Madame Argento led me down a quiet corridor, opened the door, behind which there was a spiral staircase, and we climbed even higher. The steps went further, where above through an invisible window, blinding sunbeams lay on the stone wall. I smelled a hint of floral scent. Our path passed this welcoming sign. Now he was walking along a narrow dark passage, and my anxiety was growing. I was afraid to appear in front of other students. Im new and I dont know anyone yet. How will other girls accept me?
Then the thought came to me that just as I am now walking along a castle that is new for me, one day my grandmother was walking. The young woman, probably unsure of herself, was heading to the womens hostel, and did not know what awaited her outside the door. And my mom? My grandmother did not tell me where she studied. But Im sure its also in Nordlig. Perhaps it was here that she met her dad, and they fell in love. These walls mean more to me than I thought. Here I can touch the past of people dear to me.
I clenched my fists for a second, trying to give myself confidence. The rector opened the door, entered, and stopped. I immediately bumped into her and stumbled on the threshold, taking a step back. I hastened to squeeze out an apology and stopped short.
We stood in a spacious room with about twenty girls of different ages. Their faces immediately turned to us. The din of conversation subsided. All girls were in school uniforms. And I stood alone, unlike everyone else in my usual clothes. A second later there was a loud greeting:
Good afternoon, Madame Argento!
There was silence. The girls stood and did not move. It seemed to me that they were all gathered on purpose so that they would meet me. I could hear my heartbeat and the crackling of logs in the large fireplace. My suitcase and bag lay near the door.
The rector nodded:
Good day to you, young ladies! Then she made a gesture in my direction, I felt a soft push in my back and obediently took two steps forward.
«This is Miss Roselyn Burling. Your new colleague. I ask you to love, and favor, and help her become «Heflig Miss»!
Heflig miss! It meant: a polite miss, a well-mannered lady. I felt humiliated. If I were even in school uniform, I would not stand out from the general mass of students and would feel much more confident.
Everyone looked at me, and I felt myself blush.
What should I say? Madame Rector asked quietly. And then a chorus of voices filled the room:
Welcome, Miss Burling!
Greetings for me. It was more chaotic, not as well-coordinated as for Madame Argento. I was confused and speechless. Now, of course, I should have said something too. And it was not supposed to be «nice to meet you», but something more valuable. I was silent, felt helpless and burned with shame.
Madame Argento winked at me and headed for the exit. Her steps began to subside outside the door. Someone chuckled, apparently trying to suppress a chuckle. One girl nodded amiably. Most of the students looked at Madame Rector. And then they returned to their business, scattering around the room.
But a plump girl with a short haircut, with a round face and plump lips, looked at me unfriendly. She collapsed again in the armchair by the fireplace, where she had sat before my arrival. I read some inexplicable hatred in her black eyes. She whispered something to her neighbor and now both unkindly bored their eyes at me.
I didnt like these two girls right away. Especially a complete «toad». I wish I could conjure a fire spell and watch her scream while engulfed in flames.
I took my bag to distract myself from negative thoughts. My first day at school, my first appearance in this room in front of all the girls. An important moment on my journey to the lady. And I got angry seeing these two gossips like this. Bad thoughts must be extinguished, and it wont be easy.
One of the students came up to me. She was older than the other girls.
My name is Suzanne. Suzanne Dorte.
I smiled at her and held out my hand to shake, but Suzanne bowed her head a little and lowered her eyes. A kind of half-bow. I immediately pulled my hand and bowed my head too. It turned out for me not so gracefully as I wanted. Suddenly Suzanne laughed and grabbed my hand herself and squeezed.
This is such a joke! I hope you will forgive me for this? Although, in fact, this is how you need to say hello when you meet one of the elders in the hallway. I am the headman of the girls. Come on, Ill show you your bedroom.
I smiled back. I liked Suzanne. I have a good headman. Not sullen and not angry as it could be.
Suzanne grabbed my hand and pulled me along.
Bedrooms are upstairs. Yours on the top floor.
I followed Suzanne up the spiral staircase. We found ourselves in a small staircase tower, in which on each floor there was a vault and a round room with three doors. As it turned out, a turret with a spiral staircase was adjacent to another, larger tower. The bedrooms were located in it. Light fell only through narrow vertical windows above the steps. A cold wind blew into these cracks. I shivered from the draft and turned away from the light. I was afraid of heights and did not want to see the ground far below my feet.
Suddenly Suzanne released my hand and spoke cheerfully, jumping over the step cheerfully:
You can always contact me. If you dont know something, it doesnt work, you feel unwell or something else and in general, if you need any help, contact us. I will be happy to help!
Climbing to the third floor, we found ourselves under the very roof. The round area was less well lit than the others. Frozen, out of breath, Suzanne asked:
Do you use pearl shampoo?
What? Not.
And then she suddenly spoke in a very quiet voice, as if she was afraid to wake someone up:
Sorry, but there is only free space here. Now, if you arrived early, you could choose a room and better She pointed to the closed door. «My bedroom is in the next tower. The entrance to it is on the opposite side of the girls tower living room. Bye then!
And Suzanne went down the stairs.
Thank. I smiled at Suzanne. Although her words of regret about my room alerted me. So, I will have to live in a terrible closet with a leaking roof? Yes, Ill catch a cold right away, Ill sleep with a temperature! Whats the matter with learning magic?!
Chapter 5. Ismeralda Duerre
I opened the door and looked around the room. To my delight, it was quite cozy, warm and clean inside. Two beds with thick duvets and duvets, two dressers, a huge wardrobe and a small fireplace. A couple of lamps hung on the wall. Their bright light finally drove away my fears about the terrible room. No ceiling leaks. No drafts.
On the left bed, knocking the blanket into a lump, lay the girl and looked at the ceiling. More precisely, her legs lay. She herself slid backwards onto the carpet between the beds, and her golden hair sprawled randomly across the carpet, dyed pink at the back. Quite a bit, just the ends. This surprised me. The school has rules. And hair coloring?! And in that color?! Pink! It definitely went wrong. She must be brave to show up at school like this.
My neighbors skirt slipped a little, exposing her underwear. The girl twisted a magic wand in her fingers, in her other hand she held an open book, at the pages of which she poked with a stick from time to time.
Somehow I did not even think that I would have a roommate. But that didnt even upset me. Only alarmed.