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"I assumed as much when I saw what your address was."
Wait, what about my address? The Association isn't an orphanage, though now I think about that, it's a potential red flag. Why do I live somewhere that doesn't have an official capacity without parents? Have they been lying to me my entire life about who I belong to?
"But you are a reaper, Syxe. You were able to see and talk to a ghost. That's not something humans can do."
"Maybe I just have some reaper blood in me from a grandparent or something."
She shakes her head. "If you didn't have the powers of a full reaper, you wouldn't have been able to find the academy."
"Oh." I lean back in my chair, understanding dawning on me. "That's why the instructions were so cryptic."
"Yes. It was a test to see if you could enter the reaper way."
"I'm a reaper," I whisper. I've been wondering about the possibility ever since Agatha mentioned it, but I haven't dared to hope it could be true. I don't even know what it means to be true.
"Yes. You are."
I bite my bottom lip. "What do I do with that information?"
"That's up to you," the headmistress says. "You can either continue your life as if nothing has changed, or you can do something about learning how to control your magic."
"If I ignore it, will it do something like explode from me and cause problems?" The last thing I want is to hurt people.
"No. But you won't be able to escape the ways you already know. You'll still see ghosts and they'll still talk to you thinking you'll be able to help them move on."
"Can't I help them do that?"
"No. Your ability to talk to ghosts makes you a seer. You'd need a porter in order to move the ghost onto the next stage."
"Oh."
"There are some ways you can learn to port ghosts even if you're a seer, but they're very advanced techniques and probably not anything you'll be able to master without the basics."
I nod. It makes sense, even if I don't really want it to.
"But, if you'd like, we can offer you a place at Scythe Grove. You can learn what it means to be a reaper, and to use your seer powers. If you agree, you'll be matched with Mr Carey as your porter."
"Is that why you asked him to wait outside?" That doesn't seem too bad. From the brief interactions we've had, he seems like a nice guy. Though I realise that doesn't mean anything and I can't judge him based on less than five minutes.
She shakes her head. "No matter what you decide in here, you need someone to help you either leave the academy, or show you around. Having seen Mr Carey perform similar tasks before, I felt like he was a good choice for a new student."
"Ah." I consider my options. "I don't have any money," I blurt, realising this is probably an issue.
"Tuition is free. We're funded by the government like most educational facilities, and through the Reaper Guard. The only costs you'll have are for housing and food, but the grant department should be able to help you with arrangements for that until you start earning bounty points from reapings," she says.
"Bounty points? How will they help?" I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much, but I can't help it. I've wanted a reason to get away from the house and avoid the Shadow Oath for almost as long as I can remember. This is the perfect way to get out of it.
"You'll be paid based on the number you collect. It's the same for those who work for the Reaper Guard. They're worth less before you graduate, but you still get paid for each reaping you do. Unless you break the rules and reap unethically, then you get nothing. But that's not really been a problem."
"Oh." So I can earn money while I study and get a grant to help offset the costs? "Do I need to do anything specific to accept my place here?"
"Not unless you're under eighteen, then you'd need the permission of your guardian."
"I'm not." And I doubt they'd care anyway, but I’m not about to say that. It doesn’t seem prudent to give anyone information they can use against me.
"Then you’ve done everything you need to. You can have a couple of days if you need to sort anything out…"
"I don't. I can start today." And this is why I brought everything with me. I'm not sure what made me realise today was going to change my life, but it seems I guessed right.
