Professor Talbot gave the class half an hour to think about their elective selections before launching into the day’s lessons on Teamwork and Negotiation. Riley yawned her way through the lecture, sneakily snacking on the rest of the food Elliot had given her when she thought Professor Talbot wasn’t looking. She did her best to stay focused but, after eating, all she really wanted to way rest her head on her arms and sleep. The hurried scratching of Elliot’s pen on his notebook next to her was pleasant white noise that kept lulling her closer and closer to slumber. By the time the class was over, she couldn’t be sure that she hadn’t dozed off once or twice.

  It was all Riley could do drag herself to get changed for their daily fitness class. Her arms felt so heavy as she put on her exercise clothes, a loose tunic and some flowy pants. Mostly worn by farmers in her village, it was one of her dad’s old outfits, repurposed and modified to fit her smaller frame. Some of the other girls also had clothes that looked worn and well-used, but the style of the clothing was really what made Riley stick out like a sore thumb. Their outfits hinted at trendier city styles, more closely fitted to their bodies with shorts that cut off right above their knees. Riley might as well have been wearing a potato sack in comparison, yet she also still held a spark of pride wearing her dad’s old work clothes.

  Once she had changed, Riley joined the rest of her homeroom class by the edge of the forest. She pressed her hands to her temples, mustering her energy for the warm up jog, feeling like she might fall over. It didn’t help that Herbert had decided now was a good time for a nap, his sleepy energy making her even more foggy.

  Her mind kept wandering too, back to orientation, back to the lights suddenly shutting off. The panic of the whole room and how she hadn’t been able to cast her candle spell. It had been teasing her in the back of her mind ever since it had happened. Magic dampening was incredibly difficult to achieve on that level. Professor Fernanda had told them in the hallway that it was a prank by some third year students. Were there really third year students who were that powerful? Or was there something else going on? It didn’t quite add up and she wanted to know why. She wanted to know how they had done it.

  “Are you ok?” Elliot asked Riley, drawing her back to the here and now. “Oh, sorry, you were probably talking to Herbert again. That’s going to take some getting used to.”

  Riley shook her head, but the small movement affected her balance and she stumbled a bit. Gods, her body was exhausted, but she would find a way to power through this. Just had to get through the rest of today’s classes. Elliot had an odd look on his face, peering at her through his glasses. She tried to wave Elliot’s worry away, too tired to say anything, but evidently it wasn’t very convincing. “Professor Yama!” Elliot called out, summoning over the stout fitness instructor.

  Professor Yama took one look at Riley and said “Nope! Go sit down on that log. Actually, even better, does anyone know the way to the nurse’s office?”

  Looking around at the class, only a single hand shot up, making Professor Yama sigh. “Anyone else besides Cappy?”

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  “Oh, come on Professor,” Cappy said jovially. “I promise I can be responsible. Trust me just this once. When it comes to the well being of young ladies, I can assure…”

  “Fine, Cappy, please escort Riley to the nurse’s office,” Professor Yama relented. “And for that matter, why don’t you go too, Bruno. You and Riley look like you’ve been up all night fighting a horde of demons.”

  “I feel fine,” Bruno said, certainly more convincing that Riley had been in attempting to convey the same message. He didn’t look like he was about to collapse, even if he did look bedraggled. He did a couple jumps in place to show he had the energy, but the professor was still frowning.

  “Trust me, you’ll thank me later,” Professor Yama told him. “There’s no point to pushing yourself now, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to prove yourself.”

  Professor Yama blew a whistle and set the jogging pace for the other students, leading them into the forest on a well marked path. Elliot gave one of his signature awkward waves to Riley and then a thumbs up to Bruno as he fell in line.

  Bruno looked wistfully after the disappearing fitness class and Cappy clapped him on the shoulder saying, “Come on, big guy, it’s not every day you get permission to cut class.”

  Bruno turned his attention to Riley and concern wrinkled the place between his eyebrows. “You know, Riley,” he said. “You do look pretty terrible.”

  “Jeez, you really have a way with women, don’t you,” Cappy commented, but Bruno just rolled his eyes. Bruno came over to Riley and in one graceful movement picked her up like she was a child. Riley thought about protesting - she really didn’t want to make a habit of having him carry her everywhere. That would certainly stir up a whole range of rumors that she was not interested in fighting. However, the relief of not having to hold herself up anymore ultimately outweighed her concerns.

  “Lead the way, pretty boy,” Bruno ordered Cappy. Riley looked at Cappy now, with his dirty blond hair sweeping across his brow. His green eyes really popped alongside the green of his shirt and his angled lips had a sort of feminine quality to them. She supposed that Bruno was right… he was kind of pretty.

  “Why, thank you, Riley,” Cappy said, tipping his head in gratitude and bestowing her with a dazzling smile. Riley panicked. She had accidentally said that last part out loud, hadn’t she. She was so incredibly tired that she couldn’t even tell what was a thought and what was her speaking. She buried her face in her hands, resolving to keep her mouth tightly sealed from here on out. When she had dreamed about attending Ms. Purple’s, she certainly hadn’t imagined embarrassment induced by sleep deprivation.

  Riley felt the rumble of a chuckle from Bruno and rhythmic pace of him starting to walk. She kept hands over her face and checked for Herbert’s location in her hair before letting her head rest against Bruno’s shoulder.

  She could hear Cappy’s cheerful voice asking, “So what did you think of orientation? I want your honest opinion. How did you feel? Wasn’t it awesome?”

  It was surprisingly comfortable in Bruno’s arms, his voice vibrating from his chest as he and Cappy conversed. The slight rocking motion as they walked along. Riley didn’t even attempt to fight it now, letting sleep take her. She fell quickly into vivid dreams full of trees and scribbled notes and a crow angrily muttering, “Capernicus.”