Chatoyant College Book 2: Initiates

Chapter 35: Library Research

Alone in her room, Corrie started looking through the books on her shelves. Some she'd brought because she hadn't read them yet, some because she really loved them. Unfortunately, only a few of them featured faeries, and none of those were books of folklore. Those, she thought, would be the most informative. But the fiction was based on the folklore, so it would be helpful anyway, right? She considered the titles on her shelf, then picked up Dream Country, the third Sandman book. Might as well start with the classics, and this one had a story about faeries in it.

She'd read the one story and was skimming through Season of Mists for appearances of the faeries Cluracan and Nuala by the time she realized she was going to be late for her next class if she didn't get going. Leaving the book open and upside-down on her bed--thankfully, as a lightweight paperback, the spine wasn't likely to break in this position--she grabbed her things and hurried down the stairs and outside. Her well-trained legs allowed her to arrive in class just before the teacher did, and she was hardly out of breath. This was an American history class; not too interesting, but it had had space when she had signed up for classes, and she figured it wouldn't be too hard. So far, it was exactly what she had expected; they'd moved quickly over the settling of the colonies and were now on the beginning of the unrest. The only interesting thing was that they were looking more at the place of minorities (in race and in faith) than her high school history classes had.

It occurred to her, as the professor finished taking roll and began to explain why the Stamp Act had made people so angry, that it was odd the founding of the college had never made an appearance in this class. True, it was hardly of national interest, but he hadn't even mentioned casually as they went through the seventeenth century that the college had been founded around then. The textbook had mentioned Harvard, but nowhere else. Then again, she remembered that Dawn had said Chatoyant wasn't a college when it was founded; maybe he would mention when it became a college.

She spent the rest of the class doodling stick figures in her notebook and taking occasional notes. Finally, the professor wrapped up the day's lecture. "There will be a quiz on Monday," he called, his wavery voice louder than usual over the sound of students closing their notebooks and opening their bags. "Be sure you've paid attention to what we've discussed so far!" The students chorused acknowledgment, then began moving out of the room.

The professor was an old man, and Corrie had already heard several jokes about how much of the history he taught he'd actually been present for. But jokes aside, he did seem to know quite a lot, and rarely hesitated over an answer when a student asked a question. Corrie decided to stay behind and approach him. "Professor Drehmer?"

He looked up from the folder where he was settling his papers, his dark eyes unexpectedly sharp. "Yes... Corrie, is it?"

She nodded. "I was just wondering why you hadn't mentioned the founding of the college in any lecture. I didn't want to take up class time with it, but I'm curious."

He regarded her through narrowed eyes for a few minutes before answering, making her uncomfortable. Finally he said sharply, "This institution has never been important to our nation's history. Not once." And on that strange note, he picked up his folder and walked away.

Corrie walked slowly out of the building, wondering about what he'd said. His vehemence made her think that he was hiding something. But what? Why would he lie about Chatoyant College's role in history? She had only been curious, and now here was another mystery.

Well, she'd rather get to the bottom of the two other mysteries she had first. She abruptly changed her path; she'd been walking toward Gilkey, but now she headed for the library. They probably had books of folklore, and maybe she would be able to find something more about the statues. Lost in thought, she jumped when she heard a voice calling her name as soon as she'd gotten through the library front doors. "Hey! Corrie!"

Once she'd recovered, she looked around for the source of the voice. To her surprise, it was behind the counter, and it was coming from Dawn! Grinning, she hurried over to the counter. "Hey! I guess you got the library job."

"Yeah, I'm doing my training right now." She nodded toward the girl standing a few paces behind her--Corrie recognized her black, red-tipped hair from the recruitment fair. "Though there's not much training to do, to be honest. Since I'm new they have me checking books in and out. I'll get serious training in the Dewey Decimal System later so I can shelve books."

"Sounds thrilling," Corrie said.

Dawn shrugged. "Hey, it's a job. And it's around books, so I can hardly complain. You're not here for training too, are you?"

"No, I wanted to do some... research."

She didn't want to explain with so many people around, but Dawn knew what she meant. She turned to talk to the girl behind her. "Emi, folklore is in the 300s, right?"

"398," Emi replied. "Second floor."

"Thanks! That should help," Corrie said.

"You might also be interested in the old yearbooks--there's a little reading room with couches on the second floor that has shelves with lots of old yearbooks. I don't think it has all the years but it might be fun to look at."

Well, that made sense--if the statues were of people connected with the school, they might be in the yearbooks. "Awesome. When is your shift over?"

"6:30," Dawn said.

"Okay, if I'm not down by then will you come get me? Then we can grab some dinner."

"Sure. Good luck!"

"Thanks!"