Just wait until I show you the rest, Ralph said with a grin. I have enough time to give you a quick tour before dinner.

They headed along the walkway, Oliver glancing all around him, taking in the sights of the unfamiliar place. He felt as if his head was spinning.

Professor Amethyst is the headmaster, Ralph said over his shoulder. His office is up here on the top floor. Youll get to meet him eventually but hes often in another dimension.

They headed for an elevator, which was made of glass, and got inside. Oliver noticed all the floor numbers had a negative sign proceeding them. The entire school was underground, he noted, though it would be impossible to guess since the ceiling looked exactly like a skylight letting in real light, and the whole place was so bright, the air so fresh, that it was almost impossible to believe it was synthetic light or air conditioning.

Professor Amethyst doesnt teach any classes, Ralph continued as the elevator doors closed. We have tutors instead. Three main ones: Doctor Ziblatt, Mr. Lazzarato, and Coach Finkle.

Ralph hit the button for the ground floor and the elevator suddenly plummeted, uncomfortably quickly. Oliver grabbed the handrail, his stomach flipping. Through the glass windows he saw all the different floors whizzing by.

You get used to the speed, Ralph laughed, raising his voice to be heard over the whooshing wind. With a place this big, its important to get around quickly. Which is ironic now I think about it, since the school exists outside of time.

Oliver felt too nauseous to even question what Ralph had just said. He decided he was just going to have to accept all the weird goings-on. Thered be time to process everything later. Hopefully.

They reached the final floor, -50, and the doors of the elevator opened. Olivers legs wobbled as he exited. He felt like hed just been on a rollercoaster.

Down in the belly of the building, Oliver could really feel the hubbub, a sort of pulsing sensation as though the place were alive and breathing. Here he could smell the amazing scent of fresh vegetation, and he recognized the central tree was a kapok, one of the most enormous breeds of tree on the planet. Usually theyd be found in rainforests, but this one seemed to be thriving in its very own ecosystem. Its trunk was so thick it would take ten people with linked arms to encircle it, and its buttress roots coiled and snaked across the ground. It had millions of limbs holding up the various walkways of the atrium.

Looking up from below was quite a different experience, because now the ceiling was so far away it looked like nothing more than a slit of light. Yet, still, the whole place was bright with what felt in every sense like real daylight.

How is it so bright down here? Oliver asked, curiously.