PENSIONNAT - VERSION ENGLISH - BOOK FINISH

° 5 °

The Seminary was no longer one building, but two. A gigantic mansion was added at the back. This one, in contrast to the beige stones, had only dark brown or black stones. In some places, black and shiny surfaces were appearing. These could be as small as a grain of sand, or as large as the entire stone. According to Grayce, they shone as well in the sun as under the moon!
I felt like I was in Alice's shoes, in the middle of all these gigantic things!

- The stones of souls. whispered one of the twins in my ear. If you touch them while you are cursed, you disappear! Hahahahaaa!

It was decided. They and I were not going to be friends.

As I marveled at the windows that moved as they pleased, the large wooden door, which had also changed, opened by itself. What could be more abnormal in a ghost school? As we entered the hall, a coat rack beckoned. He was the size of a full-grown tree and was already dressed in two large jackets.

Did giants REALLY exist, too? After all, I was in a ghost school....

Stairs, there were stairs everywhere. They were black. The same shiny black that kept coming up everywhere!

- I would ask you not to listen to the stairs. Not listen to them? They are steps! They are thirsty for revenge... insisted our guide mysteriously.

Our group made itself as quiet as possible, but no sound came out. A reaction which seemed upset, to my small happiness, our guide.
We arrived in a corridor where many doors were side by side. They seemed ordinary, except for their handle which was in shiny black.

- This door is for the boys and this one for the girls. Inside you will find a change of clothes. Your rooms have not yet been assigned. For that, you will have to wait for the banquet. Finally, you will wait until I come to get you to go. Be ready in 20 minutes.

Grayce opened the door and without a word we left to change.

*****

A small room, with a marble floor, welcomed us.
A stone fireplace, extinguished, was on the right. The walls were covered with a fine canvas, where landscapes were drawn. A light breeze was coming out of it as if inviting us to go inside.
Simple garlands were hanging from the ceiling, giving a cosy feeling. A corner sofa rested in front of the fireplace, as well as a coffee table and armchairs.
Then, two stone staircases presented themselves to us. Spiraling, they vanished on the floor above. Small iron signs indicated where they led. To the left was a drawing, where a petal was flying over a triangle pointing down. On the right, was the same drawing, except that the triangle was pointing up.
We put our things, loose, in the room and waited for our "guide".

- It's time to go! shouted the boy while knocking on the door like a drunk.

- Isn't he cute? Grayce had a total crush on him...

- Grayce... he's probably three years older than you... And frankly, he pisses me off.

- Why is that? I like him...

- Of course you like him! But really, look at him! He has a "daddy's boy" haircut, he keeps snubbing us... Look ! He did it again ! His contemptuous look when he looked at Mary! No, frankly, I don't like him.

- Rha, but what are your tastes, eh? I'll have you know that Thomas is the same!

- But I don't want to go out with Thomas!

- Be quiet in the rows! shouted the guide.

- pffff..., I sighed.

*****

We had to go down several stairs to get to this famous banquet.

The room was in the center of the manor. It was the "mother room", as our guide liked to say it... Arrived in front of a black portal (of what there is of more simple), we could have easily seen through if it were not this white fog, which hid us the sight.
It didn't give any desire to enter.

The doors opened and a white light blinded us as we passed. We entered the room with small eyes. The room didn't really look like a banquet hall where 1000 maraige receptions could have been held! Although the decor was in good taste, the dead silence that reigned there marred this image.

Some tables, round and others square, were not placed in a precise order. The students seated there looked like the stylish and rather badass morticians of magic movies. In the center, there was a large fountain. The water flowed from a white sphere that hovered just above it, at ceiling level.

Everyone, watching us arrive, was pulling a tired and jaded pout, or else satisfied. We were the attraction of the moment, like the animals in a zoo were wildly!

A teacher ordered us to stand in pairs, single file. Once done, a gray-eyed man stepped forward near the fountain.

- Welcome young people! Welcome to Exina. The school that welcomes the Ghota families of this country. You will wonder why you are here... You have "blue blood" in you. A gene that runs in your DNA. It does not color your blood blue! This "joke" made the adults present laugh. But it makes you a lucky member of our ghostly community. At his words, a wave of blue mist invaded the room and hit the walls. There are families who have been sending their children to us for millennia. And so for those, don't think that everything will be taken for granted! The tree will show you the truth, if and only IF you have blue blood. Hence the test this morning. Your main teacher will be happy to answer your questions! Good! Now you have to perform the ritual. He suddenly took a deep voice and continued his explanation. This one will show you to whom you belong. For this, two categories will show themselves to you! The white spectres and the black spectres. You will have to put your right hand in the fountain. Make sure you put your hand, completely, under the water. Once done, you will feel a tingling sensation... and then you will remove it. A mark, either white or black, will be drawn under your thumb, on the side of your palm. This will remain engraved for the rest of your life. Start!

Everyone applauds.

While we, the newcomers, were shaking with fear....Since when did we have blue blood?! Wouldn't Mom have told me? By the way, would she be a ghost too? Are we finally dead or alive?
And this mark? But why make a mark? What would it change?! And then to keep it for life!
But what is this huge BLAGUE?!