Chapter 143: 143: Academy Life Starts I
(Chapter Nine: Academy Life Starts)
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The morning was mild and clean. The city’s roofs held a thin line of light. The temple bells rolled once, not loud, like a hand on a shoulder. John and Fizz walked up the broad steps under the two white towers. The stone was cool. The air smelled like flowers and old books.
Inside the gate, the first court was quiet. A stream ran through a carved channel and made a calm sound. Novices in pale robes crossed one by one. A pair of old women fed small birds by the edge of the water. A scribe pushed a cart of scrolls and nodded as he passed.
The temple guard walked with John when they reached the main building, "Priestess Sera is waiting," she said, pointing down the right side of the court. "Cedar cloister. Third arch."
They found the cedar cloister by the smell first. The trees there were tall and straight and let light fall in slices. Sera stood near a low table. She wore a soft gray dress with the red thread at the cuff that marked her order. Her hair was tied back. Her eyes were clear. She looked like a person who had been up for hours already and had used the time well.
She smiled as soon as she saw them. "John," she said. "Fizz."
Fizz zoomed forward and then stopped in midair like a cork. He joked, "We brought our faces," he said. "We also brought our sadness. Do you have snacks to cure sadness."
Sera’s mouth bent in a laugh even before she answered. "I do," she said. "But first—" she stepped to John and touched his sleeve, small and warm. "Do not be sad about the exam," she said. "You can join the next one. There is always a next one. The temple has seen more than one good person trip on the first step."
John shook his head. "Thank you," he said. "But I am not sad. Fizz was joking. I... have something to tell you." He took a breath. "I am admitted."
Sera blinked once. "Admitted?"
"Yes," John said. "I got a special exam from the headmaster. He gave me different questions. I failed in public. But he took me in. I am under a rare talent quota."
Fizz puffed his fur. "He is special," he announced. "The old man begged. John said, ’hmm,’ perhaps. The old man cried. John said fine. It was like that."
"It was not like that," John said.
"It was exactly like that in my head," Fizz said.
Sera looked between them and then let out a breath she had been holding without knowing it. "Then I will be seeing you inside," she said, and her eyes brightened. "I am a senior student now. I will look after you once you are there. I can make sure you do not walk into the wrong tower. I can point at the stairs that try to argue."
"When do you report," she asked after a beat. "Today? Tomorrow?"
"Today," John said. "In the evening."
"Good," Sera said. "Then you will not lose the thread. Keep it soft, but do not let it fall." She turned and called, "Novice Arri, the food tray, please."
A girl in a pale robe came from the shade with a wooden tray. On it sat a small clay pot of honey, a bowl of round temple Pan cakes, a plate of sliced apple, and two cups. There was also a cup the size of a thimble and a saucer the size of a coin.
Fizz’s eyes went round. "That tiny cup is for me," he said, pleased by the attention to scale.
"It is," Sera said. "The temple learns."
Fizz picked up a cake with both paws, took a bite, and shut his eyes like a poet. "Yes," he said. "This is what goodness tastes like. Honey. Oil. A little salt. A little lemon. Who made this? Make them my friends forever."
"Old Ina," Sera said. "She has been baking here longer than I have been alive."
"Excellent," Fizz said. "I will bless her to live equal in age as me just to keep eating these."
John took a cake and an apple slice and sat on the low bench. He liked this court. He liked the way it made his shoulders drop. He liked how Sera looked at him like he was a person and not a problem.
"I was worried when I heard you failed," Sera said, simple and honest. "Then Elara sent word that you had not come to the temple after the exam. I thought, perhaps, you had gone straight to work and that was wise. But now I see the work is different."
"Elara told you," John said.
"She told me enough," Sera said. "She does not use many words, but she puts them in the right places. I am glad she met you at the gate. I am glad you did not use my name in the yard."
Fizz snorted crumbs. "Why would we use your name? Our names are perfectly nice. His name is John. Mine is Lord Fizz, Master of Snacks."
Sera laughed again. "Of course," she said. She took a small sip from her cup and looked at John. "Truly," she added, softer now. "Thank you for not using my name. It has weight. It gets in the way. It is better when you stand on your own feet first."
John nodded once. "I can deal with my problems," he said. "I do not like borrowing a shield."
Sera’s face warmed with a kind of pride she rarely showed. "Good," she said. "Then I will help only when your back is to a cliff and the wind is wrong." She set her cup down. "Tell me about the headmaster," she said. "He is a story more than a man to most students. Did he... talk in circles at you."
"He talked in lines," John said. "He is kind and strange. He said he would be my teacher. He gave me rules. He said I could not tell anyone he is my teacher. I am telling you because you are Sera. A close friend."