The boy inside the matrix box

25

And it's you that drives the demons from my door

Oh I feel you round me like a second skin

Army of Angels – The Script

The door to Nataniel's room flows open, revealing a smiling Seven.

"Sev," moans the blond boy, looking up from his notebooks, "I told you that I had to study my history and geography lessons until six o'clock, and without interruption. I remind you that I have my final exam in these two subjects tomorrow morning!"

"Well, well, well, how serious! I can leave if you want. But I had such good news to tell you..."

"What good news?" asks Nataniel, sitting down on his bed.

Without having lost his big smile, Seven takes a letter from his jeans pocket and waves it in front of Nataniel. "Guess who has been accepted to the Beaux-Arts de Versailles!"

"Really?!" exclaims Nataniel, grabbing the letter from his hand. He looks through it quickly before throwing himself into Seven's arms. "Congratulations," he murmurs, hugging the young man tightly. "All I have to do now is to graduate and we can both fly to Paris." He takes a step back and then drops onto his bed. "Have you told your parents?"

"Yes, I did. They expressed a strange mixture of disappointment and pride... They were secretly hoping that I wouldn't get in, so that I couldn't leave. But in the end, they were happy for me that I had been accepted at the very great École des Beaux-Arts!"

"I'm amazed! We'll be able to look at flats! My university is in Nanterre, so we'll have to find something between Versailles and Nanterre..."

He reaches for his computer but changes his mind with a grimace.

"No, I cannot. Study first," he sighs.

"We'll see at the end of the week, when you've finished your exams," Seven reassures him. "Good luck!"

He gives Nataniel a quick kiss and then leaves the room after a final wave.

***

"How did this penultimate exam go?" Nessie sings as Nataniel finally comes out of the exam room.

"I made the map of Brazil," he declares, his face flushed.

"But it was the map of India that needed to be made..."

"I know. That's the problem."

Nessie looks at him with wide, surprised eyes before bursting out laughing. "Well, I hope you passed the history essay, at least?"

"Yes! I managed to spit out the whole course by heart."

"That's something! Are you going straight home to revise literature, or shall we enjoy a bit of the June sun?"

"Come on, let's take a little break in the sun!"

Nessie doesn't hesitate and runs to lie down in the grass, stretching her arms in a cross and closing her eyes to enjoy the sun's caress.

"Sev has been accepted to the Beaux-Arts." Nataniel announces while imitating her.

"Oh, great! I'll have to congratulate him! So it's official, you're abandoning us to go to Paris?"

"We'll come back every holiday."

"Are there many of them in France?"

"The same as here. I think there's only one week each time, though, except for Christmas and the summer, obviously."