Chapter 3
The school seemed to consist of only one building, but it was big and spread out. I could only really see the front, and there was a tall section in the middle, connected to shorter sections, and then the corners were even taller than the middle. I counted six floors of windows in the corners, two in between, and four in the middle. The red brick facade had a timeless quality, and I wondered how long the school had been there. There was a lot of open space around the building with stone paths, benches, a field, and a tennis court, and the open area was completely enclosed by forest except for the long driveway that led up to the building. It looked more like a mansion than a school, and I couldn't help but find it beautiful. It was like nothing I had ever seen before in my very sheltered life.
I followed Sydney out the door of the van, and Jack came out behind me. He was clearly mad at me, but there wasn't much that I could do about it at that point. We gathered our suitcases and followed Paul to the front doors in the middle of the building, which were already open. We stepped through the doors, which led to a beautiful foyer. He told the returning students to go ahead and get settled in their old rooms, and then he turned to the three of us who were remaining.
"You guys won't get your final room assignments until after orientation, which isn't until tomorrow night. In the mean time you'll have temporary rooms in the north wing, which is generally pretty empty. I'll take you there now to dump your suitcases, and then I'll give you a tour. After that you'll be pretty much free to do what you'd like until orientation."
We followed Paul down a hallway to the left, which was lined with doors that led to classrooms. After putting our suitcases in the north wing, which was at the end of the hall in one of the corners of the building, we went back to the marble foyer. There was a grand staircase with large double doors on either side at the bottom. There was also a large portrait on one wall of a stunning African man, his clothing suggesting that the painting had been made a few hundred years earlier. There was something familiar about him, yet I couldn't remember ever having seen him before, and I had a perfect memory. That was another weird thing about me. I was hoping that Paul would explain the portrait, but apparently history was not his favourite subject. He led us through the double doors by the stairs instead.
We entered what appeared to be a cafeteria, but it was not like any cafeteria I had ever seen before. There were twelve tables, all made of sturdy wood with delicate carvings of flowers and birds, making them look almost medieval. The chairs were of similar design and featured plush red cushioning. The ceiling was flat and not overly high, but there were grand chandeliers spaced out along its wood panelling. The walls were also covered in wood panelling, but the floor was covered in grey stone with red accents. There were no windows, but the soft yellow glow from the chandeliers bathed the large space with just enough light. There was also a platform and podium at the far end of the room.
"This is where you'll eat every meal," Paul explained. "Meals are served from 7:00 to 8:30, 11:30 to 1:00, and 5:00 to 7:00. The schedule will be posted in the wings. If you miss a meal there are always snack foods in the wings as well, as you'll see later."
Paul then led us to a door off the side of the room, which led to a twisting set of stairs that disappeared below ground. He told us that there was a pool down there that we could use during our free time, but we didn't go down to see it. Instead we went back to the foyer and then up the grand staircase, which led to a pair of intricately designed gold doors that were open to reveal a room that was even more magnificent than the one below. It nearly took my breath away.
"This is the ballroom. The opening ball is held in here every year, and it will be in two days time, I believe. We also use the room for plays and other shows when we have them."
"It's incredible," I said, in awe. We stayed a minute to admire its grandeur.
In this room the floor was made of different types of wood laid out in an intricate pattern of diamonds, and it was richly polished. The ceiling was high and vaulted, and the beams seemed to be covered in gold leaf. There were sections between the beams that had been painted to realistically look like an image you would see if you looked up at the trees from a forest floor. Two of the biggest chandeliers I had ever seen hung from the ceiling and were made of what seemed like a hundred tiers of sparkling crystals. This room did have windows, and they took up most of the wall space. The far wall was completely glass and also featured glass doors that led out to a balcony. The wall on the left had no windows but featured a stage with heavy red velvet curtains that were drawn back to reveal a grand piano. The walls were mostly panelled and were white and gold, though the wall beside the door featured a mural of people dancing. The room looked better fitted to a royal palace than a school.
After we left the ballroom we went to each of the four wings, all of which were similar. The bedrooms had four beds each, and each bedroom was paired with a bathroom that had four of everything. There were separate floors for the male and female rooms. There was also a large common room in each wing that contained televisions, computers, and plush chairs. There were small kitchens off each common room that were full of healthy snack foods. All of the rooms were in similar style to the ones we had gone to first, so it was almost like taking a step back in time. The bedrooms were wallpapered and the bathrooms full of marble, and the furniture had the same sturdy yet elegant design as the tables in the cafeteria.
Paul didn't show us the classrooms, but he said they were numbered and not too hard to find, and were found on both the first and second floors along the hallways between the wings. He did show us a few of the special rooms. There was a dance studio, a music room, an art room, a library, an infirmary, and a gym that was below ground, like the pool, that had a weight room off to the side. He also showed us something that I didn't expect to see, and which freaked out Jack.
Even further below ground than the pool and behind three heavy locked doors was a hallway. Along the hallway were small rooms that also had very secure doors. Paul opened one up with a key he had in his pocket so that we could see inside.
"These rooms are used by the young werewolves at the time of the full moon for everyone's protection. Most of the older students have enough control to spend that time free in the woods, but young werewolves are dangerous and unpredictable. I won't lie; most of the injuries that occur here are caused when a young wolf loses his or her temper and turns. I'm not telling you this so that you'll live in fear. I'm telling you so that you understand and use a measure of caution." Paul looked at Jack while he said this. "No one is forced to come to these rooms, but most do so willingly to avoid hurting others. Those who refuse and become a danger to the school are usually kicked out, but that's a last resort. We want to help people here, and it would be hard to do that if we gave up on all of the difficult students."
The room was white and padded, though the padding was torn in places, littering the floor with bits of white fluff. There were a few random objects in the room that were torn apart or chewed on. Paul explained that they were used as an outlet for anger and energy.
"What if you haven't actually started changing?" Jack asked softly.
"You will soon, trust me. Being around others of your kind will trigger it. You'll probably want to come down here just in case during the next full moon," Paul answered, which only worried Jack more.
"Do problems ever happen with the other students?" Kyle asked, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "Surely there are lots of heroes and witches and wizards who have dangerous powers. Do they ever hurt anyone?"
"Usually only by accident," Paul told him. "The heroes and witches were given their powers by the gods, and as a rule, only those who are pure of heart are given powers in the first place, which is why there are sometimes members of magical families who have no abilities. Vampires are well regulated by their own kind and hierarchy. Werewolves are the least reg
ulated of all the magical species, so they tend to be the most dangerous."
"Gods?" I asked curiously.
Paul looked at me. "Don't worry. You'll learn about stuff like that in your classes once they start." He left it at that, and I was disappointed.