"That's great," Midnight mused. He became relaxed in his chair. "I'll ask you questions about your labyrinth and you only need to nod or shake your head as an answer. Are you ready, Feste?"
I nodded, still shovelling spoonfuls of unknown food into my mouth.
"Nobody's ever 'entered' your labyrinth as Boingo and Endora did previously, am I right?" After receiving another nod, he spoke up again. "Not even your family or previous friends?"
"Yeah." I swallowed the food that had been sloshing around in my mouth. "I wasn't really close to anyone then."
Midnight's eyes grew wide. "Oh? So you know how this works? You know how people are sent into the labyrinth?"
I shrugged, having placed another bit of tray food in my mouth. I was now almost completely done, so I began to savour its exquisite flavour.
"You don't know, then?" Another nod was sent his way. "Oh. So you just think that's how it works."
"I think so, yes." I placed the tray on a free part of the desk and Midnight noticed, waving his hand to transport the dirty dish to another unknown location. "They both became friends with me and shortly after were granted access, but then by that logic..."
"Yes?" The principal listened intently.
"Then Day would have gone in as well." I turned my head to the side.
"Day? The teacher?" Midnight squinted his eyes and held his head on the backs of his hands. "I suppose he does want to protect you."
"He tutored me for a few hours during the field trip to catch me up on things that I didn't have the chance to learn," I explained.
Following a period of silence, Midnight stood. "I believe we can leave that here for now. However, I want to ask you a quick question."
I was starting to leave as well when I stopped in my tracks. "What's that?"
My principal's face was cold. "If I find a way to crack into your world, may I enter it tonight?"
"Huh?" My face froze.
"If it's alright with you, I'll do some snooping into your unconscious mind and see if there's a way to force my way in."
I thought this over for a few seconds. After the allotted time, I decided that it would be best if Midnight were to help me as soon as he could. "Yes."
Midnight did a gesture that resembled a bow. "Thank you. You may leave."
Opening the door, I saw Midnight turn around and pluck a book from a shelf. I shut it and began to make my way back down the stairs, however; given the amount of time that I spent walking up to the office and conversing with Midnight, I assumed that I only had a small sliver of time left before the bells rung once more.
Mr. Grey had heard of my situation. "And you," he addressed after dismissing everyone to practice their assigned spells around the field, "I'll be putting you on the fast track." He narrowed his eyes at me. "It's clear how you must learn spells that can better help you defend yourself quickly."
I ended up learning three spells that day. Looking around, I could have sworn that the next class would have normally started or that I would've been sent back to my dorm to rest for the evening. Still, it seemed as though the artificial sun hadn't moved. A few hours later, I finally elected to ask Mr. Gray about it.
"I thought you would notice earlier." He was promptly distracted from his lesson. "Yes, I slowed down time. I'll end the spell soon, though."