Oh my, I am tired. I got only a few hours of sleep last night, and it was not at all restful. I cannot imagine that fainting unconscious is very good for one's health, and after I woke and wrote in my diary in the early hours of the morning, I could not return to sleep for quite some time. I slept fitfully and had stressful dreams, though I cannot now recall what they were about. Only that I felt as though I had been running all night, and woke almost more exhausted than I was when I finally drifted into sleep.
Unfortunately I slept through breakfast, and by the time I had thrown on my clothes and dashed up to Professor Eberhart's office, he was no longer there. I knocked, to no answer, and after a moment I put my eye to the keyhole and saw it was dark inside; even the curtains had been pulled closed. Sighing, I trudged back toward the parlour where Captain Winters and I ate our meals, hoping there would be something left of breakfast for me. On the way I finally met some of the students that attend this school.
I have just realized I have not yet said the name of the school! It is the Eastern Madison Academy for Fine Young Men and Women, and a very old institution. Its tuition fees, I have heard, are high enough that only very select students are admitted, children age twelve and over from "old money" families, some even descended from the nobility of Brittainia, before we did away with titles.
Therefore, what happened next should come as no surprise.
Three young ladies about my age dressed all in pure sparkling white came arm-in-arm down the corridor toward me, whispering to each other and laughing softly. "Excuse me," I called out as they neared. "Could you tell me if you know where Professor Eb--"
"Look!" Interrupted the girl in the center, by far the prettiest and clearly the leader by how she carried herself and how she spoke. "A new servant girl."
"Actually, I'm a guest at the school. I've come to..." But before I had two words out, they all erupted into laughter and passed me without a backwards glance.
Now, I realize I looked rather shabby in the disguise Captain Winters made me wear. (In fact, I am now in the fine clothes given me by Belleclaire, despite how it pains me to wear a gift from him.) But shabby dress is no reason to assume someone is a servant. Even if I were a servant, there was no excuse for those ill-mannered, spoilt prisses to treat me as though I were nothing more than a piece of trash littering the corridor. Miss P___ always taught us to never judge a book by its cover, nor to decide upon something without learning about it thoroughly first, whether it be a person, a town, or anything else! It seems that having money means you needn't be taught manners, at least according to those three students.
It is just before lunch as I write this, and Professor Eberhart has sent a note telling me that he was sorry I missed our morning meeting, but that after the shock I had last night, he thought it best I sleep as late as I pleased. We have made another appointment for tonight after supper, and I can hardly sit still, I am so excited! At long last, I shall learn everything about my parents, and more than that, about this gift of Illumination I suddenly know I possess! (I have tried several times to move small objects with my thoughts, but have not yet succeeded. I do hope the professor can tell me why, as it is rather worrying. Perhaps last night was all a dream.)
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