by Taki Drake
At some point, Corda realized that they had gotten into a waiting line that was making slow progress toward a registration desk. Content to chat with Gerald, the young girl was surprised when he asked her, “What Discipline do you follow?”
“Healer, of course. The Waterns have all been Healers for several hundred years. I am pretty sure that my father would disown me if I did anything else.” Realizing what she had just said, the young girl blushed a deep hateful red and tried to smile as if it were a joke. In the back of her mind, she heard a little voice saying, Father is just looking for an excuse to get me out of the family and push me far away.
Gerald laughed as if she had made a joke, not noticing the sadness or fear that washed over her face. He laughed and said, “I am lucky. No one’s pushing me to go into any specific Discipline. The fact that my talent is in a non-prestigious area called Animal Healer doesn’t upset anyone because I am so far down the line of inheritance that no one could possibly expect me to carry responsibility in the family business.”
The young girl was interested in finding out more, but just then, they got to the front of the line. Gerald went in the left-hand direction to get the information for the boy’s dormitory while Corda went to the right.
Feeling exposed and abandoned once more, the 13-year-old stopped in front of the clerk seated at the table and said her name in a soft voice. The clerk looked up with an irritated expression but stopped before any words came out of her mouth as she saw the shaking, pale girl in front of her.
Gentling her voice, the registration clerk stated in a kind tone, “Now, don’t you worry, everything will work out. It’s just pretty scary when you are new.”
Corda gave the woman a shaky smile and repeated slightly more loudly, “My name is Corda Watern, and I’m a new student. Is this the place I’m supposed to be?”
“Yes, this is the main registration line. I will give you the orientation material that you are supposed to take with you to your room. Make sure that you read it today. You are free to explore the campus, but make sure that you stay on the Academy grounds. I would also recommend that you locate the dining hall and the other areas marked in red on the map in your packet.”
Obediently taking the heavy envelope and the closed box that the clerk pushed across the table, Corda almost whispered her thank you. The presence of the other students in the line forced the young girl away from the registration clerk as other, more assertive people called out a familiar hello.
Moving away from the jostling mass of people, Corda quickly found an area off to the side, trying to hold her backpack while simultaneously opening the packet. She had not seen any signs telling her where to go, and she was starting to feel that closed and panicky feeling once more.
Before the girl could succumb to frightened tears, Gerald walked up beside her, saying, “How about if we go sit down over there where there are some seats and little tables? There are not many people over there, and maybe we can figure out where each of us has to go and can decide if we want to explore with each other or not.”
Gazing up at him gratefully, Corda said, “Thank you! I know that I’ll feel better once I figure things out, but right now, I just am so lost.”
Gerald smiled at her and said, “I guess we’ll just have to be lost together. It’s much more fun that way, you know.”
His uncomplicated smile eased her nerves, and she found that she could smile back at him and even talk in a normal voice. “That sounds delightful. How about if you lead and I follow?”
The young man laughed and said, “How about if we walk there together?”
Chapter 3 – Getting Settled
Within a few minutes, Corda and Gerald were seated side-by-side on a comfortable couch, and the envelopes containing their orientation material opened and spread out on the coffee table in front of them. For a while, there was no conversation between the two new friends as they scanned through the thick bunch of documents.
Corda raced through all of the items, methodically sorting them in piles as she looked at each one. Most of the things she read made sense to her, at least on a general level. Those documents went into a stack on her right. Those that the young girl understood but felt needed more in-depth examination were piled up on her left. The remaining items were those that she thought she understood but wanted to verify the information with Gerald. Each of these, she placed in a stack directly in front of her.
Finished, at last, Corda looked up to see that Gerald had finished before her and was patiently waiting for her to catch up. Opening her mouth to apologize, she froze in silence as she carefully examined the expression on his face. It was one that the young girl couldn’t remember ever seeing before. There was openness and interest in his eyes that she had no framework for understanding. Maybe this is what a friend looks like, she thought to herself, Perhaps, I don’t recognize it because I’ve never had a friend.
The young man grinned, a crooked twist of his lips that invited her to find as much humor in the situation as he did. When she still didn’t say anything other than a small, involuntary squeak, Gerald said, “According to the information, the first-year dormitories are next to each other. That means that you and I will go most of the way together and just have to split up into the different buildings.”
Corda exclaimed, “I even found them on the map.” Pointing to the two building icons on the top document in her right-hand pile, she said excitedly, “That means that I am going to stay in Pamor Hall, and you are staying in Frastow Hall! There’s some interesting information in the packet about how they got their name, but I didn’t take the time to read it all yet.”
“Neither did I, but perhaps we should go check into our rooms and make sure everything’s okay first. Then we can go exploring.”
“I also know from the map where some of the important things are,” Corda contributed excitedly. “If the map is drawn to scale, the library is huge!”
Gerard nodded his head and once again gave Corda the strange look that he had given her before as he jumped to his feet, saying, “Okay! Let’s gather our stuff up and go exploring. We’ll be intrepid explorers finding first our dorms, and then all the places that are going to be important to know in our new school.”
Smiling herself, Corda obediently stood up and started stowing away her three piles of documents. Unable to just put them in willy-nilly into the envelope, Corda carefully folded the corner on the top paper from each of the piles, so that she didn’t have to redo her sort.
Seeing what she was doing, Gerald teased her, “I am glad one of us is organized! I was pretty sure it was not going to be me.”
The young girl laughed, and more of her tenseness dissipated as she realized that she had made her first-ever friend. This feels so good.
<< <> >>
The two friends walked to their dorms, using the map as their guide. Gerald insisted on walking her directly up to the door before turning to investigate his assigned dormitory. Promising to meet her at the front door where he left her off in an hour, Corda confidently entered the building.
The lobby area was open and bright, filled with natural light and plain but comfortable looking furniture. Corda suffered almost a violent flash of disorientation when she mentally compared the room with the opulent and structured rooms that she had grown up seeing.
Part of the dislocation was due to the activity that swirled in eddies and pools all over the large room. Small groups of students came and went, greetings were called out, and friends hugged. Everywhere she glanced, there was a mass of humanity, moving in a dance that the young girl didn’t understand.
Telling herself not to get all tensed up again, Corda determinedly walked toward where the elevators were. When the doors opened to an empty lift, the young girl got in and pushed the button that said “4.” The doors closed, and Corda realized that she had a death grip on her backpack. Trying to calm herself down, the young girl repeated to herself, My room is 417 according to the packet of information, and I hav
e one roommate.
Looking around carefully, Corda turned down the corridor that was marked for her room. She hadn’t gotten very far before an irritated sounding voice called out, “This area is out of bounds for children! You don’t belong here, so leave and go find your parents.”
One of the dorm rooms had an open door, and pushing her way out into the hallway through it was a girl that looked like she was closer to Corda’s brother Pharyl’s age than hers. The girl was tall and blonde with perfectly styled hair and makeup. Corda immediately felt like she was underdressed and rumpled but tried to conceal her unease.
The unknown stranger was accompanied by another girl with sandy blonde hair who was smirking in open enjoyment. The antagonistic woman raised her voice and almost shouted, “I told you to get out! You don’t belong here!”
Corda found her voice and attempted to respond courteously, “I do belong here because this is where they’ve assigned my room.”
The two women advanced to the point that they almost trapped Corda against the wall. It reminded Corda of a coordinated attack by two dogs, one barking while the other circled to bite. Pushing into her personal space with what the younger girl knew was an attempt at intimidation, the clear leader of this pack bent down and snarled into Corda’s face.
The young girl’s stomach clenched in a moment of panic as she recognized the eager expression on their faces. They looked just like her brother Pharyl when he thought he could get away with hurting someone. That look and the intent behind it left a sticky, slimy feeling against Corda’s skin, carrying with it the knowledge that she was going to be harmed.
Something snapped in the 13-year-old’s mind as an internal voice that she almost did not recognize as her own said, Oh no, you won’t! I will not be bullied by people such as you. Opening her mouth, the young girl found herself channeling her grandmother in her response, “If you have any doubts about the appropriateness of my being here, I suggest you consult the floor monitor. I am going to go to my room.”
Startled, the less aggressive woman took a half-step back while the other woman stared down, trying to dominate Corda with a greater height and age. The young girl refused to be intimidated, staring into her attacker’s face with narrowed eyes and a rigid spine. It was as if Misha Bellee Gerson was standing next to her with an arm around her shoulders and cheering her on. There was just no way that Corda was going to allow someone to bully her without fighting back.
Knowing to move her eyes away from her attacker’s gaze would cede victory, Corda refused to blink. Bluffing to the best of her ability, the young girl moved 6 inches closer rather than shrinking away. That motion of strength surprised the large blonde woman, and Corda saw doubt flash in her eyes before the older girl spun around, saying, “Come on, Joyce. There is no reason to pay attention to this one!”
Looking in confusion from Corda to her leader, Joyce responded, “But, Hera, it’s just going to ruin the dynamics of the floor if they let babies on it.”
“I know. And I’ll make sure to let them know what we think!” Spinning to stare back at Corda, Hera snarled, “You will be sorry you were so rude to me. After I’ve talked to the dorm monitor, it wouldn’t surprise me if they threw you out anyway!”
The two women disappeared inside of Hera’s room, and the door slammed with the sound of a threat. Feeling like a puppet whose strings had been cut, Corda sagged back against the wall as her heart pounded in her breath rattled in her chest.
Chapter 4 – Dorm Life
“Wow, you are definitely braver than I am.” The voice was shaky, and Corda would have jumped if she had any available energy. As wrung out as she felt, the young girl could not respond actively and just looked, seeing yet another stranger examining her.
At least this one isn’t looking like she wants to rip my throat out. Her face is pretty closed, and I don’t know if that’s a good wow or bad one. But considering my options, I’m just glad that she hasn’t decided to jump on me and kicked me senseless.
Giving herself an internal shake, Corda answered, saying, “Yes, it was certainly a surprise. I didn’t expect to be attacked before I even got to my room.”
A faint tracing of a smile appeared on the other girl’s face. Corda’s attention locked on a new target and started to gather information. The young girl noticed that this girl was most probably a couple years older than her own 13, delicately framed and slender. Wispy curls trailed down from a messy bun in the back of this stranger’s head, and the girl's intense green eyes were at least friendly.
More than a bit overwhelmed, Corda stood tongue-tied as the girl scrutinized her. With a slightly broader grin, the stranger disappeared back into her room. A voice floating over the young woman’s shoulder, “Good job and good luck. I have a feeling you will need it. By the way, my name is Dena Soner. Welcome to the fourth floor of Pamor Hall!”
Staggering to get herself moving again, Corda walked down the hallway to the door with the illuminated number 417. Underneath the lit room number was a little plaque with a protective shield over it that said “Evant and Watern.”
Unsure of whether to just walk in or not, Corda decided to err on the side of courtesy and tapped on the door. When the door opened, the young girl got her first glimpse of the person who would be sharing a room with her for the next year.
Her new roommate was a tall and voluptuous brunette with shining shoulder-length hair. The girl's stormy gray eyes widened slightly as she inquired, “May I help you?”
“I am Corda Watern, I believe I am your roommate.”
“Why did you knock then? You could’ve just walked in, it’s your room also.”
Corda blushed slightly and explained, “this is the first time I have been away from home, and I didn’t know what the polite thing to do was. I decided that I would rather be overly courteous then start off our year together by being rude.”
The new roommate’s face relaxed into a real grin, and she opened the door wide, saying, “Come in. Your bags arrived before you, and I have been dying to know where the rest of them were. After all, you can’t possibly have only brought this many clothes!”
Corda crossed the threshold of her new home, and it felt like she had jumped an unimaginable chasm. The young girl knew that her life would never be the same and was filled with a swirling mixture of excitement and fear. Unable to articulate the mix of emotions, Corda chose instead to say, “I’m afraid that those clothes were the only ones I have. I brought everything from my room at home.”
Tilting her head to the side as she thought over Corda’s response, the new roommate introduced herself, saying, “Whatever, you still are welcome. In case you haven’t figured out, I am Elizabeth Evant, although I prefer you to call me Liz.”
“It is very nice to meet you, Liz.”
Seeing how Liz had spread out her belongings on the left side of the room, Corda put her backpack on the empty bed on the right side of the room. Liz’s belongings covered the floor and every available surface on her side, as the young woman attempted to stow away her garments and other items.
Corda decided to do the same, but she only unpacked two of her five boxes. The two she opened contained the majority of her clothing and those belongings that she thought would help her in school. The other three, she left securely taped and put them into her closet, carefully positioning them in the back corner on the floor. There would be no need for those mementos of a previous life while she was living at the Academy.
The younger girl was quickly done, but Liz was agonizing trying to fit all of her clothing into the storage dresser and closets that the Academy provided. Corda could tell that her roommate was extremely stressed out.
Glancing at her almost empty closet, the young girl turned to Liz and asked, “I don’t need all my closet space. Would you like to have some for the rest of your clothes?”
“You don’t need it? If not, that would be wonderful. My dad is always kidding me about my clothes, and I tried, really tried, to limit how much
I brought. If I could use the space, for now, I would be very grateful. When you get more garments, I will be happy to give the space back to you!”
“Please go ahead. It makes no sense to stress over something like this when I’m not going to be using the space anyway.”
With the extra closet room, Liz was quickly done with her unpacking. While she bustled to and fro, storing and rearranging items to her satisfaction, the older girl questioned Corda about herself. When the younger girl let slip her actual age, Liz stopped in shock.
“Your parents let you come here, and you’re only thirteen? You must either be amazingly talented or need the atmosphere here for another reason.”
Uncomfortable with the direction that the discussion was going, Corda just murmured, “I have been Healing for a while, and my father thought that it would be best if I came here to expand my knowledge.”
“Awesome! You’re in the Healer Discipline!? I have never been able to get my head wrapped around that type of Magic. Too much math and too many picky things.”
“What Discipline do you follow?” Asked Corda.
“You could probably figure it out considering how flighty I am, but I will not put you through that suspense. I am an Artist!” Liz struck a dramatic pose and then dissolved into laughter, sweeping Corda with her. The two girls laughed and joked for a little while until the younger girl realized what time it was and gasped in consternation.
“Oh no, I was supposed to meet Gerald ten minutes ago. I hope he hasn’t been waiting all this time.”
“Who is Gerald? Do you already have a boyfriend?” asked Liz in astonishment.
Corda blushed hotly, saying, “Of course, I don’t have a boyfriend. I’m only thirteen! But he’s a very kind person, and he’s been helping me not get lost in this big school. Gerald promised that we would go around and find all of the important landmarks together so that tomorrow. when we have to go do things, I won’t be late or get lost.”
