Blood Will Tell

XXVIII

As soon as the doors drew back, a symphony of scents flowed out alongside a chorus of chaos. Gaggles of schoolgirls and schoolboys filled the room with so much chatting, chortling, and screeching that Edin covered his ears at first. There appeared to be no order whatsoever—small square tables, long rectangular tables, and round tables of just about every size were scattered about; some students huddled in crowds, big and small, while others dined alone; and while the pupils did their best to clean up after their meals, some areas were cleaner and freer from spills than others. Only the buffet of food at the front end of the hall had any semblance of neatness.

Edin wished he could return to the auditorium.

The three waded through the crowd, and Edin got to observe the students more closely. They all wore uniforms according to their grade level and gender. The primary-aged boys wore white t-shirts and red shorts; the primary-aged girls sported red skirts and white blouses. The secondary schoolboys put on white collared shirts, red neckties, and dark red chinos; the secondary schoolgirls were dressed in dark red frocks, with pockets on the left breast. The male college students were dressed similarly to their secondary counterparts, except their ties were golden and their trousers were beige; the female college students had similar uniforms to the primary schoolgirls, with the addition of red bowties. Their uniforms made Edin more aware of how much he stood out from the rest of the crowd in jeans and a sweatshirt.

Eyes in various shades of black and brown latched onto Edin as he walked with Rowan and Stefan, and it made him stick to the two more closely. He was an outsider and they all knew it. No, Edin was not an alumnus. Clearly not. They could tell from the way he was walking and gawking at everything. Edin focused his attention on the buffet line that he assumed Rowan and Stefan were heading to. Some of the pupils queueing noticed the outcast waddling among them, and it made him hide behind the two alumni.

Rowan cocked his head to check on Edin. "You 'right?"

"I'm fine."

"You look pretty shy," Rowan giggled. "You're so red it's funny."

Oh no.

"I mean you do stick out, being blond and pale," Stefan said to Edin. "Relax. They're not gonna eat ya."

"Speaking of eating, d'you think they'll let us grab a snack?" Rowan asked, eyeing the prawn crackers at the end of the buffet. "I don't see any rules against it."

"I don't know. I mean, we're not studying here anymore."

"Our parents didn't study here but they ate when they visited us."

"Your parents didn't study here?" Edin asked.

"Nope," Rowan replied. "Stef and I came from ordinary families."

"I mean most gifteds do," Stefan added. "I think only one person in my class had gifted parents?"

"Huh, weird," Edin said. "I thought giftedness is a genetic thing."

"It's not," Rowan said. "Being born gifted is kinda like gambling. I think I was the first gifted in my family, ever."

"Are you sure it's zero percent genetic? Some families have gifteds every generation," Stefan reminded Rowan. "Like the Stafanens, the Læfens, Lufths, Hirsts... who else am I missing?"

"The Illenræns, but they died out."

"An entire family died out?"

"You didn't know?" Stefan asked Edin.

"I've never heard of them," Edin replied.

"They passed away like three years ago," Rowan said, "so probably before he lost his memories."