Secrets of the Old School, Part 6: The Shadow in the Music Room

Secrets of the Old School, Part 6: The Shadow in the Music Room

The Story Begins

Ella and Thomas stood outside the door to the old music room and listened for a moment. The hallway was quiet. Somewhere far away, they could hear the soft scrape of a bench being moved and light footsteps on the wooden floor. Ella held the little slip of paper they had found in locker number 17. It showed a simple musical note and, beneath it, a small owl.

“This must be the place,” she whispered, looking at Thomas.

“The music room,” the boy confirmed. He wore a grey backpack and looked serious and focused. “If this clue is real, we’re close.”

They slowly opened the door. Inside, they were greeted by the faint smell of dust, old wood, and the kind of silence found only in rooms no one has used for a long time. An old piano with slightly yellowed keys stood against one wall. Music stands stood near the windows, with dusty sheets of music resting on them. Warm afternoon light streamed through a tall window, so the room did not feel sad. It felt mysterious and peaceful instead.

Ella immediately took out her little notebook. “I’ll write down what I see,” she said.

“Good idea,” Thomas replied. “I’ll check the piano and the door.”

First, they both looked around slowly, without rushing. An old sheet of music with a bent corner lay on one of the stands. Near the piano, Ella noticed something strange on the floor. Close to the pedals was a small mark in the wood, as if something had once pressed against a floorboard or slid it aside.

“Do you see that?” she asked, bending closer.

Thomas nodded. “Yes. It doesn’t look like a scratch. It looks more like a mark left by something that moved.”

The girl carefully copied the mark into her notebook. Meanwhile, Thomas examined the music stand. On its back, beside the owl symbol, was a small carved sign. It was not large. It was easy to miss, yet very precise, as if someone had carved it with a skilled hand.

“Ella, come here,” he whispered.

When she leaned closer and saw the sign, her eyes lit up. “An owl!” she whispered excitedly. “That can’t be a coincidence.”

An old notebook lay beneath the stand. Its cover had worn corners, and a simple owl symbol appeared on the front. It looked as though it had belonged to someone who had come here many years ago.

Thomas picked it up carefully. “It was hidden here on purpose,” he said.

They opened it to the first page. The handwriting was a little uneven, but still easy to read. The very first sentence said: “Whoever belongs to the Owls listens first and speaks afterwards.”

Ella read the sentence quietly. “Listen before you speak.”

For a moment, the room seemed even quieter. The words were simple, but they felt important.

“That’s the club’s rule,” Thomas said thoughtfully. “Maybe the former pupils reminded one another to listen first and speak only afterwards.”

Ella sat on a low stool beside the piano. “Or maybe it means they had to notice what was happening around them.”

“Exactly,” her friend agreed. “Maybe that’s how they found all their secret clues.”

They turned more pages, but the next ones were almost empty. Every now and then, there was a tiny note, a few arrows, or some faded markings. Then, on the third page, Thomas suddenly stopped.

When Things Start to Change

“Wait,” he said. “Look at this.”

At the bottom of the page was a simple drawing of the room. A small dot marked the piano, and beside it an arrow pointed towards the floor. Underneath were the words: “Do not go straight to the door. Look under the board first.”

Ella looked up. “That’s why there’s a mark here.”

“Maybe,” Thomas replied. “It isn’t a sign of danger. It’s only a clue about something that moved.”

The children moved closer to the piano. Sure enough, one floorboard was slightly different from the others. Only someone looking very carefully would notice it at first. Its edges were gently worn, and there was a small cut-out in one corner.

Ella placed her finger on the edge. “Shall we try to move it?”

“Gently,” Thomas said, nodding. “Just a little at first.”

Together, they pushed. The board did not move. Then they tried pulling it. That did not help either. Thomas frowned, and for a moment it seemed they would have to think harder. Then Ella remembered the sentence from the notebook.

“Wait. Maybe we’re not meant to just push it. Look, there’s a small hole here.”

Thomas knelt down and saw a thin wooden stick inside the cut-out, like a small locking pin. It could be pressed in only when something fitted exactly into place.

“So this must be the mechanism,” he whispered.

Thomas carefully pressed the pin while Ella gently slid the board aside. Suddenly, they heard a quiet click. It was not frightening. It sounded more like an old box opening at last after a long time.

“We did it!” Ella said with a smile.

A small hiding place appeared beneath the board. It was not large. It was only a few centimetres deep, but deep enough for someone to hide something inside. There was a small folded piece of paper and a narrow strip of parchment.

Ella took out the paper first. It held only a few words and an arrow. The strip of parchment pointed towards the old school archive.

“Archive,” Thomas read, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “So that’s where it sends us next.”

“And what is a school archive?” the girl asked.

“It’s a place where old records, letters, and perhaps maps of the school are kept,” he explained. “If there’s anything about the Owl Club, we’ll find it there.”

Ella wrote everything down carefully. She also noted that the floorboard was not dangerous; it was simply part of the hiding place. Meanwhile, Thomas examined the music stand again. On its back, near the owl symbol, he found a small groove that looked like part of a map.

“There’s something else here,” he said.

A moment later, they both leaned closer to the stand. A few faint lines were visible on it. The sunlight shining through the window made them clearer for a moment. It looked like a map of a small part of the school. Not the whole school. Just one section.

“Look,” Ella said, pointing. “Here’s the library.”

“And there’s something written beside it, but it’s smudged,” Thomas added.

Where the letters were most blurred, only their edges could be seen. It might have been an entrance, a passageway, or a small corridor. No one could be sure.

Just then, footsteps sounded in the hallway.

The children looked at each other. They were not panicked, only surprised. Ella quickly gathered up the map, the old notebook, and the paper with the parchment strip. Thomas slid the board back into place. Together, they did everything calmly and quickly, as if they had practised before.

An Important Moment

“Someone’s coming,” the boy whispered.

“Hide it,” his friend replied.

Caretaker Karl appeared in the doorway. He wore a green work jacket and held a bunch of keys in one hand. His eyes looked tired, but kind. When he saw the children by the piano, he gave them a gentle smile.

“You two are curious,” he said quietly. “The music room hasn’t had this much attention in a long time.”

Ella and Thomas exchanged a glance. Neither of them said anything about the club or the map. There was no need. It was enough that they remembered everything.

“We were only looking at the old sheet music,” Ella said naturally.

Karl nodded. “That’s all right. Old things sometimes reveal more than they seem to.”

Then he looked at the piano, as if he knew exactly that they had just discovered something there. “And sometimes you need to listen first and speak afterwards.”

Thomas smiled a little. It was exactly the sentence from the notebook.

“You really have a lot of old secrets here,” he remarked.

The caretaker only smiled and did not answer at once. Then he said slowly, “Some secrets like to show themselves only to those who do not search too loudly.”

Ella remembered that sentence. It sounded calm, but also like another small hint.

After Karl left, the children remained quiet for a little longer. The room no longer felt tense. The door opened and closed normally. Nothing was stuck. No mystery threatened them. Another piece of the great school puzzle was simply falling into place.

“So the Owl Club was real,” Ella said softly.

“And their rule is clear,” Thomas added. “Listen before you say what you think.”

The girl nodded. “That will come in handy.”

They left the music room with the map safely hidden in Ella’s notebook and the feeling that they were one step closer to the truth. The light in the hallway was warmer than before, and the old school looked friendly again. Yet they both knew that another place was waiting to be explored.

There was said to be something new near the library. Perhaps a narrow passage. Perhaps a secret entrance. Or perhaps only another old clue, left long ago for the right curious children.

So Ella held her notebook more tightly, and Thomas adjusted his backpack on his shoulders. They did not say much. Some discoveries need silence first. Then they continued down the hallway, step by step, ready for the next secret of the old school.