— Follow me, said Alicia. We don't have a lot of time.

Arriving too late in Florida to attend Orientation Day, this early-morning visit was a unique opportunity for Thomas to visit his new high school, alone with Alicia, who already knew the facility inside out.

— We have about thirty minutes before us before everyone arrives.

With that, Alicia grabbed the handle of a glass door under the arch and opened it. Once inside, Thomas discovered a large hall with an excessive ceiling height. In front of him, long sentences, like mottos, appeared in italics on a gigantic rounded red wall. At its base, two imposing double-doors let out light streaks of light and Thomas, intrigued, approached. Inside, shrill noises were heard. Alicia gently opened one of the doors and showed her the reason for the uproar.

— This is the auditorium. This is where there are the theater performances, singing, but also all the speeches.

Glancing over Alicia's shoulder, Thomas noticed a small group of people busy setting up high stools on the auditorium stage, as well as setting up several microphones.

— We'll see better later when we're inside for the principal's speech.

Thomas didn't answer and just listened intently to what Alicia was saying to him. She discreetly closed the door and then continued the visit.

— Not sure we have time to see it all, she said. And anyway I don't think you'll remember everything the first time.

— Yes, I knew that in my old school, answered Thomas.

— And how was it ?

— At first glance, here it is much bigger.

Further on, Alicia stopped in front of a row of glass panes and transparent doors.

— This is the administration, she said. A word of advice, better not to end up in one of these offices. Usually, we only go there for the wrong reasons.

Thomas nodded. A few months earlier, Mr. Malraux had asked him to make a good impression and have an irreproachable attitude. There was no way to disappoint him.

— But if you need any info you can ask the secretariat right here, she said, pointing to a door marked "Secretary".

Alicia then walked over to a large, wood-colored double door. Arrived at its height, Thomas could read "Library" written above. All around, the wall was painted the same red color as the entrance to the auditorium.

— The library isn't open at that time yet, I'll show you around later in the week.

Thomas glanced through the glass in the door, but his gaze fell on a second double-door a few feet ahead. He then lifted his head from the door and saw Alicia, on his left, in front of a long hallway. In the distance, the light of the rising sun betrayed the presence of large windows or panes, probably even on the roof. The architecture of Harvey Benjamin High School was modern, clean, and everything there was bigger than his high school in France.

As he approached Alicia, Thomas noticed the huge portrait of a man on one of the walls adjoining the library. The man's lightly bearded face was drawn on the wall, in a style that reminded Thomas of the black and white photo he had seen in the introductory booklet handed over by Mr. Malraux a few weeks before his departure. He then realized that Harvey Benjamin was standing in front of him.

Suddenly, Thomas heard a noise behind him, and turned around. He saw another entrance, made up of glass doors that a few students who had come earlier were opening. He turned around again, and met Alicia's gaze.

— Follow me, I'll show you where the lockers are.

He hurried over to Alicia, and the two of them walked down that long, light-lit hallway. Thomas noticed the presence of a guardrail a few yards down on his left. Arrived at the height of it, he saw with surprise a great number of tables and chairs below.

— This is the cafeteria, this is where we will eat lunch.

Thomas raised his head, and stared at the decoration. A large red stripe on the floor crossed the space to glass doors that opened to the outside. Above, a glass wall made of large panes allowed him to see tables and chairs outside, as well as tall palm trees. Thomas took another look inside the building and noticed the presence of numerous hanging pennants, all adorned with the leaping tiger logo, which he had seen on the presentation booklet.

Alicia motioned to him, and they set off to continue the tour. They quickly arrived in one of the school's many hallways, where slender lockers were glued to the walls in the same red color that Thomas had seen throughout his journey. They walked down the hall and Alicia showed Thomas the different classrooms. He nodded mechanically every time she turned and met his gaze, but his head was elsewhere.

A strange feeling came over him, Thomas knew this place. In fact, he didn’t know him perfectly, and Alicia’s help wouldn’t be denied to acclimatize himself. He would still have to learn his new schedule and lots of other little organizational things. But he did know how an American high school works, or so he thought. The cafeteria, the large gymnasium, the classrooms, the popular high school students, footballers and cheerleaders, and even these lockers. It all came back to him suddenly like a newfound memory, the American dream he had contemplated for hours in front of teen movies now stretched out right in front of his eyes.

At the end of the hall, Alicia and Thomas turned around. As they retraced their steps, more and more noise was heard, an initially enigmatic noise that Thomas gradually perceived as a cacophony of conversations. When he left the building, he turned the handle on the door leading to the central hallway and let Alicia go before him.

— Thank you, she said simply.

Back in the central corridor, Thomas witnessed a setting that was not the same as a few minutes before. The long hall was now filled with small groups of students discussing. In the midst of all this commotion, Thomas found Alicia staring blankly.

— Well, for the rest of the visit we will wait, she said ironically.

— Yes I think so.

Suddenly, a slightly shrill noise was heard, which ended all the conversations around.

— Hello Panthers! Sorry for this entry.

Thomas, who was trying to figure out where the voice was coming from, looked up to find many speakers hanging on the ceiling.

— Head to the auditorium right away for the principal's speech. If you don't know where it is, a tip: follow the crowd! Welcome back everyone !

Once the voice silenced the microphone, the people gathered in the central hallway walked more or less quickly towards the auditorium. Thomas and Alicia hurriedly followed suit.

— We don't have to hang around to be in front, she said.

Arriving at the auditorium, Thomas saw the two double doors wide open and a constant stream of students entering them. Luckily, especially for Alicia as Thomas had no idea why she preferred to be in front especially, places were still available in the front rows. They settled in, and Thomas took off his backpack and put it at his feet. Now he could admire the room he was in, and noticed the presence of thick patches of moss on the walls. From the ceiling, a wave structure was suspended. In front of him, Thomas could observe the platform, which now looked more like a large stage, with two thick red curtains on either side.

Footsteps were heard for a few minutes and then, shortly after silence returned in the auditorium, many people appeared on the stage from the wings. Microphones in hand, they came and sat down one by one on the high stools made available. Finally, a man brought up the rear and came to stand in the center, standing on the stage between the student spectators and the much older new arrivals. He knocked the microphone in his hand twice to check it was working, and brought it to his mouth.

— Good morning all