Enrike Fluence - God Loves Angels

– Good afternoon, Madame Argento!

There was silence. The girls stood and did not move. It seemed to me that they were all gathered on purpose so that they would meet me. I could hear my heartbeat and the crackling of logs in the large fireplace. My suitcase and bag lay near the door.

The rector nodded:

– Good day to you, young ladies! – Then she made a gesture in my direction, I felt a soft push in my back and obediently took two steps forward.

«This is Miss Roselyn Burling. Your new colleague. I ask you to love, and favor, and help her become «Heflig Miss»!

Heflig miss! It meant: a polite miss, a well-mannered lady. I felt humiliated. If I were even in school uniform, I would not stand out from the general mass of students and would feel much more confident.

Everyone looked at me, and I felt myself blush.

– What should I say? Madame Rector asked quietly. And then a chorus of voices filled the room:

– Welcome, Miss Burling!

Greetings for me. It was more chaotic, not as well-coordinated as for Madame Argento. I was confused and speechless. Now, of course, I should have said something too. And it was not supposed to be «nice to meet you», but something more valuable. I was silent, felt helpless and burned with shame.

Madame Argento winked at me and headed for the exit. Her steps began to subside outside the door. Someone chuckled, apparently trying to suppress a chuckle. One girl nodded amiably. Most of the students looked at Madame Rector. And then they returned to their business, scattering around the room.

But a plump girl with a short haircut, with a round face and plump lips, looked at me unfriendly. She collapsed again in the armchair by the fireplace, where she had sat before my arrival. I read some inexplicable hatred in her black eyes. She whispered something to her neighbor and now both unkindly bored their eyes at me.

I didn’t like these two girls right away. Especially a complete «toad». I wish I could conjure a fire spell and watch her scream while engulfed in flames.

I took my bag to distract myself from negative thoughts. My first day at school, my first appearance in this room in front of all the girls. An important moment on my journey to the lady. And I got angry seeing these two gossips like this. Bad thoughts must be extinguished, and it won’t be easy.

One of the students came up to me. She was older than the other girls.

– My name is Suzanne. Suzanne Dorte.

I smiled at her and held out my hand to shake, but Suzanne bowed her head a little and lowered her eyes. A kind of half-bow. I immediately pulled my hand and bowed my head too. It turned out for me not so gracefully as I wanted. Suddenly Suzanne laughed and grabbed my hand herself and squeezed.

– This is such a joke! I hope you will forgive me for this? Although, in fact, this is how you need to say hello when you meet one of the elders in the hallway. I am the headman of the girls. Come on, I’ll show you your bedroom.

I smiled back. I liked Suzanne. I have a good headman. Not sullen and not angry as it could be.

Suzanne grabbed my hand and pulled me along.

– Bedrooms are upstairs. Yours on the top floor.

I followed Suzanne up the spiral staircase. We found ourselves in a small staircase tower, in which on each floor there was a vault and a round room with three doors. As it turned out, a turret with a spiral staircase was adjacent to another, larger tower. The bedrooms were located in it. Light fell only through narrow vertical windows above the steps. A cold wind blew into these cracks. I shivered from the draft and turned away from the light. I was afraid of heights and did not want to see the ground far below my feet.

Suddenly Suzanne released my hand and spoke cheerfully, jumping over the step cheerfully:

– You can always contact me. If you don’t know something, it doesn’t work, you feel unwell or something else… and in general, if you need any help, contact us. I will be happy to help!

Climbing to the third floor, we found ourselves under the very roof. The round area was less well lit than the others. Frozen, out of breath, Suzanne asked:

– Do you use pearl shampoo?

– What? Not.

And then she suddenly spoke in a very quiet voice, as if she was afraid to wake someone up:

– Sorry, but there is only free space here. Now, if you arrived early, you could choose a room and better … – She pointed to the closed door. «My bedroom is in the next tower. The entrance to it is on the opposite side of the girls’ tower living room. Bye then!

And Suzanne went down the stairs.

– Thank. I smiled at Suzanne. Although her words of regret about my room alerted me. So, I will have to live in a terrible closet with a leaking roof? Yes, I’ll catch a cold right away, I’ll sleep with a temperature! What’s the matter with learning magic?!

I opened the door and looked around the room. To my delight, it was quite cozy, warm and clean inside. Two beds with thick duvets and duvets, two dressers, a huge wardrobe and a small fireplace. A couple of lamps hung on the wall. Their bright light finally drove away my fears about the terrible room. No ceiling leaks. No drafts.

On the left bed, knocking the blanket into a lump, lay the girl and looked at the ceiling. More precisely, her legs lay. She herself slid backwards onto the carpet between the beds, and her golden hair sprawled randomly across the carpet, dyed pink at the back. Quite a bit, just the ends. This surprised me. The school has rules. And hair coloring?! And in that color?! Pink! It definitely went wrong. She must be brave to show up at school like this.

My neighbor’s skirt slipped a little, exposing her underwear. The girl twisted a magic wand in her fingers, in her other hand she held an open book, at the pages of which she poked with a stick from time to time.

Somehow I did not even think that I would have a roommate. But that didn’t even upset me. Only alarmed.

I looked at the door. The only white plaque bore the words Ismeralda Duerre. I entered the room.

– Hello. My name is Roselyn. Rose, too. And you?

In response, the girl began to hum quietly to herself:

– Isme-isme! Isme-isme-e!..

I went to the other bed and put my bag next to me. The girl did not turn to me, but said in a melodious voice:

– What brings you to me?

– To you? – I was outraged by such impudence. And a little roughly answered: – I will live here!

– I have?

– Why do you have? This room is now half mine!

– Ah, but I thought … – the girl’s voice fell silent in mid-sentence. In the unspoken phrase, I caught notes of sadness or even sorrow in him. The girl sighed and continued to hum something to herself. I noticed that my bed was not made evenly, in the middle there is a funnel in a crumpled blanket. I glanced unkindly at Ismeralda, but didn’t say anything.

I needed to change. I opened my bag and then I remembered that my suitcase with a school uniform was left at the bottom. I followed him, but before I could leave the room, I froze at the door. My eyebrows rose in surprise, and then I burst out laughing. Here is magic!

Another sign appeared under the name «Ismeralda Duerre». And it read «Roselyn Burling.» I began to go down cheerfully. And behind me there was a rustle of paper and a dull thud. Ismeralda tossed the book, and it fell on the carpet next to the fireplace.

Chapter 6. Acquaintance with Jamely and Matilda

In the common room of the female dormitory (living room), the number of people was significantly reduced. The fat, nasty little girl with short hair and her friend were still spinning around the fireplace. Two other girls at the table were copying something in their notebooks. One passed me and began to climb the stairs.