Crime and Disapointment

As you both take your seats you finally take a look around you. The class is not far off from starting but there is still a large portion of students missing, but those that are left you could generally place into two categories: The Confident and the Timid.

The Timid girls were easily spotted in spite of their rather awkward attempts to sink into their seats and avoid notice. And, like day to night, the Confident girls were comfortable in their seats, though they looked around almost restlessly at the rest of the class with something you could only identify as a hunger.

As you turn to Jemima you notice that she quite easily falls into the latter category. She sits back in her seat, assorted writing supplies arranged neatly on the desk in front of her and hands neatly folded in her lap whilst she waits. Though, unlike the other others of her arbitrary internal type you've decided upon, she doesn’t seem to have that hunger to her. While she still lets her gaze wander the room it seems more to be a case of mild curiosity.

Though this does leave you with a new question; Which of the two are you? You are about to once more delve the swamps of introspection when a door slams near the front of the room, shooting you up from the crevice of the seat you had apparently squeezed yourself into. You almost think you hear a light giggle beside you.

A goblin woman walks across the room to the desk in front. You’d call her small but there is something there that demands attention and implies a height not visible.

“Good morning class. Surprising to see so many of you this year. Congratulations on meeting the minimum requirements for this class.” You would guess this is sarcasm, but she does seem genuinely pleased at the rather small number of students assembled, “And whilst I appreciate the enthusiasm, this first class is largely to correct a misapprehension. This class may be "fun", but to try and disrupt it or purposefully incur my wrath will not be rewarded to your satisfaction.”

“Rewarded” seems an odd choice of word to you but you don’t feel inclined to ask further on that point.

“As such, You there!” she barks and points to somewhere that vaguely looks like your direction, “Yes, you, the Werewolf with the vacant look, open the back door and send in the first student.”

You jump from your seat and rush towards the back of the room. As you open the door, which appears to have been locked at some point, you are surprised to see a line of students waiting for you.

“Am I in trouble?” comes the weak trembling voice of an autumn coloured dryad at the head of the line, “There was this salmon in the hallway and I-”

“Silence back there! Send them in and get back to your seat!

You and the dryad almost collide in an attempt to be the first to comply. As you get to your seat Jemima gives you a gentle pat on the shoulder. You didn’t think you needed that but the tension in your shoulders does ease just a little.

The dryad has made her way to the front and it seems your part in this lesson has ended as the professor looks over the girl and has her kneel beside her desk. She calls in each following student and administers various benign punishments as you watch their expressions. At first they all seem hopeful and excited but they turn to various flavours of disappointment as they receive a single slap to the face or other such apparently unfulfilling punishments.

When the class has finally ended you get up and stretch the stiffness from you muscles.

“Wanna grab some lunch?” you ask as a parade of disgruntled masochists wander by. You notice the dryad is still seated by the desk, the professor petting her as she stares up at her whispered words.

“Certainly, just let me finish up here.” She doesn’t look up from the several pages of notes she appears to have taken.

“What’s all that?” you raise an eyebrow, “Nothing even happened to write down.”

She does not respond as she finishes her notes and gathers her tools.

“Perhaps not.” She smiles at you.

Yeah, you think, lunch seems like a good idea.

She’s got a hungry look about her now.