we smile at the moon

TWO | LIBRARIES & HIERARCHIES

  "MISS CARPENTER, CAN I go to the library for first prep instead?"

The after-school hours on weekdays went like this: we got an hour of free time right after school, from four to five, though sometimes we had to attend clubs and other activities. Then, we head to first prep, which is monitored in the classrooms, before going to dinner at six. After dinner, there was another prep session from seven to eight, after which we got free time until half past nine. Bed-time and lights out was at ten, though we never really slept until ten thirty.

But the problem was simple and the problem was this: the people in my prep room were loud. And by loud, I meant loud enough that I was starting to find it difficult to concentrate, even with my headphones. I could use a silencing charm, but I didn't work well in complete silence either. I needed just a little bit of noise, just a tiny bit to keep myself in the best position.

And then I'd remembered a little something I'd read in the boarding handbook before I came here last night, and it was that we could specially request to be in the library for first prep.

The library, surely, wouldn't be well-populated at this hour? But to go there I had to ask my tutor, a blonde-haired woman in her twenties in charge of half of my year group of Lok girls. There were ten of us total. Yunji was in my tutor group, Adelina was in the other half.

Miss Carpenter fixed her blue eyes upon me. "Do you not want to go to the classroom?"

I grimaced. "It gets a bit loud, Miss, and I do prefer the peace and quiet when studying."

She broke into a smile. "Honoria. It's September. What on earth do you have to study for?"

The answer was rather simple. My parents were spending a small fortune to send me here, and I was not going to, under any circumstances, let them down. That meant getting the best grades I could, and studying whenever possible to make sure I stayed at the top. It was something I'd promised myself I'd do before coming here, and I wanted to keep that promise.

So. My need to study. Even if no one else understood it. Besides, as a new student this year, I'd missed out on almost everything I was meant to learn last year. I was behind, heavily so, because the curriculum at my old school in Hong Kong was different to the one here.

It terrified me. Back at my old school, I'd almost always effortlessly been top of the class. Here, it wasn't familiar territory. Spells were an universal language for us, and one that wasn't verbal. That wasn't a problem. But English was still a subject, and Human Science was more difficult than I'd imagined.

"I just want to be ready," I told Miss Carpenter firmly. "Just in case. I want to do as well as I can."

"Well, you can go to the library," she agreed, "but don't stress yourself out. Remember to have some time for relaxation."

"I will, don't you worry, Miss."

And that was how, an hour later, I sat alone in the corner of the library, laptop propped up in front of me, the Human Science textbook laid out beside it. Osmosis... osmosis... osmosis. I had most definitely not learnt about this at my old school. I scrunched up my brows, straightening as I pulled my hair into a ponytail behind me. My god, why was the curriculum back home so different from this?

It scared me. Genuinely. I was someone who'd never had to put much effort into my academics to get grades I was proud of. But now, all of a sudden, I felt all this stress on me. Weighing down like stones.

It was fine.

I glanced around the library. I'd guessed correctly—it was sparsely populated. Only five or six people were here. Of them, I recognised one. A dark-skinned boy named James Taylor, who was in my Theory of Magic class. He sat in front of me, and we'd briefly spoken once or twice during class. By no means friends, but we acknowledged each other's presence.