Surviving in a School of Ghost Stories

Chapter 11

 

The old man wearing a monocle looked up at me. His fierce-looking eyebrows twitched. His gaze was so sharp that I felt quite tense.

Just then, the teacher patted my shoulder.

“Miss Hastings? What are you doing? You should greet the Dean!”

“Ah. Yes. Hello.”

I greeted him as politely as possible. The Dean and the teacher looked at me as if waiting for my next words.

Unlike his intimidating appearance, the Dean smiled kindly and stood up. He came close to me and took my hand.

“So you’re this term’s top transfer student. Nice to meet you. Your name is…”

“Melo…”

“Melody Hastings, Dean.”

The teacher who brought me answered before I could.

The Dean was stroking his elegant white mustache and smiling kindly.

More precisely, he seemed to be pretending to smile kindly. His mouth was smiling, but his eyes weren’t.

“Do you know that this is the first perfect score on the transfer exam since we instituted the transfer system?”

“I probably didn’t know…?”

The Dean laughed heartily at my answer.

The Dean’s laughter was somewhat artificial. It was like a predator waiting to attack after loosening its prey’s guard.

I quickly mentally checked a list of questions that could yield information.

“I heard from my brother how difficult Saint Gloria Private School’s transfer exam is, so I prepared thoroughly. Ah, my brother is currently attending this school.”

Of course, Raven had never said such things. But it was a necessary mention in the current situation.

The Dean nodded with an interested look at my answer.

“I was wondering where I’d heard the name Hastings… How joyous that both siblings are excellent students.”

The Dean smiled, lifting the corners of his mouth. I smiled along with the Dean. Trying to appear as harmless as possible.

“It seems my brother follows you well, Dean. Thank you for taking care of my brother.”

The Dean’s smile stopped. He tilted his head as if puzzled.

“How do you know that, Miss Hastings? I understand you two don’t even exchange letters.”

Ah. For the Dean to know that Raven, just a student, doesn’t write to me…

And Raven was just a freshman at that.

Saint Gloria Private School students are not allowed to go out until graduation, except for top students. But they could write letters. That was the rule.

Leonard’s words were true.

I’m not sure if Raven is the Dean’s lapdog, but at least I can tell they’re close.

I answered with the most nonchalant face possible, without being flustered.

“Ah. I heard this from other students on my way here. It seems to be well-known.”

Since the news of him being the Dean’s lapdog seemed to be already famous, I was sure he would understand if I said this.

As expected, the Dean nodded with an understanding face.

It seemed a bit awkward to ask anything more here, so I decided to stop with any further questions.

The Dean soon walked out in front of the desk, took both my hands, and said,

“Miss Hastings’ name will be recorded in the school’s history. And when school starts, you can immediately join the Disciplinary Committee.”

“The Disciplinary Committee?”

Why is the Disciplinary Committee suddenly being mentioned here?

“Ah yes, Miss Hastings’ brother is in the Student Council.”

The teacher standing beside explained that only top students have the honor of joining the ‘Student Council’ and ‘Disciplinary Committee’.

“I hope you continue to show good results, Miss Hastings.”

As the teacher said, the greeting with the Dean ended with words of encouragement.

The Dean was kinder and more friendly than I expected, but it still seemed difficult to know his true thoughts.

‘Something feels off.’

But he didn’t particularly react to Raven, nor did he show any other strange reactions.

‘I’m not sure about the rumor of being the Dean’s lapdog, but the nickname Crazven doesn’t make sense. I wonder if everyone is misunderstanding something about Raven.’

Thinking this, I left the Dean’s office.

As soon as I left the office, the teacher guided me to the dormitory building and handed me a booklet.

“This is the school life guide. It contains things like a school map and facilities, so please look it over. And these are the things you need to prepare before school starts.”

The teacher gave me the guide booklet and explained the precautions.

I hadn’t realized how huge the school was because I hadn’t toured it all yet.

Perhaps it was because students couldn’t leave this school for four years, so it had to be equipped with all the necessary facilities.

“By the way, I’m the music teacher. You can’t imagine how excited I was when I heard your name.”

Suddenly, an excessive amount of personal information from the music teacher poured out.

“Since your name is Melody, you must be a good singer, right? Our school runs a choir, and we currently have an opening in the soprano part. So…”

I knew this was coming. I hurriedly interrupted him.

“I’m tone-deaf.”

“That can’t be. Then why is your name Melody?”

The teacher looked devastated as if the world had collapsed.

There’s no need to be that disappointed. It was quite embarrassing.

“Just because someone’s name is Cherry doesn’t mean their face looks like a cherry. My mother probably didn’t know I’d be tone-deaf.”

The teacher looked at me with very sad eyes, then nodded as if he understood.

“I apologize for being rude on our first meeting. I’m sorry.”

Eventually, the music teacher cleared his throat and continued his explanation.

“Anyway. You know our school is a foundation school of the Celestial Church, right? There are doctrine classes in the regular curriculum. We all have to attend mass together every weekend.”

Come to think of it, I could see a cathedral on the map.

I had expected this, given that the name was <Saint Gloria Private School>.

I’ve heard that the school is named after Sister Gloria, a national hero.

I was already aware of the doctrine classes from when I helped Raven prepare for his admission.

“Ah. The advisors for the Disciplinary Committee and Student Council are the priests who lead these doctrine classes, so keep that in mind.”

I nodded vigorously and reviewed the things to remember before school starts.

The school provides uniforms, textbooks, bags, and essential dormitory living supplies for free.

So I was advised to apply for all these items tomorrow morning and prepare all necessary things before school starts.

They said that because I was the top transfer student, one teacher was assigned to explain everything to me.

The music teacher even helped me register at the dormitory.

Thanks to this, I finished the procedures smoothly and said goodbye to the teacher.

“Thank you, teacher.”

“You’re welcome, Hastings. Let’s meet again when school starts. I haven’t given up on the soprano part yet.”

The music teacher waved at me with a smile. I awkwardly smiled back and returned the greeting.

Let’s see if he still says that after hearing me sing.

Anyway, when I checked my pocket watch, it was already 9 PM.

‘I should rest today and try to find Raven tomorrow.’

Although I wasn’t sure if Raven would meet me. I felt a bit melancholic.

‘No, Melody. Don’t be discouraged.’

It doesn’t matter if he dislikes me.

That doesn’t mean I’ll give up. I’ll do anything for him.

I’ve even traveled back in time for Raven. There’s nothing I can’t do.

As I was standing in the lobby with my luggage bag, I heard a cat meowing from somewhere.

Meow.

When I looked down, there was a black cat sitting at my feet, wagging its tail.

“Oh? You…?”

I thought it might be the talking black cat I saw in Chesswind Village, but this cat’s eyes were yellow. That cat’s eyes were definitely blue.

Meow.

The cat, as expected, didn’t say anything and just meowed. As if asking me to take it with me.

I was going to just leave, but it kept rubbing against my feet, so I had no choice but to pick it up.

Then I took the key and checked the room number.

<Room 512>

My room was on the 5th floor.

It would be difficult to use the stairs with heavy luggage, so I had to use the elevator.

When I checked my pocket watch, it was already around 6 PM.

Fortunately, the elevator was stopped on the 1st floor.

I manually opened the elevator door, went inside, and closed it.

I pressed the floor number and pulled the lever, and the elevator started moving.

Clatter clatter—

The elevator went up very slowly, and because of its open structure, I could clearly see the corridors of each floor.

‘It’s my first time riding an elevator.’

Sometimes, when I went to big cities, there were buildings with elevators. But I never had the chance to ride one myself.

Ding—

The elevator stopped when it reached the 5th floor.

Again, I manually opened the elevator door and quietly walked down the silent corridor.

<Room 512>

I safely found my dormitory room.

Click.

As I unlocked the door and entered, I saw a girl sitting quietly on the living room sofa, reading a book.

‘Ah, right. There would be a roommate.’

I hadn’t thought about having a roommate.

In fact, I didn’t have time to think about it, and I had never experienced dormitory life before.

Even though a new person had entered the room, the roommate didn’t move at all.

‘Well, I should greet her first, right?’

Since that’s the procedure and courtesy, I first greeted my roommate.

“Hello. I’m Melody Hastings, and I’ll be living with you from today.”

The girl, who was reading her book, glanced at me.

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