𖤓·. |^The house in which..⋮ ⌗ ┆𖣂

Walkers are one of two categories of students who journey to the Inside Out. Unlike Jumpers, Walkers travel there independently, "under their own power," hence the name. Also, unlike Jumpers, Walkers depart for the Inside Out completely, leaving no physical anchor in the House.

Jumpers are residents of the House who have visited the Upside Down. However, unlike walkers, jumpers cannot fully control their movements. They are thrown to the Other Side unexpectedly, usually during times of intense emotion.

The Upside Down is the mystical component of the House. It's a realm not accessible to everyone. Something astral, yet at the same time physically perceptible. It has its own laws; time flows differently here, according to a pattern known only to it. In the Upside Down, people change. In the House, it represents the Forest, endless and accessible only at night. Not everyone can visit it, and some do so against their will. The wards are divided according to this principle into Walkers and Jumpers. In the Upside Down, there are no illnesses, wheelchairs, or crutches, and a person's true essence is revealed. Those who enter there completely, not just consciously, will continue to feel everything physically, and if they die, they will die in the House.

Fairy Tale Night is an event held at the House four times a year, seasonally. Everyone gathers in the Fourth Room, invites guests, and tells stories about anything. These are mostly stories about the Upside Down, disguised as fairy tales.
Interrupting the storyteller, shouting out lines, etc. is prohibited. Only one question may be asked, but only after the story is finished. Anyone who violates these rules will be expelled from the event, "regardless of the laws of hospitality."

During the Last Night, the storytellers must, among other things, climb a stepladder borrowed from Big Bird.

On this day, residents gather at a crossroads and organize an exchange: everyone brings items they no longer need and exchanges them for something else—for example, a friendship bracelet, an unusual keychain, an old book, or a homemade amulet. It's important that the exchange be fair and equal, with both parties agreeing to it. Money is not used—this is essential. Sometimes items are given away for free or in exchange for a favor, gratitude, or even just a sign of friendship.

Long Gabi is a well-known character in the House, a girl. Popular among guys
Thin, incredibly tall girl, head taller than Red, with long legs. He has a vulgar appearance, wears black stockings and white heels. In his first appearance, he appears in a stretched sweater and a pink combination peeking out from underneath. She wears bright makeup, uses purple lipstick, which, however, does not help to make her face more beautiful than the rest of her body. He has a hoarse voice.
Gabi can be described as a "girl of easy virtue". She is not averse to providing "help" to anyone who asks her for it. Friendly, curious. Does not take offense at the rude attitude of other students. He is not afraid to tease the most high-ranking pupils of the House.
Pupil of "Home"

Knitsa is Larry's girlfriend. In the House, she was famous for knitting stunning sweaters. After graduation, she became an ordinary housewife and a good, albeit somewhat stingy, wife.
Pupil of "Home"

Redhead is a girl who means too much to the inhabitants of the House. Almost the sister of the Red, a close friend of the Sphinx, the love of the Lord.
A thin girl with a boyish figure, she was not shy to behave as she wanted, she was not shy of male company, she was not afraid of anything at all, but she was afraid for others, for those whom she "tamed"
She carries with her everywhere (sometimes in a backpack) an ancient teddy bear, which has one eye made of glass and the other buttoned. If you click it, a cloud of stuffy, brown dust rises and smells of something very old, so that you immediately imagine that her great-grandmother played with it, and it was not new even then.
Pupil of "Home"

Mermaid is an amazing girl, with incredibly long hair and bells woven into it; she seems to be one of the kindest people in the House. Either a girl, or a fish, or an invention of the house, created by someone specifically so that the Sphinx would not go into the Outside, not leave the place where the Blind Man wanted him to stay so much. She is 16, but she looks like a small child, especially next to a bald, armless tall man, who is the best person in the world for her. She weaves vests, makes jewelry, supports Tabaki's crazy hobbies, she is the love of the Fourth, a gentle creature who charms with her spontaneity.

The hair on the palm does not reach the knees the color of coffee with milk, in which 12 small bells are woven. The eyes are green. Among the outfits he has a green shirt, flared jeans and a braided rope vest with knots.
Pupil of "home"

The Rat, the main "flyer" of the House, buys cigarettes, amulets, and other things in the Outside. Skinny, pale and dark-eyed, with a rat tattoo on her shoulder. Her way of looking at the world through the mirror tags hanging around her neck stands out especially, which shows how introverted and unsociable she is. According to rumors, he wears a razor under one of his nails.
A girl, thin as a skeleton (you should have been able to guess that she was a girl), black puddles of eyes, black varnish of hair stuck to her head, a black small jacket with epaulettes, pale lips. Rat, the one that Flyer – going into the outside – with a crescent moon Razor
Pupil of "Home"

Girls are a separate group of pupils, consisting of the fair sex. At the beginning of the story, they live separately from the guys and do not intersect with them in any way. However, after the adoption of the New Law, they receive the right to communicate with the opposite sex. In the Interludes, they could also move freely around the territory of the House.

The girls live in rooms of four. The furnishings of their wing are much more beautiful than those of the men - this is due to the sympathy of the previous director for the pupils.

Mosquito is a walking Log from Six. A thin, bony boy. Probably has problems with his legs, as he is mentioned polishing crutches.

The Bandar-logs are a unique flock, composed of representatives from various groups: they all wear black jackets and high, hobnailed boots, take out their anger on the Pheasants, and, most importantly, they are always the first to know. The Logs are a kind of news service for the House, generators of rumors, gossip, and important news, led by Lary.

They deny that they are "such small fry" and console themselves with the principle of "being informed."
A clang, a thud, and a rush, but beyond that, nothing to protect against real trouble. Such are the Logs. Cardboard Hell's Angels. No motorcycles, no muscles, no real scent.

males. Instilling fear in no one but the pathetic Pheasants. Taking in numbers and noise. Unfold the black leather of the broad-shouldered jacket, and you will find a frail, pimply body. Wrap it back, hide the protruding ribs and thin neck, hang your frightened

Eyes with hair - you'll get a Bandar-log. Collect ten of the same kind - you'll get a menacing flock. An avalanche of clattering boots and the smell of alcohol lotion. Maybe you'll scare off a couple of Pheasants.
Compound:
Larry (leader)
Horse - from the third, "bird"
Mosquito
Hybrid
Monkey
Microbe
Bubble
Acne
Gene pool
I'll figure it out
Lopotun
Balcony

In the fourth of the Bandarlogs there is only Lary.

The first (Pheasants) is an approximate group of pupils, consisting mainly of wheelchair users.
An exemplary group, distinguished by discipline and order. But at the same time, they are all the same from the inside, all their actions are brought to automatism and the day is scheduled by the hour, nothing changes in their way of life. For them, drawing any attention to their ailments, trying to stand out from the single pheasant system is a taboo. They are fixated on these very "flaws" and see a reference to them in any action. If someone's actions do not fit into the way of life of the group, then the residents of the First Channel organize meetings, discussing a common problem. Each participant of the meeting is obliged to speak out, and on the basis of the demands put forward, decisions are made in relation to the violator. So the Smoking Man was banished. The group even turned to the director for this, if only the way of the established pheasant life would not be disturbed.

Pheasants adhere to certain rules:

Always follow the schedule of the day, do not violate the established order.
Don't stand out: get up with everyone, eat with everyone, study with everyone, watch TV with everyone until nine, sleep with everyone at the same time.
Do not draw attention to a common ailment.
Leave the bedroom in threes to sit in front of the sinks and wash your hands before eating.
Do not push your wheels when riding.
Hand over your handkerchiefs to the public fund.
Sit in the bathroom for exactly twenty minutes.
Do not fold the pages when reading.
Take care of your health.

Jin
Professor Biter

Gul Nif

Nuf
Naf
Crybaby
Vulture
Hamster
Whale
Snotlout
Pie
Squelch
Pisun
Top

By nature, strict, pedantic, strictly follow the rules

Jin is the leader, if you can call him that, pheasants. In the hierarchy of the group, he is more of a headman than a leader. He initiated the transfer of the Smoking Man to the fourth, did not distinguish himself in any other way. Like all pheasants, Seep wears a clean shirt and soft leather loafers. He is also wearing glasses with a lanyard. He is pedantic, loves to arrange meetings.

The Sixth is one of the groups of the House. He rarely appears in the narration, but participates in important events in the plot. Under the leadership of Pompey, the Dogs tried to gain power in the House, but their plans were unsuccessful. Dogs are bright and noisy, like Rats, bow before the leader, like Birds and are able to judge their own flocks,

Pompey is the sixth leader. He joined the House not long ago and has only a superficial understanding of its structure. He is tall and imposing. His hair is black, varnished to a glassy finish and styled with a punk comb. He has sideburns. His skin is dark, but he bleaches it with powder. He wears a leather jacket like the Logs, a scarf, and a live bat on his collar. "A deeply insecure individual," according to Tabaki. Pompey is overly self-assured, creating the illusion of a fearless leader. But in reality, his confidence borders on inadequacy and stupidity.
.

The third (Birds) is one of the groups of the House. They call their room the Nest. They have a tender love for plants.
They grow flowers in their rooms, embroider with satin stitch and cross-stitch, they are the quietest and most well-mannered after us, but it is scary to even think that you can find yourself among them.
The pupils of the third can be compared in calmness with the Pheasants, however, if Homer's wards behave diligently "because it is necessary", but at any moment they are ready to pounce on their own guard, then the Birds really do not pose a threat, unless the order of the Vulture says so. They pay most of their attention to the numerous flowers that live in their room, and the rest of it falls on the leader. The Vulture is more than just a leader for them. No wonder they call him Dad.

It is for him that the Birds wear eternal mourning. Mourning for Big Bird's deceased brother.

Dragon
Angel
Dodo
Butterfly
Darling
Goopi
Bubble
Bush
Ficus

All "birds" listen to the vulture unquestioningly

A resident of the third room. The elephant was huge, shy and timid. He carried rubber toys in the pockets of his overalls and cried if he was left alone. White fluff grew on the Elephant's head. He was considered the smallest in the pack, although few people reached his chin with the top of his head. A big child. She carries toys with her, often cries. He is afraid of the Rat and sleepwalks.

A resident of the third room. Beauty, an impossibly handsome black-eyed boy, was ashamed of his hands and feet and was always silent. His arms and legs did not obey. His legs carried him not where he wanted to go, his hands dropped what he wanted to hold. He is always silent. He is embarrassed by his limbs and bruises. He is good-natured, sweet and shy.

The horse is a pupil of the third group. He is Log and Larry's right-hand man. He supports the latter in many pranks, but has a more sensual nature, which is also evidenced by his belonging to the Birds. Pimply, but somehow manages to cope with it, unlike Larry. Long and skinny. He has long blonde hair that he wears in a ponytail.

The Vulture is the leader of the birds living in the third room. He always has a bunch of keys and lockpicks with him, he is always in mourning. There is no room for new flowers in his room. He can open any door and forge anyone's handwriting. Next to him is always the shadow of his dead brother, which is why no one approaches him. Skinny and tall. Long blonde hair. Yellow round frozen eyes, hooked nose. She has rings on her fingers, many earrings in her ears, and her nails are covered with black varnish. He draws up and paints his eyes black. After the death of his brother, he wears mourning - he dresses all in black. He limps on his right leg, which he received during the separation of the Siamese. He walks with a cane. The blind man noted that the Vulture smelled of acetone and mint gum. According to the Smoking Man, the Vulture has long, thin, crooked yellow teeth. He always carries a bunch of keys and lockpicks with him. sometimes his hair is tightly braided, and his eyes are drawn with a pencil to his temples.

The voice is a hoarse tenor.

He has a heavy figure. He wears a checkered cowboy, which is probably why he got his nickname. It has a gold tooth. The voice is low.
Too cheerful, has "the infamous choking laughter". Naïve, talkative and stupid. He pretends to be hard of hearing.

The second (Rats) are the owners of unthinkable hairstyles, noisy and hot-tempered, they always have knives or razors with them. The leader is Red, although he is more regular than permanent: the leaders do not stay in the rat coop.

The walls of the corridor near the Rats' abode are covered with obscene words and are full of images of female bodies. There are shards of glass and debris on the floor. The door of the room is painted with blue skulls and crimson zippers. The Rats' tutor is the Sheriff - the same Rat, but older and larger. He treats his wards rather dismissively. The Rats' dwelling is located on the second floor, just after the Pheasant territory. The room is dirty, though Red assures the Rat that they clean every Wednesday. Perhaps this is true. But such cleaning is of little use: a couple of buckets of soapy water are poured on the floor, and the Rats smear all the dirt with mops. The tailed animals sleep in sleeping bags scattered here and there on the floor, and the table is replaced by an ordinary box.

Despite this mess, there is something to see in the second: the walls of the room are decorated with magnificent drawings of the Leopard

Viking
Dead Man
Zebra
Hybrid
Monkey
Microbe
Porcupine
Carrion
Laughter
Little
White-bellied
Greens
Digger
Sumac
Bell Ringer

Their characters are not spelled out in the book, but they are impudent, rebels, vulgar

A resident of the second room, a pack of "rats". There is a burn on his face. The character is similar to Solomon

A resident of the second room, a pack of "rats".Curly-haired Pyshka was fat and impudent, he liked to dress up and invent beautiful clothes for himself. It is distinguished by increased attention to its appearance. She loves to dress beautifully and has a huge wardrobe. At the same time, he is impudent and driven

Red is the leader of the rats living in the second room. Daring and shameless, like all rats. Afraid of blue bags. He has problems with his back, which is why he wears a plaster corset. It is also believed that if the Red comes to someone in a dream, that person will die soon. He had a red hedgehog haircut, a rose tattoo on his left cheek, and always wore green glasses. Chocolate-colored eyes, which he doesn't like to show because they give his face an innocent look, which doesn't fit with the image of the leader of the Rats. He has a tattoo of Anubis on the left side of his chest. sometimes he openly jokes

. The redhead puts on his glasses, and the angel disappears. What remains is the neurotic and vulgar

Ralph is the teacher of the fourth room - the pack. Like no other teacher, he understands the students well and therefore is not afraid that he will be stabbed with a knife at night.

He tried his best to understand his students and their fear of leaving school, and so he did everything he could to ensure that his children were treated fairly, according to the laws of the House. The Vulture was his liaison and informant, the one who kept him updated on the latest news. When the mentor returned to the house, the man was missing two fingers on his left hand, one of which was the little finger. He wears gloves so that they do not attract attention. During working hours, it is customary to wear a formal uniform - shirt, trousers, jacket, shoes - all black. Although sometimes he appears in a T-shirt, jeans and sneakers.
Lord thinks Ralph has the eyes of a "real dangerous psychopath." Director Shark notes that Ralph looks "youthful."
about 30 years

The fourth is perhaps the most diverse group, which does not have an "animal" name. Each member of the group is completely unique, unusual and unlike any other specimen. They are not united by interests or way of thinking. It is worth looking for so many different people gathered in one place, but each of them loves his comrades, and they are all a big family, where the Blind is probably the father, and the Sphinx, judging by the reasoning of the Jackal, is a caring mother. Moreover, not only for the fourth, but for the entire House. The leader of the fourth group is the Blind. The rest just need to know how the Blind will react in order to maintain order in the group. This is why the Blind rarely resolves minor conflicts - his colleagues understand perfectly well that he may not like it, and try not to bring everything to his intervention.
The fourth one's mentor is Ralph.
The room where the pupils of the Fourth form live is a small room with a hallway. The walls of the room are hung with various household items, bunches of dried plants, posters and pictures. The ceiling is not empty either. However, despite all this diversity, it is impossible to find clocks and calendars in the Fourth room. In the middle of the room there is a large central bed, made up of four ordinary beds. The Smoker, Lord, Tobacco and Sphinx spend the night here. Due to the physical characteristics of the pupils, as well as the Jackal's habit of building "nests" from blankets, there is barely enough space on the bed. People sleep on it, eat lunch and walk through it to other ends of the room. The light in the Fourth room is always on, just as the tape recorder is always on.

At first glance, the Fourth Room may seem terribly uncomfortable, but its inhabitants do not think so. The fourth is home to: Sphinx, Black, Jackal of Tobacco, Macedonian, Blind, Smoker.

Tabaki the Jackal is a wheelchair user. lives in the fourth. Small, skinny and very dirty. He has dark, but not black ("there were no brunettes among wheelchair users") shaggy hair and huge ears. Keeper of the House's traditions, a connoisseur of its history. Tabaki looks at least fourteen years old. True, only from a distance. Up close, he can be given thirty. His fingers are terribly dirty and thin, like spider legs.
16 years old

He loves to wear bright clothes, constantly carries with him various cones and jars for necessary and unnecessary things, adores badges, beads and in general everything that rattles, glitters and what can be called jewelry. His Mustang is also decorated with flasks, weights, and trinkets. Tabaka knows the answer to any question and willingly shares his knowledge, but not everyone knows how to listen to it correctly. Tabaki loves his colleagues and finds it necessary to educate them about what they don't know, for example, he tried very hard to answer all the questions that the Smoking Man had, but he always felt that Tabaki was lying and making up some nonsense. The Blind Man and the Sphinx also always preferred to turn to the Jackal when someone needed an explanation of the situation, although the Blind Man still tried to limit the narrator to the number of words or sentences so that his stories would not drag on for long. Tabaki composes songs about the house, weaves beads from nutshells and loves "change" days, when he can add something very interesting to his collection.

Black is the "black crow" of the fourth. He is alienated from the traditions and concepts of the House, although he has lived in it for a long time; he does not understand the fear of his colleagues on the Outside. Black is a gloomy guy with a grayish hedgehog haircut. He looks very bulky and has remained so since childhood, he looks even more impressive because of the simulators. Black's biceps are visible from behind his tank top. He is blue-eyed and short-sighted, but he does not wear glasses. Black is tall because when he gets up from the table at the Coffee Pot, he touches a Chinese lantern, and Jackal Tabaki refers to it as a "tower". Black practically does not react to anything. According to Tabaki, even a blind person is alive in comparison. An absolute phlegmatic.

Larry is a nervous type who takes out all his problems on the unfortunate Pheasants, the bandar-log of the fourth. He was very disappointed by the appearance of a former pheasant in the pack and at first constantly attacked the Smoking Man, but later resigned himself to his presence. Despite the ostentatious severity and raids on the inhabitants of the former, he is naïve and kind. He loves his pack, lives by the laws of the House, and respects them. Thanks to the New Law, he met Spitsa, with whom he fell in love and eventually married her the night before graduation.

Lair
Leader Larry's left eye squints heavily and his face is covered with pimples. He is very thin, and hides this thinness under a leather broad-shouldered jacket. He wears shod, heavy boots, a staple of his lairs. On the chest there are numerous nuts and crosses.

The Sphinx is an armless, tall and athletic guy, the caring mother of the Fourth. A fairly authoritative person in the House - according to the Smoking Man, he occupies the next step after the Blind in importance. In the past, he was nicknamed "Grasshopper". Green-eyed and beardless, tall, wears prostheses. Bald, looks older than his years. Sensitive and understanding, he knows how to listen. Blind Man's best friend.

The blind man is the leader of the fourth pack and the master of the House. He is untidy. Blind by nature, but agile and extremely dangerous in one-on-one combat. A character, like everyone else, with a difficult fate and too difficult entry into teenage life. He is short, thin, very pale, with long black hair, which he periodically throws over his face. Colorless (silvery) eyes. Very long, mobile fingers. He wears sweaters (jumpers) - usually someone else's - and jeans with holes in the knees. He walks barefoot, that's why his feet are always dirty. Sometimes it is very difficult to determine his age by appearance. One of the fangs is broken. It is not known for certain where the Blind Man grew up. However, according to his own memoirs, it can be understood that he spent his childhood in an institution where children with pathologies were raised. Over time, conflicts began to arise between them, escalating into fights. The blind man did not know what "seeing" was, but he quickly realized that those who can do it hit harder and win fights. That's when he started looking for his strengths and found them in his calm and cool mind. People began to fear him.

Makedonsky is a resident of the fourth room. One of the most mysterious inhabitants of the House and, at the same time, one of the most "local", according to the Jackal. The Macedonian has magic, the limits of which are not fully understood. It drives away bad dreams, controls surrounding objects and, if desired, can cause serious harm. However, he rarely desires it. Freckled. Eyes are the color of speckled tea. He was of thin build, with long bitten fingers and protruding front teeth. He was wearing a shabby gray sweater that hid his hands. His voice is as quiet as the rustle of rain.The Macedonian Red Dragon (as the Jackal sometimes calls him) is modest and shy. It prefers to stay in the shadows.

The Dragon Lord is the fourth, who can move quickly and gracefully without a wheelchair. He got into the House only three years before his release and at the time of the start of the action he already had the maximum allowable number of warnings in his personal file - three. This indicates that he has mental disorders. As a result, he is short-tempered and irritable, at least until he visits Outworld. The Lord is a walker, and he, like the Blind Man, prefers the "underside" of the House of reality. Long honey-colored hair, pale skin and gray eyes. The Smoking Man compares him to a young Bowie and the king of the elves. However, despite his perfect appearance, Lord does not consider himself handsome and diligently avoids mirrors. He is a perfectionist and, unlike Tabaki, does not tolerate dirty shirts or pillowcases and is always dressed to the nines.

The smoker is a "werewolf-pheasant" who settled in the fourth after the conflict with the members of the first group and is its most "normal" inhabitant. Everything that happened in the House seemed to the Smoking Man to be a game, trying on masks and roles that were constantly played by everyone who was in this place. He thought that no one understood him, and all the people around him were just going crazy with boredom and trying to have some fun. He found a like-minded person in the person of Cherny, who always stood out from his peers and did not succumb to what looked like madness in the eyes of a smoker. The Sphinx was also extremely important to the Smoking Man, who went out of his way to teach him to listen to Dom, to understand it, to ask the right questions, and to see what he could not see. The Sphinx was also his godfather. Probably dark brown hair (since there were no brunettes among wheelchair users), chubby cheeks with fluff; thin, but compared to the Blind (according to the Smoking Man himself), he feels cheerful. Wheelchair user. At the time of writing the first volume, the Smoking Man was not even seventeen years old, he was considered a minor.Many people get bored because of the constant questions and the fact that they understand absolutely nothing.

Gorbach is one of the residents of the Fourth Room. He is a bit of a musician, a bit of a poet, who leaves his poems on the walls above the bed; He loves animals more than people, collects cutlets from the canteen for stray dogs, which follow him in whole packs. He is kind, and everyone feels it as well as the Blind Man who asked him for a favor on his graduation day. Gorbach is a man full of doubts and fears, but he never shows them to people, he hates conflicts and loves his comrades too much to let them fight. He has six fingers and a large mouth, eyebrows fused at the bridge of his nose, and black hair is always disheveled and resembles a crow's nest. He is sloppily dressed, does not change socks for a long time and is embarrassed by acne on his nose. In the House, people like him are called angels because of the hump that looks like folded wings under their clothes.

There are five packs in the house, each of which occupies one room.

Pheasants are the first group. Pets Sharks. They are obsessed with cleanliness and order, imposing their ideas on any available mind. Although they are the director's favorite group, they are not respected among the other packs. They are especially despised by the logs. Their room number 1

Rats is the second group. Noisy and bright, in the literal sense of the word. He differs from others in his disregard for cleanliness, aggressiveness and informal clothing. The leader is Red. Their room number 2

Birds is the third group. They are in eternal mourning after the death of the Fade. They are characterized by a depressive state, as well as an incomprehensible love for indoor plants. The leader is the Vulture. Their room number 3

Fourth is the fourth group. They are the only ones that do not have an animal name. The small size of the group is compensated by the names of its members. Almost all of them are respected people in the House. It is in the Fourth House that the leader of the entire House, the Blind Man, lives. In the fourth live: Sphinx, Black, Jackal Tabaki, Macedonian, Blind, Smoking, Humpback, Larry. Their room is number 4

The Dogs are the sixth and fifth group together. They dress as brightly as rats, but with a great sense of style. Their room is never quiet. The leader is Pompey, after his death, the leader became Black. Their room is number 5

The director's nickname is Shark. Shark is described as dry, spotted and shaggy, resembling a lichen-covered tree stump. His eyebrows, also spotted, grey and shaggy, hang like dirty icicles over his eyes. Shark has a slanted mouth and eyes looking in different directions. Gives the impression of an inconspicuous uncle. Has a creaky voice. An elderly man. Lazy, pessimistic, proud. He considers himself a leader, although his opinion depends on third parties in many ways, and does not have much authority or significance: his office is "not the center of the house, not the place where everything converges and from where everything flows, but just a guardhouse." Moralizer, however, does not hesitate to smoke in the presence of students. Presumably, he has a bad memory, because he likes to hang notes around his office. Likes to take petty revenge.
about 60 years old

The house is where all the main events of the book take place. It's essentially a boarding school for disabled children, where they live and study. All the characters are adults, and they're about to graduate. Everyone simply calls this place "home." In fact, for the children themselves, it means much more than just a temporary place to live. The house is located on the outskirts of the city, among new buildings. This place is called "the comb" because of the white houses lined up in rows like the teeth of a comb. Near the high-rise buildings are vacant lots—the future teeth of the comb. The house is located between dilapidated and empty buildings of the same age and new high-rise buildings. The house has three floors, containing bedrooms, rooms, living rooms, recreation rooms, and so on. A burial ground—a hospital wing—is attached to the house. The children at the house are divided into groups according to where they live. Each group has a teacher who oversees the children's activities and studies. The school principal supervises the teachers. This is how it should be, and at first glance, it is, but... In reality, the director is not the head of the house, and the teachers rarely pay attention to their charges. Each group, or pack, has its own leader—an alpha male, who is the embodiment and, in some way, the collective image of all the inhabitants of his group. However, there is also the leader (master) of the entire House—the Blind Man. He has authority over all the packs, and absolutely all students, including girls, listen to his words. Each person in the house has a nickname, and the one who gives a nickname to another is called a godfather.
The main narrative focuses on those who live in the House. The students are divided into groups, and the assignment process is unclear. Each group belongs to a specific room in the House. Furthermore, the living conditions make it easy to determine which pack lives there. Teachers oversee the children's placement and studies. Each group has one teacher, but Ralph is assigned to two groups at once. He is the only one who tries to understand the philosophy of the House's inhabitants.