– Eighteen years ago it seemed to me that I could cope with anything, with any adversity. But now, having matured, I understand how naive I was then. The older Sally got, the more persistently we were pursued. He…

The heart was beating fast and fast. The pulse was like a drumbeat in my ears. I wanted mom to continue. Finally, I dropped at least a few words about who exactly had been pursuing her all my life; because of whom we had to move twice a year, or even more often, leaving behind almost everything that we were just starting to have.

Your lips are dry, your fingers are clenched into fists…

“I just can’t do it anymore, Madame Pelisay.” “I’m very tired,” my mother complained, and I exhaled in disappointment.

But the next second she pulled herself up again with her whole body.

– Can we speak frankly? – the director of the academy suddenly asked.

I was on the verge of ungracefully placing my ear directly against the massive, heavy door of blackened wood. Still, no one appeared in the corridor – it was empty and quiet, like in a morgue, but I was afraid that the secretary would decide to go out into the corridor on some very important matter, and here I stood, my ears open.

“We can,” the parent answered confidently and suddenly added: “Sally has no abilities.”

– How can he not? Nothing at all? – Madame Pelisey said dumbfounded, as if this fact surprised her much more than our appearance on the threshold of her academy.

“No,” my mother answered clearly.

But Madame didn’t seem to believe her. And that's right actually.

– No sensitive hearing? No sharp vision? No speed? Dexterity? Strength? – she listed, pronouncing each next word louder. – Nothing at all?

– At all.

The director of the Midnighter Academy, judging by her tone, was taken aback:

“Then how do you want your daughter to study here?” What will she learn if she has no even a hint of ability?

There's nothing worse than waiting. During the expressive pause, my heart managed to beat against my chest three times.

“Madame Pelisay, I am not asking you to teach her to be a Midnighter.” Knowing that the Dark Side exists will be enough for her. In our case, forewarned means forearmed. “I understand that my request may seem arrogant to you, but I really have no other options,” my mother chaotically and hastily made excuses, as if she was afraid that they would interrupt her and throw her out, which I personally would be very happy about. “I ask that you hide Sally in your academy.”

Silence reigned again in the office behind the wall.

I lived all my eighteen years in an absolutely normal, ordinary world. But the first sign that all was not well with me appeared four years ago. Then I was terribly afraid of the changes that came to me overnight.

I was a late bloomer. While my next new classmates were busy dating guys, going on dates in the evenings, I was poring over textbooks, because they were the only ones who were my constant friends on all our trips.

And the guys didn’t really notice me. Childishly angular, without outstanding forms, thin and silent. They only needed me if they needed to copy homework, and then they quickly forgot about me.

My transformation happened right on the road. Having rented a new car using fake documents, we had already been driving to the other side of the continent for several weeks when I began to notice the first minor changes in myself. The look became different. The shape of the face seemed different, and then the body slowly but surely underwent tangible metamorphoses.

I could boast of a figure no worse than my mother’s, and, probably, it was for this reason that I suddenly gained popularity at the new school. Now every second person wanted to make friends with me, and the guys kept asking me to go out after class.

But it was impossible. My mother watched like a hawk to ensure that I strictly followed her stupid rules. For example, we had a strict ban on creating accounts on social networks and accessing the Internet not in Incognito mode. I shouldn’t have invited any of my classmates to visit us, even if it was required for a joint project and threatened with failure for the assignment. I couldn’t have friends at all and every time we moved, I cut off absolutely all contacts. I was prohibited from personal communication with anyone, much less meeting outside of school hours.

However, my mother could not keep an eye on me at school.

It was there that I first felt that my hearing had changed. When concentrating on one thing – for example, a raven flying in the sky – I could hear the flapping of its wings. Or the conversation of classmates on the other side of the street when they were discussing someone too frivolously. Or…

In fact, I could clearly hear anything within a radius of about thirty meters, but this required real concentration, without being distracted by anything else for a split second. It was impossible to eat and listen at the same time, or walk and listen, but I rejoiced even at this advantage. It kept me from doing something stupid in high school, when I briefly became rebellious.