Chapter 7: Chapter 6

“That’s ominous. But… I guess I’ll just deal with it then, no use getting worked up about it,” I said to myself in a totally convincing way- clearly nothing was wrong.

 

Besides, I had other problems to deal with before Triday- namely learning how to properly braid my hair around my ears. I was able to get away with sub-par attempts during the courier and general school introduction because I could wear my hood, but at the schools proper there was no way I could get away with that. I was going to draw attention due to my eyes, so being able to be more of a rarity than an oddity would be helpful in keeping people out of my business. 

 

I had a bit of experience and a bit of knowledge behind the theory, but as far as nobility-worthy and large braids went I had nothing. What I did have was time, and it only took me three hours and four finger-cramps of constant practice to get it good enough. It was uncomfortable to have my ears pulled down and squeezed by them, but it was the best I could do. Learning also wasn’t made any easier by barely using a mirror. I had a hand mirror, I just didn’t like looking at myself, especially the face- and that was obviously very close to my hair. 

 

When I showed up at the courier’s headquarters at 3:40am (send help), there were groups of other students- most wearing or holding the bags- talking about how excited they were for classes, the more club-like clubs, and many other school-related activities. I felt a little lonely, but I had a feeling I’d meet people eventually.

 

I had checked the routes on a few of the remaining bags when I heard someone say, “It seems I wasn’t mistaken,” I quickly spun around and found myself face-to-face with Julious Von Albert, no Abbey, also not quite right… Aberten- yeah that sounded correct.

 

“Excuse me for my intrusion,” he continued, “I just found it curious that someone resembling the Aventis would be here. Although if I may be so presumptuous, you do not appear to be officially from that lineage.”

 

“Ah, yes. I was hoping that people wouldn’t be so quick on the pickup,” I hastily replied.

 

“No need to worry so much, they are not well known in these parts. Only a few families in the area- including mine- would have directly dealt with them or paid enough attention to pick up on their physical traits. Made even less likely by the relative rarity of one of them having both the eyes and the hair.”

 

“That's a relief, I would have preferred if my appearance was different, but there’s nothing much I can do about it besides hope people don’t make an issue of it.”

 

“Do not worry, I shall not. Sorry for interrupting you- let us get to work.”

 

As he stepped off to one of the other stations, I was able to finally breathe smoothly. It wasn’t that he was overbearing- far from it actually- it was just that that conversation sent me on a rollercoaster of emotions I was just now getting off. Despite his resurances, I wasn’t made much more confident I could go under the radar. I also hoped I didn’t have classes with him- he seemed too perceptive to comfortably be around for an extended period of time.

 

The route I ended up with wasn’t too bad. I had to go out to almost the edge of the third circle and wind my way back- but I was done at just about six. I could have been faster, but between needing to constantly check I had read the directions properly, making sure I put the right packages in the right places, and not exhausting myself, I was slowed down a lot. Almost everyone was gone when I handed in the clipboard and got my payment thankfully.

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My first class of the day was at nine, giving me a solid three hours to do something in. I didn’t have any homework- if any would be given out anyway- didn’t have anyone to go meet up with, and didn’t have anything to practice. After a bit of wandering, I ended up in the library. It was massive- being four floors and having a larger footprint than most of the other buildings on campus. I spent the first half hour simply wandering through, looking at everything it had to offer. Like most libraries, it was more than a place to store books. There were study rooms ranging from private desks to conference rooms, open areas on the first floor for lounging, and a sadly locked wing housing magical devices from what I could see through the windows. 

 

I eventually found a book on local monsters and a chair looking out of the third floor onto one of the many courtyards between buildings. Over the course of an hour or two, a few more people wandered through and I found myself reading less and simply watching out the window more. My loft didn’t have any good views of where people congregated, so being able to watch the slow stream of bodies flow below me was quite the novelty.  When I absentmindedly glanced at the clock overlooking the courtyard, I was broken out of my thoughts. I was almost nine- and time for my first class at The Academy.

 

I was glad that the bells in The Academy were set ten minutes ahead of what time it actually was- that was pretty much the only reason I wasn’t late to class. Even so, I walked into the class with only a minute or two to spare. I was happy there was a seat in the front row, I was here to learn so why not set myself up for the best chances at that. The professor was a middle aged and really buff dwarf with a matching, deep voice. 

 

The class was one on showing off and encouraging students to learn a craftsmen’s trade. Learning at least one was a soft requirement- meaning if you wanted to deal with needless bureaucracy, you could opt out. In general, people agreed that since it was included with the rest of your classes, you might as well learn a skill that could be a plan C. There were also a good number of people who learned as many as they could- some even got fairly famous.

 

The first class was an overview of all the different options, what types of Abilities helped with them, and when and where workshop tours would be happening. The ones that caught my attention were carpentry, glaziery, and jewelry. I wasn’t really here to become a craftsman, so I’d probably pick one and stick with it- although that decision can come later, much later. Before that I’d get to try those three and more as part of the class, making it appear to be an analog to an art class.

 

The hour went fast, our teacher was clearly passionate, and that rubbed off on most of us. Afterwards, I was left with another hour of free time before ‘Basic Academic Skills,’ a class that was a mix of reading skills, mathematics, and study skills. All three were likely desperately needed by most of the incoming students. While literacy rates weren’t awful for a medieval-looking society, the fact most signs and maps had no text told you something. Merchants and some nobles were likely the only ones that knew math, although that was likely simple arithmetic. Study skills were probably an entirely foreign concept- but for people who didn’t grow up in schools from before they could remember, it was also necessary.

 

In contrast, I had memories of math up to calculus, spending a lot of time reading, and getting a bit through college- meaning late nights and lots of notebooks. I also had memories of this world’s alphabet and numeric symbols, although the more obscure ones I had never learned- and never had a reason to learn here.  

 

I figured I’d spend the remaining chunk of an hour seeing if I could learn what the expected level of math was for the class so I didn’t end up doing some mathamagic and get grilled by a teacher. The thing that most worried me about this class was not falling asleep in all honesty. I was likely to know almost everything that was going to be taught, and if the previous days were anything to go by, my energy was going to run out right as class started. 

 

Getting back to my first worry, I found a ‘mid-level math’ textbook, which went up to midway through algebra. It also used nice numbers for most things- which makes sense when you realize there's no calculator. 

 

Unlike that last class, this one was a large lecture of around 100, which- if everyone new needed to take it- split the incoming class into about four parts. Once I sat down, I was hit with a wave of lethargy. Given this class was two hours, I didn’t like my chances. I occupied myself with watching people come into the class and choose seats. The only two people I recognized were Quartz and Julious. Quartz went as far back as you could, and seemed to know some of the people back there. Julious had the same idea as me- sitting a respectful few seats away in the front row.

 

The instructor came in a few minutes late to class looking a bit frazzled. After a flustered introduction they started with the usual first-day drone. I don’t really remember any of it between being half awake and the inherent dullness. At some point papers with a few questions varying from reading comprehension to somewhat advanced algebra. We were told once we finished, we could leave- so I quickly went through it and drowsily handed it in before doing so.

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