24. Aurora
AURORA
I was so distracted with the events of that morning, I made a C on my math test. It was the worst score I’d ever received, and Professor Griven called me to stay back a few moments after the end of class.
“Cadet, what is the meaning of this?” He demanded, showing me the paper. “Look at this—so many stupid mistakes! I’ve never seen such poor work from you.”
I saw that he was right. None of my answers were wrong because I didn’t understand the problems—it was because I’d done things like forgotten to carry a one or added or subtracted incorrectly.
Little errors that ended up making the whole problem wrong…
which felt, in a way, like a metaphor for my life at the Academy lately.
“I’m sorry, Sir,” I mumbled, hanging my head. “I had…a lot on my mind today.”
“Look, Cadet, I know the whole First-year class is excited because it’s almost time to try to Impress your dragon eggs, but there is no excuse for this kind of substandard work,” he said sharply. “You need to get your head out of the clouds and pay attention!”
“Yes, Sir,” I said miserably. “I’ll do better next time,” I added, hoping to appease him.
“See that you do,” he snapped. “Dismissed—go to your next class before you’re late.”
I hurried out the door and barely made it to History in time. I did my best to pay attention, but my mind kept wandering…worrying…refusing to settle into the groove of listening attentively and taking notes.
It was like that all morning. By the time the Great Bell rang for lunch, I was dreading what I might see when I got to the Mess Hall.
But when I scanned the cavernous room, I saw neither Ryse Skoren or Chud Larson at the Second-year table. I wondered uneasily where they had gone. Were they both meeting with the Head Master? Or were they outside fighting?
Don’t be stupid, whispered the little voice in my head. Why would Ryse Skoren fight over you?
But I couldn’t get the thought out of my head and as a consequence, I couldn’t eat lunch any more than I’d been able to choke down breakfast.
“Hey, what’s wrong, Auri?” Jorn-o asked as we dumped our trays together—mine being still mostly full. “You usually eat like you’re starving.”
“I know. I just…don’t have any appetite today,” I said miserably.
“Don’t worry about the thing with Larson,” he said comfortingly. “We’ve got your back.”
“Huh—speak for yourself,” Toady remarked. “Larson’s a mean son-of-a-bitch.”
“And he’s huge,” Bugs put in, squinting from behind his glasses.
“That doesn’t give him the right to bully someone so much smaller than him,” Leaper remarked, surprising me.
“Leaper’s right—the Academy is supposed to have a no-bullying policy,” Jorn-o said, lifting his chin in a determined way.
“Well maybe somebody oughta tell Larson that,” Toady remarked, and he and Bugs cracked up, laughing.
I didn’t find the situation funny, but I knew they were never not going to make a joke out of something important, so I just shrugged and said,
“C’mon—let’s get to class.”
But as we left the Mess Hall, I wondered again where Ryse was and what exactly he was doing.