Gloria Oliver by Cross-Eyed Dragon Troubles Page A

way, but you’d be amazed at the number of people who’ve not thought of it,” Mandee said. “Everyone just wants to do it all at once and get it over with.”
    “Especially the boys.” Yllin rolled her eyes as if this said it all.
    “One day though, the two of us realized since the whole day was ours, it wouldn’t matter how long it took us to do it as long as it got done before lights out,” Mandee gave her a smug smile.
    Talia nodded thoughtfully. She wasn’t sure how long it would have taken her to come to the same conclusion, but the idea was a good one. And her arms would definitely be grateful. If only she could do something to help them feel better now.
    Yllin interrupted her thoughts. “They won’t really start to bother you until later. We’ll get you the salve long before then.”
    “Will it really help?” She didn’t want to get her hopes too high.
    “Oh, sure. The stuff is real good. I think it’s one of the more popular items around here,” Mandee said.
    She didn’t doubt it. “Thanks, I’d really appreciate it.” The thought of actually having some relief brought an easy smile to her face.
    By the time lunch was over, Talia found herself getting a little excited as the time to meet with Helyn drew near. Having already told her friends about the meeting, she parted company with them when they came out of the garden back into the building proper.
    As promised, Helyn was waiting for the new students not far from the door. She was the third to join her. It wasn’t long before the rest of the students arrived. She was somewhat impressed as Helyn greeted each of them by name.
    “I’m glad you could all make it,” she said. “Come, let me show you our classroom.” Helyn led the way down the hall.
    All the classrooms were set in the middle area of the first floor. The walls, unlike all the other ones in the school, were made of a dark wood rather than stone. As they went through the small mazelike hallways between them, Helyn explained how the walls in this area were not permanent, but were made so they could stand alone or be moved to create different sized rooms depending on the need. Talia stared at the solid walls around her, finding it difficult to believe they could be moved. The only thing that gave credence to Helyn’s statement was the fact neither the hallways nor the rooms possessed a ceiling, and could be looked down into from the floors above.
    Their own room was close to the center of the maze. Twelve large desks were arranged inside it in two rows bent in a large semicircle, the desks staggered so none would impede another’s view. The chairs behind the desks were large and padded, but also short to accommodate their non-adult-sized legs. She couldn’t help but smile, thinking these desks and chairs extremely luxurious compared to the stiff wooden benches they all shared at school back home. She wondered fleetingly what her old friends would make of all this.
    A tall, wide desk faced all the others and a massive blackboard was hooked to the wall behind it. Giant rolls of paper lay stacked on the large desk. Talia was curious as to what they could be for.
    “This will be your classroom for the next year,” Helyn told them. “I’m greatly looking forward to getting started.” The teacher’s face almost glowed as she looked at each of them. For several minutes, Helyn encouraged them to look around and try the desks and chairs, before she led them back out and promised to meet them after breakfast four days from then.
    As she returned to her room, Talia found herself more excited by the prospect of school than she would have thought. Her eagerness surprised her, not ever having felt this way about being taught before. Still, she felt she would be able to learn things here she’d never imagined knowing. And something about this held a lot of appeal.
    After she made sure to write another letter to her parents, despite the deep ache settling into her arms, she took an early