"This is..." Professor Adams seems speechless.
I've not felt this satisfied in a while, but it is short lived.
"This is unprecedented!" The professor's face lights up with glee and he rushes toward me, eyes glued to the sword.
Huh? He's not mad? No accusations of forgery? Nothing? I thought he would be furious at the humiliation, so why is he so excited. Also, how is this unprecedented, he just said that most awaken by age 7. That implies that there are outliers.
He's quickly upon me, and stares with wonder. After a moment, he speaks.
"Mr. Pryce please meet me in my office after classes have concluded for the day."
"Um, okay." I answer with slight hesitation. His face is way too close.
He continues to stare at my sword and with impeccable timing, the bell rings signalling the end of class.
"Ah... kuhum." Professor Adams steps back and clears his throat.
"I apologize everyone, I seem to have lost track of time. You may all depart for your next class, we will pick this up again tomorrow." His demeanor is completely serious, in stark contrast to mere moments before.
Mimicry melts in my hand, and I stand to leave. I want to get out of here as soon as possible.
Nothing is going the way I think it will today.
I scoot by the still sitting Princess, and as I pass she stands. Instead of saying anything, I speed walk out of the class, and try to remember where my next one is. It should be more relaxed than the this one since it's a history class, but who knows since I also thought Magic Theory would be fine and I've been proven completely wrong. I'm also far more confident in my historical knowledge, so there shouldn't be any strange wrong answers.
Ah, I never said anything to Alex. Well it's fine, I'll have another opportunity.
As I walk I feel a familiar presence keeping pace behind me. Without slowing, I sneak a peek, and there's the Princess. At this point I've fulfilled my 'shock quota' for the next several years, so it didn't surprise me much. I hope she's just going in the same direction by coincidence.
Or it's not a coincidence, because I still feel her presence behind me as I reach the door to 'Comprehensive History'. Entering with a sigh, I check the room. There aren't many students inside yet, and I don't recognize any of the ones that are. The room is nearly identical to the last one which is to be expected, but there's one key difference.
The professor's desk in this room is far more colorful than Professor Adams'. Sitting at that desk is someone who I hoped to avoid at all costs for the sake of my sanity, but I've not been doing very well in that department so far today anyway.
The annoying professor from the tour, if I recall correctly his name was Professor Marcus Zeal. Seems like he's the instructor for this particular history class. My luck really isn't doing me good today huh.
Luckily he hasn't seen me yet, so I quickly move to the seat in the same position I sat in during the last class. It's empty so I sit immediately, and who would have guessed, the Princess sits down right next to me.
"Funny meeting you here Princess." I say with a slight chuckle. It's nothing funny, but I can't help but laugh.
"..." She says nothing.
"Princess?"
"Am I annoying you? I'm not good at picking up on such cues." She abruptly says with a slightly sad expression.
Ack! What am I supposed to do against such upfront and honest words? I pause to take it in before responding.
"No no! You're not annoying, this is just an unbelievable situation."
"How so? I've merely taken an interest in you." She seems genuinely curious, and not at all aware of how absurd that sounds.
"That's exactly it. The Princess of the entire country has flat out told me that she's 'interested' in me. I don't even understand what you mean by 'interested'. And you also keep sitting directly next to me without any prompting, which causes an entirely different form of the same confusion." I said too much again. I think my nerves are finally really getting to me.
"Ah. I see."
I wait for a moment without saying any more, since she seems to be gathering her next words carefully.
"By interesting I mean... that you seem interesting. And I sit next to you because you're interesting, and you appear nonthreatening."
... It would seem she isn't very good at communicating. Or she's fine at it, and this is really all there is. In either case I'm more confused than before. I'm also kind of concerned by her describing me as nonthreatening.
That isn't to say I think I am, but I've been told in the past that I don't seem the most approachable. Something about my resting expression. Instead of stating my confusion, I decide to just end the conversation there.
"Ah. I see."
She doesn't seem to notice that I copied her. I look down to the door, watching students slowly trickle in. The short girl is also in this class apparently, as she quickly walks in and goes to the same corner that she sat in before.
As the last students enter, the Professor stands and makes his way to the podium.
"Hello class! Welcome to Comprehensive History! My name is Professor Zeal, and I will be your instructor for the year. I recognize most of you from the tour but for those I've not seen, welcome to Shancross Academy!" He speaks very quickly, but somehow still incredibly clearly. His eyes pan across the students.
Oh no... he spotted me far too quickly.
"AHA! Class! We have History's top ranked first year in this very room! Mr. Pryce, could you please come down?"
This man is going to make me have a fit. Not responding would only prompt him to bring even more attention to me, though I don't know how he would do it since the whole room is already staring. I stand and slowly walk down to the podium.
"Class take a good look! This is your biggest competition and likely your biggest resource! This course is largely formed of discussions and group projects, so his every word could help you!"
While I hate what he's saying, I still listen closely. I want to succeed in this class, even if the instructor makes me want to crawl in a hole and die.
"Mr. Pryce, can I call you Morgan? Morgan can you answer a few questions for me and the class?"
He didn't even wait for my answer. Rude but fine, I prefer that anyway. I can answer some questions, this could be valuable for me as well.
"Sure I can do that."
"Incredible! Perfect, that's the attitude I wanted to see."
Huh?
"Do you see class? That's the kind of eager participation I want to see from all of you as well."
He pauses for a moment before looking back to me.
"Thank you Morgan, you may return to your seat."
"A-Ah okay." Stunned, I do as he said.
Sitting down, I have only one thought occupying my mind.
Is everyone at this school insane?