Chapter 3 - The Royal Academy of Paris
It’s morning, today’s my first day at school… EVER.
I'm flooded by emotions I've never felt before: joy, curiosity, pride, but also anxiety. Will I be okay today? Should I fake being sick? No, starting on the second day of school would make me stand out even more.
“Gaaahh” What do I do
Huh, what’s that? A note?
“Good luck on your first day of school! I can sort of imagine how you're feeling, but don't worry, Jacques told me he'd come pick you up around 7:45.”
“I left some soup in the kitchen for you to eat before you head off to school. Unfortunately, I have a meeting with my editor today, but I should still be home before you.”
“You'll probably be a little early at school because of the bus, take advantage of that time by getting familiar with your school.”
“Oh, and your uniform is on your desk.”
“Sincerely,”
“World's greatest author, Jean Lenoir!”
Jean… pfsht! He called himself world’s greatest author! Haha!
“Thank you Jean, seriously.”
This uniform is actually pretty stylish now that I see it up close.
I- I look good!
It’s 7:40 now so I should still have some time to eat the soup Jean left me.
*Thud. Thud. Thud*
Ah- that must be Jacques, he’s early…
Whatever, I wasn’t that hungry anyways. “Coming!” I shout as I run to the door.
“Good morning Blanche, are you ready for your first day at school?” Jacques says.
“Mornin’ Jacques!”
“You look much less nervous than I thought you’d be” He laughs.
“Haha, yeah. Thanks to the self-proclaimed best author in the world.” I answer, with a smile.
“Well, we don’t want to be late on our first day so let’s get going.” Jacques continues.
“Alright!”
“Bye-bye Eros, Blanche is going to school now, see you later!”
“Meow!”
Thanks to Jean's letter and Jacques picking me up, I'm feeling a lot more at ease about my first day at school.
I lock the door after me and follow Jacques down the stairs. "Is this your first time taking the bus?” Jacques wants to know.
“No, I've taken the bus a few times with Jean before, but those times were typically during school hours, so the buses were always empty.”
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“Oh. well, we'll be lucky if there are any seats left for us today; most students ride the bus to school, so it's usually very crowded in there," he emphasizes.
Students hmm, I wonder what my class mates will be like. I wont be in the same class as Jacques since he’s a year older than me, but I can’t just rely on him all the time. I’ll make sure to make some friends in my class!
“Oh by the way, we won't be able to have lunch together today because we have lunch period at different times since I'm in a higher grade than you, Jacques adds.
“How come our lunch times are different?" " I inquire of him.
“Well, that's because our school has 1500 students and the cafeteria only has room for 500 students, so each grade gets lunch at a different time," he explains.
“That makes sense, I kinda wanted to eat lunch together though…”
“Don't worry, you're a great guy, so I'm sure you'll find some friends to have lunch with soon enough," he reassures me.
Jacques behaves just like an older brother, it’s kind of funny.
“Here’s the bus stop, the bus should be here any minute now.”- Jacques adds.
After waiting for a couple of minutes the bus finally arrived.
“You weren’t lying when you said the buses get really packed…”
“hehe,” Jacques chuckles.
After 15 minutes of standing in the bus, we finally arrive at school.
“Talk about an uncomfortable bus ride.” I sigh.
“You’ll get used to it soon.” Jacques says, as he reaches for my shoulder.
“I have to go that way now; will you be alright on your own from here on? " He continues.
‘Y-you don’t have to worry about me! Worry about yourself, honor student!” I respond anxiously.
“Haha, sounds like you’ll be fine. Let’s meet here again after school so we can go home together.” Jacques says as he walks off.
“A-alright, see you later Jacques.”
I’m on my own now, in front of this tall and intimidating school gate.
“Here goes nothing…” I say under my breath.
Compared to everything I’ve been through, I doubt this’ll be that bad.
Little did I know, this was just as bad, but in a completely different way.
“Chloé let’s go!”
“Wait!”
“Alain do you think we’ll be in the same class?”
“hahahaha!”
“And this one boy, he-“
“Did you hear that new song?”
“Fuck yeah! I never thought I’d get accepted in the Royal academy of Paris!”
So. Much. Noise.
I completely underestimated how many people there’d be here…
Ah that’s right, Jean told me to get familiar with the place, I’ll start by doing that.
As I’m looking around, I notice all of the buildings, classes, and students... students?
That’s it! I’m not the only one who’s nervous, now that I’m looking around I notice all these other nervous students. That makes me feel a lot better, somehow…
A loud bell rings, followed by an even louder voice “TO ALL FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS, PLEASE GATHER IN THE AUDITIORIUM.”
“That must be Mr. Audius! He has the volume blessing, giving him the ability to speak really loud!” I overhear a student talking to his friend.
I can't think of any other scenarios where you'd want to be able to talk so loud, the volume blessing hmm. He sure as hell found a good use for his blessing.
Well, on my way to the auditorium I guess.
I enter the gymnasium through the large door to find myself in a huge room filled with students, with a stage in the center where all of the teachers are standing.
“Welcome, young but blessed students, to the Royal Academy of Paris! Starting today, every single person in this room now has the privilege of calling themselves a student of the Royal Academy of Paris, and for that you deserve an applause!”
The sound of people clapping suddenly cover the entire room. Looking around, I remember how elite this school is; every student standing here has been hand-picked as the best of the best, whereas I got in through Jean's connections. do I really belong here?
The man continued his speech after everyone stopped clapping.
“As some of you may already know, I am Gregoire Vigrass, the headmaster of the Royal Academy of Paris.”
"Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in your lives! You will no longer be treated like children; instead, you will be given the respect you deserve as the city of Paris's most elite youngsters!
“As you all now, everyone receives a blessing the day that they’re born, some received really useful ones, while others… didn’t.”
“But today, only the truly blessed stand here!”
“Every teacher in this school has proven themselves worthy of teaching the Royal Academy.”
“And together, we will do everything we can to ensure that by the time you graduate, you will all be capable of leading this nation! ”
"And you too, must do everything you can to realize your full potential!”
“Knowledge, research, strength, will, and the power of your blessings. Use whatever you must to become one of the few elites to graduate from this school!”
The sound of people clapping suddenly covered the entire room once more.
I'm curious, what really is my full potential? I don't have a blessing, and I'm a vampire. Just how much potential does a vampire even have?
“I will now call your names so you may step forward to come and collect your name card; on your name card, you'll also see which class you're in, so don't lose it!" The headmaster went on.
After about 15 minutes of calling students forward, he finally calls my name.
“Blanche Lenoir” Lenoir? Did Jean…
It’s like I’m his little brother now, hehe.
I hurry towards the stage to collect my name card.
"We have high expectations of you, mister Lenoir," Headmaster Vigrass states.
“Y-yes!” ah- I stutter
I walk off the stage and quickly check my name card.
“Hmm, class 1C.” I let out.
Director Vigrass continues to call students forward for about another 10 minutes after I collected my name card.
What do you have in store for me, Class 1C?