The Stranger

On April 15, 2023

Today, Dufourd is in 1C37. Or maybe in 0D20, I don’t know. I received a message on WhatsApp: “Dufourd 1C37. But he’s moving. Best regards.” It doesn’t mean anything. Maybe it was 1C37.

Room 1C37 is on the opposite side of Building A, maybe a few hundred meters from my class. I will take the stairs at 9:50, or maybe the elevator, and I will arrive in five minutes. Then, I will have a coffee and wait for him. I asked my SES teacher for about ten minutes, and he couldn’t refuse me with such an excuse. But he didn’t seem happy. I even told him, “It’s not my fault.” He didn’t respond. Then, I thought I shouldn’t have said that. In short, I didn’t have to apologize. It was rather his job to encourage me to see him. But he will do it when he sees how bad my project is. For now, it’s a bit like the PACT is not screwed. But after PAN4, it will be case closed, and everything will have a more official look.

I took the stairs at 9:50. It was cold. I had my coffee at the cafeteria. I was with my PACT partners. They all felt sorry for me, and one of them said, “Actually, after PAN3, it will be okay.” When I left, they accompanied me to the stairs to go down. I was a little dizzy because I had to go up to get my coffee first. I ran into Emmanuel. He tunnelled me, his PACT has been screwed for a few weeks too.

I ran not to miss Dufourd. Perhaps it was due to all of this, added to the bumps, the smell of Telecommers, the nonsense of the stairs in this school, and my fatigue, that I dozed off. I fell asleep in front of the room. And when I woke up, I was huddled against a member of the Flambed list who smiled at me and asked if I was waiting for Dufourd. I said “yes” so I wouldn’t have to talk anymore.