28 Inverted schools

It's less organized in terms of getting settled into the dorms if you want to compare Britain to America. The fresher's fortnight is chaotic with empty rooms being moved furniture into them and you get lost in the hotel layout. This is like a lesser-star hotel that trying to be a big chain, has all the space but not the room service, furniture or free breakfast. The room numbers are mapped neatly but the amount of space per room is random or off-shape. Not all rooms are equal given the fireplaces of the floor below having to eat some space. Not every room was cleaned out from the last dorm occupates. There was one room left as a prank set up, which made a big fuss among the freshers.

This was also around the time that Lea noted big differences. American schools allowed demon servants to do everything from meal pick-ups to chores and welcomed uncomfortable staring at the beings of the veils. The UK is all about not looking and keeping things normal. The living is expected to do living stuff, no work of any servants. Having a servant was a bad thing and frowned upon. If you have a demon lingering, that is someone who cursed you. Having watched and kept her mouth shut, she observed that teachers will blame students even when the demons are the direct cause of things. Ultimately punishing both bully and victim for allowing a demon to mess them around. Unlike the demon courthouse of the Saint August area, this British school has a much broader long interesting history. Lea bought the local history museum guides and enjoyed her first week being blended in among tourists, getting it out of her system before anyone realize she was a student at the local school. She familiarised herself with the markets and little places that could be a cheaper alternative when needed. She already knows she is feeding more than herself.

According to her dive into history and her knowledge so far just everywhere on this Isle are layers and layers of eras mashed together. This town was founded in the bronze age, the standing chalk cliffs are natural caves that have real prehistoric burials and paintings. Then the Romans. Danish Vikings. Saxons, then Romans again. Bathhouses with lost Celtic temples. Stand-carved church stones as spirit gates. Even the river that cuts the chalky valley was the water-powered perfect cotton mill. Locals are still hanging in the museum of random small finds from gardens or the river shore. A battle took place up the river and this is washing in army uniforms. Given the place barely survived both world wars, this was a bomb site by German planes. They assumed this was a gun factory where the cotton mill was. Scraps of the bombs are being pulled by local river divers. Just this small area weight sheer vast amount of history than America had for a single town in places.

"Lea." Samantha looked up from the dinner table, "What is it like being here so far?"

"The school is already backward. They encouraged interaction with the spirit folks there. But in terms of people, even if our culture is different. The way we separate ourselves doesn't." Lea was trying to mirror how to eat like they do, knife in strong hand, and fork the order. It was normal for Americans for a fork to be right-hand for control and steadiness, not cutting with a knife. She has however accepted her accent as whatever, allowing it to do whatever. She just doesn't speak much if she doesn't have to, "It will be fine. You worry about fitting in without me. I am going to be fine. Make friends and do well. I would be more a hinder than a help." They were at the moment having lunch together, and Nathan was nowhere in sight. Although Lea already knows he was eating his lunch with schoolmates in the other school café.

"Can I still come to you if I need help?" Lea softly smiles.

"Sammy, I am terrible at spelling and were are not that old age-wise than most normal families. If you need my help, I will try but it is often you helping me." She shook at this not being what she meant and Lea softly doesn't make it obvious what she was looking around for. Sammy shows her hands, covered in the runic curse. Lea softly sighed and smile, "I will teach you to be brave and strong. Because that'd all that you need." Taking her hands, "They are only attracted to negative energy, a weak target to torment. But your much stronger than them. Being a living human is beautiful and makes them envious." spraying salt over Sam's hands, and the marks erased and shattered the casting, "You will grow up to be a strong brave girl that no one will ignore. Protect the weak and mediate between the strong. A knife edge that we all stumble from time to time. I believe that you will be an amazing person if you can see what I do." Samantha looks star strike. Just enough of a change that lays a line between them but was easy to grab hands in working together towards. Lea let's go and back to eating in silence. A student three tables over were having a curse backlash and is sent to the teacher's office for being caught using such things.

"Mail." Lea took it from the table and ignored the spirits who brought it, it was her mask that lifted off her and stood sorting out paying the mail carrier for its service. She reads it like a blind person as always, someone that knows to write letters the way she likes it. A smile and sometimes a sigh, "I guess I need to borrow a kitchen or something."

"There is a shared utility building. On the weekends we are meant to sort meals for ourselves if we are staying here. School is only Monday to Friday." Samantha states.

"On the weekend, if we end up staying. I will cook for us. I will even teach you my recipes." Samantha smiles at liking the mature treatment. Everyone around her treats her as young and innocent. Given the sort of family she is from, Samantha isn't that innocent and ignorant, "We will have to shop together."

"Most stores are closed on Sunday, so Saturday is the day." Lea nodded and now the business hour made sense around here, "it's an old law that has been slowly being ignored. short open hours or that they are closed if not essential."

"I don't think I will be allowed to make candles for a while"

"There are study clubs for that sort of thing. Craft art clubs you could join." Lea softly nodded more. She folds away the letter when a slip of something came loose. She felt the surface, it was a photo. She unfolds the mail and finds a hidden letter behind her other. She peels the two and knows she has to look at them. Gladly she used her mask to read this one. More news from her Trickster forced cousin, how he was fairing after the court case, and his upset that everyone he had was gone. Even Lea being gone sucks. She looks at the photo, his living side joined the army, and his spiritual side was a faceless Trickster in that army. If they recognize each other, use an old gesture they did as siblings. This was to tug an ear when the adults were likely going to fight. She has no way to send anything back to him unless spiritual mail still works. She does have some of her reptiles still watching his back.

"Lea..." Sam warned about the mask.

"It's my undertaker powers, I had to use it to read the rest of my mail." She puts away the letters especially. Sam watched Lea's back for teachers, "I am only going to be able to explain this to you this once and you will learn soon why hanging around me is not good." Lea shows the photo, "I am from a bloodline of living people who are cursed. We all have mask shadow sides and we have a bad reputation among spirit dwellers. Especially me the most. If you hear that there is a Trickster nearby, avoid them as best you can. That is better for you in the long run. Trickster or Seer. Tricksters are the dead family members and Seers are living members who have deep awareness. Some are Nice and others aren't. I want you to be careful and not trust them. They are backstabbing each other, if hurting you meant hurting me - they will. Because of what has happened, when this school realizes my full extent. I will be targeted. I don't know if it is I become an outcast or popular. For all I know, I am some token exotic weirdo. This is how it will be. At the end of the day, you are my niece and I will be here for you if you ever need me. Spirit or not. Popular or outcast." Samantha nods confusedly. Either way, they finished eating and take dirty trays to the sorting area. As planned Samantha was going off to a club she joined and Lea was going to check out the campus history more.

Lea knows this exact site is an old Victorian factory and that in the visitor areas were little bits of this. The front office has an old metal machine from back then, which experts think is for pressing machines. Maybe metal pins or brass finery. Some claim it was a horse bridal factory and that the press was to pin the leather closed. Either way, it is exactly what she came to explore the open public areas of the school grounds for. Another additional thing she noticed, the USA like having a history preserved differently from the UK. The USA is all about outward looks being authentic. The UK's perseverance in history is even considerate of the wood beam joints that hold up the second and third floors. That metal is there added to help but not to dig into the old wood beams. The buildings are onions, layer on layer of centuries that covered over the last. The modern wire for lights isn't tucked away and hidden like it would for the USA. These are sort of details she admires in keeping history for other generations.

"Excuse me." She had ignored it at first because she had assumed this wasn't a living person. She is however been awkwardly staring at the wall for some time, thinking about the stone and techniques of the past. A warm hand brushed her shoulder and now she looks at them.

"Sorry, I was just in deep thought." She still doesn't look right at them, "Am I in your way?"

"No. Students don't normally come here unless they have a problem."

"Ah, got you. Instead, I was admiring the building and history." She back to looking at the wall, "There used to be a door here, look at the sandstone carving. I say even part of the ornate building of statuses like a church or Palace." She smiles to herself in thinking of the many possibilities, "Or a fairy door. The medieval world was superstitious and religious."

"A fan of history?" The teacher or staff member wondered.

"Hobbies. I have a lot of hobbies. mineralogy, botany and architecture archaeology." She smiles gently as the teacher nods a lot, "Yes, I am American. I get that a lot. I am not being picked on yet and even then I am not going to bother playing their game." clicked the fingers of someone finally getting it.

"You're Fallown." She crossed her arms in habit of waiting for either extreme. Pity for her situation or the calculating measuring she gets from those aware of her supernatural abilities, "It's a little unheard of but you have been exempt from combat fighting classes and you are welcome to solo missions equal and bellow rank C. We only ask that we are allowed some track record of your contracts while you are on our grounds." She doesn't make a big reaction to the news at all and rather she finally squares the guy to make sure is real and not bluffing.

"I have a personal interest in you. Or rather, I have a letter to give you. But I wanted to see if this was all joke on his majesty's part." Indeed an undertaker letter is handled by a living human. But now that she was paying full attention. He is wearing a contracting ring, the letter is in his left hand and his feet are posed in courtesy. He makes odd eye twitches, so his partner must be mind-talking at him.

"They can never work out the timing. Your dead partner is asking you if I have seen and read the request." She takes it with her left and softly returns the bow, "It takes me back a little." She looks at the wax seal and felt every section of the paper. She can tell the king wrote it himself, that he did so the way she preferred, "It be wise of me to read this somewhere privately. I still respect those of high titles and duty-bound roles." She holds it dear to her chest. The teacher nods softly and with a sigh of relief, "You know, I originally wasn't able to work out whether you were human or not. The contract of an undertaker has an impact on your health more than you realize. Now when they are injured, you are too. Stabbing in the back, you will too. I hope that your partner has a role that keeps them safe."

"So you are a court hunter."

"But I swear to no kingdoms or realms. Why would I if I am still a living human? Technically I shouldn't be, but I can do things that many can't. I reached places further than most and learnt many things. My knowledge is my curse. Now I am bound to such duties. No longer am I a scared, clueless little girl with no idea of what powers she has. I know now and there is a limit to things."

"Normal class starts next week, but I will be your homeroom tutor. I may ask you to be of some help with trouble students. Those that break the rules." The supernatural abilities cover up around here.

"I will do what I can as a teacher's pet but I am still a student to the vast majority. For the better, I am in human ways, a student of basic learning. I should move off now. Until we talk again. I will have one of the reptiles send my reply."

"Ugh... OK? what reptiles?" She smiles gently in leaving the welcome area. Back to the main grounds. She can see Nathan among a group and it was written on their forehead as trouble makers. She sighed pitifully. She was in the act of now ignoring them as she moves away. But a knucklehead stepped to try to trip her, an older student. She doesn't even act like she noticed the meat bag and dodges the attempted something. At best, her hair slaps his hand as she strides away. Only Nathan was mute, the gaggle was all howling at how stupid her move was or the student trying to harass her.

"Drop something?" The meat fingers have hold of her mask.

"Don't you know not to touch a mask?" She spoke through it, it pulled out of grip and has a shadow arm brush the lad's shoulder, "I have my eyes on all of you. If you break the law, I will chase you in your dreams and make you life in hell." The mask flows back to her open left hand, she was stare at them all. She turns away as the group are stunned, making not-so-smart comments following after she was gone. Nathan's head bowed low in debating what to tell his friends. That she's his American aunt that has abilities and entitled ways around the spirit folks. Or to screw himself, saying she's a Trickster. For now, mute glaring. The on-lookers were without entertainment but instead a new mystery. Rubber necks peering at what might be a retaliation plan, there is always a revenge plan for those they failed to stick under the boot.