LITMIR.BIZ

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brought it,” I stubbornly corrected, walking around the flower beds along the stone-paved path.

      – I'm sorry.

      I looked at the guy in surprise, but only for a moment. His face actually showed genuine regret.

      “People rarely come here against their will. Usually due to an unstable gift.

      – I don’t have any gift! – I repeated the lie.

      “Yes, whatever you say,” he said conciliatoryly. “But you still can’t get out of the gate.” For this you need a pass.

      – I can do without a pass. Go about your business already. I definitely don't need spies.

      Having reached the gate, I just waved away the guy who again wanted to tell me something. Instead, she touched the gate, intending to simply climb over it. I hoped that my mother was delayed on this side or had not yet managed to drive away from the library, unloading my few things, otherwise it would be more difficult to find her.

      But I will find it. Because together and only together we are strong.

      However, as soon as I grabbed the metal bars with my other hand, I was abruptly thrown away from the gate. It was so thrown that if I landed on the grass or path, I would definitely have left bruises.

      But I was lucky. The brunette softened my fall. By yourself. Having knocked him down, I found us in a flowerbed with shaped grass. Turning over to face him, she found it.

      “I told you: you need a pass to go out the gate,” Nirel raised his head.

      At the same time, he held me by the waist with both hands.

      Resting her palms on his chest to be as far away from his face as possible, she looked around. It threw us back quite a bit – about thirty meters. I wonder if I can get a ladder around here somewhere?

      The guy's voice broke into my thoughts:

      – I understand that you are angry now.

      I was truly surprised.

      –Am I angry? Yes, I'm furious. Mom left me here, and she went to hell.

      “She probably had reasons for this.” I'm sure if she could, she wouldn't leave you here.

      Pulling me close again, he suddenly rolled with me. Now I was lying on the grass, which made me both embarrassed and taken aback, because his face was again unacceptably close, and he was hanging over me, supporting the weight of his body in his arms.

      – You don’t even know her! – I was indignant, floundering under him.

      In order to free himself, he had to turn on his side and with an effort, out of stubbornness, tear one of his hands off the ground. This was the only way I was able to roll away and get to my feet.

      The student then stood up.

      – Can we get a ladder? Or a high stepladder?

      Carefully suppressing the embarrassment that arose out of nowhere, I took a closer look at the surrounding surroundings. I looked among the flower beds, grass, benches and bushes for something that I could use to build a lifting tower. The benches were not suitable for this purpose: their metal legs were embedded in the paths.

      – Very unlikely. And even if something similar can be found at the academy, no one will give you anything. Let's go, I'll take you to the dorm. There is still a little time before dinner to settle into the new place.

      – Nirel… That’s your name, right? – I clarified, just in case, and, having received a confident nod, continued: – Nirel, you need to go and settle in. And I need to get a pass. Where can I get it?

      – Only with the freshman curator. And for this you need to go to the hostel.

      A mocking smile appeared on his lips. And so I understood its nature. To get the pass, I still have to do what I just tried my best to avoid.

      “I’m sure you’ll like it here,” he softened, motioning for me to go forward.

      – But not me.

      Walking around him in a wide circle, I walked with an independent air to the two-story building closest to the academy. It was also built from gray stone. Under the night sky it seemed dark and gloomy.

      “The freshman building is on the other side,” they politely informed me, but I directly felt that the guy was laughing at that moment.

      Personally, I was not laughing. Time irrevocably slipped through our fingers, and the longer we walked along the paths past benches and lampposts, falling under the shadows of trees with voluminous foliage, the stronger the confidence grew in me that I would not make it in time.

      I won’t be able to get near our rental car before my mom leaves.

      –Are you a freshman too? – I asked, looking sideways at my guide.

      I felt comfortable walking next to him in silence, but my innate curiosity did not allow me to remain silent. Nirel was like those who were called “golden boys” in the schools where I studied. Ideal appearance, ideal manners and enormous pride tied to immense arrogance.

      If these guys didn't have a brain at all, they were incredibly annoying. And if everything was in order with the thought, then they evoked fear on an instinctive level. Because they made wonderful manipulators.

      I didn’t yet understand which nut I got.

      – Freshman? – the student was restrainedly surprised, defiantly raising his right eyebrow. – No, I'm already on the third. There are two and a half years left until graduation.

      – And this one?

      Hinting at Spider-Man, I played with my eyebrows.

      – This? – Nirel asked, frowning. -Are you talking about Percy? He's also in third. He just can’t come to terms with the fact that I have a better gift of premonition than he does.

      A chuckle escaped the expressive lips, and with an effort of will I forced myself to look at his eyes.

      “I thought that I wouldn’t be able to find him in the form of a spider.”

      – Find… Were you playing hide and seek, or what?

      I was horrified. Is there really nothing to do here?

      – You can say so. Only the territory is not limited and there are no rules. Each of us has abilities. So we checked them.

      – Like acute vision or hearing? – I suggested casually, trying not to be seen as being overly interested.

      The guy thought for a moment.

      – Let’s put it this way: what do you know about Midnighters anyway?

      As promised, by this time the guy had escorted me to the freshman building, but I was in no hurry to go inside the gray two-story building.

      I understood that running to the gate, rustling with slippers, no longer made sense. Now you need to act with a cool head, with a clearly defined plan. This technique worked best. At least with mom.

      Sitting down on a bench opposite the high porch, I decided to find out as much information as possible. Moreover, Nirel answered willingly, did not hide anything and tried to add more details, as if he were explaining to a child.

      I was not a child, but my knowledge was characterized by one single word – meager. There was nothing I could do to make the story easier for my interlocutor. I knew almost nothing that was really, in my opinion, important.

      I only learned today that there is a territory hidden from human eyes. After a sleepless night spent on the road, a hectic morning with changing cars, and a not very tasty lunch at an eatery with the telling name “Massacre,” my mother brought me to the central city library in Ashwool.

      This building was very different from its counterparts on the street. The old houses here were demolished one after another due to their unsuitable condition, and in their place two-story townhouses with an attic under the roof were built. Red brick, dark brown roof. The houses with several apartments looked cozy and well-kept,

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