You are distracted, your highness." Ms. Laroche's stern voice is surprisingly calm as I snap back to attention and stop staring out the window.
"Apologies!" I blurt out, sitting up straight in my seat and tuning back into the lesson. From her open book, I can see she is a couple of pages ahead of me and I urgently flip to that section while mentally chiding myself. We are reading a classic novel from this world, one that best could be described as the equivalent of Dante's Inferno. My father sits behind silent as ever. The clock ticks menacingly.
