The remedial teacher was late. Tenthé sat in a too-big chair, swinging his feet as he waited.

He was thinking about supper; stuffing himself while laughing and joking with his dorm-mates. His friends, he guessed, still getting used to the idea. Maybe he would bring some of them along the next time he went to the catacombs. But not until they were better fighters. It wasn’t exactly safe down there.

Should he help them, somehow? He was a terrible teacher, but perhaps he could do something. Venturing meant a person had to be good at more than one thing. It was important to be strong, fast, smart, with a capable offence and defense. Someone like Magister Maguinis built on a solid base and compensated for his weaknesses through practice and the use of aids such as amulets and tattoos, but the boys weren’t anywhere close to that level.

But he might be able to come up with a few ideas to help. Something to think about.

The door to the conference room crashed open. Tenthé didn’t jump; he was long past being scared by sudden noises. Instead, he watched as a cloud of clothes, hair, books, and loose sheets of parchment swept by and dumped itself on or about the little table he was sitting at. The event pushed its hair back, revealing a face of… a girl? He decided to commit to that until proven wrong.

She removed her cloak, uncovering clothing that still made gender ambiguous, then spoke, “I apologize. I’m late. The hallways were particularly enigmatic tonight. So, where were we,” she looked at a sheet, “Chan?”

“Um, what?”

“This is Twosday, so you’re Chan. Right?”

“It’s Onesday. That’s what people said.”

“Oh, sorry?”

Why she said this as a question wasn’t apparent. After hunting through some of the parchments, she pulled one out, gazed at it for quite a while, then opened a book and started paging through it.

Tenthé brought out a sandwich. Having enough food was a luxury that never lasted, so he indulged while he could. Eventually, the girl looked up.

“Oh, hi. May I help you?” she asked.

“Um… okay? I think you’re supposed to show me how to read and stuff.”

“Well, I don’t know. I’ll check my schedule. I’m extremely busy.”

She went back to her book.

“What’s that about?”

“It’s a fascinating study concerning a small boy who has amazing skills but can’t read or count. It was just given to me by Tomas. I would love to work on this case!”

“Uh-huh. What’s the boy’s name?”

“Um, an old religious one. Tenthé. Not uncommon, but kind of passé.”

“Hey! That’s my name too!”

“What a coincidence!”

“What’s co… co… that mean?”

“Coincidence. That is when things occur at the same time, usually with some odd reason that they are related. Suppose you want a greenfruit, and suddenly someone walks up and gives you one. Like that.”

“I can’t read or count either.”

“Well… that really is a coincidence!” and she laughed.

“Yeah.”

She went back to her reading. When it became obvious she had no intention of saying anything further, Tenthé prompted, “I have a friend that helps me read.”

“It should be who, not that. That’s for things.”

“Uh… he’s sort of a thing. He thinks he’s a he, though. You want to meet him?”

“I suppose. Is he outside?”

“No, I have him here.”

Tenthé brought out Bear, who yawned and stretched. He’d tired himself out this afternoon, mostly screwing with the players and trying to jump and catch the colored blobs.

“So, what kind of crap are we into now?” Bear asked.

“Just talking with this lady, here. She knows someone like me! Even has my name.”

“Ha, that’s no lady, that’s my…” and Tenthé batted him into a wall. He might not know the exact joke Bear had been about to spring on them, but hitting him into a wall was always the appropriate response.

Bear jumped back on the table. “What did you do that for? I wasn’t going to say anything!”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, it would’ve been funny!”

Bear strode over to the girl, pushed her book down, and read it upside down. “Hey, this is about you!” he stated.

The girl looked at the book, then at Tenthé. “Really!” she exclaimed.

“Yeah, really! What? Are you stupid? Guess so.” Bear responded.

“Oh? This is so fascinating!”

Incredulous, Bear scrutinized both of them. “I… I don’t know what to say. You two… Dunderhead, I’d like you to meet Clueless. You two are made for each other.”

The girl spoke, “Call me Steward Joon. I’m a Steward.”

“Okay. Now I see why they picked you. Great command of language,” Bear muttered.

Everyone ignored him.

“What’s a Steward?” Tenthé asked.

“That’s the title for people who help guide students, mostly for tutoring or that sort of thing. They’re either seniors, or like me, researchers who are moonlighting to make some extra money.

“What I usually do is translate old documents. In fact, just the other day a Magister brought in an ancient book she said they’d found in, of all places, a cache in the Testing room! It outlined the life of an ordinary servant and is absolutely fascinating! The treatise upset several things we thought we knew about that time. It turns out that many of the references we based our history on were actually highly imaginative and unrealistic novels. The new information talks about the servants laughing at how silly the stories were. I can tell you, there are some red faces about that!” And she laughed.

“Yeah, okay, that’s nice and all, but what about the kid, here?” Bear interjected.

“Oh, if he’s my appointment, then we’ve already wasted too much time and should get started.”

Oddly enough, once Joon focused, she was quite thorough. It took an hour to run through a number of questions and tests, and after reviewing the results, she sat back.

“You are an interesting case. Let me present what I have uncovered.”

She held up a parchment with a square on it. “If I show you this and say it is a square, then ask you to find it on this page of different shapes, you have no problems.

“Now, if I hold up this page and tell you it is the glyph sandrom, then show you a page of glyphs, you can’t find it. The thing is, I only have two pages. The square and sandrom are the same drawing, as are the shapes and glyphs.

“Similarly, for counting. If I say “Get a sheet of parchment.” you can do it, but if I say “Get one sheet of parchment.” you don’t understand.”

“This is not a normal learning disability. Your friend Bear has suggested that it is tangled up with other issues you have: mainly that you do not get older and you are easily forgotten.

“If you could count, then you would know that you aren’t ten years old. I’m not sure why you’re not able to read, but I’ll figure it out, in time.

“I hypothesize that because you’re stuck at the emotional and physical age of ten, you don’t have an adult’s idea of what you can and can’t do. You have an interesting understanding of magic, and conflict involving magic. And, something I find to be significant: just like a ten-year-old, you think you are indestructible. You commit to courses of action that a more mature individual would never choose.

“Another thing. You do not exhibit deep planning skills. You are a more a try-and-see type of individual. You lean heavily on your speed and experience to escape predicaments that your lack of forethought gets you into.”

As she paused, Bear broke in. “Wow. You’re not the idiot I thought you were! That makes sense, sort of. Maybe the first person we’ve met here who doesn’t have their head firmly stuck up their rotund backside. At least, not all the time.”

“Well, thank you, Mr. Bear. I appreciate your honest opinion.”

“Damn, I do like that! We really have to work harder on getting everyone to call me Mister.”

“To continue, if we want to truly understand what’s happening, we need to delve into the magic linkage. If half of what you have told me is true, and I have no reason to suspect you are lying, then it’s important to uncover what you have experienced to explain why you are the way you are.

“But, already, there are negative consequences! Somehow, in spite of the relatively average power of your spells, you’ve managed to obtain a solid foundation in quite a few eclectic supernatural techniques, and you do not age. What you don’t realize is that these are things that many desire. You may think I’m somewhat removed from the levels of sense and sensibility that most people consider normal, but I can tell you one thing.”

At this point, she slammed her hand on the table. “Listen up! Both of you! This is very important! You, Tenthé, have made a big splash here at the College! Even with the forgetting, there is enough evidence floating around that someone extraordinary is attending. The document I was given contains a great amount of detail as to what has been uncovered about you, and I have concluded that you cannot just leave and return to your previous life. Between the records that now exist, and what non-humans such as those in the Guardians know, you won’t be able to fade back into obscurity any longer.

“You’re hot property! Outside the College, you will have to be very careful, and inside these premises, you are likely to be the target of many schemes.

“Do both of you understand?” she almost screamed.

Bear and Tenthé were difficult to read. Tenthé was normally expressionless, and Bear was, well, a stuffed toy.

Joon looked at them. “I won’t fan the flames any further. My report will simply state that remedial classes are of no use because your issues aren’t something I can do anything about. What do you think?”

“Okay, ma’am.”

“What?” June yelled, more like one of his old teachers than the scholar she was supposed to be.

Tenthé put on his best I’m-being-honest face. He had lots of practice, so it was reasonably convincing.

“I understand what you’re saying, ma’am. On top of everything else, I better watch my a… I mean, be careful.”

She sniffed, but appeared to find this answer acceptable. Barely.

“All right, then. Return to your dorm and I’ll turn in my report so I can get back to my research. It’s intense, so it’d be best if you leave me out of your future plans and go through Tomas. He’ll arrange things. Okay?”

“Yes’m.”

“And, you’re sure you don’t want any of this?” Bear posed and flexed.

“No, you vile creature. I shudder to think of it.”

With that, the non-lesson was over. Joon watched while they exited, then looked down at the desktop. Her gaze returned to the door, then became unfocussed. She seemed to diminish, somehow, and, after a time, she quietly rose, gathered her belongings, and left.

As they approached the dorm, Tenthé shared with Bear the feeling of a massive force fading into the distance.

“Another god?” Bear asked.

“Sort of. The same as the one in the kitchen.”

“Ah. You know, she just warned us to watch out for people like her.”

“Yeah. Kind of dumb.”