With a new confidence, Eric headed back down the stairs.
The stairs emptied out into the bottom floor, into the lobby. White marble floors and grandiose arches. They really wanted to keep their masters around. Unlike the hallways that had soft unintrusive lighting the lobby was brilliantly lit. Eric didn’t like the ground floor because of the pretentious splendor, but he thought he had seen Master Brown give it a little smile of "
Another level of pretention was the separation of the wings. Four towers wrapped in the same brick façade. Four separate stairwells that only met at the lobby. Master Damien lived in the south wing, which was the quiet tour. Reserved for masters without apprentices, masters that didn’t teach, masters that kept irregular hours dictated by the timing of experiments. Whereas in the north wing, masters were supplied with extra rooms for student charges, the masters in the south tower had extra space that they could convert as needed. Eric wasn’t sure how they dealt with construction noise. Maybe the south wing had such little turnover, that it wasn’t a regular problem.
Eric skipped across the lobby, to where North was painted in green and gold leaf above the open stairwell. Up the identical set of stairs to the fourth floor, where he resided with Master Brown. Padding down the carpeted hallway to 423. The shiny brass letters on the door incited a thrill in Eric. Converting his forward momentum into the door as he turned the knob, fortunately unlocked – he hadn’t even thought about that possibility, Eric very much so burst into the room. And immediately felt self-conscious as his entrance caused three sets of eyes to pop up.
He smiled goofily, still holding the door with one hand.
Jamie’s clear voice broke the silence, “We’re going into town for dinner, come with us.” Clear, even, kind but uninflected by emotion.
“Yes.” Breathy and giddy, he answered. And then Jamie’s eyes fell back to his book. Dahlia looked dumbfounded, and Bridgett was trying to hide a very smug smile.
Dinner wasn’t far off, but Eric wasn’t sure what to do with himself. He closed the door behind him. Feeling eyes watch him even if there were none. Three doors branched off the living room Dahlia’s and Eric’s bedrooms were along the left wall, behind the sitting area and Jamie’s desk. The entry to the kitchen and Master Brown’s bedroom were on the opposite wall. The trio sat at the dining table, covering the round table with their books and papers.
They had a television in the sitting area, and it got cable, but it was rather taboo to watch TV for non-educational reasons. He could make himself a sandwich in the small kitchen area that was just adequate to prepare simple meals. But they were going to dinner soon. He could just go sit in his room and stare at the wall to avoid standing awkwardly in the middle of the floor.
Glancing up, Jamie noticed Eric’s discomfort. With a resigned look of pity, Jamie called out, “Master Brown, Eric got back.”
“Okay. Eric bring me your test scores.” Her voice boomed from beyond the door.
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