The Veritas Conflict by Shaunti Feldhahn

were ever going to get here on time. They slipped into the back of the room. They had already heard yesterdays horror stories of how some professors, on the first day of class, made an example of anyone walking in even a minute late.
    The two girls exchanged relieved glances at the buzz of conversation in the lecture hall. Below them row upon row of seats were arranged in an amphitheater, overlooking a raised platform that held a podium, whiteboards, and multimedia equipment. They found two empty seats together near the top rank of seats.
    The room quieted as an older professor and several TAs moved through a side door and toward the platform. All conversation stopped as the silver-haired professor rapped on the podium and turned on the microphone clipped to his belt.
    “Greetings, everyone. You are in the class Introduction to European History, which will meet here every Tuesday and Thursday from eleven to twelve-thirty, with occasional sections conducted by my teaching assistants in smaller classrooms. As the airlines say, if you’re not in the right place, I would suggest that you depart before the plane leaves the gate.” Scattered laughter punctuated the room.
    “Let me tell you what we’re going to be doing here today. First, I’ll tell you a little about myself and outline what this class will be about. Today will be a shortened teaching session: We’re only going to cover the first half of chapter one in our text. At the end of the class I’m going to introduce you to my team of assistants, who will be helping to guide this rather large class through the semester.” He gestured to the five TAs standing off to the side.
    Claire couldn’t help staring at the poised men and women on the platform, especially an attractive young man wearing a distinctive striped shirt. She nudged Sherry, who nodded approvingly when she pointed.
    “The teaching assistants will provide some of the one-on-one attention that I can’t possibly provide in such a large class. Before you leave, we’ll hand out a sheet showinghow we’ve divided the class into sections. Each of you will be assigned to the section of a particular TA.
    “But first things first. My name is William Mansfield, and this is my fifteenth year of teaching at Harvard.” The professor walked slowly up and down the front of the room, recounting his experience in Washington, D.C., moving backward through time. “Before that stint as the president’s policy advisor, I spent several years in colonial Williamsburg as a professor and consultant on the original writings of the founding fathers.”
    As he described his fascinating career, he frequently looked out at the serried rows of desks in front of him. “Now,” he smoothly switched gears, “let’s begin our overview of European history with the latter years of the Roman Empire.” A rustling sound filled the room as one hundred notebooks were flipped open. “Roughly eighteen hundred years ago, the once-mighty Roman Empire found itself in an increasingly troubled situation.…”
    Claire sat at the piano in the tiny rehearsal room in Paine Hall, intently picking out the notes on the score in front of her. She had only half an hour to familiarize herself with the music before her final audition for the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium, the school’s most prestigious choir. She had breezed through the preliminary auditions last week and had been delighted to see the respect on the choir director’s face as he listened to her voice. She had eagerly agreed to commit to the choir if selected.
    Nothing was certain until the final list went up, she reminded herself sternly, but wouldn’t it be awesome to be in one of the most prestigious college choirs in the country? The director had told the auditioning group that the choir did one national and one foreign tour each year and this year’s summer tour was to Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and perhaps even mainland China!
    Claire knew committing to the choir would