I finally got something in my stomach. It was possibly because I was done with the exams, even though the fear of not getting in was still there. I lay on my bed and looked at the ceiling. I was so nervous that the letter wouldn't come. I was mentally exhausted, but I couldn't sleep because of the fear.
"My lady," I heard Blair's voice. I opened my eyes and looked outside; it was already morning. So I slept, that's good. "You need to come down for breakfast," she said, and I nodded.
I walked into the dining room with Tyler trailing behind. We had breakfast silently, with Mother glancing at me every five seconds. After eating, I stood to leave with the intention of sleeping some more.
"Livi," she called.
"Yes, Mother," I replied.
"Your letter came in," she said, and I sighed. It felt like a heavy weight had been lifted. "Do you want to open it?"
"Yes," I said with a small smile.
She stood up and walked out, and I followed her. She went to her study and picked up an envelope from the table. She handed it over to me with a smile.
I scanned the envelope before opening it; it was still sealed. I removed the letter and scanned through it.
"What does it say?" she asked.
"I… I got in," I breathed. She sighed in relief and drew me into a hug.
"I'm proud of you, Livi," she said. The hug caught me by surprise.
"Thank you," I said, pulling away, but she held me tightly.
"I'm sorry I have to leave you, Livi," she said. "I know it will be hard for you." I don't want you to go, I wanted to tell her that. I wanted to cry and hold on to her so she would listen, but I kept silent and accepted what I was given.
"What is a special grade student?" I asked, and she pushed me back to look at me.
"What did you say?"
"W… What is a special grade student?" I asked reluctantly.
"Let me see that letter," she said, and I gave it to her. She held her mouth and stared at it. "Livi," she called quietly as a smile grew on her face. "This is awesome," she said.
"A special grade student is a student with promising ability. They are treated differently from normal students, which also means their work is different from others. You would be able to graduate earlier than your peers if you get good grades because you'd do work that is a few years ahead of them. But I'm worried, Livi, won't it be too much?" she asked. A special grade student—I never knew I was smart enough to be granted such an honor.
"I'll do my best," I replied, and she smiled. She walked to her table and carried a small box.
"This is a little present," she said, and I collected it and opened it slowly. There was a pen inside, or at least that's what it looked like. "It's a communication device. I have one too. That way I can talk to you once in a while," she said, and I nodded. "But don't try to call me, okay?" she said, and I nodded.
"Okay," I replied.
"Don't worry, I won't be gone for long," she said, and I nodded. "I'll take you for the registration tomorrow," she said, and I just nodded because that's all I could do.
…
I sat in the lobby waiting for Mother to finish talking to the principal, whom I had not met.
"I didn't mean to oversleep," I heard a familiar voice, and I turned. My guess was right. Alia. She paused when she saw me but kept walking with her companion.
I know they were ordered to stay away from me, but it hurts now that it's here. Things took a really bad turn; it was really going well. I don't know if I'm greedy for wanting more, and I don't know if I'm wrong for wanting more, but I can't help it.
"Miss Alden," someone called, and I looked up.
"Yes…" I was so shocked to see one of the people from the final exams.
"You may come in," he said, and I nodded, standing up. "It is interesting how one of our best brought another possible best," he said, walking to his seat.
"I'm flattered, Principal," Mother said, and he tilted his head. She was a student here?
"I'm not talking about you," he said, and she laughed.
"I know you're just joking," she replied, and he laughed.
"I'm serious. She's so young, and she could become a professor soon. I just need to get her to finish that thesis she's been telling me about," he said with a sigh.
"You know how Elise is," Mother said, and he nodded in response.
"Hello, Faina. Is it okay if I call you that?" he asked, and I nodded. "You caught us off guard in that exam—the best we've seen in years," he said. He's just being nice. "I understand the reason for your early admission, but how do you feel about that, Faina?" he asked.
How do I feel? I am not happy; I don't want Mother to go. I am scared of the change of environment.
"It's fine. I look forward to the new school and all the things I will potentially learn," I said, and he nodded.
"But that contradicts your answer for the second exam," he said. That's true, but it's not entirely true. "That's fine. I'll go through your registration information."
"You have been granted the position of special grade student, which is a very important position. Special grade students are students that show promise and have the possibility of making an impact in the school in the future." Can I make an impact in the school in the future? "You will be granted special lodging with other students of your grade and will be granted unlimited access to research materials."
Wow!
"Special grade students are granted the ability to write exams of other years so that they can graduate early. But mind you, failing more than twice is not acceptable. You'd be stripped of your position as special grade."
I knew it came with more pressure. I would love to graduate early but not at the expense of embarrassing Mother.
"Our facilities will be open to you at any time, even when it has been locked. You will be granted a key that can open any building at any time, but if that key is found in the possession of anyone else—special grade, professor, anyone at all—you will be reprimanded," he said, and I gulped. "Do you understand everything I just said?"
"Yes," I replied.
"Then you'll be given a key to your accommodation and a map to find it," he said, and I nodded.
"Still doing that old tradition of making students hunt down their dorms?" Mother asked with a playful smile.
"The fun is in two weeks when they all show up. I love how they get lost in the most unexpected places," he said, and they both laughed. I have a bad feeling about this. "So, Faina, would you like to wait until the school resumes fully, or would you like to take small lessons?" he asked.
"I'll start now," I replied.
"Okay, I'll have someone prepare a small list of courses you can take," he said, and I nodded. "And a map," he added, and started laughing, with Mother joining him. She laughs a lot with this old man. "While you are here, you'd refer to me as 'Principal,' understand?"
"Yes," I responded. Did he read my mind?
"Well, that's all. Say your last goodbye," he said, and I held my hands together.
"Don't say it like we'll never see each other again," Mother said.
"Meet the kind lady at the door for your map. The key I spoke about will be in your room, and because your mother asked for a favor, you won't be carrying your luggage," he said. People walk around with their luggage?
"Thank you?" I wasn't sure if that's what I should be saying.
"Okay, you may leave. Good luck out there," he said, and I nodded, standing up.
"Goodbye, Livi," Mother said, standing up.
"Goodbye, Mother," I said as she pulled me into a hug.
I walked out and followed the Principal's instructions. When I collected the map, the lady at the table said,
"Good luck," with a mischievous smirk. I better start searching for my room.
I walked around looking at the map, but at every turn it looked like the map was changing. Did they do this purposely? Is this supposed to be fun?
After walking around in circles for almost an hour, I was close to giving up. I turned and looked at the administration building for the sixth time since my 'hunt' started. I had no idea how to get to my dorm, and I needed to as soon as possible because my body hurt all over.
"Where do I go from here?" I asked myself in a low voice. I took a step back, scanning the map, but I stepped on air and fell. I braced myself for impact, but I didn't hit the ground. Instead, someone caught me. The person chuckled and stood me up. I just stared at the map in my hand in shock, then the map started making more sense. "That's it," I said to myself. "Thank you very much," I said, sidestepping away so I could confirm my hunch.
"You're welcome. You didn't weigh anything, so it was nothing," the person said. I looked up only to meet familiar grey eyes.
"Ah…" I exclaimed speechlessly.
"Excuse me," he said, walking away. Teon? I just saw Teon? I turned to look in the direction he went and met his eyes again. He looked away and walked off with Elwin. I didn't even notice Elwin earlier.