Semaphore

9. Confusion

I feel like some kind of Hogwarts student. And why does the eleven year old know about this place before me?!

As I look at Devi with an are-you-sure-you-know-what-you're-doing kind of expression she squeezes my arm so tight it slightly hurts, and she quickens her walking pace. After about 15 minutes of walking through the halls, since this place is apparently a lot bigger than it seems, we arrive at an office.

Open the door slowly. No, that's suspicious. Open it quickly and immediately walk in. No, that's impertinent. I'm thinking this through too much. I gotta stay nonchalant, it's my charm, as far as I have any. Ok, 3, 2, 1! But before I manage to open the door and walk in confidently as if I'm not about to have a meltdown, Devi steps forward and opens the door with a smile. She looks up at me before grabbing my arm again and dragging me into the office.

As I walk in I see a tall man sitting in the chair at the end of the room who seems to be around 50 years old. 'Matteo, there you are. I hope the ride here wasn't too long' He exclaims in a deep voice. Why does he know my name? maybe it's the insta post. Or a spirit told him... if it even works like that. 'The ride was fine. Devi told me your name is Mr. Jones, but how do you know my name?' I ask in a way ruder tone than I meant to. Before listening to his answer I quickly look around the room. It had brick walls with wooden floors, and a fireplace that looked... off. The flames took up a lot of space vertically but almost no space horizontally. There's a bit of blue powder on the floor which I don't recognise from anywhere and something on his desks which looks a bit like incense. Before I can focus on the room around me any more the man answers my question. 'News spreads quickly. Some of my students, the selected, saw the pictures you took and figured out how you managed to do it. So their information combined with the spirits made it obvious. Besides, Sofia and Jay are both very bright so around here we tend to believe them quickly'

I'm sure that what he said would have been really logical and endearing if i had a clue who Jay and Sofia are

'Alright, that makes sense. So uhm, how many students are there?'

'Around 50'

No wonder this place is so miniscule than. But I guess it makes sense that not everyone is 'elite'.

His deep voice fills the room again, 'Devi, show him his dorm. He will be sharing one with Killian'. Devi excitedly agrees with him before dragging me out of the room back into the hallways. She seems to know who the guy is so I decide to light the cigarette I had felt in my pocket while in the office and ask her about him. It feels ridiculous to ask a small child so many questions but right now it's the thing making the most sense out of it all.

She giggles before starting to yap about the guy. 'His name is Killian Jackson. he's a blonde 15 year old boy, American btw. He's almost never serious which I really like but a lot of people think it's annoying, which I also understand because I'm very aphetic' 'you mean empathetic?' 'same thing' 'it's really not' 'Just let me continue with my story. Oh, right, maybe he will be a little mean to you at first. He does that to people, because he's kind of rude. He's really nice to me though, but I think that's also just because I'm a kid. And I'm going to keep his powers a secret' she laughs at the last part.

I want to ask her more but we're already at the dorm room. Before I can ask her for a key she signals for me to hold my hand against the door. As I rest my hand on the cold metal surface it starts to slightly glow in a teal looking color. Once the glow is gone I hear a soft click suggesting that the door is unlocked, but once I walk in there's no one in it. Just two beds, two desks, some posters on the wall, and trash on the floor, though it still doesn't look dirty. But even a trashcan looks clean compared to some of the places I've slept.