an unwelcome thrum settled within the halls; a crackling she couldn’t quite recognize, one so similar to both warmth and dread; she’d gathered a collection of oddly silent glances from the pack, some unsettling, some ablaze with concern, though she’d gotten used to such looks. perhaps they were only WORRIED how she was fairing from the previous night in eichen. as it was, the morning held no relief; tendrils of sunlight only seeming to singe fair skin rather than welcome it as it beamed through the classroom’s windows. the lab desk was unusually unoccupied, the girl that’d been beside her since the semester began apparently having been out for the day, leaving it the ONLY free seat within the room. she took the opportunity to lye her books off to the side, a collection of both previous & following classes, a leather-bound filled with lore to prod through should she find her mind wandering.
the bell tolled, soft stirring of papers and limbs within the room a familiar static, unaware of another student entering a few yards behind where she sat. she didn’t envy the sneer they’d receive from a particularly sharp teacher who certainly didn’t favor TARDINESS.
