Page 10 of The Scars Within
“You sound like you have a lot of experience meeting these people,” Shayde said, his tone dropping.
“You have no idea.”
Shayde gently grabbed my elbow and guided me to a corner of the courtyard where a few guys were chatting on the grass. “Scar, these are some of my friends. Don’t take them too seriously. And never let them help you with your homework,” he laughed.
I gave the boys a slight grin and a wave. They stared at me, mouths agape as if they’d been frozen mid-sentence.
“Stop being weird,” Shayde chided. “Introduce yourselves.”
The one leaning against the courtyard wall stood up and offered his hand. “Hi, I’m Davis.” Now I recognized him; he was the cadet who made a joke in the Great Hall earlier today.
I shook Davis’s hand as the others introduced themselves. Shayde and I had obviously interrupted a private conversation, as they didn’t continue where they’d left off. We left them to their gossip and continued our walk around the courtyard.
“Hey, I noticed that bruise on your forearm when you shook Davis’s hand. That’s a deep one. What kind of activities do you participate in at home?” Shayde asked curiously.
“Oh, I…” I glanced down at the bruise I hadn’t noticed before. “I bruise like a peach. I’m used to it. Probably happened during my travels to Mageia.”
He scrunched his eyebrows and nodded, walking closer to me now.
Curiosity piqued, I asked, “So you’re a second-year?”
Shayde nodded. “Yep.”
“And what element do you wield?”
“Fire,” he replied, pausing when he saw my eyes widen. He grinned, “It’s a lot of fun, and flying on the back of a dragon? That’s an experience like no other. Have you channeled any magic yet?”
I shook my head. “Not yet. I haven’t felt any magical pull so far.”
“Well, hopefully, you’ll discover it soon,” he said with a hopeful smile. “It’d be nice to have a fresh face in our fire-wielding classes.” He glanced over at me and winked.
I felt the heat rush to my cheeks, and I quickly looked away.
We had almost completed a lap around the courtyard when Shayde asked, “Now, what do you need help with?”
“I must admit, this isn't what I expected from my team leader job.”
I poked my head in the arched wooden doors, whispering, “Told you, I’m unusual.”
I heard him chuckle softly, "Do you need an escort in there? Wouldn’t want you to get lost.”
I turned back to face Shayde, grinning. "No. But thanks, I appreciate it. I can take it from here. And thank you for the walk.”
He smiled, his expression genuine. “No, thank you for the walk. I look forward to getting to know you, Scar.”
I dipped my chin in a nod and entered the dining hall. Thankfully, a few torches were still lit, giving enough light to navigate. I walked over to the serving station and found a sign with a hand-drawn coffee mug on it. My gaze locked onto the espresso machines once I slipped through the swinging door. Mageia doesn’t have just one, but three machines. There are smaller devices next to them that I’d never seen before. Of course, they have a typical drip coffee pot large enough to fulfill several orders with one brew.
Next to the machines is a bookshelf of glass containers holding everything from whole coffee beans to ground beans and teas. They also had a surplus of herbs and flavorings, such as vanilla, peppermint, chocolates, and more.
I moved to the cooler fridge. No, fridges. There are two! I opened one and found it full of labeled milk cartons, such as cow’s and oat milk. That’s interesting. I didn’t know you could milk an oat.
In the second fridge, I found what my heart desires most for my coffee: sweet cream—enough to serve every cadet in the college for a month. Holy elements. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
I can’t wait until assignments begin to brew myself a cup of coffee. I grabbed some medium roast coffee grounds and sweet cream and started looking for a mug.
A whole pantry is full of mugs and glasses of different colors and sizes. I took my time admiring the variety. This may seem silly to others, but picking your mug of the day is a small piece of joy that nobody can take from you. I ran my fingers along the line of mugs in front of me, taking in the beauty of the craftsmanship.
Then, my eyes locked on one particular mug with a body of light gray clay and an intricate design in pastel colors. The raised color designmakes it look handmade with colored gel paint. Tiny dots of color, when added together, create the most interesting design I’ve ever seen.
