A stream of anxious students poured into the corridor to the clanging of sixth-bell. It sounded in no way different from the other occasions on which it rang, yet somehow sixth-bell rang sweeter, for it signaled the end of the day’s classes. Students at Aldea sat only three classes per day, though each required its students to endure the lecture for a full two hours. A lunch break offered a brief respite between the second and third classes.

  Normally, students scattered after sixth-bell, each shuffling off to whatever extra-curricular activities they had planned for the day. Today was different. Each and every student began their journey back to the dining hall, eager to see what assignment awaited them with the coming of the Tempest.

  Evran blinked as he stepped out into the sunlit corridor. He took a deep breath of the fresh spring air flowing in through the open windows and felt the warmth of the sun on his cheeks. Evran allowed himself to enjoy a genuine moment of contentedness, despite the events of the last day or so.

  “I hate magic circles!” complained Lerrum. He staggered into the hall behind Evran, still stuffing his textbook back into his satchel.

  “I’m happy to hear there is at least one subject I beat you at!”

  “You’d probably beat me at everything if you studied a bit harder. Well, everything except women.” Lerrum winced when he realized what words escaped his mouth. He watched the smile disappear from Evran’s face. “Oh, sorry.”

  “That’s alright, I’m over it.” Evran forced his face back into a smile. In truth, Evran was over the incident with Selsey, but a different issue came to occupy his mind. He struggled to wrap his head around how he felt about Kaila. That wretched antidote had done its job, but Evran still wondered about her intentions the night before.

  “This is going to sound a bit strange, but do you think that Kai might, you know, have a thing for me?”

  Lerrum raised an eyebrow. “Doubt it. Lovable as you are, she’s not into humans. You know how elves are.”

  In his early years at the academy, Lerrum had earned quite the reputation as a womanizer. He’d once asked Kaila out only to be rejected simply for being human. Evran appreciated the logic of it. Elves lived for centuries, while humans considered themselves lucky to enjoy one.

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Still, she did something strange last night.” Evran explained that after the disaster with Selsey, he had thoughtlessly swallowed his petal. Kaila had walked him home, gave him a hug, then acted suspicious before she left.

  “So you think she took advantage of you by hugging you when you were under the effects of the flower petal?”

  “Something like that.”

  Lerrum stopped and put a hand on Evran’s shoulder. “Ev, buddy... no. Kai wouldn't do that. She was just being nice. She even gave me a hug once, right after Kestie left me.”

  He laughed. “I actually thought she was making a move on me, and I maybe yelled at her over it. Turns out she's actually just a really good friend and was only trying to console me. And do you know how we cleared up that little misunderstanding?”

  “How?” asked Evran.

  “By talking about it. Like grown-ups!” Lerrum gave Evran a light smack on the back of his head and took off toward the dining hall.

  ***

  Evran and Lerrum arrived at the corridor to the dining hall to find a mass of students crowding the bulletin board just outside the doors. The dining hall was closed until dinner, but students often gathered here after class to check the board for announcements, club activities, or just to meet up with friends. Today, the duty roster for the upcoming Tempest had been posted.

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  Most of the students still loitered in front of the board, despite having seen their posted roles. Evran overheard excited cheers and disappointed grumblings as he shoved his way through the crowd. He didn’t particularly care where he was assigned, though he secretly hoped to receive the honor of crystal duty.

  He scanned the section of the board listing the duties of the fifth-year students. Evran felt an unexpected sting of disappointment when he finally found his name. Monster Guard, District 11. He certainly had the talent for crystal duty, but such honors were reserved for more dedicated students.

  “Hey, Ev! Would you look at that, I’m on crystal duty!” Lerrum shouted.

  On the other hand, Lerrum certainly earned it. He may not have been the most naturally talented mage, but he studied harder than anyone else. Evran, however, always felt he had better things to do. He lacked the patience for lengthy tomes on magic theory, particularly the ones that took gallons of ink to explain concepts he found self-evident.

  “Congrats!” said Evran. “Looks like you’ll get to sit around and do nothing while I have fun slaying Tempest spawn.”

  “Hey, someone has to keep us in the sky,” Lerrum countered.

  The crowd behind them started grunting and cursing. “Out of my way!” barked a particularly vicious fourth year. “Move it!” She broke through the crowd next to Lerrum and started reading the duty list for her year. It was Depri Tallahan, the prodigy of the fourth-years. “Yes!”

  Evran glanced at her assignment to see that she was also on crystal duty. His disappointment increased. To make crystal duty as a fourth year, when so many other talented fifth years were excluded. One might even be envious.

  Ecstatic, Depri examined the list of fifth years, looking to see who else shared her duty. “Ugh, but it looks like I’ll be with that idiot playboy.”

  Lerrum cleared his throat.

  Depri timidly glanced to her right and found Lerrum grinning down at her. “I…” she stammered, “I meant what I said!” She turned around and darted for the exit.

  Evran and Lerrum shared a laugh at her expense. Intimidating underclassmen was not one of Lerrum’s strengths, but he performed his solemn duty admirably, nonetheless. Satisfied, they moved over to check out the other important announcement on the day: the practical exam supply list.

  “There's a few things on this list that I'll need to buy for our trip. Want to go grab Narro and head into town?” asked Lerrum.

  “Yeah, I need several of these as well.”

  “Alright then, give me your stuff! I’ll go drop off your books and meet you at the front gate. The two of you need to talk,” said Lerrum, pointing his thumb behind him toward a certain white-haired elf. Kaila had just entered the corridor from outside and was making her way to the bulletin board.

  Evran swung his heavy satchel off his shoulder and handed it to Lerrum, who took off toward the boy’s dormitory. Evran waved to Kaila. She avoided eye contact at first, but after a deep breath, Kaila smiled and waved back.

  “Hey, Kai. Can we talk?”

  “I suppose we should, but can I check out my assignment first?”

  They pushed their way to the front of the rapidly thinning crowd. Most people had seen their assignments by now and trickled out of the keep. Kaila quickly found her name among the fifth-years. She’d been placed on barrier duty, also in District 11. Evran thought that strange, as she was more than capable of handling monsters. Perhaps they wanted a few fifth-years on the barrier teams just in case.

  “Wow, Lerrum made crystal! And it looks like they have you fighting monsters. Oh, same district as me. You’d better keep us safe!”

  Evran puffed out his chest. “Will do!”

  “So what did you want to talk about?” asked Kaila, though she seemed to anticipate exactly what was coming.

  They stood in silence for a time, each nervous about how the situation might unfold. After summoning his courage, Evran finally broached the subject. “About last night...”

  “Look, I just saw you collapsed on the floor like that, and it made me sad. You looked like you needed help, is all! I… I never even considered the thing about the petal. I wasn’t trying anything…” She continued to rattle off her litany of excuses as if she had been practicing them all day.

  Evran frowned. “I can't say I'm not a little disappointed. Even if it was because of the petal, it did feel nice.”

  “It's not like we could... you're human.” She lowered her eyes to the floor.

  There was a sadness on her face that hurt to see. Kaila seemed interested in romance, but there weren’t any elves or even half-elves her age at the school. She’d been asked out a few times by humans and beastkin over the years, always rejecting them. Maybe it really hurt her to have to do that? Evran decided it would be best to put aside whatever his feelings were and prioritize hers.

  “So... do you want to pretend this whole petal thing never happened?”

  Kaila hesitated for a moment, then looked Evran right in the eyes. “Is that what you want?”

  “You seem troubled by it, and you shouldn’t. I’m truly grateful for the rescue last night. Thanks!”

  Kaila’s eyes returned to the floor in disappointment. With a deep breath, she summoned what remained of her willpower and gave Evran a cheerful smile. “Right, let’s forget it then!”

  “Great! Anyway, Lerrum and I were about to get Narro and go shopping for our supplies. Did you want to join us?”

  “I wish I could, but I’m busy tonight. Have fun without me!”

  After a few goodbyes, they parted ways. Evran’s sadness lingered, but he was glad to be done with it. He never wanted to see or hear of lover’s bloom for the rest of his life. On the way to the castle gate, Evran wondered if he would have had the courage to talk to Kaila like that if not for Lerrum. Thank the gods for a friend like him!