Eternity (3 page)

We followed
Paul down a hallway to the left, which was lined with doors that
led to classrooms. After putting our suitcases in the north wing,
which was at the end of the hall in one of the corners of the
building, we went back to the marble foyer. There was a grand
staircase with large double doors on either side at the bottom.
There was also a large portrait on one wall of a stunning African
man, his clothing suggesting that the painting had been made a few
hundred years earlier. There was something familiar about him, yet
I couldn’t remember ever having seen him before, and I had a
perfect memory. That was another weird thing about me. I was hoping
that Paul would explain the portrait, but apparently history was
not his favourite subject. He led us through the double doors by
the stairs instead.

We entered what
appeared to be a cafeteria, but it was not like any cafeteria I had
ever seen before. There were twelve tables, all made of sturdy wood
with delicate carvings of flowers and birds, making them look
almost medieval. The chairs were of similar design and featured
plush red cushioning. The ceiling was flat and not overly high, but
there were grand chandeliers spaced out along its wood panelling.
The walls were also covered in wood panelling, but the floor was
covered in grey stone with red accents. There were no windows, but
the soft yellow glow from the chandeliers bathed the large space
with just enough light. There was also a platform and podium at the
far end of the room.

“This is where
you’ll eat every meal,” Paul explained. “Meals are served from 7:00
to 8:30, 11:30 to 1:00, and 5:00 to 7:00. The schedule will be
posted in the wings. If you miss a meal there are always snack
foods in the wings as well, as you’ll see later.”

Paul then led
us to a door off the side of the room, which led to a twisting set
of stairs that disappeared below ground. He told us that there was
a pool down there that we could use during our free time, but we
didn’t go down to see it. Instead we went back to the foyer and
then up the grand staircase, which led to a pair of intricately
designed gold doors that were open to reveal a room that was even
more magnificent than the one below. It nearly took my breath
away.

“This is the
ballroom. The opening ball is held in here every year, and it will
be in two days time, I believe. We also use the room for plays and
other shows when we have them.”

“It’s
incredible,” I said, in awe. We stayed a minute to admire its
grandeur.

In this room
the floor was made of different types of wood laid out in an
intricate pattern of diamonds, and it was richly polished. The
ceiling was high and vaulted, and the beams seemed to be covered in
gold leaf. There were sections between the beams that had been
painted to realistically look like an image you would see if you
looked up at the trees from a forest floor. Two of the biggest
chandeliers I had ever seen hung from the ceiling and were made of
what seemed like a hundred tiers of sparkling crystals. This room
did have windows, and they took up most of the wall space. The far
wall was completely glass and also featured glass doors that led
out to a balcony. The wall on the left had no windows but featured
a stage with heavy red velvet curtains that were drawn back to
reveal a grand piano. The walls were mostly panelled and were white
and gold, though the wall beside the door featured a mural of
people dancing. The room looked better fitted to a royal palace
than a school.

After we left
the ballroom we went to each of the four wings, all of which were
similar. The bedrooms had four beds each, and each bedroom was
paired with a bathroom that had four of everything. There were
separate floors for the male and female rooms. There was also a
large common room in each wing that contained televisions,
computers, and plush chairs. There were small kitchens off each
common room that were full of healthy snack foods. All of the rooms
were in similar style to the ones we had gone to first, so it was
almost like taking a step back in time. The bedrooms were
wallpapered and the bathrooms full of marble, and the furniture had
the same sturdy yet elegant design as the tables in the
cafeteria.

Paul didn’t
show us the classrooms, but he said they were numbered and not too
hard to find, and were found on both the first and second floors
along the hallways between the wings. He did show us a few of the
special rooms. There was a dance studio, a music room, an art room,
a library, an infirmary, and a gym that was below ground, like the
pool, that had a weight room off to the side. He also showed us
something that I didn’t expect to see, and which freaked out
Jack.

Even further
below ground than the pool and behind three heavy locked doors was
a hallway. Along the hallway were small rooms that also had very
secure doors. Paul opened one up with a key he had in his pocket so
that we could see inside.

“These rooms
are used by the young werewolves at the time of the full moon for
everyone’s protection. Most of the older students have enough
control to spend that time free in the woods, but young werewolves
are dangerous and unpredictable. I won’t lie; most of the injuries
that occur here are caused when a young wolf loses his or her
temper and turns. I’m not telling you this so that you’ll live in
fear. I’m telling you so that you understand and use a measure of
caution.” Paul looked at Jack while he said this. “No one is forced
to come to these rooms, but most do so willingly to avoid hurting
others. Those who refuse and become a danger to the school are
usually kicked out, but that’s a last resort. We want to help
people here, and it would be hard to do that if we gave up on all
of the difficult students.”

The room was
white and padded, though the padding was torn in places, littering
the floor with bits of white fluff. There were a few random objects
in the room that were torn apart or chewed on. Paul explained that
they were used as an outlet for anger and energy.

“What if you
haven’t actually started changing?” Jack asked softly.

“You will soon,
trust me. Being around others of your kind will trigger it. You’ll
probably want to come down here just in case during the next full
moon,” Paul answered, which only worried Jack more.

“Do problems
ever happen with the other students?” Kyle asked, shifting his
weight from foot to foot. “Surely there are lots of heroes and
witches and wizards who have dangerous powers. Do they ever hurt
anyone?”

“Usually only
by accident,” Paul told him. “The heroes and witches were given
their powers by the gods, and as a rule, only those who are pure of
heart are given powers in the first place, which is why there are
sometimes members of magical families who have no abilities.
Vampires are well regulated by their own kind and hierarchy.
Werewolves are the least regulated of all the magical species, so
they tend to be the most dangerous.”

“Gods?” I asked
curiously.

Paul looked at
me. “Don’t worry. You’ll learn about stuff like that in your
classes once they start.” He left it at that, and I was
disappointed.

Chapter 4

When the tour
was over Paul left to pick up another group at the airport, leaving
us to do whatever we wanted. We had passed plenty of other students
on our tour who seemed to be enjoying their temporary freedom. Kyle
decided to go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. I turned to
Jack to ask him what he wanted to do, but he was already walking
away.

“Where are you
going?” I asked, jogging to catch up.

Jack didn’t
look at me. “I’m going to go lie down. I think I have jet lag,” he
lied.

“Jack -”

“Don’t, Jules.
I just want to be alone, okay?”

I let him go. I
could see the swirling torrents of emotion in the colors all around
him, and I knew he needed some time to sort out his feelings. He
had been overwhelmed by what he had learned, and I couldn’t blame
him. I couldn’t help but feel guilty for not telling him anything
sooner.

I was then
alone, standing in a hallway between the north wing and the front
entrance. Since I had nothing else to do at the time, I walked
toward the grand staircase. Before going up the steps, I stopped to
once again study the painting on the wall. There was something so
familiar and so comforting about the man’s noble features. He was
probably the most beautiful person I’d ever seen, which almost made
me think that the painting wasn’t of a real person, but of
someone’s idea of perfection. I didn’t really believe that though.
This man was real, and out there somewhere, which made my heart
swell. After pondering for a minute as to why that was, I gave up
trying to figure it out and went up the stairs.

The door to the
ballroom was still open, so I went inside. I could imagine hundreds
of people in magnificent gowns and suits dancing on the gleaming
floors, and felt a desire to do so myself, even though I didn’t
know how to dance. Soon, I thought, remembering that there was to
be a ball. Too bad I had nothing to wear. There was nothing in the
letter mentioning the need for a ball gown, and I couldn’t have
been able to afford one anyway.

The room was
empty. I walked to the glass doors at the far side of the room.
Through the panes of glass I could see that there was a courtyard
in the middle of the school. The balcony that was on the other side
of the doors was fairly large and made of stone. There were stairs
on both sides leading down to the gardens below, where I could see
a fountain and a gazebo and stone paths trailing through patches of
beautiful flowers and trees. There were posts along the paths that
were connected above by strings of lights, though they weren’t on.
I could tell that it would be beautiful at night. There were people
wandering around on the paths that went through the gardens. Most
of them looked like students, but a few were obviously teachers,
and all were enjoying the beautiful day outdoors. I thought of how
much Jack would enjoy such a place, and made a mental note to tell
him about it later. He had always loved plants of every type.

Instead of
going outside to join the happy people, I walked over to the stage.
There were no stairs leading up to it, so I had to climb up to be
on the platform. From that height I had an excellent view of the
entire room and all of its magnificence.

Back at
Pembrook Home, there had been a piano in one of the rooms
downstairs. Only the children who were receiving lessons were
allowed to touch the instrument, as the rest just created noise
that drove the staff crazy. When I was seven I really wanted to
feel the keys beneath my fingers and make beautiful music like one
of the older girls, so I asked Mrs. Jameson for lessons. She agreed
to start teaching me that evening after supper.

She wouldn’t
let me touch the instrument at first. She explained the notes and
showed me which keys made which sounds. Then she showed me sheet
music, and how it worked. The lesson took up the entire evening,
and I had not had a chance to play. Tomorrow, she said.

The next night
we sat down together in front of the piano. “Do you remember what I
taught you yesterday?” Mrs. Jameson asked. I nodded. She asked me a
few questions to test my knowledge, and I surprised her by
answering all correctly. I believed she thought she would have to
teach me everything all over again, like with most of her students.
She didn’t know that I had a perfect memory because I tried not to
flaunt it. People disliked me enough already.

Finally she let
me play. She set out some sheet music for me, and it was a very
simple song. I played it without mistakes, but I thought it was
rather dull. Mrs. Jameson was ecstatic.

“That was
amazing!” she exclaimed. “I have never heard anyone play so
flawlessly on their first try!”

“Could I please
play something more interesting?” I asked, rather bored.

“Oh, of course,
dear. I will go get some more sheet music for you.” She sped off to
the library, eager to see how much I could do, leaving me alone
with the instrument.

Having no one
there to tell me not to play, I decided to try playing a little on
my own. I let my fingers dance across the keys, and somehow it made
a melody. I picked up the pace and added more depth to the song,
giving it multiple layers of high and low notes, pouring my heart
into it. I was so absorbed in my playing that I didn’t notice what
was going on around me until I finally let the song end, which was
a hard thing to do. When I looked up the room was almost full. It
seemed like more than half the people who lived there were in that
little room, standing or sitting and listening to me play with wide
eyes. Embarrassed, I quickly got up and went to my room before
anyone could talk to me.

From that day
on I often had other people begging me to play for them. Sometimes
I did, and I always enjoyed it. Mrs. Jameson called me a prodigy
and tried to get me interested in signing up for a school of the
arts, but I always refused, saying I only played for the joy of it,
and didn’t want that ruined. The real reason was that I didn’t like
playing other people’s music, which I would undoubtedly be forced
to do.

Jack often sat
and listened when I played. I tried to get him to take lessons
himself, but he said I played well enough for the both of us. He
wouldn’t even try learning to play another instrument. I was a
little disappointed because I thought it would be a fun thing to do
together, but I knew he feared being overshadowed and wanted to
find something of his own that he was good at. I ended up always
playing alone, but I loved it anyway.

And so, of
course, when I saw that beautiful grand piano on the stage I
couldn’t help but go over and study it. It was a much more majestic
instrument than the one at Pembrook, and it was kept in such good
condition that it looked like it was brand new, though I didn’t
believe it was because of the style. Since there was no one in the
room I figured it wouldn’t bother anyone too much if I played a
little bit.