Chatoyant College Book 2: Initiates

Chapter 12: Jasmine

They were the first to arrive at the classroom and chose seats near the middle. However, they weren't alone for long; Annie walked in, holding a book to her chest and frowning at the floor. "Annie! Over here!" Corrie called.

Annie looked up and smiled, her face transforming with the change in expression. "Edie! Corrie! Hi!" She hurried over to them and put her book down on the desk next to Edie's, settling herself in the seat with her legs curled under her. Corrie was slightly envious of her ability to do that; Annie was short, and Corrie's legs were too long to fit under the desk that way. "Oh, I'm so glad I finally have a class with someone I know."

"I guess you didn't get much chance to meet people before classes started," Edie said with sympathy.

Annie nodded, smiling wryly. "Just you two, Dawn, and sort of Rico."

"How are you doing?" Corrie asked, leaning slowly toward Edie so she could talk to Annie more easily. "Dealing with things okay?"

"I think so," Annie said. She briefly glanced down at the floor, then looked up again. "People seem to assume I've been here the whole time, and I don't bother to correct them..."

"They probably wouldn't remember if you did tell them," Edie pointed out. She shook her head. "I really don't get how this, uh, magic works." She dropped her voice as more students started to enter the room.

"Hmm." Corrie stretched her mouth into an ironic smile. "Maybe I should just ask Professor Lal." Her friends both laughed softly, though of course Annie didn't know what Edie and Corrie knew: that Professor Lal was not only her teacher for Introduction to Magic, but also a faerie herself. She wondered if the professor would even tell her if she asked. Were there rules about that, too?

"Good morning, class!" came a voice from the front of the room. Corrie quickly turned to face forward, settling herself properly in her seat. About half the class responded raggedly to the teacher's greeting. She smiled and turned to write on the chalkboard. She had shoulder-length, curly hair that had probably once been blonde, but was now more silver than anything else. The lines on her face and hands matched the message of the hair: older than the students' parents, but not as old as their grandparents. She was dressed very casually, though, which surprised Corrie. All of her other teachers had worn skirts or pressed slacks, dressing professionally, at least for the first day of class; this woman wore a long skirt that appeared to be made of artistically wrinkled, tie-dyed silk, a pink tank top, a chunky beaded necklace, hoop earrings, and flat sandals that showed pink-painted toenails.

The professor's eccentric appearance made Corrie wonder if she could be a faerie. Would a faerie choose to appear as an older woman like this? It would be a good way to avoid suspicion, especially if she had worked here for some time. But Corrie just didn't know. It was too bad Dawn had tested out of this class--not that she would necessarily be in the same one, but she wasn't sure how to get Dawn to take a look at the professor otherwise.

She had finished writing on the board: it read "Academic Writing 3" and "Professor Jasmine Slusser." She turned back to the class, smiling; her eyes twinkled, and Corrie wondered if she was wrong. Maybe Professor Slusser was just a crazy old lady. She just looked too kind to have any relation to the creatures from the woods--she could believe it of serious, commanding Professor Lal, but not this sweet old lady.

"Welcome to Academic Writing 3," she said. "If you're in this class, that means you tested out of the lower levels, and you already understand grammar and have a good idea how to write an essay. Either that, or you're in the wrong class." She paused for the class to laugh, her smile broadening just a bit, and they dutifully did. "I'm bound by school rules to introduce myself as Professor Jasmine Slusser, but please, just call me Jasmine. I hope we can all be friends and I don't let my friends refer to me by my last name!"

Corrie caught Edie's eyes and could tell they were both stifling a laugh. A professor who wanted to be friends? She was either crazy or really lenient. Either way, Corrie was probably going to enjoy this class.

"Basically," Jasmine continued, "what we're going to do in this class is write a lot of essays. You're going to have to write a lot of essays whatever major you choose, except some of the sciences, so this is good practice! I'll grade your essays, of course, but we'll also do lots of peer review so you can all help each other and see what kinds of writing other people do. Your assignment for Thursday..." She trailed off, and Corrie thought she'd lost track of herself mid-sentence, but then she turned to write on the board again. "Write a simple, persuasive five-paragraph essay on a topic of your choice." She turned back to the class and offered a sugary smile. "I have faith that you can all handle that. It doesn't have to be your best work--it's just practice so we can work on the basic essay structure." She paused to let people write down the assignment, then continued. "But today we have a special activity! Everyone, put your books away, gather your things, and follow me."