Chapter 4 - Class 1-C
A small black sign reading 1-C, this is my classroom!
I walk into the classroom and quickly realize that a lot of people are already seated; I'm not late, right?
The classroom has 4 rows of three-person desks in 3 sections where the outer two are angled inward.
That guy, with the dark hair, about the same length as mine. He seems most the composed out of everyone here. He’s sitting alone as well so I guess I’ll go sit next to him. “Excuse me, can I sit here?” I ask.
“Go ahead.” He answers, as he places his chin in his hand.
“Thank you.” I say as I sit down, “I’m Blanche by the way.” He looks at me but quickly turns his gaze towards the door again.
A lady dressed in expensive and stylish attire suddenly enters the classroom.
I- is that a raven sitting on her shoulder? I'm not imagining things, am I?
“Wow she’s so hot!”, “That’s Miss Caroline, apparently she can talk to birds!” I hear the students in the back whisper.
“Good morning class, I am Mrs. Caroline, and I’ll be your homeroom teacher for the next three years.”
Mrs. Caroline hmm… She looks quite young, 26? 27 maybe?
“Since it’s the first day of school, we’ll focus on getting to know each other better today,” Mrs. Caroline adds.
“Excuse me miss.” A boy on the other side of the classroom says.
“Yes, what is it?” Mrs. Caroline responds, whilst fixing her gaze on the boy.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but how will getting to know one another help us achieve our full potential? Isn't it better to just concentrate on ourselves?” The boy asks, as if he was looking down on us.
"Would you prefer that we all focus on ourselves?" Mrs. Caroline comments.
"I believe that would make more sense, yes." Argues the boy.
"You may leave the classroom then." She answers.
“But-“
"No buts. If you don't care about getting to know your classmates, you might as well go home today. I'll see you tomorrow, Antoine Laurent." She says, ordering the boy to leave the classroom.
Damn, Mrs. Caroline actually handled that situation really well. And I’m pretty sure that guy never introduced himself, yet she still knew his name. Does she already know everything there is to know about us?
“Now, I have a question for you guys: why do you think I kicked Antoine out?” She inquires solemnly.
The classroom fell silent all of a sudden, everyone seems to be afraid to say anything because they don't want to get kicked out as well if they say something wrong.
"No one? Then, how about you? Why do you think I removed Antoine from the classroom?" Mrs. Caroline asks, pointing her finger at me.
Why? Because he asked a stupid question, no?
No, that not why. He didn't want to get to know his classmates, that's why she kicked him out!
"Because he didn't want to interact with his classmates?" I respond.
"Yes, but why is that a problem?" " She adds to her earlier query.
Why is his lack of interest in getting to know us a problem? Hmm…
I recall Jean telling me something about not being able to be successful without connections, when I asked him about how he got me into this school.
“Because, the people you know and surround yourself with play a great part in your success.” I answer confidently.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"Well said, Blanche. "You clearly have a way with words, much like Mr. Lenoir," she replies, smiling.
"Is she referring to Jean Lenoir?" THE Jean Lenoir?", "I believe so, but why did she bring up Mr. Lenoir so suddenly?", "Could he be related to him in any way?" I hear some students discussing in the back of the classroom.
It's not like there's an issue with people knowing I'm related to Jean; I just hope it doesn't cast a negative light on me.
It's just as I suspected though, Mrs. Caroline already knows everything she needs to know about us.
“The people you know and surround yourself with play a great part in your success.” Mrs. Caroline quotes me.
"That's why we're focusing on getting to know each other today; you're the future of this country, so it's important that you all get along. Make sure you all help each other with studying, growing, staying motivated, and, of course, making the most of your school lives," she goes on to say.
“But for starters, let’s start by introducing ourselves!”
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So far, every student here is either the son or daughter of a noble family, or they were the best student in their previous schools. Hell, sometimes even both.
Mrs. Caroline said we weren't compelled to reveal our blessings, but most of them did, and almost all of them have really valuable blessings.
The more students there are introducing themselves, the more insecure I get.
“Pierre D’ath?” Mrs. Caroline calls out.
“Here.” The composed boy sitting next to me answers.
So his name is Pierre D’ath…
He slowly stands up, and introduces himself.
“My name is Pierre D’ath, I’m 16 years old and my hobbies are… Listening to music and writing. My dream is to become the ruler of Paris, and I wish to keep my blessing a secret.”
That’s one hell of a dream… also, he’s a lot more nonchalant than he looks.
“That’s a rather ambitious dream you have, I hope your ambition doesn’t turn into greed, Pierre D’ath.” Mrs. Caroline says.
“Anyways, Léa Valentine, you’re next.” She continues.
“Yes.” The girl sitting in front of me says, as she stands up to speak.
“My name is Léa Valentine, I’m 16 years old and my hobbies are reading romance books and shopping. My dream is to become a detective, and I too, wish to keep my blessing a secret.” She says.
They both didn’t want to reveal their blessings, could it be that they have really powerful blessings? Or maybe their blessings are useless and are too ashamed to reveal them? I wonder if Mrs. Caroline knows what their blessings are.
“Okay, thank you Léa. You’re up now, Blanche Lenoir.”
While the other students were introducing themselves, I was busy preparing what to say for my introduction, I hope I make a good impression on my classmates.
"My name is Blanche Lenoir, and I'm delighted to meet you all. I'm 16 years old and I enjoy reading in my spare time. I also occasionally assist Jean with his novels. My dream is to become a well-known author like Jean. And I must apologize, but I also prefer to keep my blessing a secret." Good, I didn't stutter and I sounded fairly credible.
I'm not interested in becoming an author, but as a representative of the Lenoir family, I thought it was appropriate to make them believe I am. And as for me being a vampire without a blessing, it's clear that I wish to keep my "blessing" a secret.
“Woah, he really is related to Jean Lenoir, do you think they’re brothers?” A girl in the back of the class whispers to a classmate.
“I think they are! We should ask him for his brothers autograph after class!” Her friend responds.
I’m already being used for Jean…
“Great, thanks Blanche. Emile Monet, you’re next.” Mrs. Caroline says.
There are still 7 more introductions to go, how will I ever be able to remember everyone’s names?
Let’s see... I remember Antoine, the boy who got kicked out for asking a dumb question. Next to me we have Pierre, the guy composed but nonchalant guy with a way too ambitious dream. In front of me sits Léa, she wanted to become a detective, and she’s cute. Then we have Emile, the boy who did his introduction after me.
Then there’s… Then there issss… Geh- I don’t remember the anybody else’s name.
I hope they won’t hate me for not remembering.
"Now that everyone has introduced themselves, let me take you on a tour around the school." Mrs. Caroline says as she puts on her coat and proceeds to the door.
"Now, remember to keep your voices down in the halls so you don't bother your upperclassmen." She continues.
Mrs. Caroline opens the door and walks down the hall, followed by all 23 of us.
If I counted correctly, there are 13 boys, counting Antoine. And 11 girls in our class, so our class seems fairly balanced.
Walking through the hall, looking at the countless amount of classrooms, I realize just how many students there are in this school.
“Here’s the gymnasium.”
“Here are the toilets.”
“Here’s the teacher’s room, if you ever have any urgent questions you need to ask one of the teachers, this is where you’ll find us.”
“Here’s the library.”
“Here’s the music room.”
We're only halfway into the tour, and I'm absolutely overwhelmed.
And it's not just because of the number of rooms; it's the size and prestige of each room in this school; even the toilets look luxurious!
We finally head outdoors after about 25 minutes; I can't believe it took 45 minutes just to tour the main building...
“Here are the sports fields and the running track. And there are horse stalls.” Mrs. Caroline continues her tour.
"Here are several picnic tables for you to use on hot days."
"And here you see the battle arena; you may only come here to train your blessing under the supervision of a teacher."
"At the end of the year, we also host the Royal Tournament."
The Royal Tournament? So, a fighting tournament? That's an unusual thing to organize for a school.
"Mrs. Caroline!" One of the students raises her hand.
Oh I remember her, that’s Lilly!
“Yes, Lilith?” Mrs. Caroline answers.
Ah yes, Lilith… That’s what I meant.
“Are there any other tournaments we can compete in? Like sports or quizzes, or horse riding?” Lilith asks.
"You can compete in a variety of tournaments, but only the royal tournament is mandatory." Mrs. Caroline elaborates.
“Oh, okay thank you.” Lilith gently says.
A loud bell suddenly rings.
"Now then, let's head to the cafeteria; sounds like it’s lunchtime!"