Sirena Maga - A Strixhaven Story

Meeting at the Commons

From the dorm to the classes and from the classes to the Biblioplex....and then back to the dorms.  Enzi's life was quite the happy little solitary rhythm.  Absent of social pressures that had nothing to do with her main interest, as it happened plenty of times at home.  She decided this weekend, she would change it up a bit.  The day before she had taken the time to sit on a bench and look at the surroundings of the Commons.  It was prettier than what she had first remembered from orientation and touring.  There were patches of grass and trees, flowers at the edges.  But the sheer number of people had made her shy away from venturing out too much.  She actually missed the outdoors, the option of bringing a book out to a beach, where she could look up from time to time and ponder on what she had just read.  Or just relax to contemplate the horizons.  Even in the busy commons, she was sure she could enjoy the shade of a tree and the softness of the grass.  She would get ready today to spend the day outside.  It was sunny, and the fall brisk air was at a comfort zone where knitted clothing could be layered over for warmth.  She would go outside with her books, and a few goodies to take in the change of scenery.

Enzi was dressing very differently in the Strixhaven then she did back home.  Usually she went for tropic colors of blue and yellows, but in these fall days she chose a dress of rust red that resembled the falling leaves all around them.  Weekends were made to be out of uniform, and usually that meant she went right into her coziest outfit, or even the pants and knits that would feel at ease with a morning walk to the library after grabbing some food.  There the world would disappear in words tween the leather bind.  The light reading she could do over the weekend before she delved back into her homework.  Today was different because she would grab some coffee from the busy coffee shop and take a little blanket and basket to a grassy spot.  Perhaps she would be able to watch people without earning too much attention.   

Even if it was that small grassy knoll by Firebolt, she could claim a tiny space for herself.  It seems her ancestors were indeed granting a strange sort of favor because the often boisterous commons and the vicinity of Firebolt seemed devoid of their usual amount of people.  Everyone was unusually relaxed in their stance and not overly loud.  This was great for Enzi, she draped the blanket over the grass, sat on it and placed the little basket beside her and her leather carrier with a few books right next to it. 

She pulls out a jar of strawberries and the selected poems that would be her light reading of the day.  The stanzas and lyrical verses moved her mind with beautiful images and emotions.  Emotions that she was sure to hide away from plain sight.  Eventually her studies pulled her attention back to the assigned reading and she left the volume of poems on the side to delve on Methods of Scribing.  She had just began chewing on one strawberry when a voice filtered in through the thick veil of her studies. 

"Maybe I should be friends with you to win some of those strawberries."

She blinked twice to bring her attention to a young woman, about her age, who was talking to her.

"Oh no, you don't need to be my friend to have some strawberries."

That was a weird reply, but ok....she hoped the woman would not catch up with it. 

"Is that some way of telling me to take some strawberries and leave?"

"Huh...?" She did catch it after all.  "Oh...No...not at all."
"Oh, so that means I can sit then." A playful grin curled the woman's mouth, but Enzi was too busy looking surprised.  She was so reserved that people usually ignored her and if anyone displayed any interest- she was absolutely unawares. 

"Uhm...yeah...it'll be a better way to eat strawberries, that way."

(To be continued...)