after the banquet part 7

Wandering, M and his friends had come to the main school building which loomed dark above them. In front of them was a large, open room used for storage, dark-flagstoned, its dim walls covered in graffiti. M had dreamily traipsed inside, not quite knowing why, and his friends had followed, sniffing, all of them remembering this strange empty room, this draughty alcove, as their hang-out in years gone by, where they would spit green snot on the ceiling or try to shatter dark frosted windows.
The place was cemented, grey, and most like a prison cell, except for the dank draughts that swept in from the playground chilling the kids in winters past, and a grim blue door set in one of the walls which led to who knows where, interior storage rooms full of dust and skeletons probably. This had been the gang's hang-out where they would read magazines and fight, huddle up against the cold, sniff and cry out...