Exploring My Floor
I did not bring much with me, so I finished unpacking pretty quickly. I still had several hours until dinner. Looking at my bookshelf with my favorite novels, I thought about rereading until then. Yet my eyes strayed to my door. The students would be here soon and then I would be too busy to explore this magnificent castle. Smiling with that thought, I let myself out of my room, careful to lock it behind me.
Curiously, I decided to sneak a peek into my girls’ rooms. Carefully, I opened the door numbered 1. Peeking around the door and seeing no one, I quietly walked in leaving the door partly opened. The room looked a lot like mine except this one had a bunk bed. The attached closet had been split into two smaller closets. The attached bath included a shower and two sinks. Definitely a rich kid boarding school. These girls only had to share the bathroom with one other, rather than with the room next to them.
A little less carefully, I walked into the other four rooms. They all basically had the same design with two small closets, a bathroom with a shower and two sinks, and bunk beds. In the last room, I had a thought and checked the windows. They felt secure and the drop to the ground far enough down to stop most girls. Sighing, I laid my head against the glass. “At least, I won’t have to worry about them sneaking out the windows,” I muttered.
Turning, I left the room closing it behind me. I wanted to start on the first floor, but unsure how Esther would respond to my wandering, I turned from the stairs and started down the hallway.
It looked like this floor was the dorm floor. Each room had a discreet number on the door, but I didn’t go in. I didn’t know if any other of the rooms were occupied. Reaching the end of the hallway, I could turn left or right.
Right looked like more rooms, so I turned left. At the end of the hallway, I noticed a door. As I approached, no number graced the door. Reaching out, I turned the handle. “Fiddlesticks,” I whispered when the doorknob would not move, “It’s locked.” Curious, I pulled out my bedroom key and tried to fit it into the keyhole. Predictably, it stayed locked.
Sighing, I put my key away and tried to jiggle the handle, hoping that the door was just stuck. Still nothing. My parents had always warned me that curiosity killed the cat and I always returned, but knowledge saved it. They would just laugh and say my curiosity would get me in trouble. I’ve stayed out of trouble so far, but this locked door really piqued my curiosity.
Taking a deep breath I prepared to turn around and continue exploring the rest of the place when I noticed a slight protrusion on the door frame. Reminded of my grandma’s old house that had a hidden switch, I carefully pressed the switch, jumping when the door clicked open.
Shaking my hands in a silent applause, I pushed open the mysterious door.
“Stairs,” I said out loud, surprising myself. Taking a deep breath, I continued in a whisper, “Why have a hidden switch to open a door for stairs, probably servant stairs.” Rolling my eyes I laughed at myself, “What did you think you would find Cassie? A treasure room?”
Smiling, I decided to explore the main areas before getting lost in hidden ones. I stepped back into the hallway, closing the door behind me, making sure it locked, never noticing blue eyes watching me speculatively only a few steps above me.
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