Gargoyle Saga: In The Beginning

Chapter Six

The female gargoyle, with those huge, intimidating pointy horns, scribbled away on a large piece of paper and barely took any notice of me as I found a chair to sit in. I forced myself to not look at her horns but I couldn't help it; they were thicker than Dean and Rowans and looked meaner too. Twiddling my thumbs, I waited patiently for something to happen, but after sometime when there was just silence between us I cleared my throat.

"Yes, I am still aware you are sitting there." She sighed in annoyance and put her pen down. "I'm not ignoring you I too am waiting, waiting for the headmaster to make an appearance. I can't get any of your papers done without a seal of approval."

I bobbed my head but didn't really understand. "Can I ask, how long have you worked here?"

She peered at me with cautious orange eyes. "Long enough."

"Okay," I got the hint, she didn't want to talk, but there were so many questions I wanted answering like, 'How long is a term?' and 'Can I go home after each term?' and 'Who or what are Ancients and how did they get involved with the magical protection dealy?' and 'Will I grow horns like Dean and Rowan?' and 'If so, can I get rid of them with some careful plastic surgery?' I sighed in boredom and crossing my arms looked around the room, but really, it was like any old stuffy office. There were cabinets, papers a nice leather top desk. And only sound that cut through the silence was the light rustling of paper and scratching of a pen. I checked my watch. It was just after two. I was hungry and slightly agitated. I hated waiting for something that I didn't know about. It wasn't so bad waiting in line at the bank, or for a supermarket, because you saw how close you were to being served. But waiting at the doctor's, chemist, dentist or worse the post office, really angered me. I didn't see when I'd be seen to next.

"Um, is there someplace I can go to freshen up?"

The receptionist looked as though she was gritting her teeth behind her lips. "The first year girl's toilets are on the first floor at the end of the girl's dormitory corridor. Don't take too long."

Mumbling a thank you, I left and hurried towards the first floor dormitory corridor. As the boys said, the girls were on the left and the boys on the right. There were several double-doors on each side all closed and there wasn't a sinner in sight.

The bathroom door was situated at the very end on the left and it looked like it was made in the Victoria era, green-tinged iron with strange leaf patterns around the boarder. Opening it, I was bombarded by a variety of perfumes. I even smelt the succinct Chanel No. 5.

There were two doors, one for a wet room for showers and on the opposite side, eight cubicles of toilets. "How very neat," I whispered and darted into the nearest toilet.

As I left the toilet block, I saw someone with long red hair. She quickly darted into one of the girl's dormitory rooms up ahead. A few seconds later I passed by the door, pressing my ear against it, then it opened and I nearly fell inside.

"Excuse me!" the redhead girl snapped. "Can I help you barge into here anymore?"

I smiled as she had the same eyes as me and pointy ears. However, I quickly took in the room as it was simply breathtaking.

There were eight neatly made beds in total, four on the left and four on the right. The room, like the administration room, was wooden panelled, with only two oil paintings, but I didn't get a clear angle of them. In the middle there was an old metal circular heater where clothes had been draped over the sides to dry. This girl was the only person inside where a single book was on a bed on the right. "Sorry, I um, I'm Verity, I'm new. I didn't know anyone was in their rooms."

"Well I'm in my room," she frowned and stepping out into the corridor and took hold of the door handle. "Needing some privacy," she said slowly. "Good bye," she closed the door in my face.