had to admit. The grand architecture and ancient style of the buildings were nothing short of magnificent, and it made the whole place feel more like a university than a school. It was also busier that morning than it had been the previous evening, all the activity filling the campus with a lively buzz. There were students of all ages coming and going, some carrying large bags of new textbooks all ready for the start of classes, while others played games of soccer on the central quad or sat in groups on the steps of the buildings talking casually, all of them trying to make the most of their last day of freedom.
So many students – were any of them Holders? Alex had said there were others with abilities attending St Brigid’s, but I had no idea how many. Could the boy who’d just scored a goal for his team down on the quad also know how to read minds or instantly heal the sick? Could the girl flipping through her new notebook and chatting with her friends also be able to flip through time or make images appear and disappear on a whim? There were dozens of kids out that morning and any one of them could have been harboring an ability that the rest of the world knew nothing about, and the idea was as amazing as it was intimidating.
I continued my explorations around the property, becoming increasingly impressed with what I found. The dorms were segregated by gender and very well-maintained for as old as they clearly were, the grounds were immaculate with not a bit of trash or stray weed to be found, and the walkways, while winding, were well-marked and easy to navigate.
One of my favorite discoveries was the massive library, which had to be more than three times larger than any I’d ever seen. I spent quite a while perusing the shelves of books, happy to find that even though I was in a completely different part of the world, the whole building had the same wonderfully comforting smell of the libraries I’d grown up with back in the States. It was an aroma as nondescript as it was specific, and as it filled my nose, I couldn’t help but smile. Apparently books smell like books no matter where you are.
The classrooms and lecture halls were equally impressive, most with wooden desks that weren’t anywhere near new, but had been very well-cared for – not covered in crude carvings and ink stains like the wooden desks I had known – and all the rooms had the refreshingly classic black chalkboards – not the ugly green ones my school had been filled with.
It was past one by the time I got back to Lorcan Hall, and my mood was decidedly better. I wasn’t sure what to do with myself, and briefly considered going up to my room and calling my mom, but with the time difference I knew she’d already be on her way to work, so that would have to wait a while. With nothing else to do, I figured I might as well poke around Lorcan for a bit, and maybe find something to eat while I was at it. Who knew, I thought to myself, maybe I’d run into Alex along the way…
No! I really had to stop that. I would be going home soon – sooner than I thought, given the way Ryland was taking to things – and Alex would be staying here. As my Mom would say, no use barking at a squirrel you can’t catch.
I wandered the halls aimlessly for a while, not finding much. It was obvious that Lorcan wasn’t used for regular classes as the few classrooms I found were either almost entirely empty or being used for storage. There was a lounge area in the front with a small library in it, an alcove in the east hall with a piano, a few restrooms here and there, and so on, but nothing all that exciting. Though happily I did come across a vending machine, providing me with a much needed lunch.
It wasn’t until I passed by a large pair of carved doors, and heard voices coming from the other side, that my interest was piqued.
“I say we have him try it right away. How else are we to know if any of this is real? It could simply be a waste of time,” a male voice said.