As Mystery and I entered the auditorium, they gave a small wave and headed in the direction of a marker with very few other students gathering around. I wondered what obscure magic they had an interest in and made a mental note to ask when we both got back from classes. I wanted to know more about them and their interests. But also, I kind of hoped maybe it would lead to a second chance to connect, if I could only figure out how. I exhaled a breath full of stress and frustration.
For the moment, I needed to figure out where I was going.
Daava had said that my ring would guide me to the class she had chosen for me. So, I lifted my hand to see if the pink polka-dotted jewelry would somehow indicate where I was supposed to be. I halfway expected nothing to happenâor, if anything, the polka dots would arrange themselves into another message. Instead, I instantly felt the same light magnetic pulling as when I had been walking toward the barn.
I followed along at the insistence of the ring until I found myself in a group with all Guplium ... the goo people. Though I'd seen their multicolor appearances in the auditorium and around campus, their vibrant shades were even more vivid up close. I also noted with fascination how solid their forms seemedânot wet and dripping like what I might have expected from people who seemed entirely made of liquid. Many were translucent, so lights and shapes could be swimmily seen straight through them. As they spoke and made hand gestures to emphasize their various discussions, I watched their limbs and digits appear, join, together, disappear, and twist into shaped that would have been impossible for anything with solid bones.
In addition to having different colors and shapes, they all dressed quite differently from one another as well. Some wore school robes, while others seemed to form clothing out of their bodies or wear nothing at all. Even their facial shapes seemed wildly diverse from one anotherâwhich probably made sense since I could only imagine they had been brought here from as countless nations and origins as humans had. Variety was certainly the spice of kink for the mysterious deity, Kavtagro.
Even so, there was one Guplium who stood apartâlight blue and standing alone. His face seemed more solid than that of any of his kindâsharper and more rigid. He looked ... fairly close to human. Or, given his pointed ears, like an elf. The liquid-like surface of his skin seemed like it had been sculpted into muscles, the occasional vein, and other subtle and specific shapes reminiscent of the more solid species I'd seen. He wore the robes of the school in a dark blue, but in a way that was distinctly more precise than anyone else. He seemed to fill out his clothing perfectlyâlike they were tailor-made for him.
The Guplium suddenly faced me, no doubt noticing my staring. He cocked his head at me and took a few steps until we were close enough to comfortably speak. "Yes?"
"Sorry," I choked out, finding it hard to breathe from my own embarrassment. I imagined how rude I must have seemed, just staring like that. And with my resting bitch-face, I had probably been scowling too. I could feel the pinprick needles of anxiety sweat all over my body. "I'm sorry, your clothes just ... I mean, they fit you ... good ... I mean well! They fit you well and I was ... looking at them." Well, this was it. Time for me to dig a hole, bury myself in it, and die from shame.
The Guplium stared silently for a moment before he raised one of his eyebrows in a cocksure expression and gave a small grin. "They do fit well. Kudos to you for recognizing craftmanship." He extended and arm, seeming to admire his sleeves.
"Uh, thanks ..." I replied. I wasn't sure if what he had said was a compliment, but I was glad that I hadn't made an enemy in the class already.
I was relieved when I felt the gentle pull of ringâurging me toward the back of the auditorium. Judging by the immediate reactions of the Guplium students, they felt the same. I follow the rest of my classmates toward one of the rooms.
Unlike the barn from the day before, the room we entered actually looked like it belonged in a school. Specifically, it looked like what I had seen of the fashion merchandising department in my old universityâwooden manikins lined up along the room, cubby-holes filled with various fabric materials, and drawings illustrating the dissected cuts of fabric.
The only thing that did not immediately seem fitting was a corner of the room with a brick overlay covering the original stone. On this corner were shelves with ingots, heavy tools, and piles of metal rings. A door connected this room to the outside of the building. I glanced out and noticed an anvil and bellows placed upon a matching brick patio. Given the rest of the room, it took me a moment to put all of this together.
We were ... in a class to learn how to make armor! Immediately, my face burned pink and beads of sweat poked out on my skin. I didn't have the first clue how to make clothing of any sort, much less clothes meant for magic or battle! This had to be a mistake. If I didn't impale myself with every needle in this place, then I would burn and smash my fingers clean off when I got around the smithing equipment. I knew myself, and I knew that I was far too clumsy for this sort of thing. I had to leave and tell Daava that she was very much confused on where I was supposed to be.
I turned to leave only to find my way blocked by the hulking frame of Mr. Ozgrub. He looked down at me and then his features lit up, "Lilly! I was so happy to hear that Daava was sending you our way!"
Beside myself, I begam to stammer, "I-I don't think-"
But it was too late. Mr. Ozgrub turned and gestured emphatically at the seatingâto which everyone complied. After a moment's hesitation, I sat down as wellâmy hand already hovering to ask to be excused, as Mr. Ozgrub then said, "Welcome all to smithing and enchanting, fourth level!"
Fourth level! I slinked out of my desk and began to sneak toward the door, my teeth nearly chattering.
"Eager to learn; I like it!" Mr. Ozgrub said, and gestured me forward. Before I could say more, he was politely guiding me to the front of the class.
I could feel the weight of my classmates' eyes staring curiously as I tried to shrink into myself, making myself as small as possible.
"Class, this is Lilly!" Mr Ozgrub said and patted me on the shoulder. "You
may
have heard of her. She has volunteered alongside Daava to spent her first semester developing a healing magic especially for the people of Crudehook village. I talked with Daava, and we mutually decided that some appropriately enchanted armor would serve to kick-start her learning."
If there were any way I could have collapsed into myself, I would have done it by then. Become a human black-hole pulling herself into a singularity of embarrassment. Granted, I was relieved to not be expected to be able to perform at the level of a fourth-level enchanting student, whatever that meant. But having all the eyes in the class on me, no doubt assessing me in the light of all this new information, did not feel much better.