Author's Note: Lot of thanks for my beta, Miranda, who's patient enough with my headache inducing work. I really don't know what to do without her checking this.
Chapter Two: Dalton Institute of Arcane
Dalton Institute of Arcane
Doltore, Crystalvale
30-Sep-2019
11:20 AM
When Blaine arrived in the lobby, he could easily tell that the majority of the crowd were freshmen because of the timid glances and hesitant body language exuded by each of the students. Blaine recognized a few in the crowd from his middle school days but instead of stopping by to say hi, he had settled for a nod and smile as he had yet to find his group.
Blaine craned his neck to find either Wes or David. Again, he was painfully reminded of how vertically challenged he really was when in crowded places. He then resorted to find the right placard. The navy blue placards were hanging from the ceiling with corresponding numbers written in bold red ink. It was relatively easy to find which group was which since it had been arranged in a manner to provide enough space for each group, preventing them from mixing with one another. Blaine saw his designated number next to the exit and hurriedly went to it.
As he approached the post, his eyes caught sight of a very tall student under the sign. Blaine assumed he was one of the student council, so he moved quicker.
"Blaine!" Wes and David called in unison.
"Hey." Blaine waved. He noticed another Asian guy who was taller than Wes. He was standing awkwardly a tad bit away from the giant guy. Far from the rest of the group was a stocky student about Blaine's height. "So…"
"The assigned Prefect just left. The President called for him." Wes supplied.
"Man, you're easy to read. No, he's a first year like us." David pointed in the direction where the giant student was standing. The student looked clueless to what was happening around him.
Blaine playfully shoved David. "Of course I know that!"
"Of course you do." David said in exaggeration, his lips tugging in one corner. "Your face says the opposite, very expressive if you ask me."
Blaine consciously touched his cheeks as if he could tell from merely feeling it. Before he had a chance to respond someone spoke.
"Jeez! Watching you guys from a distance was awkward enough and being near you is much worse." A male student who was shorter than Blaine came into view. He was small in frame and had an easy smile. He had a black, old looking, circle badge pinned to his left lapel. Two bronze circles were drawn inside the badge. Between the outermost circle and inner circle was a bronze laurel wreath and inside the inner circle was a crown. Across the emblem was written 'Secretary'. "Thad Harwood, senior, and don't look at me like I have two heads." Thad inserted in his introduction as his eyes landed on the freshman. His smile never faltered which meant he didn't take offense to it.
Embarrassed, Blaine rubbed the back of his neck while David leaned over to whisper 'I told you so.'
"Anyway, where were we? Oh yeah, I'm the secretary." Thad tapped his badge. He stood in the middle of the circle, contemplating on his next action to break the awkward atmosphere. "Actually I already memorized your names but I still don't know who's who. And for the sake of everyone, how about we do a little introduction?" He offered, having already pointed at someone without waiting for their response. "Starting with you, my fellow hobbit." Thad joked.
"First of all, I'm sorry for my action." Blaine apologized. The senior quickly assured him it was fine and should not worry too much about it.
"I'm Blaine Anderson, age fifteen, from Pernrith Institute in Whiteridge." He continued. His winning smile in place. The one he usually reserves to swoon both females and males alike.
"Damn Anderson, please hide that smile. It makes me question my sexuality." Thad teased, which earned a laugh from the others in their group. His carefree disposition easily encouraged the freshmen to loosen up a bit. "Congrats on having a soulmate."
Blaine grinned. He knew how lucky he was to receive his soulmate this early. It must be torturous to wait for a birthday in spring when almost everyone in your age had received theirs. Blaine could see the envy from Wes and David when Thad pointed it out. "Thanks." He turned bashful.
Thad shifted his attention to the student next to Blaine. "Okay, your turn man."
"David Thompson, fourteen, from Hillford Institute in Barmwich."
"I see you have yet to receive your soulmate's name. Well, good luck."
"As long as I don't get Wes' name, I'll be ecstatic." David stage whispered to Thad.
It's Blaine's turn to laugh. His eyes crinkled as Wes punched his best friend's arm hard.
"So you must be the poor soul David was referring to." Thad nodded at the shorter Asian standing beside David.
"Unfortunately, yes. I'm Wesley Montgomery, age fourteen. From the same place and school as my so called best friend." Wes said indignantly.
"Trouble in paradise." The senior egged. "If you're attempting to kill me with those glares, you should give up. It won't work. Too dull, my knees won't even shake in fear." He dismissed halfheartedly at the two best friends."I think we should continue this on our way to the cafeteria. It's almost lunch time and trust me when I say you don't want to be late for it."
They headed out of the main entrance and descended from the steps. From the outside, the auditorium had the same ancient looking design despite being one of the few additions in the campus. Headmaster Brody has been precise on every detail he wanted. Everything should go through his approval before anything could be added. And his strict order was to make things look harmonious, that no one could decipher what was newer or older. Thus, the architects and engineers created a greek temple-esque building complete with stone pillars and steps.
When they were meters away from the auditorium Thad motioned the tall Asian boy to introduce himself.
"Michael Chang, Mike is fine. I'm fifteen, from Dunwich Institute in Hailing Cove."
Just like Blaine, Thad congratulated Mike. While walking, the freshmen all felt like they were living in an earlier century and not in the 21st. All the buildings looked old and were either made of bricks or stones. The only consolation was Thad's reminder that the school underwent yearly maintenance around summer.
Another sight to see was the presence of drones flying everywhere inside the campus, although this time Thad didn't comment on it.
"Can't we ride the shuttle bus?" The tallest freshman blurted out. His eyes followed another electric shuttle painted in navy blue and red passing by with five students in it.
Thad grinned while walking beside Mike. "Isn't it better to walk? It's not that far."
"So, we can ride dude?!" He was bouncing on his feet. "Anytime?"
"Yes. Unlike other superhuman schools Dalton has a very big campus. The buildings are too far from one another so there's a schedule for a bus ride in every building. Although you can hop on anywhere anytime you see one." The senior explained. "Also you, my friend, remind me how unfair life can be. You're a giant."
The said student stopped in his tracks with a lopsided smile. "I'm Finn Hudson. Fourteen years old from New Cresthill Institute in Erimere." He waved, clueless to what exactly he should do.
"Interesting how my group is from all over the globe. Please don't disappoint me." Thad eyed the stocky short boy. His chocolate brown eyes met Thad's before he shook his head. The action made his earring in his left ear glimmer. It was the same as the one on Headmaster Brody and Mr. Gilbert. He wolf whistled in appreciation.
His hand consciously tugged the accessory forward then backwards. "Nicholas Duval, seventeen, from D.I.A Crystalvale."
Everyone was confused upon hearing his age. Thad couldn't help but to ask. "Seventeen?"
"I stopped for two years, personal reasons." Nicholas shrugged. "I also would appreciate if you call me Nick."
He narrowed his eyes as if struggling to comprehend the information. The senior knew not everyone had wanted to board, it's why homeschooling was available. It shouldn't be hard to consider because superhumans had handsome amounts of money in their banks. "Duval? Nicholas Duval? Nick Duval? Why do I get the feeling I have heard it somewhere?"
Nick was thankful for Finn's interruption. He seemed oblivious to things which he could appreciate and might come in handy when other people became intrusive.
"You have the earring." Finn pointed to the shining accessory like it's the most amazing thing he had seen.
"Yeah, you must be really good in using your gift." A tinge of jealousy in Blaine's voice.
It was common to see superhumans getting envious of an individual who was given a title of Master. A Master was a recipient of an earring, fully capable of wielding their gift at its highest capacity. Every three months, the Headquarter would conduct a Screening. The Headquarter would send out an invitation for a potential Master to be evaluated in the Screening. However it wasn't limited to the invited superhuman, if an uninvited individual wished to do the Screening, he or she could be evaluated as well.
"It's my first time seeing a student having it." For the first time, Wes forgot his manners and was now gawking at the shorter man.
"Ditto." David agreed.
"The youngest recorded to ever receive a gold earring is Mr. Gilbert at the age of twenty six," said Mike thoughtfully.
Nick was silent though a sheepish smile crept on his lips. He didn't really intend to attract any attention for plenty of reasons.
"Actually, we have students here who have it."
Thad's revelation earned the freshmen their full attention just in time for them to arrive at the opened double leaf oak doors. The refectory was spacious; walls painted gray and on the left side of the room stretched a detailed wall decal of the school's map, across the entrance were french windows left open allowing the comfortable autumn weather to wash over the room.
Most of the upperclassmen were swarming around, steady chatter and clanking of cutlery filled the air. Thad instructed everyone to grab their lunch while he got a table.
Blaine was dumbfounded when he reached the counter. It's not a foreign concept to have such luxury surrounded superhumans. But sometimes Blaine couldn't help but to be taken off guard on how superhuman schools splurged. His old school was impressive in size and could easily be mistaken as a museum by foreigners, he's certain those three other schools were just the same. D.I.A though definitely went over the top. It had an assortment of cuisine laid on the long marble counter, fresh salad bar continuously refilled by staff, and rows of vending machines with different non-alcoholic beverages to choose from. The steep tuition fee kind of made sense right now for Blaine.
Blaine went for a steak with grilled vegetables on the side, and grabbed a bottled water before following Mike to pay. They had a small conversation on their way to their table. When everyone arrived, they started eating. Wes was the one who started a topic.
"You weren't able to finish what you were saying earlier. David and I were hanging around the school's forum-"
"Nope. I glanced at the page but you my friend were so into it for days." David stabbed his lasagna.
"It's because I want to be informed-"
"Kids calm down." Thad chuckled at them. He was undeniably enjoying their company. "What do you want to know?"
"The earring." Finn was quick to answer before shoving a spoonful of mac and cheese in his mouth.
"We have a total of five students and seven faculty. Two of them you already met; Headmaster Brody and Mr. Gilbert. The remaining faculty teach Elective." Thad sipped his soda, eyes shifting to Nick.
Nick could feel the weight of someone's stare. As he raised his head, he met everyone's eyes. When his parents' car drove past the school's gate, he was aware it,was going to be a very long day. Or rather, a very long year for him.
"I guess I'm speaking for everyone here at this table. When did you receive your earring Nick?" Thad sat comfortably on his chair while waiting for an answer. Nick hardly spoke and in his opinion he was being evasive. The age bothered him, there were homeschooled who suddenly realized they wanted a real school experience thus enrolling to D.I.A. There were those who failed a year and had to repeat, but Nick didn't fit the bill for either category. So he wanted to know his deal.
"You said there are five students who have it. Who are they?" Nick dodged. He finished his turkey sandwich then mimicking Thad's way of sitting.
Thad had expected his response, though he wouldn't deny he was still disappointed. "The Pres, The VP, Sebastian, Santana and Tina."
Mike froze, torn between prodding or letting the conversation flow.
"Who are the President and VP?" David wiped his mouth after he finished his meal. Unaware that he just cut Mike's attempt to ask a question.
"You should have read the forum," said Wes in exasperation. "Jeffrey Hummel and Brittany Hummel."
Blaine who was busy eating choked on his last piece of meat. Finn reached for Blaine's bottled water and passed it to him. Mike lightly patted Blaine's back. Everyone's attention was on Blaine so they missed Nick's sudden paleness.
Nick felt sick. The turkey sandwich he had ingested earlier wasn't helping either. The room was closing in on him. His breathing becoming ragged, his palms sweating, and he had the urge to puke. Dread engulfed his being and he wanted nothing more than to get away from everyone.
Meanwhile, Mike was in a daze. Eyes staring into nothing. A hand that was once soothing Blaine's back stopped. He's physically present but mentally absent.
"Blaine, are you okay?"
Both Nick and Mike snapped back to reality. Mike immediately retrieved his hand as if burnt. Nick tried to suppress the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.
The said freshman nodded. He mouthed a simple 'thank you' to Finn and Mike, the latter suddenly blushed and averted his eyes. Blaine failed to notice as his focus was on Wes. "Did you say Hummel?"
"Yes. It should be expected really. Hummel is a fine family." Wes was thrilled to find out he might be able to meet one of the old families. Hummel wasn't active for the last years in their society but since the day he had learned to read there's no denying he became their biggest fan.
"Did you find out if there's other Hummels here?"
"No." Wes' excitement dampened a little bit. People in their society had great respect for old families. But the way Blaine's acting, it's more than just the idea of finally meeting the fourth great-grandchildren of the Hummel line.
"Someone's interested in Hummels. You know, I can't blame you. They're insanely gifted and very nice people." Thad nodded as he too agrees with his own statement. He even caught Wes giving him a thumbs up.
"Do you know them?"
"Family reputation aside, Jeff's my classmate during sophomore year and this year. I cannot claim I know him that well but we are friends. Hard not too, he's a funny guy and Brittany is always with him."
Blaine became silent. He considered whether to share about Kurt and would it be beneficial to his part if he did so. There's no denying he wanted to find Kurt as soon as possible, he had plans for them. Plans he would never share with people he had met an hour or less ago. The romantic side of him preferred a natural encounter, the ones his mother liked to watch. The ones he liked to call a fairytale encounter. Call him a hopeless romantic, he wouldn't care, instead he would wear it with pride. He grew up watching Disney, he believed in a sweet first encounter, of falling in love, of forever.
"I told you we can see right through you." David sing-songed.
Thad snickered, watching Blaine's love struck face was entertaining. "I'm guessing Hummel is your soulmate's last name." His tone more of a statement than a question. "Jeff and Brittany are the only Hummels who go to this school. I'm pretty sure Brittany is not your soulmate, she's Santana's." He shuddered upon mentioning the latter's name. As if recalling some terrifying event. "Jeff though…" He shrugged. "Anyway." He sighed, his smile back in place. "Kitty their younger sister-"
"Is not my soulmate. I'm gay." Blaine rudely interrupted. It was not his intention in the first place but he wouldn't deny the information upsets him. There's a big part of him, his hopeful side that probably his parents were right. That Kurt E. Hummel was from the old family Hummel. It's not about having a soulmate from a famous family, it wouldn't matter if he was a human living in a slums or wherever. He simply wanted to find his soulmate.
Silence followed. Mike sometimes glanced at Blaine but he didn't try to engage him in a conversation.
Nick watched Blaine. His mind was a mess by now and the room made him feel stuffy. There was something unsettling with Blaine's soulmate. He had an idea himself but he holds himself back, he didn't want to give anyone baseless information. Though by the way Mike's fidgeting from his seat, Nick had a suspicion the Asian knew something.
"Shall we continue the tour?" Nick finally said to cut the tension in the air. Thad used the opportunity to revert back to his friendly disposition. Even making fun of Blaine again.
The closest building to the refectory happened to be the high school building. Just like any other building on the campus, it's made of perfectly well kept old brick, an equally old tall set of wooden doors with engraving. Inside was very shiny italian marble flooring spread across the entire floor and murals adorned the hallway walls. A few leather winged chairs placed at random corners, hand sewn cream curtains drape those floor to ceiling windows. In one corner was a massive spiral staircase with copper railing, overhead was a gigantic glass dome roof illuminating a large portion of the ground floor.
They started on the lowest floor. As they went deeper, a hologram projector with the size of a trampoline was turned off.
"First floor has five rooms - far bigger than a normal classroom. Elective is not really an elective if you ask me. Their solely picked based on the individual's gift." The senior began. "You'll see in your envelope your schedule and which elective you belong to. This class was always the last one of the day and upperclassmen with the same categories will join you."
They stopped in one of the classrooms, the door was made of thick glass often seen in laboratories. Above it was a black plaque with shiny gold scribbled 'Energy Manipulation'. At the right side of the glass door was a small white box, one of its corners had a steady red light - I.D reader. Down the hallway, the rest of the classrooms had the same white box.
"We have Energy Manipulation, Extra-Sensory Perception, Physical/Mental Domination, Personal, and Elemental." Thad went on, while the freshmen pulled their own schedules to see. "Also, make sure your school I.D is with you." He tapped the white box. "I.D readers are all over the campus. Basically, it's the student's ticket to have access around. During classes, swipe your I.D and it will automatically check your attendance and inside the classroom there's another set for the opposite purpose. Less than ten minutes log in and out will be considered by the system bladder break so no worries about that."
"Excuse me Thad, but I noticed Blaine and David have the same schedule as mine." Mike spoke, puzzled with his finding.
"Actually, you all do have identical schedules." Thad clarified. They walked to the end of the hallway in front of a classroom labeled 'Personal'.
They all compared their schedules with a mixture of confusion and amazement. They also noted how their electives differ from one another however they didn't mention about it. Asking someone about their gift could be considered impolite. Nick simply watched them, not even bothering to check his own copy.
"Do you know about it?" Thad eyed Nick, the others' remained distracted.
"Yeah."
"Do you like it?"
"I don't know, it just makes me feel…"
"Safe and secured?" Thad helped out to find the right words.
Lock. Nick mind corrected but he decided against it and nodded in Thad's direction.
"Due to circumstances this year," Thad swallowed, his eyes averted from everyone. "First year has only two classes. Class A and Class B. You guys belong to Class A and no there's nothing to do with grades in dividing a class." He quickly added when he saw Wes was about to speak. "There's only 101 First year students. Higher years barely even affected, probably because there's no safer place than Dalton." His eyes trained to the ceiling. When everyone followed his gaze, they realize the CCTV cameras. "It's everywhere for security purposes. The drones however were only used during events to keep safety despite the large volume of people. Anyway, Second year has 463 divided into nine classes. Third year on the other hand has 777, it's common occurrence to have an influx of students in the said year. Homeschooled starts to attend Dalton to prepare for CaPE the next year as well as getting the benefits when finally joining the real word. Fourth year has 697.
In middle school we had the freedom to choose and change classes. High school is different though; four AP classes, Physical Ed, and Comparative Government and Politics. There's no extra-curricular activities anymore, although we're way past that stage don't you think? Middle school is where all the fun happened. Our curriculum differs from humans - more advanced and grueling. First semester is the toughest as it's the adjustment phase. I won't sugar coat things and say it's easy because it's not. Others might fail and have to repeat a year either here or at home. This is our reality. One thing I assure you though, as time passes by, you will see school is fun especially living with a bunch of teenagers. You just need to hang in there." The senior encouraged. He too was a first year once, he experienced how hard it is to adjust but he made it. He was sure these students could make it too.
Everyone winced. So getting used to Dalton's way might be harder than they originally thought.
Blaine peered into the glass door labeled 'Personal'. This room had another seven rooms inside and right in the middle was a large open classroom style complete with long semi circle desks, six rows in total. The set-up differs from 'Energy Manipulation'. He didn't have a clue on what exactly was Elective. In middle school, they never had shared classes with older or younger students with the same ability. "What exactly is Elective?"
"Elective helps students with mastering their abilities as well as studying one's usage. I belong to this class." Thad shrugged, not a hint of hesitation to share his gift. "Personal is an Elective for healers. Most of the time it focuses on human anatomy and diseases. Almost everyone in this class are planning to join the Med-Group."
Blaine was familiar with the eight types of work in their society. He was aiming for Soc-Scie since he could remember. His father took the same thing and soon became a Corporate Law Attorney. Soc-Scie was designed for people who wanted to either join the government or to be a lawyer. Blaine belonged to the latter and was aiming to be a Civil Rights Attorney. He caught the end of Thad's discussion.
"...it's also convenient for the Elemental class to be placed across from us."
Blaine turned around and there he noticed a very different room. The four classrooms lined on one side but the Elemental classroom was the only one separated and at the opposite side. Based on how long it went, it's easy to tell its size was thrice the other classrooms. The glass door was too thick that instead of transparent, it's now translucent. It appeared that another set of metal doors or wooden doors, Blaine couldn't decipher, was inside.
"All classrooms are soundproofed but here and the gym are also heat resistant rooms. Trust me, this class is crazy." Thad chuckled knowingly.
The remainder of the tour was spent riding the electric shuttle bus to see the Headmaster's office - cottage was more appropriate term though. It's located between middle school and high school buildings. They all agreed to skip elementary school because there's nothing to see except the vast forest right next to it. On their way back to the theater, since Thad mentioned the high school dormitory was in fact near the place, they passed by a luxurious, old mansion that turned out to be the middle school's dormitory. In the end, they barely remembered where exactly the four story fitness building, recreation park, five story library, football field and the house service building were. The latter could come in handy for emergency laundry, Thad explained since students were only allowed to visit home during holidays.
It's almost five in the afternoon when they followed the cobblestone pathway which led them in front of a very old, six story chateau. The thick stone walls were partially covered with ivy which contributed a little color to the plain looking house, though this time using black tiled roof wasn't actually helping. There's a simple, polished, heavy oak door right at the center. Few meters from the open door was a dandelion shaped fountain and around it was a bed of wildflowers. The wide open space in front of the dorm was covered by a perfectly manicured lawn.
If Blaine hadn't seen the steady stream of students to and fro the haunted looking house, he wouldn't dare to follow Thad's invitation.
"Don't mind the exterior, Dalton is built for centuries. The inside is far better, you'll see." He laughed heartily once Finn clung to him.
True enough, when they had arrived inside there was no trace of the old mansion. The newcomers braced themselves for a moldy, smelly building and outdated decor but instead the dorm somehow managed to look very spacious to fit thousands of people without any problem. It was also surprising to see tasteful decor that definitely went well with the furniture.
"Wait here for a minute. Someone will take over." Thad bid his goodbye and started towards the grand double marble staircase.
The group settled on one of the empty leather couches near the window which overlooked the front lawn.
Students were milling around. Blaine watched as upperclassmen comfortably maneuvered themselves without any worry of getting lost. He supposed since they actually had stayed here longer, they're familiar with the place and already know the drill.
Freshmen seated cautiously, small talk probably was the right way to get to know one another and help them survive the place. There was also some older students with them who were sitting in the living room - transferees, as they equally appeared out of place despite wearing a uniform.
"This dorm is sick! In a good way of course." David straighten in his seat. "I spy a game room."
Finn brightened and followed David's gaze to see two students exiting a room. He got a glimpse inside where a gaming console was connected to a widescreen TV. He also spotted neon lights with mini bowling alleys. Suddenly he wanted to go in there.
"I don't know how to focus in this kind of environment." Mike warily gazed at the shouting boys near them.
"New students of Dalton, your attention please." A petite girl wearing prescription glasses spoke and everyone's attention instantly was on her. She didn't exert that much effort on speaking but her voice reverberated through the floor. She seemed to have swallowed a microphone by how loud her voice was.
A sound manipulator. Blaine quickly noted. Contrary to Thad, she's intimidating. Her shortness might fool anyone but surely the scowl she was sporting wouldn't. Her circle badge in view, the same design as Thad, though her's said 'Junior Class Rep'. "I'm Tamara Welch, junior, and assigned to show everyone around the dorm. Listen closely and follow me." She said sternly.
Miraculously enough, the shouting disappeared. Corridors were almost deserted and students appeared to change direction once they caught sight of them approaching. Those who didn't were glaring at Tamara, Blaine would sympathize if she hadn't glared back at them. Her auburn hair was neatly in a bun, her uniform was impeccable. However she was wearing too much makeup. Her smile was unkind. No one dared to ask any question as she was far from approachable. When one of the third year new students had made a mistake to ask, she barked the answer. No one dared ask after. She was walking ahead of them as if she was leading her troops to war.
Two sun rooms, a gaming room that could easily fit three hundred people, an entertainment room, a large kitchen, and two reading rooms. All of these were just on the ground floor.
Blaine was still contemplating how the school could easily trust a bunch of teenagers to behave properly as Tamara mentioned dorms were exemption to CCTV cameras. Sure, there were two hall monitors on each floor but with a place as big as this he wasn't convinced at all.
When they arrived on the second floor, she showed them two large common rooms each with two televisions mounted into the wall. Every room they passed by had two separate small rectangular screens with a long, slim metal below each one. Next to the tiny screen was a tiny button.
"Who is assigned to Rm. 225? Come forward." Tamara said impatiently.
Like everyone, Blaine dug into his school envelope to see Rm. 200. He sighed in relief. However Finn and Mike scrambled their way towards her. Turned out they were roommates. Blaine moved closer to the front together with David, Wes, and Nick to get a better view of the whole ordeal. Tamara took Finn's I.D then pressed the tiny button. The thin metal popped out a case, an exact size of their I.D. Tamara place it into the holder and pressed the button again, this time it swallowed the card. The screen blinked to life. Finn C. Hudson appeared with a green background light.
"Don't even dare to cheat here." She pulled out her own I.D and put it into the second metal case. The screen blinked to life before it went back to black. When she tried to eject it, nothing happened. The screen still was black but then there's the sound of static. The black screen showed a face - Mr. Gilbert.
"Miss Welch, care to explain this?" His voice was clear even from a small speaker.
"Sorry for the interruption, Mr. Gilbert. I'm trying to show the new students what will happen if they attempt to use a different card sir." Her tone sweet and kind.
"I understand Miss Welch. Please do continue your task."
The line was cut, screen back to black and the card popped out on its own. She pressed the button on Finn's name and the card popped out as well, this time the green background of Finn's name turned red. "Green means the person is in, red if not. Although the door has a separate lock, always put your I.D as an indicator. Less trouble for everyone. Hall monitors randomly check the rooms."
Third floor had the same floor plan as the second. Blaine listened intently as she mentioned the two common rooms on each floor were open for everyone despite a certain year level assigned to each floor. Fourth and fifth floor were also the same thing. Unlike the other floors, fifth floor was peaceful. No students were loitering in the corridor.
"Seniors are either in the library or in their own rooms."
Blaine was used to her angry tone by now. His eyes scanned the place and sure enough the majority of the rooms had green lights. She mentioned for the sixth time that curfew was 11pm, 12am during weekends. Left side will be exclusive to females and right for males after curfew hours. If caught breaking this rule, it's considered a major offense and expect two weeks long suspension.
They went towards the stairs. Blaine and his groupmates now moved in the middle of the crowd as Finn was too scared of Tamara. She headed upstairs, this time in silence. All of a sudden she stopped midway and faced everyone. Somehow, the position made her even look scarier. Her glare seemed permanent already. David mumbled something and leaned against the wall. They stood on the fourth step of the staircase. Their number covered the lower half of the stairs as well as the corridor.
"Anymore questions?"
Blaine raised a brow at this. He was so used to hearing her long litany before asking questions. It's her drill since the beginning of the tour.
"I noticed that first years have a roommate. I'm a junior, can I request for a single room?" A girl meekly asked.
Tamara smirked. She's about to answer when Nick spoke beside Blaine, far more friendlier than Tamara could ever manage.
"You could request a single room after a semester. Usually, a student with good academic standing will be granted a single room if there's an available one. But try having a roommate first, it's easier to adjust with someone around." Nick smiled at the girl as she ducked her head, though he noticed her blushing.
"Do you want to take my place and do the tour instead?" Tamara seethed. "Don't act like you know it all, newcomer!" She spat.
Blaine saw Nick's smile twitch. His jaw tightened but when he faced her there was no trace of annoyance in there. "I'm just sparing your Highness her saliva to answer a question from us peasants."
Tamara gave Nick a disgusted look. "Anyway, sixth floor is off limits."
It's only then that Blaine noticed an arched mahogany solid double door on top of the landing. This time there's a half meter tall screen attached into the right leaf of the door and above it was a single thin metal for the card holder. Not a single button in place. Names were there; Tina M. Cohen-Chang had a green background, Santana D. Lopez had a red background, Noah A. Puckerman had green and lastly Sebastian L. Smythe had green.
"Only invited students are allowed to go on the sixth floor."
Blaine noticed a little quiver in her voice. He raised his hand and when she barked 'what' he went on. "What's the difference of being on the sixth floor and being on lower floors?"
Tamara hesitated for a minute and Blaine didn't know why. He was not the only one fishing for an answer. Another student added.
"Why do we need an invitation when everywhere in this dorm is open for everyone to use."
Tamara's lip formed into a straight line.
"What's in there?"
"Shouldn't you answer us?" Another student fussed.
"Because racoon face doesn't know the answers. How could she know when she has never been invited." A snarky voice answered.
The crowd parted for the latina to pass. Her black hair tied in a pony tail, eyes as black as coal and a smile promising nothing but hell. Her Dalton uniform was tailored to showcase her figure. Two buttons of her crisp white button down popped open while her navy blue and red striped tie was hanging loosely around her neck. She was not wearing her blazer. Her gray stitched down box pleat skirt stopped mid-thigh unlike Tamara who had the usual an inch above the knee. She was wearing thigh high black socks and ankle boots.
Her only accessory was the infamous earring.
If Blaine thought Tamara was scary, this girl gave a whole different meaning and level to the word. The aura around her was creepy and Blaine could feel the hair on his nape standing.
"Who are you?" One of the males who was obviously lusting on the new arrival asked.
"I'm offended that you don't know me." She mocked a tear. "Never really understood the need for this." She waved her hand dismissively at the crowd. "Just don't get too noisy if you know what's good for you." She smirked. She climbed the remaining steps and tapped Santana D. Lopez. The card holder popped out, he put her I.D and then her name turned green.
"And just so we're clear." Santana turned around to face the crowd. Even Tamara looked over. "Those of you who are curious enough to find out the answers to your questions behind these doors. Come and see." Santana batted her eyes innocently. "Oh! That's not an invitation though."
"Cut the crap Santana."
Everyone including Blaine turned around. He saw the blonde boy from earlier exiting one of the rooms near the staircase. Beside him was an equally tall, blonde girl. He took his I.D from the holder and Blaine then just noted a screen - Jeffrey S. Hummel. He could also see their badges, 'President' and 'Vice President'. These were Jeff and Brittany. Blaine suddenly became hopeful. His mind went into overdrive, imagining Kurt to have blonde hair, tall, lithe and pale blue eyes. A family trait he noticed.
Santana huffed. "Irrelevant."
"Santana." Brittany said softly.
Blaine saw Santana roll her eyes but appeared to stay quiet. She sat on the railing. On the other hand Tamara perked up, she was now explaining sweetly and looked very concerned on why sixth floor was off limits. Santana never left. Sometimes she glanced at Brittany who was busy talking to her brother. Jeff was glancing in their direction, or at Blaine, or them, he couldn't distinguish. So he looked away to ask Nick beside him, only to notice how tensed Nick was. He was blatantly glaring at Tamara.
When he looked back at the siblings, they were now standing near the staircase heading to the lower floor. Santana was looking down as well. Blaine was curious what was in there, but he was near the wall and not the railing so it was impossible to move without elbowing other students.
Brittany was hugging someone but he couldn't see past her. Jeffrey was speaking in a hushed voice before the two Hummels descended the stairs. Santana was back to leering.
"Shame, the crowd won't part for you." Santana was looking at the back of the crowd.
"Shut it Santana."
Blaine swore his heart skipped a beat. The voice sounded melodic even when it's anything but to anyone else's ears. He tried to find the owner but it seemed like all tall students conspired to stay at the back.
"Oh c'mon now Kurt. Are you really…"
Santana's voice muted, and everything around him stilled. There, walking on the railing like a pro gymnast was the most beautiful boy he ever laid his eyes on. He had long legs which seemed to stretch forever and skin just like a porcelain doll his mother received one Christmas. Blaine couldn't see much with the knee length sleeveless coat hiding the glorious physique he was certain the boy possessed. However the view of his hips swaying was enough to make him enthralled. Blaine was close to believing this boy was not human, he was too beautiful to be one. Then he remembered the boy's name, Kurt. All of a sudden his body filled with warmth.
"Dude, you're drooling."
Finn's face materialized in front of Blaine which obstructed his view of the angelic creature. He heard David say, "Damn that ass."
And Blaine growled.
"Easy there." David raised his hands in surrender. "Though it won't take a genius to tell he isn't into drooling boys."
Blaine haphazardly wiped the said drool with his tie. Seemed like dapper Blaine wasn't as dapper when seeing an angel. He's yet to see his face, but he's sure he's breathtaking if not more.
Kurt jumped off the wrought iron railing when he reached a free step. Heights never scare him, not really.
"You should join the tour first year." Tamara was stern. Her eyes landed on the envelope given to new students. Tamara never bothered to get acquainted with others, she didn't have friends not because she was a loser but because they're the losers. Tamara wouldn't be friends with students lower than her. Lately she became tolerant with the likes of Santana, Tina, Sebastian and most recently Puck. They had never been in The Prefects but sometimes best student should have a charity case.
"I don't need a tour from someone who's less familiar than me in this place." Kurt climbed the remaining steps towards the door.
"If you are so aware of the rules then you'll know sixth floor is off limits, freshman." Her voice laced with sarcasm. The last word was said in disgust.
Santana smiled maniacally, watching excitedly at the ongoing scene. Kurt was stoic while the other was being superior. However Santana never considered her on top, not even once.
"For a delusional woman like you." Kurt mumbled but enough to be heard.
"I'm going to report you for misconduct."
Kurt rolled his eyes, he dragged his long index finger from the bottom where Sebastian's name was in place to the top. The motion resulted for the cardholder to pop out. He then rummaged the envelope for his I.D and once he placed it, the holder automatically swallowed the card. The names in the screen adjusted to give way for the new entry - Kurt E. Sterling.
"Why is your name in there? You're a nobody." Her tone unbelieving. The new entry below Sebastian was like a slap in her face.
Santana snorted while Kurt finally spared a glance at the girl. Like always, Kurt didn't recognize her.
"I got this." Santana moved from the railing when Kurt appeared uninterested with the girl anymore. "You should know the people around you. I heard you call Puck a nobody when you arrived last semester." She clicked her tongue. "You're high to even think you're better than him."
"Disrespecting your Prefect can put you in trouble Santana." Tamara warned.
Santana clicked her tongue in disapproval. She took a few steps down the stairs then stopped, their distance enabled her to loom over Tamara like a viper. "Oh right. The spot Bas often refuses to take. Makes sense, you're living on someone else's garbage."
Tamara colored, her face flushed and through gritted teeth she answered. "Don't challenge me Lopez, I can make you grovel in pain-"
"Not as fast as I can slit your throat and feed your tongue to a stray dog."
Tamara blanched, she took a few steps down. Her heart hammering with fear. She heard a lot about Santana Lopez, and it's hard not to believe it. Not with her razor sharp tongue and bone numbing threats. "D-don't come near me." She stammered.
Santana flicked her hand and went back to Kurt. He was staring at the crowd, his face blank. Santana didn't bother to see who it was, she already knew. Her eyes went back to the eye sore. "A suggestion, keep it PG with Jeff. You're not his type."
"Excuse me?"
"And I'm sure the world won't end if you don't use every makeup known to human beings in one day."
The door on the sixth floor opened. "There you are Princess. Q-"
Kurt stormed inside. The boy with mohawked hair looked at Santana. "Bad day?"
"Try years." She sneered then went in as well.
He sighed. The teenager of course expected a scene from Santana and a little from Kurt if he was in a bad mood. The confirmation was right in front of him, Tamara whom he never liked was as red as a tomato and then towards the crowd of gaping students. His mood soured when he recognized someone. "Nice accessory, Duval." His voice full of venom before slamming the door.