The room is filled with confused whispers and unimpressed faces. What the hell happened to Headmaster Collins? Ward, but you must all address me as Headmaster Ward,” the cat says, voice liquid and slithery. I lean back against my chair as a tall, pale guy with dull black eyes, oily black hair slicked back with what I’m sure was an entire jar of hair gel, and a long dark coat that almost sweeps the floor stands at the podium, staring down at us all like we’re vermin and he’s a cat. Twenty minutes of my life about to be wasted on an assembly that could have been an email. The microphone screeches loudly, forcing my head up. Without these, life at Niveus would still be an endless drudge of gossip, money, and lies. That’s the difference between my rituals and these assemblies. Jack knows about the many rituals I go through before I sit down at the piano. Still, I call him a friend, because we’ve known each other forever and the thought of being alone is much, much worse.īut back to the thing about structure.

Just Jack, who generally acts like there’s something seriously wrong with me. I’m pretty sure that, even though I’ve been here for almost four years, no one else knows I exist. Here are your Senior Prefects and Head Prefectĭon’t get me wrong.

Welcome back for another year-glad you didn’t die this summerĢ. We’re seated in Lion Hall-named after one of those donors who give money to private schools that don’t need it-waiting for the principal to arrive and deliver his speech in the usual order:ġ. First-day-back assemblies are the most pointless practice ever.Īnd that’s saying a lot, seeing as Niveus Academy is a school that runs on pointlessness.

Ace of spades novel