Page 34 of The Seducer
I’d been part of the experimental school program that was unfolding in the Northlands, so this wasn’t my first time seeing girls. I’d just never seen that many at once and it was a glorious sight.
The principal, a short woman who had met us outside the school, smiled at me and said, “This is our KA group.”
“Your what group?”
“We test all children before they start school and group them according to learning style. KA stands for kinesthetic and audio.”
“So you don’t put them in classes according to age?”
She shook her head. “No, children mature and learn in different stages, and age is a poor indicator for what level they are at. Much of their learning is driven by their interest in a certain area.” She signaled for us to continue. “Tristan is in our VST group.”
“What does VST stand for?”
“Visual, Scribble, Teach,” the woman said. “VST kids benefit from seeing something, writing it down, and then explaining what they have learned. Tristan is one of our brightest students.”
“How old is Tristan?” I asked Athena.
“He celebrated his fifteenth birthday last weekend,” Athena said. “It was a very nice party.”
“Oh yeah? And did you give him a present?”
“Of course. I gave him a bonsai tree.”
I scrunched up my face. “What kind of gift is that?”
“It was on his wish list,” Athena defended herself.
Shaking my head, I mumbled, “He sounds like a really weird kid.”
“What was that?” The principal stopped in front of a door and turned to me. “Did you say something?” she asked and tilted her head with a sugar-sweet smile.
“No, I was just making a comment that all you women here in the Motherlands are beautiful.”
The little woman, who was no beauty at all, flushed cherry red and flicked her hair back with a soft “thank you.”
Athena elbowed me and shot me a warning look just before the door opened and we were in front of around forty students.
“May peace surround you all,” the principal said to the students. “As you may have heard on the news, five Nmen are visiting from the Northlands at the moment and lo and behold, one of them has chosen to visit our school today.” The principal looked like she was about to burst from excitement and pride.
I didn’t tell them it was Athena’s choice and not mine. There was no need to advertise that she had me in a chokehold because of that stupid curse.
My eyes scanned the room and when I saw a boy greet Athena with a subtle wave, I almost took a step back. It was like seeing myself at that age. His dark hair and those long eyelashes that I’d hated because they made me too pretty for a boy.
“I’m here to see Tristan,” I said and heard the collective gasp that went through the students.
Tristan sat up straighter, his eyes growing big as he pointed to himself. “Me?”
Athena stepped forward, and many of the children waved and smiled at her as if she was a dear friend. Some even bowed their heads to her.
“Good morning children,” she said in a velvety soft voice that made me look at her and wish she would use that voice with me.
“I understand that you would be confused about why we would interrupt you in the middle of your class. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Athena, the priestess who lives in the old mill outside of town.” She had their full attention and continued. “This is Hans, who is a mediator and assigned by the Council to be the escort of Finn MacCumhail, our guest from the Northlands.”
“How are you all doing?” I asked and lifted my hand in a greeting.
There was an excitement in the room and I didn’t know if it was because we had interrupted a boring class or because they were genuinely interested in my person.
“Tristan,” Athena said. “We went to visit your mother Karina today, and she made us promise to come by your school and say hi. She said you aren’t afraid of anything and that she thought you’d enjoy meeting an Nman in person.”
