The teacher arrived a few minutes later to open up the doors to the classroom, and everyone out front spent their time chatting while they waited.
Oftentimes people would keep to themselves, but with Ember, Elric, Roth, and Cassie all chatting, a few other people joined in, and soon almost everyone attending was chatting in a big circle.
Even the people who looked reluctant to join the conversation were eventually drawn in.
Their conversation was momentarily halted when the classroom doors were opened, and everyone went to search for seats. The professor- an older Asian man with graying hair and a perpetual kind smile- tapped on the blackboard to gain everyone's attention.
"Alright, class. This is College Algebra, and I already know that none of you are here because you want to learn math."
The professor scratched his name onto the board with chalk, underlining it a few times.
"You can call me Professor Daluun, Dr. Daluun, or any random variation of my name. It's my job to get you young talents through this general math course, so please try to stay focused!"
All of the second and third-year students looked excited, much more so than the freshman.
Seeing Ember's confusion as to why they all looked so happy to be taking a math class, Elric leaned over and whispered in her ear.
"Daluun is a legendary professor, it's almost impossible to get into his classes. I missed them both semesters last year, the enrollment always fills up the moment it opens!"
Ember tilted her head. She hadn't paid too much attention to timing and had just clicked on the first one listed when she registered for classes. She knew nothing about this supposedly famous teacher.
"As per usual, my classes will follow my typical 20-5 structure. Today will be an example session as we go over the syllabus."
The teacher flicked on a projector, lighting up the wall behind him.
The aura of the room turned into one of focus.
-
-
An hour and a half later, Ember and Elric headed for their next classes together.
"Wow… I almost can't wait for Wednesday, just to have that math class again. I can't wait to see what happens next time!"
Elric nodded, an excited look on his face.
"There truly are no legends without substance. It was worth staying up past midnight waiting for the class openings."
Elric's next class was different from the one Ember was taking next, but the classrooms were relatively close together, allowing the couple to walk together.
"Good luck, see you later."
Their classes would end at different times, and the couple wouldn't see each other again until their final classes of the day.
Unlike their first one, the remainder of their classes were painfully average, despite being more focused on stuff that they were actually interested in.
By the end of the day, Elric was almost questioning whether being a talent manager was truly right for him.
Instead, becoming a mathematician and studying under Daluun's guidance sounded better… but that wasn't going to happen.
As the final class of the day closed up and the couple started walking out of the campus, a person ran over and shouted out to them.
"Oi, Elric! Roth was bragging to me about your girlfriend, is it really true?"
The speaker was a skinny young man who looked a bit similar to West. His hair was blonde and styled neatly, and paired with his handsome face, it would've made him a score with the ladies, if not for his obnoxiously grown mustache.
"Leo, you've still got that lip caterpillar growing? I thought you said you were going to shave it off last year!"
The young man shook his head.
"Never! It was my girlfriend who wanted it gone, so I just left her. Facial hair is much more important than love, don't you agree?"
Elric stepped a little closer to Ember, and the young man's face soured.
"Haha… anyways, I came over here to ask for a favor."
Leo tucked his hands together and made a pleading expression.
"Your girlfriend here is a singer, right? My uncle's bar just had a singer cancel on him last night, and I need someone good to replace them."
Elric tilted his head.
"That should be pretty easy for him, right? Don't they normally contract with agencies, not individual singers?"
Leo nodded, then spoke again.
"Yea. It's the NexRu agency, though. Haven't you seen the news? Their president was murdered in his mansion, and now Angeline- the singer who was going to be singing for my uncle's bar- was in a horrible accident the other day. I guess they're too busy with internal stuff right now, and no one has gotten back to him."
Leo scratched the back of his head.
"We did a lot of advertising since she was going to be the biggest singer we've ever had there, but now we're having trouble finding anyone with any semblance of quality."
Elric took a step forward.
"Sure, but why come ask me? You had never even heard of Ember until Roth told you, right?"
Leo chuckled timidly.
"I- It's because I know and trust you! You wouldn't hook up with someone who sucks at their work, right?"
Elric knew Leo's character and could see through all the lies spewing from his mouth. This annoying fellow was actually a coward to the core.
When he heard that Elric was partnered with a singer, he saw an immediate opportunity to shift the potential blame to someone else.
If Ember sucked up on stage, he could just tell his uncle that he'd been lied to about her skills by a valued friend.
Instead of directly answering, Elric turned to Ember first.
"What do you say? It's a great opportunity, and we can have Leo's full support in setting up everything you need."
She nodded after a moment, and Elric reached out to shake Leo's hand.
The moment their hands met, Elric increased the strength of his grip, making the other guy squirm.
"W- wh- why?!"
Refusing to let go, Elric spoke in a low tone.
"Find an accompanying rock band for me, and use your funds to bring them over. They need to be good and adaptable."
"B- But that's your jo-"
Elric's grasp strengthened, and Leo let out a yelp of pain.
"Okay! I'll find a band for you!"
When Elric finally released him, Leo cradled his hand against his chest.
Ignoring his hurt friend, Elric softly took Ember's hand and started walking away. He could see the concern on her face.
"Don't worry about him, he acts like that all the time. If you don't try to push him, he'll do his best to screw you over, even if you're helping him."
She still looked unhappy with him.
"Still, he's giving us an opportunity, right? We should thank him, not crush his hand!"
"Hey, I got him to do some extra work for us, right? It's a win in my books."
Seeing Ember's light death stare, Elric eventually caved.
"Fine, I'll make sure he knows we're thankful next time I see him."
"And apologize."
"..."
"And apologize. That is the correct thing to do."
"...Fine, only this time."