Arri- September 17, 2004

September 17, 2004
Dear Keish,

By the time I made it to the first day of college I was so relieved not to have to spend all day with Master Ujifil that I didn’t have much room to feel nervous. I have watched my lungs fill with air, blood coursing through my veins, my heart beating, flexing my fingers and other various muscles over and over again, only to repeat the exercises again.
“I’m giving you much variation so you don’t get bored,” Master Ujifil informed me, “Let me know if it is too much and we need to slow down.”
Slow down?

I rode Sprigs over to the university early on the 13th so that I could make sure he was well situated in the university stables before I left for class. The stables are large, but the stalls seem small to me. I wish they could just let the horses run free in a field, but I guess there isn’t any room for that in the city. The Prens send their horses out to a field on the edge of town for a good run once a week. I’ll send Sprigs too, but I’d like to exercise him myself whenever I can.
Mendel was waiting to pounce on me the moment I emerged from the stables.
“Good morning, Arri!” he called happily, “What’s your schedule like?”
I told him my classes.
“Carpentry?” he asked, “That’s brilliant! I wish they’d given me that one.”
“What are you taking?” I asked politely.
“Well, Introduction to Philosophy, of course,” he said, “Then I have Trigonometry course 1…”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Well, the fish were a little enthusiastic about math, so I tested out of all the college algebra courses and basic geometry. Trig is a kind of advanced geometry.” He grimaced.
“Oh,” was all I could think of to say. I wondered how much math there was to take.
“Then I have College Writing course 1,” Mendel finished.
“Sounds like a lot to learn,” I said.
Mendel shrugged. “When do you get your lunch break?” he asked.
I told him and he immediately invited me to meet him for lunch with Master Gordo Yawmus.
“You’ve seen him?” I asked.
“Not yet,” Mendel told me, “but I’m sure I can find him.”

I was the first one in the Biology room. I found a seat in the back corner and set my book in front of me. I had flipped through it casually the night before, but now I started to read the introduction. It’s a thick, heavy book with numerous illustrations. It’s a lot to learn, but interesting.
I kept my head down as other students starting entering the room. No one spoke to me, but I’m sure I stood out. Class was about to start when I felt a tap on my shoulder.
“Lady Arri,” said Master Gordo smiling shyly, “can I sit with you?”
“Of course,” I said motioning to the seat next to me. He sat down.
“I saw Master Mendel,” he whispered.
A rap at the board caused us to turn to the front of the room. A small round man bundled up as if against bitter cold stood before us.
“I am Dr. Ecrue. We will begin with chapter one,” he informed us without preamble and launched into his lecture. If he noticed a girl in the classroom, he gave no indication. It was a fascinating lecture even if I could almost read along with it from the course book. Looking at the front cover, I discovered he was the author.
Master Gordo and I separated after that. His other classes are College Algebra course 2, Introduction to Geology, and College Writing course 1, although not at the same time as Mendel.
My next class was Introduction to Literature. The middle-aged professor, Dr. Freyvogel, was entirely unnerved by my appearance in the classroom. It seemed that he didn’t know I was coming.
“I’ll have to reconsider my reading selections,” he muttered distractedly after walking away from our introduction, “entirely inappropriate for a young lady…” I wondered if I should chase him down and tell him that wasn’t necessary. Then I wondered if I really wanted to read what he considered “inappropriate”. Then I wondered if he would think it appropriate for me to tell him what to teach. I spent most of the lecture, which was mainly a story about how Dr. Freyvogel decided to become a literature professor, wondering what to do. He ended class by saying that he would have our reading assignments the next class (glancing at me as he said this). As the other students filed out I ventured cautiously up to the front of the classroom to tell him he didn’t need to change the curriculum just for me.
“Oh don’t worry about it, Miss Etautca. Don’t worry about a thing. We will read excellent literature this term,” he said kindly.
Somehow, I still felt worried.
I checked on Sprigs during my break and read the first couple of chapters in my biology book. Then it was time for College Algebra.
“Miss Etautca, welcome! Don’t sit at the back. You won’t be able to see properly! Come sit here at the front.” Dr. Kondamuri took me by the elbow and escorted me to the seat he wanted. “Now don’t be afraid to ask questions, Miss. You’ll have a lot of them I’m sure. If you decide you need extra tutoring, just ask and I can make some excellent recommendations. This is a tough class, but I’m sure we can get you through it.”
I didn’t say anything, feeing embarrassed and annoyed at the same time. The first lecture was a review of what we should already know, and thanks to Master Imkell’s excellent lessons, I found that I really did know everything expected of me. After class finished, Dr. Kondamuri cornered me to ask if I had any additional questions about the lecture and to remind me that help was available if I needed it. I politely declined and escaped as fast as possible.

Since Mendel was really excited to get the blueprints you sent him, and Master Gordo and I were done with classes for the day, we met back at the Prens’ house for lunch. Not wanting to inconvenience the cook with unexpected guests we bought lunch at a bakery and ate it in the garden. It was a cool, clear day and the sun felt nice on my face.
Mendel loves the blueprints. Even Gordo was interested. We poured over them for over an hour. Mendel knew every architectural symbol and explained them to us. It was fascinating to look at. Gordo had never seen a blueprint before and asked many questions. Mendel puffed up proudly with his knowledge and gave much longer answers than necessary. It was like attending another lecture. I found myself wishing the tower was nearby so I could compare it to the drawings.
Eventually, however, Mendel admitted to having one class left to attend.
“If it weren’t the first day…” he sighed, “but even a gentleman of leisure must be polite enough to attend his classes once or twice.” He retrieved his horse and left us.
Gordo watched him until he turned the corner.
“He’s a bit…” he glanced over at me cautiously, “confusing,” he concluded.
“You have no idea,” I agreed.

Mendel is delighted to accept your offer of a dog. He would prefer a mutt, the more mixed up the better. He says it will make a perfect contrast to his pair of kuvaszes. It will have to be under thirty pounds, because that is the weight limit set by his apartment (and the reason his dogs couldn’t come with him).

The next day I attended Biology and Algebra again, but not Literature. I did however begin carpentry. The professor was very surprised to have a girl in his class, but said he was sure I’d do fine. The first lecture consisted of safety rules for the workshop. The next lecture we would be tested on it. The rules were mostly common sense I thought, although I’ve never used any tool more complicated than a hammer. I’m a bit worried, because I think you need to be strong for carpentry. I’m not strong. I wonder if the professor would allow magic?

The week went by quickly. I didn’t meet with Master Ujifil, but I will meet with him tomorrow. I just received an invitation to lunch from Brynn.

September 20, 2011

Imato and I had lunch with Brynn today. She had a lot to say about you and your amazing organizational skills. She really enjoyed watching you teach. We spent a long time discussing the spell to protect the children. Brynn wanted to see the actual spell, but when I tried to find it for her in the Chronicle, it was gone. Even Imato couldn’t retrieve it. He even tried to write it out from memory, but there was one part that, try as he might, he could not remember. Brynn was very much interested in finding out who the remaining Brios with magic are. She intends to contact them and offer her tutoring skills.

September 23, 2011

The solarium sounds so beautiful! Lady Pren says that perhaps she should borrow Malia to help reorganize the townhouse. Really the Prens’ home is beautiful already.
Caden Viteri really sounds like a lot of trouble. Maybe he has some of the same problems that Mendel has, but I don’t see how hanging around you can help. That was nice of him to steer Prince Euan away though. I don’t know what I’d do about him if I were you.

Studying is keeping me very busy. I haven’t been to the cave at all since classes started. All I do is study. In some ways, though, it is a relief that school is the only thing I have to do right now.
I’m going to end this letter here. I hope that school is going well for you. Give everyone my love!

Love,
Arri

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