The Other Side of Darkness

The Seven Dorms

Episode 1: Chapter 8

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Before Cater and the others began talking, Lev quickly ran to grab a drink. She also wanted to get some breathing room from Cater's apparent need to never be more than two inches away from someone, and that someone just happened to be her. 

"Thank you," she told the ghost who handed her the iced lemonade she'd asked for. 

Ghosts seemed to be everywhere in NRC. Luckily, they were much friendlier than Lev originally expected. She turned around to head back to her seat when she bumped into someone. Her drink fell out her hand. Luckily, the person who she bumped into was able to catch it before it hit the ground.

"Oh my goodness!" Lev gasped. "I'm so sorry!" 

Great, Grim's rubbing off on me.

"Don't worry about it," the student assured her in a bland tone, handing her the cup. He had dark skin and long black hair that was partially braided back into a ponytail. His armband was yellow and red and he wore a red hoodie beneath his uniform jacket. 

"Thank you," Lev said, giving the boy a large smile. 

"Don't mention it," he told her. He quickly started walking away without another word.

"Uhh, okay." Lev walked back to her table.

That was interesting.

"What took you?" Ace asked in an annoyed tone.

"Long line," she lied. She didn't want to admit that she had just pulled a Grim and didn't watch where she was going right after she gave him a lecture about it. "Anyway, you were going to explain the dorms?" 

Trey nodded and began, "Just like Cater said earlier, there are seven dorms. Each represents one member of the Great Seven. Our dorm, Heartslabyul, is founded on the strict spirit of the Queen of Hearts. Then there's Savanaclaw, the dorm founded on the fortitude of the King of Beasts. The dorm Octavinelle follows and replicates the benevolence of the Sea Witch. Scarabia was founded on the foresight and cunning of the Sorcerer of Sands. Pomefiore follows the strenuous efforts of the Beautiful Queen. Ignihyde was founded on the diligence of the King of the Underworld. And finally, Diasomnia was founded on the elegance and power of the Witch of Thorns."

Lev could feel a headache start to form. She took a sip of her drink and the almost overwhelming sweetness spread throughout her mouth. "That's...a lot of dorms."

"Yeah, they're names are way too long," Grim groaned. "There's no way I'll remember all of them!" 

"You all worry too much!" Cater told them. "You'll get them all eventually."

"How does the school decide which dorm to place you in?" Grim asked. 

Oh yeah, he wasn't around for the Entrance Ceremony.

"Which dorm you enter is based on the judgment of the Dark Mirror when it examines your soul during the Entrance Ceremony," Trey explained. "Because people with similar souls are placed in the same dorm, each dorm has its own unique quirks."

Deuce's brow furrowed in confusion. "What...quirks?"

"Look over there," Trey told them, pointing to a tall, dark-skinned student. He had sharp eyes and large wolf ears sprouting from the top of his head. 

"Oh!" Lev gasped in awe. "He had fuzzy ears..." She felt the sudden urge to run up to the student and beg to pet his ears. Grim seemed to notice this.

"Hey, I have fuzzy ears too," Grim pointed out, jumping unto Lev's lap.

Lev laughed and scratched behind his ears. "I suppose that's true." Grim purred. Ace whipped his phone out and took a picture of Grim's blissful state. Deuce raised an eyebrow at him.