Evren’s hands closed around Lyra’s upper arms, and he gave her a firm shake. Not enough to hurt her, but just enough to wake her up. Her skin felt so soft in his hands. Her body was as light as a doll. He couldn’t believe this was the real Lyra, sleeping next to him in nothing but a tiny T-shirt and shorts. His brain was pushing back against this new reality.
Just the day before, he would’ve never dared be this close to her, let alone touch her. But now, it felt like her defenses had completely shut off. Like he could touch her and she wouldn’t mind.
Gods. It's possible she might even want him to touch her.
Just yesterday, Lyra had stood on a pedestal so high, she was like a priestess to him. But now... Now they were on the same level, and he could treat her the same as he'd treat any other girl.
Either way, his mind was sending an urgent message to his hands, and they hesitated before they grew any bolder. His feelings for her were so raw right now, and the fact that she wanted him back just made things worse.
It was too soon for him to be this comfortable touching her. Despite having washed every part of her the night before. Despite having woken up in the same bed. And perhaps even despite that intimate experience that may have been a dream, if not for the slime she'd left all over his thing.
It was too soon to touch her.
He stopped shaking her. Easing her back down onto the bed, he adjusted her shirt so that her breasts were fully covered and looked her over.
The girl was sleeping like the dead. She wasn’t dead, was she?
He leaned in close to her open mouth and looked inside. Her faint breath hit him with a lingering smell of alcohol and vomit. Evren could see her tongue.
It was colored a nauseous shade of blue.
He grimaced and put his fingers on her chin, shutting her mouth. Her legs shifted and her arms stretched, but she didn’t wake up. Was she okay?
“If you’re not up by the time I’m ready, I’m going to leave without you,” he warned.
Evren set about his morning routine. Washing his face, brushing his teeth, and changing from his pajamas to a clean uniform. This one was also a short-sleeved button-up with shorts. Weren’t there any long pants in this strange new world?
By the time he’d finished, Lyra had rolled onto her front and was snoring once again. All he could see of her was a lovely round butt and long legs spread wide, giving him a candid view of the place where her shorts tightly hugged her crotch. Her top-half could not be seen, all tangled in the comforter.
He resisted the urge to drag her out of bed and help her get ready for class. He desperately wanted to be a good support partner to her, now that she wanted to be with him. But he was her partner, not her parent. She messed up last night, so she would face the consequences. Perhaps, she would have to explain her absence to the Magister tomorrow, or maybe she’ll be properly punished. He could always hrlp her catch up on anything she missed later.
He could tutor her every evening, he thought dreamily.
“I’m leaving now,” he called from the doorway, “I’ll come back for you before the midday meal. I hope you’re alive by then.”
And he left, walking down the darkened passage towards the glow of the early morning sun.
* * * * * * * * *
Evren had missed the freshman orientation the day before. Somewhere in between the time he’d been massaged by Magister Florent and his duel with Marshal Yulia, the other first year students had received instructions on where to go and what would happen on the first day.
Likely, the day would start off at Assembly Hall and move into regular, smaller classrooms from there. He was sure that he had plenty of time to get there, but the mere thought of arriving late quickened his pace.
As he stepped out into the open air, he nearly ran into a pair of students. One boy and one girl, both wearing freshman uniforms and walking side by side.
“Oh, hello!”
The boy greeted him with an easy smile. He was slim and walked with a slouch.
“Do you live here? I’m right next door in E304.”
“WE are right next door,” the girl corrected him. She and the boy were the same height, though she had a sturdy build and looked much stronger than him. Her eyes were a piercing green which complimented the freckles on her cheeks and her auburn hair very nicely. She gave Evren an appraising look.
“Nice to meet you. What’s your name?”
“I’m Evren.”
He had never met either of these students before. What had happened to all the people he used to study with?
“Well, neighbor Evren, my name is Cassia and this is Marcus.”
She winked at him and added, “I sure lucked out! There are so many pretty boys living around me.”
“Control yourself, Cassia,” the boy named Marcus admonished her. “Evren, it’s very nice to meet you. Would you like to walk with us to Assembly Hall?”
“I’d like that,” he replied. Just as he thought, Assembly Hall was the starting point for the day.
The three of them chatted as they left the neighborhood. Talking about how the enchantments on their dorms made them so much better than living anywhere else.
“I’ll bet there isn't another place in all of Eryndor with as many enchantments as the Nexus has,” commented Marcus.
“The Royal Palace has more,” replied Cassia knowingly.
“You haven’t been to the Royal Palace,” Marcus challenged her.
“Yes, I have. My grandmother took me there last year. She used to be a member of the Royal Guard. She guarded the King when he was just a little boy.”
Evren and Marcus both looked at Cassia with disbelief. They exchanged a quick look, and Marcus laughed.
“I’ll count that as a reason to make you my permanent casting partner. Just sixteen more to go!”
Evren thought he was joking, judging by the sparkle in his eye and the tone of his voice, but when he looked over at Cassia, he saw that she had a look of satisfaction on her face. His curiosity got the better of him and he asked the glaring question.
“...Are you really tracking reasons for you two to stay support partners?”
“Oh yes! I call it my ‘20 reasons why’ list. Cassia’s already given me four good reasons that she’s a keeper.”
“I moved his wardrobe…” Cassia said, listing on her fingers.
“She didn’t even break a sweat,” he chimed in.
“My Basic 10 spells are stronger than his.”
“...I think most girls are,” he said sadly.
“And I promised to wake him up at 6 bells every morning.”
“I never did learn how to wake myself at a specific time,” he laughed.
Evren looked back and forth between the two. They seemed to have an excellent relationship already. He had to ask.
“Did you two just meet or did you know each other before you got here.”
“We just met yesterday,” Marcus replied.
“Though it feels like I’ve known him for years,” Cassia said with seriousness.
“I see.”
Evren was at a loss for words. He’d seen this kind of connection before, but never in a freshman pairing. His heart stirred with envy. Would he ever meet a girl who he connected with so readily?
The three of them were ascending the grand staircase walking hand in hand, when Marcus, who was in the middle, looked over at his face.
“Partner Cassia, why don’t you go ahead of us? It's ‘Girls Early Entry’ for this assembly and Evren and I need some time to talk, boy-to-boy.”
“All right then,” Cassia said, nodding understandingly, “I’ll see you there, Marcus. It was nice meeting you, Evren.”
She gave them both a radiant smile and then quickened her pace heading up to level C. Marcus waited until she was out of earshot before he spoke again.
“What’s wrong, Evren,” he asked. There was genuine care in his voice. “Was it the aggressive way Cassia was treating you? I’ll tell her she’s making you uncomfortable and I’m sure she’ll knock it off.”
“What? No!” Evren replied, surprised. “I don’t mind that at all. It’s just… I wish I could find a permanent partner that was perfect for me. Just like you and Cassia.”
Marcus laughed so hard, he may have fallen backwards down the steep stairs if Evren hadn’t been holding onto him.
“What are you talking about!... Cassia’s not my permanent partner and she probably never will be.”
“But… But… What about your ‘20 reasons why’ list?”
Marcus stopped laughing. His face took on a sage-like expression.
“Lots of boys make a list, Evren. Girls try to sway your heart using all sorts of tricks, but lists don’t lie. By this time next week, I’ll have started lists for a dozen different girls, and then we’ll see how Cassia stacks up.”
“Oh…”
It was all Evren could think to say. He was processing how much mind power it would take to remember a list of 20 reasons for 12 people. He’d have to remember up to 240 different reasons.
“...You must have a great memory.”
“Well, not really. I plan to write them all down at the end of each day. This is the most crucial decision of our young lives, after all.”
He paused and then leaned in conspiratorially. Evren marveled once again at how comfortable boys in this new world were, sharing space with other boys. It was as though boys in this world liked to touch each other as much as girls in his old world did.
“There is a second list as well. One you’re not supposed to tell the girl about. It’s called the ‘20 reasons why not’ list.”
Marcus once again broke into laughter. His tone was so light and carefree, though what he said next chilled Evren to his core.
“Cassia has already given me 5 reasons not to keep her as my partner.”
“Are you serious?"
“Dead serious. She’s not tall enough. She asked me to share in the cleaning duties. She tried to get into bed with me. She burped really loud. She hit on you right in front of me…”
The last point he said with a hint of bitterness in his voice.
“Oh no… I’m sorry, Marcus!”
“For what? You didn’t do anything, it was all on her. It looks like Cassia is going to reach 20 reasons WHY NOT before she reaches 20 reasons WHY.”
“But, don’t you think you should tell her about the things she does that bother you, so she can try to fix them?”
“Huh?… No way! Girls can’t change who they are. Complaining to her about it would just make things awkward between us. Nope, it’s better to just cut her free and go with the top girl with the best scores.”
Evren was speechless. Was this the kind of reasoning that his past partners had been using when they'd cut him free? He could definitely picture Lyra keeping a list of his failures.
They had been walking in silence for some while and were nearing the Assembly Hall, when Marcus posed a question he must have been wondering about since they met.
“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but why are you alone today? Was there some problem with your partner assignment?”
“No, no problem. My partner slept in today, so I left her at home.”
“She slept in? On the first day?” Marcus asked incredulously, then he declared, “What’s her name? I’m starting a WHY NOT list for her.”
“Her name is Lyra, and keep your lists away from my partner!”
Evren had responded too quickly and with too much feeling in his voice. Marcus’ happy-go-lucky expression switched to a look of fear for a split-second before he recovered and replied.
“Whoa! Calm down, Evren. For a moment there, I thought you were going to slap me. There’s no need to get defensive about a randomly assigned support partner.”
Evren took a deep breath and apologized.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to shout. I just don’t like the idea of Lyra partnering with another boy.”
“Ha! Well, there’s little chance of that. Word has it that there are more than 2 girls for every boy in our freshman class, so there’s going to be a lot of girls to pick from… so goodbye to all girls who sleep in on their first day.”
He smiled before adding, “Maybe you should start a list for your partner and see how she does.”
Evren nodded. His attention was somewhere else now.
“I’ll think about it…”
There was a crowd of boys, all wearing freshman uniforms congregating in Zone 2C around a broad, terraced tunnel. Clusters of three or more boys were chattering excitedly, while girls walked past, and headed straight down the wide tunnel that led to the Assembly Hall. Two magisters stood by the entrance welcoming each girl in.
“Ahh, looks like we’ve arrived early,” said Marcus. “It’s not boys' time to enter yet.”