It is Monday.

I spent all of yesterday getting everything ready to go back to classes, as well as get Ria ready for school, simply because she has to come with me.

As with most colleges, part time jobs are not allowed, and those of us with Syms must keep them in the classroom with us; as the school doesn't want our attention divided. Since the particulars of my Sym was released to the public, there are certain cases that the school has told me that my Sym is to not be next to me. At first, I thought 'well that's obvious' but now that the first day of the new semester is here, I am in kind of a panic about it.

Ria, being a female, still has to use the female restroom, which means that, although I am not going in there, as a male, I am still going into one of the three forbidden domains of women. I didn't think about it much when Ria had to use the restroom at the resturant the other day, but girls from my college weren't in there gossiping about the guys, which is kind of likely on my campus.

Ria, is also required to use the girl's locker rooms. I don't think a married man needs to say anything more about this.

and 3rd, Ria is required to attend the female-only health classes, while I am required to be in the male-only health classes. this one, I completely understand; but it is still embarassing.

So, while they are obvious restrictions, they still can carry unforseen consequences and embarassments.

Tia did help me get Ria ready today, as she said there would be a lot of reporters around the school's entrance, trying to get images of me with Ria, so we made sure the uniform was completely within the school code, checking measurements twice, and that Ria had everything she needed for the health checkup that would take place immediately after class assignments today.

there wasn't a single reporter around my house at all. I was told that it was because Mother had put a 'no broadcast' order out for anything within three blocks of the house, so that we could have some privacy. this didn't stop reporters from coming down the street, or usng photos of the house that were taken before the order was made; but it did stop them from taking any further video or photos. if an agency was caught purchasing photos or video that was made after the order, they risk their whole channel being shut down. because of that, there is no market for scalpers, so those guys aren't even here.

the four of us piled into an old style carraige that was powered by steam, instead of the modern Levs, and made our way to my school. when we got there, the four of us got out, I was kissed on the cheek by Tia, while she corrected my tie as a show for the cameras, then corrected Ria's neck-tab; that actually needed it, and Grey helped her back into the car, while I entered the school grounds with Ria.

I was kind of suprised at how civilized the reporters were being; when we left the hospital, they weren't being nearly as calm as this.

The semester's entrance ceremony was as bland as ever, the most notable point was only when we were told where our class assignments for the semester were located on campus. They were never put up, or released, until this line of the Dean's speech was said, and it was the last line of his speech. This semester the schedules, for my name group, was located on the bulletin board next to the Dean's office.

People practically made way for Ria, while I was getting shoved out of the way. It was definately an odd feeling. having one body jostled, and pushed away from where I wanted to go; and the other having space open up around it like a decending angel had forced people out of their way. finally I got tired of it, and had Ria reach out and grab my arm, pulling me into the space around her, the space then shank, but not by much. I used her to check the schedule itself, while I hung back from the crowd a bit, she was able to check far faster than I had ever been able to.

buildings on campus were given letters, each building had four floors, and each floor had thirty class rooms, the only exceptions were the administration building, the stadium, and the gymnasium which only housed four class rooms, two locker rooms, and two shower rooms. the stadium building, which housed several sports courts, for tennis, badmitten, vollyball, as well as two different game pitches; as well as two male, and two female locker rooms with combined shower rooms. one pair was on the side of the stadium that students rarely used, and was considered as use for the visiting teams we competed against.  the admin building was only the offices, as well as the cafeteria, there were no restrooms in the admin building, so the school staff could almost always bee seen around campus.  you never knew when the Dean was on a bathroom break, or he was going to speak to a teacher or student.

the Stadium was Bulding A, the Gym building B, with the class room buildings being C, D, E, F, G, and H, and the administrative building, was building I, every time a new building is built, the admin building gets the new letter; so that its always the last letter used. this was done so that new students couldn't be fooled into going to a building that didn't exist.

my classes were to be held in building D, floor 3, room 7. Which is in between the admin building, and the gym, where the guy's health checks were going to be held; where Ria would have to walk across the campus to the stadium. We went into the room, and sat down, since my name was on two different seats, one behind the other, I had Ria sit in the seat in front of me. it looked like there were two other people in the class that had syms.

"miss, that seat is reserved for Noel Lavender." a young man came in and told Ria. I didn't recognize him, but he obviously recognized that she wasn't me.

"I am Noel." I said to him. "she is fine, I think you need to find your seat."

he clicked his tounge and walked to the other side of the room, sitting down in a seat that the board had marked for a Barney Du Rose. marking him as a head of a noble house. so he should have recognized her, as well as me, without coming over here. ah, I get it. it was a ruse to get me to notice him, as well as to acertain wether or not Ria was Tia. decent ploy. I see why Tia was so relieved that I didn't know who she was.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

a few minutes later, a balding man, appearing to be in his mid to late fourties, walked in.

"Hello class." he said as he set the old style brown briefcase on his desk, he pulls out a thick stack of paper, and begins handing one to each student as he walked, skipping only the second student when two seats had the same name. "I am your teacher for the next four months. welcome to my class. you will find that it is not all sunshine and roses here, because I am going to test your mind, as well as your own crafting abilities with practical exams. in my class, its not enough to know and understand the process at an academic level, I want each of you to understand these processes by doing them, and completing the tasks I assign. here is the class sylabus, as well as what you will require to purchase for your own home, in terms of equipment, as well as the bare minimum supplies to pass my class. please note, I said 'pass my class' not 'get a good grade.' this materials list, if fully exhausted, only at the end of the semester will net you an overall score of a D- in my class." since Ria and I were on the front row, away from the door, we were the last two to get our sylabus, but it was obvious as to why he had put us there. "Mr. Lavender," he said looking at me, "I know the headmaster and the Dean have both duscussed with you your conduct reguarding your sym on campus, as I was just informed of the situation, I am unsure of what you discussed." I nodded, to which he went back up to the front of the class.

he then had us do our self introductions, again, with myself and Ria being last.

"I am Noel Lavender, I am an applied engineering student, in my second year. This is my Sym, please refer to her as Ria to distinguish between myself and her." at saying that, I had Ria stand, and give a proper curtsy to the class. "as with everyone else, are there any questions for me?"

I got a few innocuous questions at first, the same stuff everyone else had been asked, like hobbies, any projects I was working on, what I thought I could get out of this class; then one of the girls stood up, and by the look on her face, I had a feeling I knew what was comming.

"Noel, if Ria is your sym, where are you planning on changing clothes for gym class, or things like that?"

I sighed at the question I knew was coming. "I have been told by the Dean that I am to use the male facilities, and she is to use the female facilities. if 'peeking' is what you are worried about, I am married, and to the guys in the class, no I won't help you get any information on the girls. at any rate, the girls locker room will have a curtained area in one of the corners for her to use, so as to alleviate any concerns to the girls of me attempting to 'sneak a peek.' I have been told that it will be near the door, and the curtain extend so that I could enter and exit freely without being a bother."

this seemed to satisfy her, but then the next person to stand up was a guy, and I could guess where this question was going too. "so if she is your sym, could you let us touch her?" the lewd look on his face told me it wasn't a normal 'touch'.

"one, absolutely not; two, even though the sym is female, she is still me. I feel every sensation she does, and quite honestly, I don't know how I would feel having a guy touch me in the way you are talking about; nor do I wish to find out."

another female stands, and asks a question I don't expect. "What is your wife's name?" she asks. I was told to give Tia's public name if this question was asked.

"Natillia Du Caledon" I looked at the teacher, as the class looked at me with strange looks, "is this enough of the questions?" I asked him.

"you are the young man who married the Empress-heir?" the teacher asked me.

"Yes." I told him, as I sat down.

the guy from earlier had a smug look on his face. before anyone else could say anything, the bell for the lunch period rang, and everyone headed out to the admin building, where the cafeteria was located.

"Don't forget, after lunch, head directly to the health-check locations." the teacher called out over the noise of everyone moving.

I noticed a few of the guys trying to corner Ria, and it looked like a few of the girls noticed too, and helped me keep that from happening.

"that could have been bad." Ria said to the girl next to her.

"at least you have enough sense as a girl to know that." the girl who helped me said to Ria.

"I'm Ria," I smiled at her.

"I get it. you try to keep the personalities seperate." she seems to contemplate something. "I am Emily." she says as we leave the building. "you mind if I stick with you and Noel?" she asks Ria, even though I am on the other side of her.

"I don't mind. I'll need some help finding the room I need to go to for the health checks, as its my first time going that direction." Ria says to her.

"yeah, it might be helpful to not mention that your host is a guy, at least for the time being."

"My wife said the same thing." I say from her other side. "but the school's policy is that I had to identify her as my Sym on the first day of classes. it doesn't say that I will have to say anything about it tomorrow, only that I can't lie directly. I can opt to just not answer after the day ends."

"sounds like a good plan. since there won't be a host next to her in the health checks, it shouldn't raise too many questions with the other girls, at least not today." she responds.

"I'll leave you two alone then, so it doesn't look like I am a third wheel." I tell her. as we entered the cafeteria. the smell of pasta thick in the air. "spagetti today it seems." I look back at Emily. "looks like its a salad day for Ria." I say as we split up in the cafeteria.

the rest of the day pretty much goes without a hitch, health checks were normal on my side, and on the other side, the curtains being up wouldn't have mattered, Emily forced Ria into the main room when I had intended to go into the curtained area. it seems that almost all the girls had brought large towels with them, and covered themselves with the towels to change.

it was surprising to find that the few conversations that did occour, were just as awkward as they were on the guy's side. seemed like nobody really wanted to change clothes and carry on a conversation at the same time.

Ria weighed in at a light 131lbs, and was 5ft 8.5 inches. they checked a few other things, and sent her on her way. I was still 162lbs, and 6ft even. The girls were only slightly slower than the guys, however took much more time in the changing rooms. once dressed back in our uniforms, I had gone through the routine that Tia and I had worked out to make sure the uniform was within the bounds of the student code, and Emily walked back to the class room with Ria, where I was waiting.

it was at this time that the tell tale white strobes began flashing in the windows. reporters had descended upon the campus.

"Emily, I would sugest waiting until the two of us leave before you leave the classroom." I told her. she nodded in understanding as Ria and I collected our things, and left. doing our best to politely get through the throng of reporters who will do anything for a story.

once back at the front gate, the steam carraige that had dropped me off was sitting off to the side, and pulled up to get me. I helped Ria in first, and then climbed in myself, all in plain view of the flashing cameras, some of which were only milimeters away from my body, trying to appear as though they weren't purposely trying to get me to push the camera away just for an 'angry' shot of me. I'm glad I had already been told about this tactic, otherwise I probably would have shoved it away.

as soon as the carraige crossed the intersection three blocks from my house, all of the camera flashes stopped. the few reporter vehicles that did cross the intersection no longer attempted to get photographs, and quickly turned down side streets.

the first day of classes was now officially over.  it was only after I had entered the house that I realized the teacher never introduced himself.