“Welcome to Class 1-1.”
As Miieie sat in the second row of seats, she felt a rush of energy bubbling through her body.
The classroom held sixteen students; two groups of boys and two groups of girls. There was no seating order that accommodated for familiarity, though from Miieie’s spot in the middle of the second row she couldn’t say she didn’t recognize either of the girls to her left or right. To her left was Iris, one of her roommates and the one person at the school she had spent the most time with. On her right… well, it was the pink-haired girl from the dueling circle.
The girl that her red-haired roommate had fought and beaten without much effort. Miieie could feel her judging eyes peering at her as their instructor turned their back and began writing her name with a piece of chalk on the blackboard.
“You may refer to me as Instructor Lamia.” She turned with chalk in hand, “Welcome to Minerva's Imperial Academy.”
Looking at Instructor Lamia was something else. She was one of the younger members of the school’s staff Miieie had seen, though she wasn’t fresh out of the academy either. She looked to be somewhere in her thirties, though it was hard to tell. Her hair was long and slightly unkempt.
If she were to be compared to anyone Miieie knew on Skilma, it would’ve been Instructor Ienna, though Instructor Lamia was taller by more than a few centimeters. What Miieie seemed to catch was that she carried herself differently; the way she walked, her presence, her look–she just didn’t feel like she was cut from the same cloth as the headmaster. Maybe it was a bad read, but Miieie felt there was something to it. It wasn’t like Rel who came off as the exact opposite of what a noble should be, but it was also sort of like that, too.
It was then that Miieie noticed Endra, a row in front of her, had raised her hand. The instructor pointed over to her, asking her to go ahead with her question.
“I volunteer.”
Miieie raised a brow; volunteer?
“For class representative. I’m sure my scores are the highest.”
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The instructor smirked, almost like she found Endra’s assertion funny.
It did remind Miieie though that everyone's scores would be a curiosity once they made it to class. She had been nervous about it, though. If Endra thought she was the smartest girl in the room then Miieie was the direct opposite. If she barely got in, if her numbers were obscenely low, what would that make of her? Despite her confidence in herself, she could see the faces of the dueling circle swirling in her head like demons. Did she actually belong here? If she was at the bottom she would feel awful, almost like the assertions made by the nobles were true. Almost like she would be letting her grandfather down.
As the teacher retrieved a piece of paper from her desk she could feel herself scooting closer and closer in her chair.
“The top of the class…” The instructor looked closely at the piece of paper, before she sighed, crumbled into a ball and tossed it into the trash can behind her. “...doesn’t matter.”
Huh?! The entire class may as well have fallen out of their chairs in shock.
“Then who will be the class rep?!” The pink-haired girl slammed her hands on her desk as she stood up, “By tradition it is–”
The instructor sighed, rolling her eyes before she looked across the room.
“Hey. You.” She pointed.
Miieie looked up and saw she was pointing at her. What?
“Um, ehehehe, yes instructor?”
“You’re the rep.” The instructor remarked nonchalantly as the pink-haired girl seemed to fume with abject shock.
Endra plopped back in her seat, defeated by the sudden occurrence.
“You can’t pick her on a w-w-whim?!” The pink-haired noble shouted, pointing at Miieie as she stared down the teacher.
“I’m the teacher, so yeah, I can.” She sighed, “Sit back down, alright?”
The pink-haired girl slowly returned to her seat, though Miieie did wonder what her piece of paper said though. Where did she rank? What was the deal with her demeanor? Why was everyone staring at her? Did she belong here? And what the heck was a class rep?