Lola stared at the sheet of paper disbelievingly, then looked up at the unrepentant man who had handed it to her. "Why?"

She'd been walking out of the hallways back to the entrance when he'd shown up with her class list, along with a rather unfortunate message. The noonday sun was streaming in through the arched windows installed in the front of the school, casting crisp shadows on the ground.

The single-word response, so clearly loaded with shock and sadness, almost entirely obliterated the man's nonplussed attitude and serious expression.

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She repeated forlornly, "Why?"

He kneeled down, obviously uncomfortable with the situation. "I'm sorry, miss Lola, but the higher-ups at Weatherton cannot in good conscience allow someone as..." He strove around for the word, desperately trying to find some consolation for the desolate child. "...powerful as you are to perform in ordinary classes with the other children. It could destroy their self-esteem."

Lola wiped away the starting of tears from her eyes, and the man sighed inwardly in relief. "To put it bluntly, you are simply at too high of a Level to interact with these kids."

She sniffed loudly, and it stabbed at his heartstrings. "B-b-but how will I make friends?"

The man reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "Well - there are quite a few other talented kids in the classes we'll be putting you in, I promise! And besides - I'll be your friend if you want!"

She rubbed her nose, looking up at him with a faint smile. "I'm - I'm Lola. Who are you?"

He smiled, rocking back on his heels. "My name is James Barkley. I have a lot of friends, so... You can be friends with them, too!"

She smiled happily, wiping her face clean. "Th-th-thanks. I'm Lola Bourgeious, and this is-" As she pulled Codex out of her bag from habit, she froze and remembered what Xephyx had told her about how people might react to the Living Book.

James leaned forward expectantly. "Aaaand who else?"

Lola shrugged noncommittally. "No one."

He blinked. "Oh. Okay."

They sat there for a moment, waiting for the other to make the first move. James started suddenly, clearly having realized something. "Oh yes I almost forgot. Just a moment, please." Closing his eyes briefly, he shoved his arm into nothingness.

Lola stifled a scream before realizing that he wasn't in pain, and she leaned forward, morbidly curious. His arm was cut off, ending only in darkness as he reached into some sort of black, floating disc. Standing, she walked around him and looked closely at the circle. 

James' eyes opened, and he pulled out a rather fancy leather bag. "All right, this is - where'd you go?" He looked around for a moment before noticing she was behind him now. He jumped forward, spinning in his surprise. "OH! Oh, I'm sorry. I just - sorry." He hung his head. 

Lola tilted her own, her forehead creasing. "Why are you sorry?"

He paused, staring at the floor with a strange expression. "Um. I don't... really know, if I'm honest. I just say 'sorry' a lot, I guess."

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She smiled widely, and the sun seemed to land on her face for a bit longer than normal. "You don't have to say sorry if you didn't do anything wrong! Father always says that you should apologize when you need to and not a moment before."

He smiled crookedly. "That's really good advice. I'll keep that in mind. I'll see you around, Lola." He started walking away, and Lola blinked.

"Um. Why did you do that?"

He turned, a puzzled expression on his face. "Do what?"

She indicated the bag in his hands. "Why did you get that out of... wherever you got it?"

He stared down at the bag for a moment, uncomprehending, then blinked. "Oh, right! I'd forgotten." Walking over to Lola, he handed her the satchel, and she examined it carefully.

It was a decent size, crafted from hardened leather so as to hold its shape. The flap had a curious indent, as if it were a wide W, and the primary area underneath dipped into a shallow V. The result of the unusual design was that there was now a diamond-shaped hole centered approximately two-thirds of the way up the satchel. Overall, it was a well-designed but nondescript piece of equipment. 

Lola looked up at him, confused. "But... I already have a bag." She held it up to show him, and he chuckled, patting the newer satchel. "We know you have a bag. This is for your grimoire - we noticed it had an eye. Don't worry about preferential treatment, though. We're supposed to give these out to any students with an enchanted grimoire, even though we don't exactly get those often."

Her face lit up in understanding, and she pulled Codex out of her bag, shoving him in the new satchel. He fit perfectly, his eye peeking out from the satchel's hole. Now that she knew what it was for, she could appreciate how helpful it would be. Now she wouldn't have to take Codex out every time she wanted to show him her new friends.

She beamed up at James. "Thank you so much! I'm sure Codex is-" She cut herself off again, albeit not quickly enough.

His forehead creased in confusion. "Who's Codex?" 

Lola almost panicked, stammering. "Uhhh, he's a - he's a friend of - no, that doesn't work. He's - he's -"

She sighed, the tension that had been building up in her shoulders dissipating. "Sorry."

James smiled. "You don't have to say sorry. And you don't have to tell me who Codex is, either. I'm sure he's a very good friend, whoever he is."

Lola smiled enthusiastically, enormously relieved that the situation had defused itself. "He definitely is! He's my best friend ever."

He popped his long fingers, nodding pleasantly. "Well, then, I'm certain he's a very lucky person."

Lola didn't bother correcting him on the fact that Codex wasn't a person. "He is. Bye!"

She sprinted out of the entrance, practically leaping into the waiting arriage and tackling Isaac in a hug. "Hi, Father! How are you doing? I thought you'd be working!"

He smiled widely, patting her on the head. "Well, I took some time off. I can't miss picking you up from your orientation!"

She excitedly showed him her new satchel, telling him all about it as the airrage lifted off the ground, slowly picking up speed as it moved away towards their mansion. 

Underneath them, James happily waved as the airriage disappeared from sight, waiting until it was a distant speck in the sky. 

Principal Faxter walked up next to him. "Is she hiding something?"

He nodded, his smile disappearing. "I'm certain of it. Can you ask around? She mentioned something about a person named Codex."

She eyed him curiously. "That's an odd name. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone by that name."

His eyes narrowed as he eyed the long-gone airrage. "I know. I don't think it's a person."

Both of her eyebrows crashed into each other as she glanced at him intensely. "It's not another Zannet, is it?"

He shrugged. "I don't have enough information to be sure either way, but I'll try to figure it out."

She focused on the speck that contained Lola Bourgeious. "You'd better. No one gets to that level of power without some sort of outside assistance, and if we can recruit this Codex person, then Weatherton really will become the greatest school of magic this nation - no, this planet has ever seen."

James glanced at her sideways. "You don't think it had anything to do with Francis Couterie?" 

She shook her head. "No, I don't. It's a famous enough name. She probably learned it from someone at home, and pretended he was teaching her. The odds of some little girl being trained under one of the greatest warriors Careolis has ever seen are just too slim."

He nodded. "I understand. I'll keep a close eye on her." He closed his eyes again, and vanished in a swirl of black shadow.

The principal stayed there for a moment. "Lola Bourgeious, you are going to help this school quite a bit. Yes, indeed."