PENSIONNAT - VERSION ENGLISH - BOOK FINISH

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*DRING !*

- Ella it's for you!

Was MAX already there?
I put down my pencil and contemplated my drawing one last time....I was more or less satisfied with myself. A Max was looking at me frozen, a smile on his lips. Returning the smile, I put it down and finally left my room.

I still hadn't found a solution for my outfit. I concluded that I would have to resign myself to wear a black slim and a sequined top...nothing great...
I came down from my room and opened the front door. I looked out, but there was no one in sight. Nor Max.

- Mom! There's nobody at the door!

- No, but there is a package.

I looked at the floor and indeed there was a box. It was red, with an even redder rose drawn on it.

- It's not for me. It's too pretty! It must be for you I think...

- There is a note on the box. Read it. And the delivery man said it was for someone called "Ella"...

Amazing. Maybe Grayce thought I wasn't planning on a dress! This would be so great! I took the package and hurried upstairs to my room.
I carefully picked up the note that was hanging on it and read it.

For you, a little flower.

The Unknown Shadow.

The Unknown Shadow? Surely it wasn't Grayce. Who was this "unknown"? Puzzled, I opened the box.

Inside, a black ribbon held a paper. It was made of velvet and, to my surprise, so was the paper. I pulled gently on the ribbon and carefully unfolded the message.
A garment. A dress. A white dress was waiting for me. It was beautiful. Without keeping the suspense, I tried it on immediately. It fit me perfectly. It had a few shades of pink and it was open on the side of my right leg!

- Wow... but I can't wear this. It's too... too...

- Ella! Max is here! My head turned mechanically on my alarm clock.

- Already 5 o'clock!

Hup! I took off the dress and put it in my bag, with its ribbon and its box. I found Max in front of the door. His sister was talking with my mother while he was waiting for me.

I could see the necklace he had chosen to link him to his soul. It was, in itself, just a military chain with the plate. But it looked good on him. Besides, it gave him a rather seductive mature side.
I didn't know anyone nicer or cooler than Max. He wasn't pretentious or arrogant. Not shy and very sociable, he got along with everyone. He was simple by nature, funny and very helpful. He always listened to his friends.
I was very lucky to have him.

I kissed my mom goodbye, saying she didn't need to worry about custody. With a kind and tender smile, she kissed me back. Then we finally left.

*****

Their car was parked on our neighbor's sidewalk. It was navy blue, with a blue and yellow "A" sticker on the back. While Max was putting my bag in the trunk, his sister came over to meet me.

- Hello Ella! I'm Camille. His sister. He told me a lot about you!

She had the same smile as Max. From her simple jeans to her red t-shirt, I thought she was very pretty. She wasn't the coquettish woman ready to spend three hours at the hairdresser's, but rather the one who was ready to take down a building with her bare hands to get what she wanted.

- Hello! I smiled at her, casually.

- Don't start, Camille..." grumbled Max. Do I introduce myself every time one of your girlfriends comes home? No! Why? Because it's boring! Camille couldn't help but laugh. And so did I!

- Rha the girls... all the same... blew Max.

We drove with electronic music. Max slept after 20 minutes of driving. As for me, I was content to watch the landscape go by. The closer I got to the Seminary, the more stressed I became.

As I watched the fields pass before my eyes, I thought about that mysterious stranger... Maybe Max? No. Impossible. He would have no interest in hiding. Too bad. I would probably never know who he was and yet... thanking him was the least I could do.

We arrived at the gate of the Seminary after thirty minutes. My stomach was getting nauseous and Max whispered to me that he would have liked to arrive at least an hour after the party started.

- Come on, cheer up! You'll get there. I'll leave you here. Come on, kiss Maxou! To the next one my beautiful!

We watched her walk away like two abandoned puppies. It was Grayce who woke us up. She came up behind me and jumped on me. A kiss was all she would give for her friends. She was not the cuddly type.
We passed the gate, where we arrived in front of the tree. The famous weeping willow, which would have seen millions of strange and secret things.
Before I even put my hand on the trunk, a voice, in my back, called out to me.

- Wait Ella!!! I'm coming! Thomas was running with a backpack over his shoulder.

- Don't worry, we're waiting for you! shouted Max. He came towards us completely out of breath.

- T...Thanks...I... I...thought I was late...

Now that we were all there, I activated the entrance. Exina appeared like a dream. We were in the middle of a bunch of other students, each one of them in a hurry to get to tonight. They had already made their "entrance" into the world.
Basically, I don't know why we were so stressed. Everyone was going through it and they were fine with it.

Grayce and I left before the boys to the dorms. We joined Marie and Lizy at their prep. They all fell in love with my dress. Only to Grayce did I confess the truth. To the others, I told them that it belonged to my mother, when she was younger.

- We'll find out who she is in the next few days. For now, we'll focus on the evening. Remember, we're not allowed to make any mistakes. We'll even have to sign a contract with our soul.

- What?! I yelled.

- Didn't you know about this?

- No!

-Well, now you know. Come on, we have to go to the Fountain.

- I have a feeling this is going to be epic...

Grayce pulled me by the arm and the two of us walked to the front door of the dining room. We were all there. The first years in all their glory. No one was missing.

We remained silent. Everyone was reassuring himself. Imagining their own scenes, their own words, their own steps, down to the smallest detail. We looked every five minutes to see if our clothes were still nice and tidy. We rearranged our hair, as if an invisible hand was always coming to disturb it.

Then the fog dissipated letting us see the big room. The guests had already arrived, for the most part. Another door was open for them to enter. Finally, the gates, which served as doors, were opened, inviting us to enter the place at the same time.
To encourage us, we were greeted by a thunderous applause.