All of the buildings, Jaax had told her on their way to the University that morning, were named after a star or constellation.
When she had asked him why, he merely smiled and said, “The stars are our grandest symbols of enlightenment. Besides, it’s a wonderful way to help us remember our astronomy lore, don’t you think?”
Jahrra turned and looked down at Jaax now. He stood in the main plaza which was equally crowded with students, professors and people who were just passing through. He looked ridiculously small to her, despite the fact that he couldn’t be more than a hundred feet away from where she stood. Jaax nodded but Jahrra noticed his tense stature. Was he nervous too? Worried about leaving her alone in her first class? Jahrra felt like bursting into hysterics. She was a grown woman, well, nearly a grown woman, and she was only going off to class for goodness sake.
Taking another deep breath, she pushed aside her anxiety and climbed the remaining stairs. The crowd seemed smaller once she reached the top and she found the shade cast by the great columns soothing.
Brushing back a loose strand of hair, Jahrra entered one of the many doors that stood wide open and found herself in a great foyer. Posters and schedules hung along the walls and two hallways split and trailed off in opposite directions along the far wall. The chatter of people echoed strangely in the place, making it seem much bigger than it was.
Jahrra glanced down at her schedule, trying to discern the number of the room for her history class. The boom of footsteps and loud snap and slam of doors being opened and closed added to the noisy atmosphere while the brilliant colors of a stained glass window somewhere far above painted the sheet of paper she held with blue, gold and red.
Jahrra found the room number then consulted her map. She looked up and began walking forward. Her classroom was down the right hand hallway but as she began to turn she caught a glimpse through the door just in front of her. Jahrra stopped in her tracks and stared. The room was huge with seats cascading down towards a large stage set below. She glanced up at the sign hanging above the four massive doors that led into the room: Essyel Auditorium.
“Essyel,” a voice said behind her, “the Torch-bearer that lights our way at night.”
Jahrra jumped and looked up. She had to work hard to keep her mouth from falling open. She had read about centaurs and Hroombra had told her stories about them, but she had never actually seen one before.
The centaur crossed his arms over his chest and continued on as if he hadn’t noticed her reaction.
“This auditorium is mostly used for meetings of groups and organizations that wish to promote peace or change. Every so often a class will be held here, but only if it’s an immensely popular one.”
The creature smiled and Jahrra felt some of her apprehension melt away. He had dark hair, long enough to brush his shoulders, and hazel eyes that reflected his smile. He seemed nice enough but Jahrra wasn’t sure what to say. Luckily, she didn’t have to say anything.
“Well,” he said as casually as before, “I had better be off. I don’t want to keep you from your class.”
Jahrra nodded numbly and watched as he made his way in the opposite direction, his hoof beats sounding louder than the other footsteps.
Shaking her head, Jahrra continued on down the hall, finding her class a few minutes before the professor arrived. A few students were already present and a few more arrived after her. Everyone chose to spread out in the smallish room, each taking a seat as far away from the next person as possible. Their instructor was an older man who seemed well dressed and well mannered.
Jahrra took out a piece of parchment from her bag and started taking notes as he jumped right into their history lesson. About halfway through the class Jahrra realized that she already knew everything he was telling them. Apparently Hroombra had been a much better teacher than she had ever thought. She set her quill beside her notes and sat back, deciding to only jot down what sounded like new information.
Towards the end of the class she noticed that the young man sitting behind and to the side of her was giving her a quizzical look. He looked about her own age and had sandy hair and a roguish grin. Jahrra turned her attention back towards the front of the classroom, gritting her teeth and crossing her arms. She hated being the object of anyone’s attention and something about her classmate made her uncomfortable.
A few minutes more and class was over. Jahrra grabbed her bag and tried to leave the room as quickly as possible but as she made her way back up the hall the young man from her history class caught up to her.
“Hey, wait!” he called, running up beside her. “I noticed you stopped taking notes halfway through class, do you want to borrow mine?”
Jahrra stopped abruptly and the young man had to catch himself. The other students walking through the hall gave them perturbed looks, muttering complaints about rudeness and people blocking the flow of traffic as they continued on.
Jahrra eyed him warily but found only an innocent smile on his face. He was taller than her and had clear grey eyes. She tried to find deceit there but his friendliness seemed genuine.
“Um, no thanks,” Jahrra answered shakily. “I realized that I already knew what he was telling us.”
She hiked her bag farther up her shoulder and pressed on. She had a half hour before her next class, mathematics, so she wasn’t worried about being late but for some reason she wanted to get away from her overly pleasant classmate.
“Wait, maybe you can give me some pointers.”
The young man came running up again, pulling his own bag close as it jostled around, bumping into people.
They had passed through the great foyer and were now at the top of the steps, the bright mid-morning sun glaring down on them. Jahrra kept moving, pretending like she hadn’t heard him. She raced down the stairs, trying not to run into anyone else while staying on her feet.
Halfway down she made the mistake of looking up. She stopped and gritted her teeth. Jaax stood beside a great oak tree, half of its canopy spreading over the plaza, the other half reaching over the lawn and a section of the steps in front of Emehriel Hall. Had he waited for her? She would have been touched if she hadn’t been so eager to get away from the boy that was now standing behind her.
Before he could say anything else, Jahrra hurried down to stand in front of Jaax.
“Did you wait this whole time for me?” she demanded, dropping her bag onto a patch of shady grass.
Jaax merely grinned and shrugged. “I wanted to make sure everything went well. So, did it?”
Jahrra groaned. He was the only dragon standing in the plaza at the moment and more than several people were giving him a curious look.
The young man from her history class stepped up behind her. “You know a dragon? I’ve seen many here in Lidien but I’ve never actually worked up the courage to talk to one.”
Jaax arched a scaly brow and spoke, his voice a little harder this time, “So you’ve made a friend already, Jahrra. Are you going to introduce us?”
Jahrra groaned and buried her face in her hands. She wanted to die of embarrassment but unfortunately, Ethoes wasn’t that kind.
“I, I don’t really know him,” she finally mumbled. “He’s in my history class and we haven’t exchanged names yet.”
She turned to the young man, the situation now making it necessary to acknowledge him. He already had his hand thrust out, a huge grin on his face.
“Senton,” he said, “and you are Jahrra, right?”