I woke up to the sound of distant sirens and the sound of a moped banging it off of its rev limiter, so really an average morning. It took a little while for me to find the energy to rise from my bed and get showered and dressed. I threw my pajamas in the washer bin and pick my clothes for today. It looked fairly warm outside so I chose a blue plaid ruffled shoulderless top and a white pleated skirt as well as my trusty leather jacket. After the shower and getting dressed I checked on the timetable on the screen by the door.

Day two had a few more interesting things in store for me, or so my little electronic helper told me. I had an appointment with the campus nurse first of all, and who knows how that was going to go. I fall apart so often you could probably more easily transport me via postage. Although I probably wouldn’t enjoy the experience, and then my first music lesson. I brought up the map on the tablet. The nurse’s office is on the bottom floor of the dormitory building and the music rooms are across the other side of the campus. I left my room and made my way to the nurses office.

I rapped on the door with my knuckles and it opened, revealing a tall woman in a white coat and canvas trousers, looking like a proper doctor, she wore thin rimmed glasses over grey eyes that sparked in recognition, her glasses hung on long hooked ears. “Sylvie right? Come on in please, sit down” She seemed nice enough, very well mannered.

I sat inside at the chair opposite her desk, knees together, feeling a little bit anxious.

“I’m Minerva Jousset, I was referred a lot of information from Shiori about your condition, and about how you came about. I took some time to research this tome where the spell came from” Oh? I hope the news is good. She looks at me as if she is checking my attention.

“Right..”

“From what we know. The book contained a variety of spells that were macabre in nature, including a few resurrection spells like was used on you. I think the one that brought you back was called Servantus Resurrection. Which is supposed to be able to resurrect a corpse as a servant for the Summoner, hence the -erm- uniform that was confiscated”

“Is there any caveats to the spell that you know of?”

“I’m afraid we do not know. If there is and they’re tied to the person who ‘summoned’ you then as long as you stay within the confines of the school then you should be safe, as far as I know they are still searching for him” She pushes her glasses up her nose with a finger. “Anyway, I hear you’ve had a few issues with limb adhesion?”

“I kinda fall apart easily. Like when your leg goes dead mine tends to fall off. I reattach easily enough though” She jots down some notes on a pad.

“Anything else?” I shake my head, I’ve not had any urges to eat anyone or anything like that, other than the inability to feel pain or anything like tha-oh.

“I don’t think I can feel pain. I had a cut on my arm from when I escaped” I take off my jacket and show my arm “It disappeared very quickly and was painless”

“Interesting interesting...might be as a result of already being dead, or the manner of your death.. Okay. I’ll do some further research” She stands and moves over behind me. “I am going to try and examine you for traces of the spell or any sort of magic okay, close your eyes and relax” She clamps her hands down on my shoulders and whispers some words in a language I don’t understand, a shiver runs down my body.

“I see I see...very interesting indeed. I am going to keep an eye on you, you have a very complex magic running through your veins” she releases me shoulder and picks up a bag. She rummages through it for a few moments before picking up a small gemstone. “I must insist you take this and keep it in your room. It radiates out a minute trace of magic, and if you need to recharge then it might help you” She places it in my hand, it looked like an Emerald and shone very brightly.

“Thank you, I’ll keep it close” I tuck it into a pocket and zip it up, rubbing the lump it makes in my jacket. “Is that all?”

“Yes you can go, be careful and try to do some exercise. Might help you”

“I will!” and with that I head off to the music rooms. I was right about the weather, it was a lot warmer today. I unbuttoned the jacket slightly, letting the very minimal breeze float past. I keep my hands low making sure I don’t suffer any unfortunate clothing malfunctions. It was a pleasant walk, the route I took led me past the sports fields and I could see a softball game in progress a hundred or so meters away. A Red Robin lands on top of a bush nearby and dives into the leaves, inevitably after something to eat.

It doesn’t take long to cross campus, and I soon reach the building in question. Unlike the rest of the college this building looks a little worse for wear. The roof looked to have moss growing on top and extruding down it, and one of the walls was entirely covered in vines. Since it was at the back of the college it was just next to a bit of woodland. I push the door, which creaks open slowly. The hallway is lit with aged looking long lights and a board with only a few leaflets pinned on it is on the wall. I hear movement from down the hall and decide to investigate.

This building hasn't changed from my memory, it was still quite cramped space with only one big room, a few offices and exam rooms and a big closet where they kept most of the instruments locked up. I wonder if they’d even hired a new teacher…

The question was answered when a familiar short man emerges from the storage closet looking pleased with himself.

“I knew I’d left this somewhere” he holds out what looks like a guitar case.

“You’ve aged Klien” He spins on the spot, nearly knocking over a mic stand someone had left in the hallway. “And you’re as clumsy as I remember” I grin. I liked Klien Forest, he was a fun and personable teacher back when I was still alive.

“And you’ve turned green” He snorts, leaning the case against the wall carefully. “Its good to see you Sylvie. I couldn’t believe it when I heard the news about...you know? You were my best singer, and whilst I’m not supposed to pick out a best student ...well you were” He let out a throaty chuckle. “Its great to have you back, even if you’re now green”

“About that... I can’t really sing anymore. I need this tablet to communicate now, otherwise all I can do is growl or maybe spit out a single torturous word”

“Now that is a shame, I could try some voice coaching lessons in my spare time. Right!” He claps his hands together. “Come on in, lets see how much you remember about playing the guitar”

***

It was a couple of hours later when Klien announced we were done and he was satisfied, there were only a few other music students and most seemed nice. Leo was there and was apparently quite good at the flute, although he still didn’t say an awful lot. I noticed his attention seemed scattershot, little awkward glances everywhere. Something about him struck me as off. It turned out I remembered a bit of the theory behind it all, but after all that inactivity, ya know being dead and all. My muscle memory was extremely poor.

I had eventually managed to string along a decent tune, but I felt pretty down about my current ability. Klien notices this and pats me on the shoulder. “I’m sure that talent is still there, don’t worry Sylvie” I smiled back but I couldn’t help but keep that nagging thought in the back of my head that I might never be able to reach the same level I used to be at.

I had taken off my jacket whilst inside because it got a little too unbearably warm in there, so when I notice the greying clouds outside I quickly pull it back on prior to leaving the room. The handful of us spill outside in the now mid-afternoon. I excuse myself from the group in order to head to the canteen, but before I walk off I couldn’t help but notice Leo hanging back by himself, looking towards the forest with a strange expression on his face. I think nothing more of it though and go on towards the canteen to have some food, my stomach was rumbling real bad.