wardrobes, and electric lights. Half a minute later, I was left alone in the oval hall and looked back longingly, regretting that I had come down here. In the dark darkness of the tunnel, I dreamed of mysterious monsters waiting for me and hiding until a certain time, but now ready to attack and tear to pieces. And this mechanical rumble, quiet and uterine, still continued to tickle my nerves. There was no way back.
Miss Burling. The teacher suddenly spoke in a completely different tone, softer, which I did not expect from her. And also that she knows my name. She came up to me, but I did not notice it.
Do not be afraid. This fear will pass. Sometimes students get scared of my lesson. But only the first. Come on.
She took my arm.
Oh, how I needed that touch. To feel that I am not alone, that there is a strong and fearless person nearby.
Unbeknownst to myself, I found myself inside a metal room.
All the guys were looking at me. In some eyes, I caught a contented malice and superiority. For example, Matilda and a girl from the second Grant. Someone has pity. Although James himself looked no better than me. Most of my new acquaintances, Lily, Cornelia and the other guys, looked scared themselves. It means that I am not the only one who crushes.
The teacher released my hand and walked across the room. Now I could familiarize myself with the environment of the classroom in new details. Tables and chairs lined the walls to the right and left. All have already taken their places. Above the tables, almost in front of their very surface, were large round windows that were not curtained. Behind them is darkness. Two closets stood against the central wall. One with books, the second had four doors that securely hid their contents. A strange smell reigned in the stale air. Synthetic rubber and cabbage.
Mrs. Wannelsker stopped in the center of the room at a round table with an elegant stool and commanded:
Have a seat!
And it seemed to me that she was addressing me. I squinted at the tables in disbelief. Hesitating, I slowly walked over to the nearest free chair and sat down. The surface of the table was, as I imagined, cold.
Cornelia was sitting in front of me. And I was glad of this neighborhood. Say what you like, but she will be better than this Matilda.
Why windows in the dungeon? What will we see in them? Cornelia spoke in a whisper, pointing to the round window above her desk. Really And, without finishing, she broke off.
A greenish glow appeared in these large round windows. I froze in amazement. And my neighbor too. Dense fog, thick jelly filled the entire space outside my window. And when the room shook and vibrated, this veil in the window stirred, slid to the side, opening up a huge space behind it. There was water outside the window.
In the light of the electric outdoor lights, long stems of bright green plants floated outside the window, hovering and enveloping my window. The light got brighter. The room, like some huge underwater monster, crept out of the stone tunnel.
Now I could clearly see the small fish disturbed by our light, the black surface of the stone bottom, strewn with stones and shells. A silver-glittering fish with huge blue fins swam past and sank as quickly as it appeared, leaving me wondering if it was real or was I blinded by something in the water?
What is it? Cornelia whispered. I could not even shrug my shoulders and only with an open mouth looked at the new world that appeared outside the window. The first thought was that I was imagining it. That Mrs. Wannelsker somehow put a spell on me. But after the teacher spoke, I realized that all this is happening in reality. Were swimming underwater in this metal room. What seemed to me like a room from the inside was a submarine, a ship.
This is Batiskaph! Explained Mrs. Wannelsker. We will use it in the lessons on the study of the «underwater world» and «water charms». Today is an introductory lesson. Therefore, we will not record anything, but simply enjoy the journey on our lake.
«Mrs. Wannelsker, is this a real submarine?» Like ordinary people? Raising his hand, asked Allan.
From the ordinary world? Not! The teacher was surprised. The Bathyscaph is a very complex magic apparatus!.. Well, what can you say? Has anyone seen this before?