Author: Nate

Thursday, October 1^st, evening
Tess’s Home

Tess had decided to check in with Mark before it got too late in the evening. Despite having suggested checking in like it was a perfectly natural thing, she found herself oddly uncomfortable calling the home of a boy she did not know well.

The phone rang a few times before someone picked it up.  “Hello!” came a boy’s voice, without further greeting. She didn’t know Mark’s voice that well, but it didn’t sound the same.

“Hi, I’m trying to reach Mark Berg, is this the right number?” said Tess.

“Oh, yeah, he’s here,” said the voice.  “Hold on.” She heard a soft thump as whoever it was set the handset down, and she heard the same voice at a distance say, “Mark, it’s for you.”

Mark’s response was inaudible, but his… roommate? …picked up again and said, “Hold on, he’s going to pick up in his room.”

After about a minute, she heard another extension pick up, and then a voice that must have been Mark’s said, “OK, I’m on,” followed by the sound of an extension hanging up. After it had, he went on.  “Hi Tess – that is you calling, right?”

“Yes,” she said.  “So, you have roommates?  You said I wouldn’t bother anyone by calling, so I may have jumped to the conclusion that you lived in one of the dorms near school.”

“Nope, it’s an apartment, and I’ve got a roommate,” said Mark.  “That was Joel.”

Joel and Mark are roommates?  Tess paused, considering how to delicately get more information.  I guess it makes sense, they are the first American students I’ve heard of coming here. “Did the school set up private housing arrangements for you two?”

She hoped redirecting with a question tying it back to the school might elicit more details without seeming nosy.  When Mark didn’t respond at once, she went on, “Anyway, I’m sorry if I seem caught off guard.  I was just calling to check if you’d had a chance to talk to Joel yet.  You know, about that study help I might need?” Tess wanted to roll her eyes at the excuse, even if it had been her idea.

“Oh, yeah, I told him about it when he got back from soccer practice.”

Tess breathed an inward sigh of relief that things were on track for Violet.  She scrambled to think of what to say next.  Should she drop the pretense and directly ask Mark more about his living situation?  That seems too blunt.  Better to ease into it.

“Good, I’m glad you were able to mention it,” she said, buying herself more time.  She tapped her fingers absently against her notebook as she considered the right approach.  Maybe it would feel most natural to express polite interest first?

“So, if you don’t mind me asking…” Tess continued, “how did you and Joel end up where you are?  I didn’t realize international students could arrange their own housing.” She kept her tone casual.  That seemed reasonable enough.

“Oh, I guess didn’t answer when you asked about whether the school arranged it.  Sorry,” said Mark, and after a pause, “This was all set up by the American trade mission for us.  I didn’t even know the school had their own housing until after we got here.”

Tess’s curiosity was piqued even more by this new information.  Their government set this up for them? He did say they were involved in selecting Joel, so this must come out of that… it added a whole extra layer of questions in her mind.  However, she hesitated to bombard Mark with too many prying questions all at once.

“Arranged by your government – how interesting,” Tess responded, hoping to subtly encourage Mark to elaborate.  When he didn’t immediately volunteer more, she debated asking another follow up question. She didn’t want to come across as nosy, but the mystery was killing her!

Deciding against it, Tess continued, “Well anyway, I do appreciate you talking to Joel already.  So, Violet should be good to ask him tomorrow morning?”

“For sure,” said Mark, and then after a moment’s hesitation, “actually, before you go, I don’t suppose you’d mind talking a little bit about the paper for our class?  I told Joel you’d asked for my help, like you suggested, but it think might actually be helpful for me to be able to talk about it with you about the paper. Ummm, if you don’t mind?

Tess’s eyes lit up at the request.  While she still had questions about Joel and Mark’s situation, she was unsure whether this was an opportunity to follow through on the pretense, or if Mark was genuinely interested.  She thought of herself as a good judge of people and quickly decided that he really was interested in talking about the class.  “Of course I don’t mind,” she said.  “How did you put it before, ‘you’re trying to do something nice for one of my friends?'”

That got a chuckle out of Mark, who then asked, “What did you end up picking for a subject?”

Tess explained that her paper focused on the rise of the First Empire.  As they discussed the assignment, she found it surprisingly engaging to dig into ideas with Mark.  History was a clear interest of his, even if he sounded a bit anxious about writing.  Worrying a little that she might lose track of time, before long she had to interrupt the conversation.  “I’m sorry to cut this short, Mark, but I need to call Violet before it gets too late for her parents.”

“No problem,” he said, “and thanks!  It was really good to get an idea of how someone else is approaching this. Wish Violet good luck for me.”

“Of course,” said Tess, “and you’re welcome.  Have a good night!”

Tess ended the call so she could let Violet know that she could approach Joel tomorrow as planned.

Thursday, October 1^st, afternoon
At school

If we’d had the history class today, I’d have just asked Tess what this was about after class, and likely been much more comfortable than this cloak-and-dagger meeting.  I put it mostly out of my mind as I went through the school day, but after our regular history class I had two free periods – reserved for PE, but it was rarely mandatory to attend since I was attending fencing practice after school.

Most of the class tended to stay in the classroom to study, although some people more serious about sports used it to work out, and others would head early to club rooms.  Joel, Kai and Amy were staying in the classroom; Jack had one of his electives during this period.  I tried to study with them but was too tense and decided to take a walk.

I went by the classroom where we were supposed to meet, and on other days we would have had the advanced honors history – it was in use by another class, which Ms. Calliot was also teaching.  It looked like mostly 3^rd year students, and she had some battlefield maps taped up on part of the chalkboard.  If I’d been in time for the start of class, I might have asked if I could sit in.

Since there was nothing to do there now, I decided to head to the library to try to find a few last sources for my paper.  One document discussed the need for “martial virtue” to be a proper king.  Something clicked – this paralleled something my dad had explained, about the Roman notion of virtus and how it applied to medieval feudalism in our world.  That couldn’t be a coincidence, given the linguistic origins of the New Imperial from a world like ours.

It was a small point, but it gave a motive rather than just circumstance. I’d been trying to argue the “yes” side of “warfare was the first business of the state” mostly because at least some of the kingdoms were at war at any given point throughout the period.

This, in turn, led to some other points I wanted to read up on and the remaining time before afternoon homeroom flew by.  I got back to the classroom a little late, but in time to get dismissed.

Afterwards, Joel asked. “Are you still going to see what she wants?”

I nodded.

“Do you need me to come along?”

“Nah, I’m good.”

I headed over to the room, taking the walkway over to the second classroom building.  On the top floor, I passed by the 3^rd-year classrooms.  The second floor had only elective classrooms; some were in use for club activities, but it was quiet overall right then.  The door to classroom where we had our history elective was closed, but the light was on inside, so I slid open the door and stepped in.

At the front of the room, near the head of the circle of seats – roughly where she usually sat – was Tess, with another girl seated next to her.  As I approached, I recognized Violet.  I’d seen them together on the streetcar a few times, and she’d visited our booth.

While at first glance, I would have simply described them both as “short blonde girls,” the resemblance ended there – where Tess was very pleasantly curvy, Violet was tiny, and not just in the sense Joel had teased me about with Tess.  Tess’s hair was a darker shade of blonde, and she has a very neat and tidy hairstyle, cut a little above her shoulders, which gave her a serious look, as did her sharp eyes and their icy grey color.  Violet’s hair was lighter, wildly curly and spilled down her back, with big hazel eyes.  If I hadn’t already known they were both first-years, I would have assumed Violet to be at least a couple of years younger than Tess.

“Hi Mark, thanks for coming,” said Tess, while I pulled up a chair.

“No problem,” I replied, and then to Violet, “and your name is Violet, right?”

Violet’s eyes went a bit wide, and she said, “l didn’t know you knew who I am.”

“My friend Joel told me about meeting you a while ago, and that you were in the same literature class.”

“Really?  He mentioned me?” Violet said, her voice happy and high, and her eyes widened again.  She was also a bit red, blushing strongly just as she had when I referred to her as “Joel’s friend” back at the booth.

I nodded.  I had a good guess at what this was about, but I didn’t want to say it outright in case my guess was wrong.  Still, if I ever had doubted that Joel was the protagonist of this story, and that I’m the sidekick, this is likely about to prove it.

Tess then said, “Let me get straight to the point of why I asked you here.”  I shrugged, and after a moment she went on, “Joel Ross is a friend of yours, right?  Violet said you were both from America and knew each other.”

“That’s right,” I said.  OK, that about confirms it.  Joel, buddy, if this is going the way I think it is you are so going to owe me one.

Tess nodded, her eyes straight on me with a serious look.  “I’m curious, did Joel ever mention what happened to Violet when they first met?”

“Yes, I think his exact words that evening were ‘I just rescued a girl.’ That sounded a bit dramatic – if I understood right, he stepped in when some guys were hassling her?”

“I wasn’t there,” said Tess, “but the way Violet told me about it I don’t think ‘rescued’ was overstating it.” She looked over at Violet, who nodded.

“I see,” I said, not sure how to respond.

“I never got to thank him properly then,” said Violet.  “I got to talk to him again at my club’s booth.” She looked down again.

“That must have been when he told you about our booth?” I asked.

She nodded.  “Thank you again for the chocolate.”

“No problem,” I said.  An awkward silence followed.  OK, I’m still pretty sure where this is going, but I really don’t want to assume in case I’m wrong.

After a long moment, Tess broke the silence, and said, “OK, good.  To get back to why I asked you here, Violet asked me if I had ideas for how to get to know Joel better.  She wasn’t comfortable approaching him directly, so my next idea was to talk to one of his friends.  You and I are in the same history class, so I thought you might not mind if we asked you about him.”

And it’s confirmed.  I wonder, do I look as smug as I feel?

“I don’t mind,” I said, and then after a moment, “How can I help?”

“Thanks,” said Violet quietly, with a shy smile.  Tess, meanwhile, was looking at me expectantly.

“I can tell you about Joel,” I said, within reason going through my mind but remaining unsaid. “We’ve been friends for a long time, so I’m not sure where to start.  What specifically would you like to know about him?”

“What kind of things does he like?” asked Tess.

I thought for a moment.  “The main thing he’s been into recently is soccer.  He’s busy with the club and I think he’s serious about trying to play for the team.  He was in the school band at our old school, and he’s still into music I guess.” Should I mention comic books?  It’s kind of the main interest he and I had bonded over years ago, but I don’t want to make him out to seem like a big nerd.  I decided to play it safe, skipping the details of what, and ended with “…and he reads a lot.”

“Oh, that last must be why he took a literature elective,” observed Tess.

“I think so,” I said, trying to sound a little confident – I’m pretty sure this is more about learning about his mom’s homeland, but I can’t say that.  “English is one of his favorite subjects.”

“See, that’s something you two have in common,” Tess said to Violet.  Violet smiled in response.  Then back to me, Tess said, “Joel said something to Violet about it being ‘a long story’ how you two came to attend school here.  Could you share a bit more?”

I gave them the standard version of why we’re here – folks in both governments wanted to encourage trade, Joel got selected, I decided to tag along.  I omitted any mention of Joel’s family here, of course, as well as my reason for changing my mind – Anne’s death.

“So, you’re just here for the year?” Tess asked.

“I am, yes.  Joel is planning to stay until graduation,” I said.  Right after I said it, I realized that might have been saying too much.  I wasn’t sure why she wanted to know.  Unless, um, it’s somehow a way of seeing ‘is Joel someone who could be serious about a relationship?’ and if so, wow, that’s getting a bit ahead of itself.

“Do you know why that is?”

“Joel’s planning to stay for next year?” I asked, and when she nodded, I was glad this was something Joel and Dormer had already come up with an answer for.  “Joel’s father runs an import-export business back in our world.  Joel thought it might be a good opportunity for his dad’s business if he could learn more about this world.”  OK, that didn’t really answer the question.  “He hasn’t told me anything more specific, but my guess is he and his dad see a long-term opportunity here.”

“That’s fascinating,” said Tess, now sounding a lot more like I’d caught her interest than just helping out her friend. “I’m surprised the Brotherhood is entertaining that, but once we have visiting students through the gate, I suppose increasing trade isn’t any weirder.”

“Do you know much about the Brotherhood?” I asked.

“A fair amount, I think,” said Tess.

“I don’t want to change the subject too much, but another time, can I ask you some more about it?”

She shrugged.  “I guess so.”

“So, what else can I tell you about Joel?” I asked.

Violet gave Tess an expectant look.  Tess responded with, “Go on, Violet.  You can ask him.”

Violet looked down for a moment and then back at me, asking, “I hope this isn’t too forward, but does Joel have a girlfriend?”

Oh my god, this is such a stereotype.  I had to work a bit not to smile too much, but I made my mouth stay neutral.  After a moment to get my composure back, I said, “No, he really doesn’t.”  After I said it, I realized that kind of didn’t make sense…. ‘really’ doesn’t?  Oh well.  I am so sick of hearing him say how much he wants one!  I wanted to tell them what he often said, but it felt like it might reflect badly on him to repeat it outright.

“That’s good,” said Tess, giving her friend a look.

“Is there someone he likes?” asked Violet.

I thought about what to say before answering.  I think Elise is just someone he’s interested in, not a full-on crush yet, but I’m not sure.  I really don’t know that it’s appropriate for me say anything about that, but I don’t want to give her false hope if I’m wrong.

“I’m not sure,” I said, settling on the course of being vague.  “Definitely not anyone who he’s serious about.  We’ve only been here a month.”

I thought it would sound reassuring, but Violet looked… if not disappointed, then at least dubious.  OK, I guess that didn’t come out quite right.

“We really appreciate you taking the time to tell us about Joel,” Tess said.  “I know Violet is hoping she’ll get another chance to talk with him again soon.”

Violet nodded eagerly at this.  I wasn’t sure if there was an implied request there or just how interested Violet was, but she seemed sincere.

“Would it help if I tell Joel about you wanting to talk more?”

As I made the offer to mention it to Joel, her eyes went wide, and she vehemently shook her head.  “Oh no, I couldn’t possibly ask you to do that,” she said, looking mortified at the thought.  “Please don’t say anything to him.”

“It’s OK,” I said.  “I should have realized that since you approached me rather than approaching him in the first place, right?  Is there something else I can do to help?”

“Thanks, Mark,” Violet said.  She gave a soft shrug and then looked between me and Tess.  “Perhaps one of you two can think of something that wouldn’t be so direct?”

“We have midterms coming up,” I said.  “Could we find an excuse for him to help you study?”

Violet shook her head gently.  “We’re not in the same year, so it would be a big imposition on him.”

Tess was grinning.  “I think we could make it work,” she said to Violet.  “Not studying for midterms exactly, but you two are in the same literature elective.  You’ve got that big paper coming up.” After that, she asked me, “Do you think Joel would respond well if she asked him for help on the paper?”

“I’m sure he’d be happy to help if she asked,” I said.

Violet looked uncertain.  “I’m not sure I can.”

“I could ask him for you,” I said.  I looked at Tess, sheepishly.  “He saw your letter, so I’ll probably have to tell him something about what we talked about, anyway.”

Tess rolled her eyes at me as she thought for a moment.  “It’s fine,” she said and then she grinned.  “I think it would sound strange for you to ask it for her, but I see a way that this can work out to help Violet.”

“You do?” Violet and I asked at the same time.

“Yes, I do,” Tess said.  Her expression went mostly back to normal, but a bit of the grin and a glint in her eye remained.  “You are going to have to approach him directly, Violet, but what Mark can say about this meeting should help you out.

“We can safely assume Joel is going to ask you what this was about, and if not, I’d appreciate it if you do mention it.   Tell him that I was asking for help with the upcoming paper for our history class.”

After I nodded, she went on.  “If he knows I already asked you for help, it will make it more natural when a different first-year asks him for help.  That should make him more receptive, right?  If he’s got a little bit of a competitive streak, it might even make him a lot more receptive.”

“Would that count as psychological priming?” I asked.

“Now that you mention it, I think so,” said Tess.

“Interesting,” I said, “and that makes sense.  I can talk to him this evening after he gets out of soccer practice.”

“Good,” she said.  “Although in case you don’t get to talk then, their class is first period tomorrow, it might be too early.”

“Joel has a free period after homeroom on Saturday, maybe Violet can come by right after homeroom to ask him?”

“I couldn’t on my own, and Tess has history class then!” protested Violet.

“Got it,” I said.  “So, I guess after class on Monday?”

“That’s a long time to wait,” said Violet, sounding disappointed. “Wouldn’t that also give him too long to put you and Mark working together out of mind?”

Tess patted Violet on the shoulder “I know it’s hard to wait, but you don’t…” and she stopped there, clearly thinking about something, and then she said, “if what we’re worried about is Mark not getting to talk to Joel this evening, maybe I should just call to check on that for you?”

So, this is what really outgoing people are like! I’d have found it a little intimidating to call someone I barely knew, but if she was comfortable with it, I wasn’t going to say anything.  She must have noticed my hesitation, though, as she then asked, “unless it will be a problem with your parents…?”

“It’s fine.  They’re back in New York, there’s nobody you’d bother by your calling.”  I tore a scrap of paper out of my notebook and gave the apartment’s phone number to Tess.

“Thanks, Mark,” said Tess.  “I really appreciate your being willing to help us.”

“Me too,” said Violet.

“No problem, or I guess, you’re welcome.  You’re trying to do something nice for a friend of mine, after all.”

Tess and Violet headed out first; I stuck around a little lost in thought.  This all seems like a lot of effort on Tess’s part, she must really care about her friend a lot.  I wondered if I was ever going to be able to explain this to Joel, or if it would remain a secret.  Violet seemed like a nice person, but terribly shy and maybe a little immature.  I also wasn’t sure how much Joel had already built up his idea of things going with Elise.  I remember how easy it used to be to do that with a crush, Joel might be the same way.  I shrugged to myself.  Even if it goes nowhere, I’m pretty sure Joel will appreciate the attention.

I was already late for fencing, so I headed over to the sports center.

Tues, Sep 29^th after school
Fencing club room

After the school festival, I was glad to have things back to their regular pace.  On Tuesday, I had fencing club after school for PE, and I realized as we practiced that I was supposed to ask Gwen about the play.  In the hope of getting a few minutes of her time after, I stuck around after practice to help clean up.  Unfortunately, the group conversation for the more serious members was about an upcoming tournament involving a couple of the other high schools on this side of the river, and I was not able to ask her.

As cleanup finished, Kai asked, “Does anyone want to get some food?”

I was about to say I was in when Gwen said, “That sounds nice, but I’ve got to do some student council work after this.”

Cory and Mina decided to join Kai, and all three looked at me.  It sounded like Gwen was busy, so I answered, “Sure, why not.”

We went to Riva’s again – this time I was hungry enough to order a meal rather than ice cream.

“Are you not going to eat at home?” asked Kai.

“Nah,” I said.  “I’ve been too busy to get groceries, and I already brought a sandwich from home for lunch.”

“Oh, yeah, you and Joel are living on your own,” he said.

We ended up discussing the neighborhoods we all lived in.  Kai’s family lived in a high-rise apartment just across the river from the main station.  Cory mostly stayed at her mother’s townhouse in Old Feldaren, but when her father was in town stayed with him.  His apartment was north of the station, near the university – that was also the area where Gwen lived.  Mina lived near the school; there weren’t any school-owned dorms, but there were privately-run rooming houses which served the same purpose and catered to out-of-town students, including in her case foreign ones.

The food arrived and the conversation died down while Mina and Kai had their ice cream and Cory and I our entrees.  The dish I ordered was pretty good, spaghetti with a sauce nicely heavy on the ground beef.  When we finished eating, I said good evening to them as I’d biked in – I was the only one heading back to campus.

I was unlocking my bike when I noticed someone coming up – it was Gwen.

“Hi Mark!  What funny timing.  How was Riva’s?” she asked.

“Good,” I said.  “My first time getting a real dinner there.  How was student council?”

She shrugged.  “Busy.  There’s a lot of follow-up from the festival, as well as club budgets.”

“Interesting,” I said.  “Do you have a minute before you go? I wanted to ask about the play your club is doing.”

Her eyes lit up.  “I’d love to tell you about it, but I have to get going.  How about after practice on Thursday?”

“Sure,” I said.  “If you’re riding home now, mind if I join you?”

“No problem,” she replied.  I hadn’t been observant enough to spot her bike, but it turned out she had parked a few spots down from mine.  After unlocking it, she seemed to concentrate briefly and what had looked like a headlight lit up – much brighter than the battery powered bike light I had.  I had just enough sensitivity to magic at this point to tell that a trickle of magical energy was flowing into it.

We made fast progress until, not that long before my own turnoff, Gwen stopped.  “This is my stop today,” she said.  I waved and continued on, as she turned off the trail onto one of the side streets.

When I got home and was bringing my bike inside, I saw the cat lurking outside in the bushes.  Its plate on the back porch was, as usual, licked clean.   When I brought out some more food for it, it wandered up much less cautiously than it had in the past, and on reaching the plate of cat food looked up at me and meowed.  It looked down at the cat food again, up at me, and meowed again.

“You want ham, don’t you?”

The cat gave a loud, happy meow, and when I came back with a couple of slices of ham It didn’t back away when I set them down on its plate.   Instead, it bumped my hand gently with its head, meowed loudly one more time, and started eating.

“You’ve gotten friendlier,” I said.  It just kept eating.

Thursday, October 1^st during mid-morning homeroom
Homeroom 2-C

On my way into school, I stopped by the folders we used as mailboxes, as I did most days.  Inside, as I’d been expecting, was a printout.  More specifically, it was my latest outline for the first term paper for Advanced Honors History – although it was getting long, as I’d got in the habit of inlining blocks from the sources I was using.  As expected, there was plenty of commentary from Ms. Calliot, even on the first page.  I didn’t have time to look at it again until we were waiting for homeroom to start.

I was taking it out of my bag to read through her notes, when a small envelope fell out of the pages onto the floor.  Jack, whose seat was in front of Joel’s, spotted it as I was picking it up and asked, “What’s that?”

“I don’t know,” I said.  The envelope was a plain white one, and smaller than a greeting card.  It had my first and last name on it, in clear cursive handwriting.

“Looks like a love letter!” said Jack, which got Joel and Kai’s attention.

“I really doubt it,” I replied.  None of the girls I knew here could possibly think of me as more than an acquaintance.  “It would have to be a total stranger.  Girls don’t just do that.”

“It’s been known to happen,” said Kai, “at least for very popular guys.”

“There’s no risk of my being confused with one of those,” I said.  I don’t suppose they’re going to let me open this in private, I thought, so I opened the letter.   It was glued only at a small point in the center and opened easily.

Inside was a folded piece of off-white notepaper, rather than a card.  I opened it, and read:

Mark,
We haven’t spoken outside of class, but I have a request to make of you.  If you are open to hearing me out, I would greatly appreciate the chance to discuss this in some privacy after classes today. Please stop by the Adv. Hon. History classroom after last period so we can talk.

If you are not free today, please let me know another more convenient time.  I understand if you may prefer not to get involved, and if so, please forgive this intrusion.

Respectfully,
– Tess Hahn.

My first thought was that it sounded unnecessarily formal.  It certainly wasn’t any sort of love note, and while I was initially a little uncertain that I recognized the name, the fact that she wanted to meet in that classroom confirmed that it was the first-year representative.  What would Tess want?  We’re in a class together, but the closest we’ve come to speaking was her answering a question I posed initially to Ms. Calliot.  Also, Joel is going to have field day teasing me about her again!

“This looks weird,” I said.  She did say wanted to meet privately, but frankly, I wanted my friends’ thoughts on it, so I handed the note to Joel and asked, “What do you think?”

Joel read it, as did Kai and Jack over his shoulder.  After he read it, Joel asked “Is that –“ and Joel ended the sentence with a hefting gesture in front of his chest.

“That’s crude of you,” said Kai.  I just rolled my eyes in response.

“Sorry,” said Joel, and then to me, “Maybe she’s going to ask you to stop ogling her?”

“I don’t… well, I try not to,” I said.

“So, are you going to go?” asked Jack.

“It sounds awkward,” I replied.  “But I am curious, so… uh, I guess I will.”

“Good luck!” said Joel, slapping me on the back.

Sunday, September 27^th [Last day of the Festival of Nations], afternoon
Queen Sara Memorial Academy

“What happened here?” asked Kai.

He and Amy showed up just as Joel and I finished packing up the booth.  I gave him a quick run-down on what had happened.  When we finished, he was shaking his head and almost looked ready to laugh.  “I don’t know Neil very well, but that sounds just like Jack’s complaints about him.  I guess you wouldn’t have known about there being a version of the film here, but I can see why it drew a crowd.”

“The remake is that popular?”

Kai nodded. “Yeah, I mean, it’s old but it was this big shared cultural thing for the newcomers. Anyone with exposure to them through their family will have seen it.”

“Hull says he’s going to get a real showing of the trilogy together, sounds like it’s going to be a big deal?” It was weird to think about seeing them here, but I was looking forward to it.

“Yeah, I think so.” Kai said, cracking a big smile.  “Actually, I hope I can bring my grandfather to that!”

“Check with Hull,” I said, pointing him out – he was still over at his corner of the booth talking to Elise.  “He’ll be the one to make arrangements with the school.”

“I’ll do that,” he said.  “What are you and Joel going to do from here?”

“I need to get some lunch, and I haven’t seen that much of the rest of the festival,” I said.  “Anything you recommend checking out?”

“What have you seen already?” asked Kai.

“Just this end of the green, and some of the first- and second-year classrooms.”

“You should check out the arts center, then,” he said. “A lot of the clubs have their exhibits there.”

“Ah, nice.  Joel, you want to come get something to eat?” I asked.

“I was hoping to wait for Elise,” he said, glancing over at her.  She and Hull remained deep in conversation.  “It looks like she’s going to be a while, so sure, I guess.”

We went to get some food with Amy, who suggested we check out a cluster of booths serving by the sports center.  One of them was serving some kind of stir-fry, which Amy got a plate from and another to bring back for Kai.  Another had fish and chips – Joel got an order of those, and when it turned out they had fried chicken as well, I decided to get their “chicken and chips.”

We brought the plates back to our now-closed booth to eat; by the time we were back, to Joel’s disappointment, Elise was gone.  Once we were done eating, Kai and Amy headed out, and Joel ended up coming with me to check out the Arts Center booths.

The lobby of the arts center has a couple of tables for the Library Club, as well as a table taking orders for the yearbook.  I figured it would be easiest to just start at the top and work our way down.  On the fourth floor, there were bunch of exhibitions by arts clubs – and at one end of the floor there was the student council room which we’d seen on our prior tour.  There was no booth there, just people there doing administrative work.  At the other end of the floor was a bank of offices used as club rooms.  Two were for the newspaper and yearbook, both closed; a third appeared to be unassigned.  The last had a sign for the “Mages Club” and the door was open.

From the doorway, I looked inside – a couple of boys were huddled around a table reading a large book.   “Hello?” I asked from the door, and they looked up.

“Can I help you?” one of them asked.

“Sorry, I just saw that the door was open and was wondering whether your club had something for the festival.”

“We’ve got an exhibition later this afternoon out on the stage, if you’re interested,” said one of them.

“Thanks,” I said.  “Do you mind if I ask what this club is about?”

The same boy looked at me like I should have already known, but replied anyway, “This is the Mages club, it’s for students who are initiates of at least the second circle.  If you don’t mind, can you shut the door?  We really need to finish preparing for the exhibition.”

“Sure, no problem.”  I had a guess what was meant by the “second circle” but I’d have to wait to ask Yali to see if I was right.

We worked our way down two floors checking out the exhibits, and when we got back to the lobby, Joel noticed that there was a basement level, so we headed down.  Unlike the fairly bright and elegant construction of the upper levels, the club rooms down here had only small windows mounted high on the concrete walls and seemed to have been converted from maintenance space.

Most of the rooms were closed, but one seemed quite busy – a small line of students, mostly girls, was waiting outside one room.  The club’s title was covered by a sign which read, “Fortune teller!  Genuine divination magic.”

“We should check that out,” said Joel.

When we got near the head of the line, there was a price list: “Luck reading – 1 ticket, Love reading – 3 tickets, Detailed questions answered – 5 tickets.”  Joel, unsurprisingly, wanted to try the love reading, and nagged me into trying the same.

When we got all the way to the front of the line, a girl took our tickets and walked us into the club room.   The edges of the room were crowded with shelves absolutely packed with books and with junk.  In the center of the room, a table was covered with a thick black cloth, and just above the center of the table was a floating iridescent ball of light.  It cast flickering patterns of light all through the room.

The girl who walked us in said, “I’m Livia, from the magical research club,” and then pointing out the floating ball, “This is Vanth, a spirit in the service of the goddess Nezca.  He volunteers every year to help with our booth.”

After doing so, she took a long look at Joel and held her hand up to near Vanth.  After a moment, she looked frustrated and then said, “He’s not usually this vague, but Vanth says your future is very cloudy, and that you should focus on other things than romance.”

Joel sighed.  “Nothing about the girl I like?”

Livia looked down at Vanth again.  “He says, ‘Good luck, you’ll need it.’”

Joel shook his head.  “Is he always like this?”

Livia sighed loudly.  “I’m so sorry about this.  He’s normally much more specific.”  She leaned down toward the glowing orb, frowning, and then said to the ball, “What’s going on?“  The ball spun lazily and changed colors, but gave no other reply. Livia shook her head angrily, but after a moment she seemed to regain her composure.

Then she looked at me, and down at the ball again.  Then her eyes widened in surprise, and said to the ball, “There’s no way I’m repeating that.  You want to tell him directly?”

The ball showed an abstract face on its surface – almost like one of those “have a nice day” logos – which turned into a grimace and looked at Livia saying, “Oh, fine.” Then the face turned directly to me with a weird grin, and said “I don’t know what you did to get the attention of a major goddess, but Jaklamina ordered me directly to tell you ‘no spoilers,’” and then after a moment, it went on to say, “She also told me to tell you not to forget to feed the cat.”

The face disappeared.  Livia was shaking her head again.  “Sorry, guys.  From super-vague, to completely implausible.” She bit her lip, seeming torn between embarrassment and annoyance at her spirit companion’s antics.

Joel nudged me, and I said, “Maybe not that implausible.  We’re from the other side of the gate, and the local deities seem to have decided we were interesting.”

Livia gave me a very incredulous look.  I shrugged, and then asked her, “Can you tell me a little about this club?”

“Sure,” she said.  “Basically the club is for anyone with an interest in magic who isn’t ranked or who doesn’t want to deal with how stuffy the Mages’ club can be.  There’s usually somebody here after school, so just drop by if you’re interested.”

“Thanks,” I said.  “I’ll probably do that.”

Joel and I left, and on the way out of the basement, I noticed a room marked for the Computer Club.  Unfortunately, it was closed.  We checked out a few more booths on the green, and then ended up splitting up.  I picked up the pictures from Galen’s classroom, checked out a few of the classrooms on the third-year floor,  and then ended up lounging out on the green watching the various groups performing on the main stage.  Mid-afternoon, that included the Mages club – including the two boys we’d met briefly – who put on an impressive display of illusion magic, including some that could have passed for fireworks overhead.

At five, Anson, the student council president, came up on stage – echoed by the PA system – to announce that the public part of the festival was ending, and that “visitors, parents and friends of the school” should depart.  As a security measure, students were asked to go back to their homerooms to take attendance and be dismissed, while the campus was checked over.

In our homeroom, I asked Jack and Kai whether this was how it had been in prior years.

“This is new,” said Jack.  “Usually we can just go straight to the closing ceremony.”

After a little while, Mr. Kirill dismissed us, and all four of us – Jack, Kai, Joel and I – headed to the green for the closing ceremony.   On the way, I stopped by the booth – Hull was gone as expected, and both the grill and the extension cord had already been taken by custodial staff.  There was also a note for me from Hull:

Mark, I’ve taken the liberty of dropping the booth’s tickets off with the student council; the earnings were deposited to the club’s account.  Feel free to donate them to another student organization, if you’d like, as the state department will be happy to sponsor the booth next year.  Thanks for connecting me with some of your classmates, and I look forward to reading your write-up when you get the chance.

With both the lower and upper school student bodies present, the green was quite full – both schools together would not fit in the great hall of the arts center.   Once the green had filled in, Anson came back on stage and gave a short speech thanking students at both schools for their hard work in making the festival a success.   The festival had raised a large amount of money for both the two schools’ student councils, and for individual classes and student organizations, as well as representing the school to the broader community.   He also thanked the faculty for their help, and the two deans and head of school for their help with security arrangements.

“And now,” he concluded, “for what you have all been waiting for – the awards for best booths.”

Neil, and a young woman who I guessed might be his counterpart at the lower school, both came up to the microphone.   They introduced themselves, and then she said, “For our first category, we have the best food stalls.  As usual, we will have the top-earning booth and the judges’ award.   For the top earner, we have class 3-K, barbeque meat in the style of Teupla.”

Neil continued, “And for the judges award, we have the Boys and Girls Track Club with their stir fry station.”

They went on – best exhibition, best other booth which went to booths selling souvenirs or services, and then Neil concluded with something that rankled, “…and last, I’d like to add a special dishonorable mention to the so-called ‘American Cultural Club’ for almost starting a riot.”   I could see Anson on stage giving Neil an unhappy look, and there were a lot of puzzled grumbles from the audience.

“The heck?” said Joel, sounding and looking steamed.

I started off equally unhappy, but then I smiled.  “What an ass,” I said, and then after a moment, “I think Neil has never heard that there’s no such thing as bad publicity.”

There were similar awards for the best classroom exhibit for each class-year, presented by the class officers – in our case, that was Elise, which captured Joel’s rapt attention, but my mind was wandering at that point.  After that, Anson gave the stage to Doctor Mittari for a closing speech.  I was tired and paid his remarks little attention.

As the closing ceremony wrapped up, I found myself torn between exhaustion and amusement.  The long weekend had left me ready to collapse, but the reality of living in a fantasy world brought a smile to my face.  What sort of deity says “No spoilers”…?  And how weird is it to mention the cat in our yard?  The gods’ visit and their discussion of unclear destinies and pivotal decisions lingered in my mind, but there was nothing I could do about that right now.

As other students began leaving the green, I stretched and stifled a yawn, my mind drifting ahead to the coming week.  Forget destiny!  I had much more immediate worries – midterm exams were only a few weeks away, and my history paper also loomed large in my mind; Ms. Callliot was still after me for changes to the outline, and the final paper was due right before midterms.

Life would only get more hectic, and I wondered if it would also keep getting stranger.   I hoped that a good night’s sleep would make tackling all of these things seem less daunting. Whatever challenges it held though, at least I wouldn’t have to face them alone.

And yes, on getting home, I made sure to put out food for the cat.

Sunday, September 27^th [Last day of the Festival of Nations], morning
Our booth on the green

The booth was quiet for most of morning; I’d brought along som­e bootleg VHS tapes and a couple of originals I’d brought from home, my video tape player and the old monitor I used instead of a TV.  I first put on Ghostbusters, which failed to attract any attention, and after that, The Terminator, which started off with equally little interest.   I didn’t expect anyone would want hot dogs for breakfast, so the grill was off, and basically, I got to relax at the booth and watch some familiar films from home.  I also brought my camera, and got a few pictures, although being stuck at the booth, none were especially interesting.

A few people came by to buy candy; I had to apologize to them that we were sold out, but that class 2-C might still have some.  I did sell a few more souvenirs than I had during slow hours yesterday – maybe once people were over here, they felt like they should buy something.

Or not. I shrugged to myself.  As the second movie went on, Galen came by.  “Hi Mark,” he said.  “Some of the folks from my class said you were asking about my camera?”

I nodded. “I was curious what cameras are like here.  That was yours up at the booth?”

“Yeah, my dad gave me his older one.  Are you also into photography?”

“A little.  I actually brought my camera today to get a few pictures of the festival.” I picked it up to show him, and his eyes lit up.

“What is that?” he asked, and when I offered it to him to take a look. “Whoa, this is way different.  Where’s the F-stop ring?  Why’s it all plastic?  Wait, is this autofocus?”

He looked at me like I’d just handed him something precious, and then back to the camera.

“Yes, it’s autofocus,” I said. “That’s not exactly unusual in my world.  This is a pretty basic one.”

He kept looking at the camera. “I know you were talking about coming from the other side of the gate, but you never really seemed different, I guess.  The only ones we have here are really expensive, and I can’t imagine someone calling them pretty basic.”

“You’re welcome to try it out,” I said.

It look him a little while to get the handle of doing a half-press of the shutter to get it to focus, so Hull was going to have a couple of blurry shots of the literature club, but by the time he handed it back, he was happy with it. “That’s really nice! Was that a gift, or do you know what they cost over there?”

“I went with my dad to buy it using some money my grandfather gave me for my birthday and Christmas.  It was a little less than three hundred dollars with the sales tax, if I remember right, and that felt expensive to me.  They told us one hundred dollars and an Imperial were close to the same, so I guess about three Imperials?”

“I guess that is expensive for someone our age,” he said, “but you could easily pay that for a new manual-focus one like mine around here.”

We chatted about cameras a bit more, and Galen mentioned that he sometimes used a darkroom in the basement of the arts center.  It was shared by art classes, the school newspaper, and the yearbook, so it was hard to get free time in there, but it sounded like fun.  We’d likely have kept chatting about cameras when the movie interrupted – there’s a scene where the robot assassin selects from a menu of insults, followed by the actor dropping a heavily accented F-bomb and then another strong word in the same sentence.  It got Galen’s attention.

“I haven’t really been watching,” said Galen, “but are you sure that movie is appropriate for school?”

I noticed that some girl from over at the literature club booth was giving us a nasty look; I didn’t think she could hear the dialogue from over there, but I wondered if it was the movie.  Galen and I watched for a couple more minutes, both of us having been distracted from our conversation, and it went straight into a love scene.  Nothing explicit, but I got embarrassed, and when I looked over at the girl over at the literature club booth she looked really unhappy.

“Maybe I should turn it off?” I said, and pressed stop on the VCR.

“How did you end up putting movies on?” asked Galen.

I explained that we’d run out of candy, and that this had been a last-minute idea to have something to do for today. It was getting on late enough in the morning at this point that I thought we might start getting people asking for hot dogs, so I took a minute to light the grill before figuring out the next movie to put on.

“Do you want to look through the other movies I brought?” I asked Galen, hoping that he’d save me the trouble of picking the next one.

“Sure,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll recognize any of them, though.”

I handed him the box, and while he was looking at them, a girl came up to the booth, who asked very quietly if this was the American booth. When I said yes, she then asked if Joel was around.  On taking a look at her, she was familiar – Violet, one of the girls we’d seen on the train a couple of times, and that he’d helped out with bullies.

“Uh, no, actually, he’s taking a shift in our classroom.  It’s 2-C if you want to go look for him.”

Had she and Joel kept in touch?  I realized only after that was coming out of my mouth that I’d failed to introduce myself, and I wasn’t sure if I should admit to recognizing her since we’d never been introduced.

“Joel said you had some American candy here for sale?”

I shook my head, and started to say, “It’s all sold… uh, wait a second.”

I checked in my backpack; there were a pair of packs of candy I’d been saving for myself.  I gave one to Violet, and one to Galen.   Galen, who’d been busily looking through the tapes, looked up at Violet and blushed; I don’t think Violet noticed.  “There you go,” I told her. She tried to give me a ticket, and I waved her off, “since you’re a friend of Joel’s, please, just take it.”  She blushed, and mumbled something I couldn’t follow, and then wandered off.

“Do you know her?” I asked Galen.

“Yeah, we’ve been in the same classes most years,” he said.  He still looked embarrassed, so I didn’t press further.  “This chocolate is really good, thanks.”

After this, he left; a couple of people wanted hot dogs, and I made a few souvenir sales, and then Hull arrived before I could put another movie on.  I gave him a brief update on the prior day’s events and told him to keep an eye for Cory who’d been willing to be interviewed in exchange for the orbiter model.

Once he was settled in, I took another look through the box; I had brought a fair number of other fairly violent action movies and fairly raunchy comedies – if Terminator had been inappropriate, I’m not sure most of the others would have been a good idea. Then I spotted my boxed set of the three Star Wars films.  I didn’t think they could offend anyone, although I wasn’t sure the whole space thing would have much traction here.

I put the first one on, and within a couple of minutes it had attracted attention.  A couple of kids had come over from the literature club booth, and one boy asked, “Is this a remake?”

“Huh – what do you mean?” I asked.

“This looks like Star Wars, but that’s a classic film… it should be in black and white,” he said.

“What?” I asked.  “Since when was Star Wars a black and white film?”

“Of course it was!   I’m surprised you don’t know the story, if you’ve got a copy of this version.  The newcomers would always talk about the story from their world, and after the war some of them recreated it here.  It one of the first successful movies.  I hadn’t heard they’d done a remake, but this looks really good.”

“Wait, you said the newcomers made a version here?”

He nodded.

I pointed at the sign for the American booth.  “I don’t know if the newcomers’ world was exactly the same as ours, but on ours this is the original.”

“Your world?  Wait, this film came through the gate?”

I nodded.

“No way!” he said. “I’ve always wanted to see the original, I’ve got to go tell my friends.”

Soon, there was a large crowd around the booth, and people were not exactly being orderly about trying to find a position to watch.  I noticed a couple of younger kids pushing to get closer, while some of the older ones called for them to stop.

A 13” computer monitor wasn’t very big compared to a TV, so I couldn’t blame them for wanting a decent view but I was concerned the people pushing might get out of hand.  I went to Hull, who had been trying to avoid the crowd and asked him, “What should we do?”

“I’m surprised this was so popular!  I caught what the other student was saying, and it confirms that intellectual property rights are going to be a sticking point if we can on an eventual trade treaty.  Still, the popularity of this is… interesting.”  The pause before interesting was a little villainous.

It took a little while for the crowd to get bigger, and as it did people got louder and more boisterous, and pushing gave way to shoving. One of the younger boys shoved someone larger and in response they got knocked over right onto my table full of souvenirs.

I paused the movie, which elicited groans and angry muttering from the crowd. Holding up my hands to plead for calm, I said, “Hey, careful please.”

The commotion, however, must have drawn the attention of the student council, because the next moment I heard a voice yelling, “Break up this rabble at once!” and I knew at once that it was that annoyance, Neil.  He came pushing through the crowd, followed by a security guard.

“Cease this disruption of the festival at once!” Neil bellowed, glaring about at the crowd. The security guard gave an apologetic shrug, looking more embarrassed than anything else at having been dragged into this.

The crowd ignored him but reluctantly gave way.  Once Neil pushed closer, he strode up to the desk and snapped at me, “Why am I not surprised that the center of this mob is one of our so-called ‘American’ guests.”

Before I could respond, he went on, “As vice president of the student council, it is my duty to put an end to this disorder.” Neil’s tone only made the crowd angrier. People yelled at Neil to be quiet and to resume the movie. He scowled, but even the guard seemed to realize Neil’s attitude was making things worse.

Before things could escalate further, a man in a tweed jacket approached briskly from the direction of the lower school.  I didn’t know his name, but I recognized him as Dean Jerdew’s counterpart for the lower school.

The dean stepped forward before Neil could continue, giving him an unhappy look. “That’s quite enough. I will take charge here.”

Neil’s eye twitched, but he managed a stiff nod. “Of course, Dean Bravak. I defer to your authority in calming this…situation.” The tone of his voice made it clear that he was reluctant to back down.

The dean took over calmly, asking me to explain the situation, and when I’d done so, he said, “I see, there must be a classroom you can use,” then to Neil – “you’re from the upper school student council, right?  Can you find him something?”

While Neil thought for a minute, I replied, “I’m not sure that would work; the video system is different here.”

Neil barely managed to avoid interrupting me, and said to the Dean, “Surely you’re not going to encourage this.”

The Dean gave him a frustrated look. “This isn’t for me to encourage or not.  We do need to get this crowd under control though and clear some of the walkway.”

The crowd made some room for the walkway, but few if any left.

Hull took the Dean aside for a few moments and then came back and addressed the crowd, “Folks, I’m really gratified that there’s so much interest in a film from our country.  I’m sorry the club wasn’t better prepared for this, but here’s what we’re going to do: the United States trade mission is going to arrange for a proper screening of this film – of the whole trilogy.  We can’t do it today, though!  We’ll work with the school so you can all see it.”

The crowd took the news with some excitement and started to disperse.   I asked Hull, “What now?”

“I think it’s best we close up the booth for today,” Hull said evenly.

I hesitated, thinking of the pile of remaining souvenirs and all the uncooked hot dogs. But the morning’s excitement had sucked the fun out of it, and I really did want a chance to check out the rest of the festival myself.

Neil overheard us and jumped in immediately. “Yes, shut this down at once! The festival cannot have disruptions from…questionable influences.” He gave a meaningful glare in my direction.

I gritted my teeth and decided to avoid an argument. I didn’t have energy for it, anyway – arguing with Neil would just frustrate me more. And I knew he was itching for any excuse to escalate the situation.

“Fine,” I muttered. Neil appeared taken aback that I didn’t object.

I looked over at Hull and asked, “you’re supposed to be here until 2PM, do you want to stay here to do the rest of the meet-and-greet?”

Hull nodded.  Neil looked at me, and at Hull, and gave an unhappy look.  “Fine,” he said, and left.

Once Neil finally left, Joel and Elise came over. I hadn’t seen them but was relieved to have friendly faces now that the situation had wound down. Joel introduced Hull to her, and told him, “She’s our class’ representative to the student council, and had some questions about trade through the gate.”

“Thank you for bringing her by, Joel,” he said in reply.

While Elise and Hull stepped away to talk, Joel asked, “What now, man?”

“Hey, can you give me a hand packing up?” I asked Joel, eager to get it over with. Between the two of us, we had the booth cleared quickly.

Sunday, September 27^th [Last day of the Festival of Nations], around 10AM
Classroom 2C

It had been a busy couple of days for Elise; the student council had the festival committee to help, but in the end a lot of the work fell on the core and class officers.  She had wanted more time to check things out, especially this year when she finally had a little spending money, but she was enjoying herself, nonetheless.

She had not yet had a chance to check out the class’s “movie café,” and had volunteered for a shift to have an excuse to see it, and to help out at least a little – given her student council responsibilities, she hadn’t done anything to help set up.

Arriving a little before ten, there were a few students lazing around watching a film; Elise didn’t recognize it, but it was a period piece and looked like a romance.  The only one tending to the booth was Zaya, who gave her a friendly smile, and said, “Hi Elise!”

“Hi Zaya!  You’ve had the place to yourself this morning?”

Zaya nodded. “It’s pretty easy.”  Zaya went on to show her the price list, and the instruction sheets for the coffee maker and the popcorn machine.  There was also a box of rented movies – “This one has about 45 minutes to go so one of you will need to put on the next one.”

“Someone else is going to be here?”

“Yes, we had two signups for this shift.  You, and Joel.”

“He’s one of the new transfer students, right?”

Before Zaya could respond, a male voice came from behind Elise.  “Yeah, that’s me.”

Once she turned, she recognized him; he was the taller of the two who were new this year, and often hanging out with Jack and Kai.  She’d met the other, Mark, very briefly, at the American booth yesterday.  She figured that meant Joel was also American – up until yesterday she’d assumed both been local and had just transferred in from other schools.

“Joel did a shift yesterday,” said Zaya, “so if you need anything he should know where things are.”

“Thanks,” said Elise, and Zaya said her goodbyes for the next couple of hours.

Joel sat down on one of the chairs at the sales table, and Elise took the other.  A slightly awkward silence settled in as Elise tried to figure out what was going on in the movie – no one was buying anything, so there wasn’t really anything else to do.

“Do you know what this film is?” asked Joel.

Elise looked down at the box of tapes; the box on top looked like it could be a match for the lead actress… maybe?   She picked the box up, and it was empty – I guess that was it?  “The Duchess’s Choice,” said Elise.  Looking at the back of the box, she signed, and offered the box to Joel. “It seems like a very predictable romance.  Want to have a look?”

“Sure,” he said, accepting the box.   After reading a bit, he handed it back.  “A young officer and the heiress to a duchy, defying her family and the forces of convention?  Sounds like something straight out of Jane Austen,” and then after a moment, “umm… do they have her books here?”

“I haven’t a heard of her,” she replied. Then after a moment, she asked, “What do you mean by ‘here?’” She was pretty sure she knew the answer but figured it would be better to ask.

Joel gave an embarrassed grin. “Sorry… I forgot to introduce myself. I’m from America.  Jane Austen was a classic author over there. We had to read one of her books in English class, it was kind of like this.”

Elise tried to avoid looking smug about having made the right assumption.  “So, both you and Mark really are from the other side of the gate?”

“Yeah,” he said.  “I guess you met him yesterday at the booth?”

“I saw him there. I’m not sure I really met him.”  She shrugged.  “He’s pretty quiet.”

“At least until he gets to know people.”  Joel looked like he wanted to say more but didn’t continue.

“How did you end up coming to school here?”

“It’s kind of a long story,” and he paused for a moment.  Elise didn’t reply, and he went on, “My school got approached by our State Department – kind of like the Foreign Ministry here, and I got offered the chance to come. Mark heard about it, and decided he wanted to come along, and he nagged the state department folks to let him take the test.”

That seems a bit odd, thought Elise. I’d like to ask how he was selected individually, but would that be too nosy? Instead, she replied, “It’s pretty unusual to have foreign students come in on scholarship. I’d though the two of you were local until yesterday.”

“This is my first time going to a private school, so I wouldn’t know.”

“How do you like it here so far?”

Joel and Elise talked for a little while about the school; it sounded like he was enjoying it here, and school back in America sounded quite different.  A lull in the conversation followed, and both watched the movie quietly.  Elise thought she should ask more about America but was unsure how to do so without coming across as nosy.

After a particularly melodramatic scene where the romantic rival tried to blackmail the protagonist into marrying an elderly relative, Joel said quietly, “OK, not that much like Jane Austen.”

“I’m not sure what you mean, but this is pretty terrible, isn’t it?” replied Else.

Joel laughed.  “Yeah, it’s bad.  Those girls seem really into it, though.  I think they’re going to sit through to the end.”

Elise smiled at his reaction.  “Probably!  I wish they’d buy something.  Still, this was a good idea for our class, it’s easy to run and it seems like people are having fun.  Do you know who suggested it?”

Joel gulped. “I suggested a movie theater, and then someone suggested combining it with the café.”  Joel went on to explain the reasoning – that with just the theater, people wouldn’t be likely to pay to sit through a whole movie, but it was a draw when combined with the snack bar.

“Did they have anything like this at your old school?”

“Kind of.   One of my friends started a club where they borrow a VCR and just watch part of a movie once a week during the lunch break.”

Else had meant like the festival, but it didn’t seem right to bring it up.  “Do the clubs at your old school not meet after school?”

“Except for the sports teams, I think they all meet at lunch time.  Are you in any clubs, other than the student council?”

“No, I work after school, it’s hard enough to make time for student council.”

“That sounds like a lot of responsibility for someone our age,” said Joel.

Elise sighed. “It is, but I have to help my family out.”

“It’s really cool how dedicated you are to do that for your family,” said Joel.

Elise looked down with a bit of embarrassment.  Joel seems really thoughtful, so many of the better off students look down on my working. “Thanks,” she said quietly.

“No worries.”

An awkward silence followed, and they both watched the last few minutes of the movie.  The hero and heroine eloped and were implausibly forgiven by her father. Surprisingly, the romantic rival was left as a loose end – after the blackmail plot, Elise had fully expected her to get some kind of comeuppance.

The girls who had been watching looked disappointed, and one of them came up to ask if they had the sequel.  After looking in the box of rentals, Elise shook her head.  She didn’t see much that she recognized – not that she had a lot of time to watch movies – and asked Joel, “Do you know what we’re supposed to put on next?”

Joel found a list on the box of movies, but it wasn’t a schedule – just the list of the movies, with the ones having already been put on crossed off.  “There’s an interesting title – Wings of Freedom – I don’t remember this from when we picked out films,” he said, pulling out the box.  “Looks like a war film, what do you think?”

“That’s a classic,” said Elise.  “Back in the lower school, we had to watch it for class – it’s about the Wizards’ War.  There’s a bit of a tragic romance, so the girls might like it.”

She brought the box over to them, and sure enough, they wanted to see it, so she put it on – and suggested they should buy some popcorn or coffee. One of the girls followed her up and bought some imported candy to share with her friends.  “This is the same candy your booth was selling?” asked Elise.

“Yes,” said Joel.  “Well, one of them, it looks like the rest sold out.”

“I bought some at the booth yesterday, these are delicious.  How did our class end up selling these?”

“Our state department sent a bunch of candy – and a bunch of other junk – to Mark, and he donated some of the candy to the class.”

This, she thought, is a good opportunity to learn more. “They used the gate to send candy through?” It seems odd to use transportation between worlds to bring something so trivial through.

“Mr. Hull – the representative our government sent here – wants us to share out American culture and it didn’t seem like a big deal.”

“Interesting,” said Elise, and then after a moment, “Your friend Mark also said yesterday I should ask Mr. Hull if I had questions about trade through the gate.”

“You really should.  About all the guy talks about is wanting to improve ties between Feldaren and our country.”

That’s odd – didn’t Brinna say they’d talked to him already? I don’t know what I could ask him that they couldn’t, but it can’t hurt to talk to him, “He was going to be back this afternoon?”

“I think so.”  Joel paused a moment, and then smiled.  “Hey, when we get out of the shift here, do you want to come along with me to the booth to check if Hull is there?”

“I guess so,” said Elise.  I could find the way myself, she thought, but it is sweet of him to offer.

The movie was less than halfway through at noon when another girl from their class came to take her shift at the classroom both, and Elise and Joel walked down to the green together to find Hull.  As they approached the corner where the American booth was, however, they were stopped as a loud crowd was packed around the booth.

“What the heck is going on here?” asked Joel, his eyes gone very wide.  Looking at the crowd, Elise was just as surprised.  What had they done at the booth that morning?

Saturday, September 26^th [Second day of the Festival of Nations], around 7PM
Our booth, and the Obdresti temple

Things were pretty dead right up until around 5:30, when I guess the dinner rush hit – suddenly everyone wanted a hot dog.  They sold as fast as I could grill them.  The candy sold nearly as fast, and by the end of the evening all we had left was the batch of hot dogs I’d set aside for tomorrow back at our apartment.  I’d had the booth to myself throughout that time, so I missed out on getting my prints from Galen’s class booth or being able to check anything else out at the festival.

Joel came back a little before seven, and as he helped pack up the booth, I mentioned, “Elise stopped by this afternoon.”

His eyes brightened, remembering her from the assembly.  I wasn’t sure how interested in her he was, but he’d signed up for a shift in our classroom the next day overlapping with her.  “Did you talk to her at all?” asked Joel.

“You know me – not much.  I sold her some candy, and she had some questions about trade through the gate.  I suggested that she could talk to Hull tomorrow, since he’s the expert on that stuff.”

Joel smirked, “Didn’t even introduce yourself?”

I shrugged. “Was I supposed to?  You’re generally the social one.”

Joel gave me a shrug right back, along with a disappointed look.  We chatted a bit more about what he’d seen as the festival and were just about done packing when Dormer came by.  I thought it would just be to drive Joel home, but instead he was going to take Joel to an Obdresti shine.

He went on to explain to Joel, “Tonight is a new moon, which means an important observance to Tennia.  I think you should come with me to services.”

“That’s the bonfire ceremony, right?” asked Joel.  When Dormer nodded, Joel went on to ask. “It’s already getting dark, though.  Isn’t the bonfire supposed to be lit at sundown?  Will we be too late?”

Dormer nodded.   “The ceremony has already started, but it runs all night.  There will be periodic opportunities to give offerings, and you’ll get to see some prayers from home.”

“This is the sort of thing I’ll be doing every month if I stick around?” asked Joel.

“It would be a good idea to attend while you’re in school, but you aren’t required to.  However, if you decide to stay like we’re asking, it becomes part of your responsibility.”

Joel hesitated, then said, “I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it, but I am curious.” Turning to me, he asked, “Want to tag along?”

I thought for a moment; I hadn’t much interest in religion in general or Tennia’s in particular, but I didn’t particularly relish the streetcar ride home in the dark.  “Sure, why not,” I said.

The temple was around a ten-minute drive.  Nestled in a residential neighborhood, the temple grounds were like a park, centered around a short hill.   The temple itself stood at the top – a ring of white stone held up by columns with a small building at one end.  The bonfire itself was a massive pillar of burning wood that gave off an intense glare even in the parking lot.

Before we walked up, Dormer gave Joel a box from the grocery store to carry.  “Your offering,” he explained.

Joel peeked inside. “A roast chicken and potatoes?”

Dormer smiled.  “In the old days, I’m told it would have been a live one.”

Joel shrugged and carried the box.

As we walked up the hill to the temple, I glanced over at Joel. His eyes kept darting around the grounds, and he rubbed his hands together nervously. As for me, an uneasy feeling was settling in my stomach.  Unlike at home where I was a skeptic, Joel and I had seen that the gods here were real and took an interest in the world.

I was still not sure what to make of that, and unlike the cribbed-from-Rome Pantheon we’d seen, this lacked that bit of familiarity to hold on to.  Grand and imposing, the stone columns and the ring above them were intricately carved.  At the back, the statue of Tennia loomed large, cast in wild, dancing shadows by the towering bonfire at the center.

People sat on the ground around the fire, and Dormer found us a spot not too near anyone else.  After we were seated, an elderly priestess greeted Dormer in the Obdresti.  She then turned to us with a warm smile, welcoming us in English. She seemed genuinely pleased to have exchange students at the ceremony.

Joel gave her a tense smile and handed her the meal.  When I noted she set it aside rather than putting it in the fire, Dormer clarified, “It’s symbolic. It either feeds the priests or goes to those in need.”

On returning, the priestess offered us a bowl of charcoal chips and dried herbs. Demonstrating what to do, Dormer took a generous pinch from the bowl and threw it towards the fire.  As if carried by the wind, the material was sucked up into the fire and the flames responded with a flash of color and a puff of fragrant smoke.

“This is when we offer our thanks to Tennia,” he explained. “The fire delivers our thanks straight to her.”

Joel took a pinch and threw it, his motions rigid.  After this, Dormer bowed his head to pray and Joel did so as well, but I noticed his eyes occasionally flickering around at the other worshipers instead of remaining closed. After this, we returned the bowl to the priestess.

For the next little while, we saw many people come and give offerings.   Some prayed silently, while others did so out loud – one so loudly and abruptly that Joel flinched slightly.  His jaw clenched and he stared straight ahead into the fire rather than watching the others like I did. I wondered if he felt like a fraud here compared to these people who had grown up with this faith.

After the offerings, the priestess said a long prayer in Obdresti. At the end she summarized it in English: “Tonight we pray in thanks to Tennia’s purifying fire that drove invaders from our shores long ago. May she continue to protect our people and lead us to prosperity.”

I noticed Joels eyes widen at those words, and he then said quietly to me, “This is really going to be my life if I stay, isn’t it?”

Next, a group of children came forward; each carried an unlit golden lantern.  Placing them around the fire, each was lit by sparks from the bonfire.  Their soft glow contrasted with the fire’s fierce brilliance, and the Priestess gave another blessing.   More prayers followed, as well as another priest leading many of those in attendance in song.

Joel seemed increasingly uncomfortable. Every so often, he’d glance my way as if to say so. I tried to offer reassuring nods. I felt oddly comfortable as an observer; my main thought was how fascinated my father would be to see this living ceremony straight from the ancient world he studied.

When a new round of worshipers giving offerings to the priests arrived, Dormer signaled that it was time to leave. On the drive home, Joel stayed silent, while I asked Dormer to explain more of what we’d seen.  I wanted to write it up for Hull while it was fresh in my memory.

When we got to the apartments, before heading to his own, Dormer asked Joel, “What did you think?”

Joel hesitated, and his eyes clouded with doubt.  Then he shook his head slightly. “I’m not sure.  I could not shake the feeling of being watched the entire time.”

“As heir, Tennia has a special interest in you. You have a great destiny ahead of you here.”

Joel responded to this with another worried expression. I wondered if destiny was what he wanted, or he’d rather remain just another kid from Queens. Either way, the look on his face made it clear tonight had not made the decision any easier.

Saturday, September 26^th [Second day of the Festival of Nations], early afternoon
Our booth on the green

When I came back to the booth, Hull was still there, and he’d been joined by Jack and Tika – Jack’s sister.  I hadn’t met her, but Joel and I had seen her at the swimming test.  She seemed even taller up-close. When I joined them behind the table, Jack said, “We had a real run on the candy during lunch – we pulled a lot of the extras out, but I think you’re going to sell out.”

“I’ve got an idea for something to keep people interested tomorrow if we run out,” I said. “If we can get an electric cord, I could bring my TV and video tape player in from home and put on some American movies.  What do you think?”

“Isn’t that basically what our classroom is doing?  Also, there’s no place for people to sit.”

“Those are movies people will have seen before,” I said. “I don’t think they import movies through the gate, so anything would be brand new.”

“I guess it’s worth a try.  I can go check about the cord if that would help.”

“That’d be great, thanks Jack,” I said.

“Sure, I don’t mind.  Before I go, have you met Tika?”

I hadn’t and after making our introductions, we chatted briefly about classes and our clubs.  She was, as I’d guessed, on the swimming team.  When she heard which club I was in, she asked, “Since you’re in fencing, you must know Galen.”

My first thought was, does everyone at this school know each other?  “I know him a little from the club, yeah.”

“He’s in my homeroom.  One of my friends from class does not get along with him at all,” she said.

“He seems like a nice guy at fencing,“ I said, and then I thought of his ‘this is like three couples’ line when we all got ice cream. “Maybe a little immature, but there are worse things than that.”

“Maybe that’s what bothers my friend.  She’s quite serious at times.”

I shrugged, and before we could continue, Jack came back.  He had a big thumbs up for me: the custodians would set up the cord for us that night.  He and Tika headed out after that, and it was just Hull left with me at the booth.  His meet and greet ran until two o’clock, and at the end of it he left.

I was expecting it to be quiet for a while – the lunch rush was over, and with Hull gone, the slow stream of adults wanting to talk to him wouldn’t be stopping by.  Only a few minutes after he left, though, three girls stopped by.  Gwen and Cory were accompanied by a third girl who I didn’t know.

She was about the same height as Gwen, with short black hair cut to frame her face. She had on a fitted vest and matching skirt that with a jacket could have straight from a bank or law office.  She had a calm, confident air about her that complemented Gwen’s bold, artistic style.

Gwen made the introductions. “Mark, this is our friend Diane Cho. She was student council president last year.”

Diane gave me a polite smile. “It’s nice to meet you. Gwen was saying you were from America?”

“Nice to meet you, too, and yes,” I said, gesturing back at the booth.  “We’re trying to represent the US here.  Are you a college student now?”

Diane nodded. “Yes, I’m in my first year of law school.”

It surprised me that law school here wasn’t a graduate program like it is in the US.  We ended up chatting briefly about her studies, and then she had some questions about my world and how the US was getting involved here.  The general ones I could answer, but plenty of them would have been better directed at Hull.

“He’ll be back for a couple of hours again tomorrow, if you’d like to speak to him,” I said.

She declined, as she had a school event tomorrow.  Before they left, Gwen and Diane bought candy and some souvenirs.   I was surprised that Cory did not follow them.

“Hey, Mark,” she said. Then, after a pause, “I guess you said Mr. Hull won’t be back until tomorrow?”

“Sorry, yeah.  You only missed him by a few minutes.  I think he was going to the administration building if you want to catch him.”

“No, that’s all right, I’ll come by tomorrow,” she said, and then she paused for a moment.  “Umm, did Joel mention that I was interested in buying the spacecraft model there?”

“He did,” I said.  “It makes a nice decoration for the booth, but we didn’t have any plan for it after the festival.  You’re welcome to it afterwards.”

“How much did you want for it?”

I shook my head, “That’s not necessary.  Hull said I should try to pass on what we can’t use, and it feels weird to both charge you and ask you to wait until after the festival.”

“You’re sure?”

I nodded, and then said, “Why not?  Call it ‘free to a good home.’”

She frowned and thought for a short while.  “It still doesn’t seem right.  You’re sure you won’t take anything for it?”

You try to do something nice for someone, and they make it harder, I thought, and after a moment, a better idea came to me.  “This all came from the American government.  If you want to pay somebody back for it, I know Hull is looking to know more about this world.  You were going to talk to him tomorrow anyway, right?”

She nodded.

“I’m pretty sure what he’d want in return is information.  He’ll probably ask you to write something, or maybe interview you. Does that sound OK?”

“I was going to talk to him anyway,” she said, followed by a faint sigh. “Fine.”

“Nice. I’m just glad someone thought it was cool.  If you like space we’ve got some other posters from NASA, like that one,” I pointed my thumb back at the one of the Earth from space. “Want to have a look?”

“NASA?”

“National Aeronautics and Space Administration,” and when she gave me a puzzled look, I went on, “The part of our government that runs the space program.”

“Ah, interesting.  I need to catch up to Gwen, but I’ll look at the posters tomorrow when I talk to Mr. Hull.”

The next few hours were uneventful.

Saturday, September 26^th [Second day of the Festival of Nations], around noon
Walking along the green

Elise had just finished a shift selling tickets at the student council booth and was going to get some lunch when she heard her last name called.   “Miss Shevariet!”  The voice was familiar, but not quite so familiar to place it.

She turned to see where she where the voice came from, and a middle-aged man and younger woman were walking up to her.  As she approached, she recognized them as the two people she’d met from Magnus Trading.

The older one was Paul Jekanis. “Ah, excellent!  It is good to see you again, Miss Shevariet.  You have already met my niece, Brinna, yes?”

“Yes.” Elise nodded.  “It’s good to see you both again.”

“Thank you,” he said, “it’s good to be back for this year’s festival.  Your students have done a very nice job with it this year.”

“Thank you,” said Elise.  “Have you found anything of particular interest today?”  She had gotten them information in the past; the trading firm they worked for kept an eye on the school because so many VIPs’ children went there.

Paul shook his head.  “We’re just here to enjoy the festival.  Although Brinna did have a very interesting conversation.  What do you know about these Americans?”

“Americans?  You mean the cultural club some students revived?” asked Elise.

“Yes, that one,” said Brinna.

“There’s not much to know,” said Elise.  “Something like half the students here are descended from Newcomers, and an awful lot of them were Americans.”

“I don’t think that’s all it is.  I talked briefly with a diplomat the club had brought in,” said Brinna, “and he was from the other side of the gate.  He implied that there were students who had come from there, as well.  Oddly, there were no students at the booth when I visited.”

“Interesting!  I guess that’s why they were so insistent on setting the club up,” said Elise.

“You know them, then?”

“I’ve seen two of them.  I don’t know them personally,” said Elise.

“It’s an interesting thing,” said Paul.  “I’ve heard that the amount of trade through the Gate was insignificant, and we’ve never given it much thought, but what Brinna heard from the diplomat – Mr. Hull, I believe his name was? – made it sound like that may be changing.”

Then Brinna said, “If you find anything out, we would appreciate it.”

“About the students?” asked Elise. “I can’t find much about trade through the gate.”

“The students, yes,” said Brinna.

“I’ll see what I can find out,” said Elise.  She’d had misgivings when she had learned about Alvar Leto’s disappearance but seeing the two of them at the festival with all the security around left her a little more at ease.  She couldn’t see them being so comfortable here if they’d had anything to do with it.

“Thank you, Miss,” said Paul.  “We appreciate your past help. I hope you’ll enjoy the rest of the festival.”  And with a slightly awkward wave, he and Brinna left.

Elise thought for a minute; she could remember roughly what the two boys had looked like but she had been so distracted by Neil’s objections that she had no memory of their names.  She shrugged to herself. It couldn’t be that hard to find them again.

Saturday, September 26^th [Second day of the Festival of Nations], a few minutes before noon
Our booth on the green

Hull arrived a little early for his meet-and-greet at our booth and had given it a look over.  He didn’t look especially enthusiastic, but his words were kind enough.  “I think this turned out well, given the rush we were in.  I looked around before I got here, and we will have to up our game next year!  I can get some designers involved and we should be able to have a very professional-looking booth next year.”

“Uh, I’m going to be back in New York next year,” I said.

“Yes, I know that’s your plan, Mark.  I wouldn’t be at all unhappy if you end up changing your mind.  You are a real asset to have here.”

“Thanks, I think,” I said, shaking my head.  I decided to change the subject. “What’s with the big pile of college brochures you brought?”

“One of my goals here is to increase understanding and trade between our world and theirs… well, for now, between the US and Feldaren.  Having you and Joel here is a great start, but it’s much easier for college students to study abroad than it is for kids your age study abroad.  Students who come for college and then return home bring ties to the US and to American values with them.  Or they stay in the US, and we’ve got one more well-educated future citizen.  Either way, it works out well for America.”

Joel had been handling the trickle of candy and souvenir sales while we talked, and chimed in to ask, “How would that work when the US government doesn’t even officially admit the Gate exists?”

“The way things are right now, it would only work unofficially and at a very small scale. I have a hunch that’s going to change at some point, and there’s a good chance that point sooner rather than later.”

“How do you mean?” asked Joel.

“I’m mostly reading hints from my superiors, so I can’t be more specific.  It’s also a Presidential election year, so things could be very different come January.”

“Why would a new administration make a difference?” asked Joel.

Hull just shrugged.

“I haven’t thought about the election coming up since I got here,” I said, “but I just realized we won’t hear who won for almost a week afterwards.”

“Probably,” said Hull, “I’ll mention the election when I’m next in touch about the gate, just in case the Brotherhood wants to take the opportunity to keep up to date.”

“You really think they might open out of cycle for that?”

Hull gave a big grin and said, “I think they’re more interested in our side of the gate than they’ll admit publicly.  That’s all I can say right now.”

I thought about asking what he meant, but before I could, the booth got busier.   Unlike students, who mostly took our booth with enthusiasm for the candy and otherwise in stride, the adults had a lot more questions.  Fortunately, Hull was there with us, and instead of having to give the visitors a capsule of how we got here, I could pass them on to him.

We did solid business as the lunch hour was approaching, and at noon we started hearing a PA system from the stage.  There was a speaker welcoming everyone to the festival, and then they introduced a series of clubs’ presentations.  Our booth was around a corner and facing away from the stage, but we were near enough to hear them clearly.  Traditional dance from the Great Kingdom didn’t interest me, but the music was pleasant enough.

“I’m hungry,” said Joel.

“You want me to put a hot dog on the grill for you?” I asked.

“Nah, thanks though.  I want to try something new today.”

“Like what?”

“One of the booths over by the entrance had meat skewers.”

I nodded my head.  “Nice, that sounds good.”

“If you two want to get some food, I can watch the booth for you,” said Hull.

We weren’t sure if it was OK to have an adult running the booth, but we didn’t expect to take long and some kebabs sounded very good.

The booth was at the corner almost opposite ours, at the corner of the green nearest the administration buildings.   When we got there, it clearly wasn’t kebabs, but it turned out to be more interesting.  Even from a distance walking up we could see their grill was large, with a vertical rack over it, and the skewers were as long as swords.  Each carried a couple of big cuts of meat, from which they would slice thick pieces as people ordered.  One of the meats they were serving was clearly beef.  The other two were lighter-colored and looked different enough from one another that I didn’t think they could both be pork.

As we approached, we saw that the booth belonged to a third-year homeroom – 3-K and was “Barbecue meat in the style of Teupla.”  My sense of geography in this world wasn’t great for countries that hadn’t been part of one of the big wars of the last century; all I could remember was that it was a country in Toyeri, well east of the Great Kingdom.

There was a short line, and when we got to the head of it, the menu was short – the three kinds of meat were beef, pork, and lesser drake – and you could get whatever combination you wanted on a plate.  I tried all three; Joel skipped the lesser drake.  There was another booth nearby selling drinks, and with some of the local Wiz-brand cola we settled on an open spot on the green to eat.

“How’s the dragon meat?” asked Joel.

“I think I’m supposed to say, ‘it tastes like chicken.’”

“Seriously?”

“No, actually.  It’s not bad, kind of like the sibbat they had at lunch a while ago, but stronger flavored.  You want to try a piece?”

“Thanks, I’m good.”

I shrugged.  One of the music-and-dance groups finished while we were eating, and the same person we’d been hearing between groups came over the PA and said, “Next up, we have the Troupers, with a preview of their Fall performance.”

“Hey, that’s Gwen’s group,” I told Joel.

A group of girls came up on stage wearing identical dresses in the same blue and grey color pattern of our uniform, and as they walked towards center stage, Gwen stepped out from the group and then started opening a letter.  Over the PA, a boy’s voice came on to narrate: “A young woman caught in a world of duty and expectation, Isabella’s life is turned upside down.”

Looking down at the letter, Gwen – in character as Isabella – said, “I will never accept this,” and crumpled the letter.  She threw it to the ground.  One of the other girls, a blonde, stepped towards her and reached out as if to ask, “are you OK?” and then Gwen shrugged and the group hurrying off the other side of side of the stage.

They exited and two actors came on; both were dressed in what looked like old fashioned military uniforms, much like Dormer’s masterpiece theater outfits although in darker colors rather than his bright red.  One of the two was a bit taller, and his uniform more ornate.  As they reached center stage, the same voice came on to narrate: “She’ll face danger at every turn.”

The shorter one stopped, picked up the crumpled paper, and handed it to the taller one, who in turn went on to say, “Is that how it is, Princess?  There is nothing you can cherish that I cannot take away,” and they marched back off the stage the way they came.

The narrator continued: “She’ll find unexpected allies, as she fights for her freedom and her family.”

Gwen, the blonde actress, and a boy wearing a school uniform not matching our colors came back on stage, as if he were leading them away from something.   Two actors dressed as thugs followed them, and when the first group reached center stage, the boy turned to fight them.  “Run, both of you!” he shouted, as he faced down the two thugs.  Both girls hurried off stage to one side, while the boy and the thugs fought their way off the other.

A few moments later, Gwen, no longer wearing the uniform dress but instead a loose blouse and pants, pulled the boy – doing a less-than-great job of playing unconscious – onto center stage from the back, and then knelt by him sobbing quietly.  The taller of the two men in uniform from earlier approached from the side of the stage, and Gwen on seeing him pulled a sword from the boy’s side and stood up.

The man in uniform drew a sword, as well, and as the two approached each other, the narrator came back on the PA, and said, “The Troupers present their performance of ‘The Lost Princess.’  Come see the classic tale of love and sacrifice, playing October 28^th through November 1^st” and then in a much more casual tone, “For you first-years out there, that’s the week after midterms.”  The boy who had been playing unconscious stood up, and all three of the folks on stage bowed and left the stage.

The regular announcer came back on and introduced some folks from the orchestral music club, who started in on a pleasant, fast-paced piece of music.

“Do you miss being in band?”  I asked Joel.

He didn’t respond, and I finished up the last of my plate of food.  When I finished, he was still just sitting there lost in thought.  I asked him, “You OK, Joel?”

“Eh, actually I’m a little creeped out,” he said.  “I think that might have been about my mom.”

“Really?”

“They changed her name and never mentioned where she was from… but I’ll bet she disappears in the end, and that what she’ll ‘never accept’ is a forced marriage.”

“Was that last part public knowledge?”

Joel shrugged. “I didn’t think so, but I don’t have much to go on.”

“If it is about your mom, that’s a pretty weird coincidence.”

“I hope it is a coincidence.  I’m going to ask Dormer if he knows about the play,” said Joel.  “Even if it is a coincidence, the last thing we need is people making a random connection between it and a certain transfer student.”

“I hear you. If he doesn’t know anything, maybe I can ask Gwen about it after our next practice?”

“Couldn’t hurt,” he said.

We took care of our trash and then headed back to the booth.

Saturday, September 26^th [Second day of the Festival of Nations], mid-morning
Second classroom building, Literature department elective classroom

Violet was a little lonely.  Last year, the club’s room had been bustling with activity, and today it was very quiet with no one she knew.  Last year, as a third-year student at the lower school, she’d helped with a few shifts greeting people and serving food, and a lot of people had stopped by, not just parents and family members of students in the club.

Things this year were much quieter.  Because of everything going on in their home country, most of the other Obdresti students had returned home for this year rather than continuing to go to school in Feldaren.  She wasn’t sure if there were a few others who hadn’t volunteered to help, but there were only a few Obdresti students left to take shifts in the room, so she would miss a lot of the festival.  This morning, there were three of them including her – and a parent who was helping.

The parent had brought in in an urn of iced coffee and a traditional Obdresti white cake with caramel filling.   The urn itself was a common bit of magic back home; it could boil water and then chill the coffee once made, but they were uncommon with the weaker magic they had on this continent.  Her own parents were going to stop by later and had promised to bring roast lamb.

A few curious students had stopped by, and she and the other two students had taken turns greeting them.   It wasn’t her turn when Joel arrived, but she recognized him at once and was the one to greet him.  She was happy to see someone she knew, even a little, from class.  There had also been an incident a few weeks back when he’d come to her rescue. Some local boys had been bullying her, and he had driven them off, recovered her backpack, and walked her home.

She wasn’t sure if he’d remember her, and she approached him cautiously.  “Hi Joel, welcome to the Obdresti Club,” she said trying to hide her nervousness.

“Hi!  You’re Violet, right?” Joel said, smiling as she approached him.

“Yes, right,” Violet replied, relieved that he remembered her name.

He looked happy to see her, and Violet felt her cheeks flush a little. She knew she had to say something more, so she mustered up the courage to thank him properly.

“I’m sorry I never got to thank you properly for stepping in back then,” she said, her voice a bit shaky.

Joel’s smile grew wider, and Violet felt a flutter in her chest. “It’s no problem,” he said. “I meant to ask how you were doing the next time we had class and never got to.”

“Can I get you a piece of cake and some coffee?  Or we have punch if you’d prefer it.”

“Cake and coffee would be great,” he said.

Violet went to get them, and after Joel had tried them, he said, “This is great.  Is this typical Obdresti coffee?”

“Yes,” she said, “it’s usually served chilled and very sweet.  I put in a little more cream than we usually would have at home because that seems to be the usual preference around here.”

“It tasted good to me, but I’ve only been here a few weeks, so I wouldn’t know how most people around here take it.”

“Really?  You seem like you grew up around here. Where are you from?” she asked.

“America,” he said.

“America? Where’s that?” she asked.  Before Joel could answer, something from history class dawned on her and a surprised look crossed her face.  “Wait, do you mean on the other side of the Gate?”

Joel gave an embarrassed grin.  It was cute on him. “I get that a lot,” he said.  “Yes, I’m a visiting student this year, and it’s a long story how that came about.”

Violet’s eyes widened in amazement as she looked at Joel, and she took a moment to gather herself after hearing such a surprise.  She wanted to ask him to tell her the long story, and about what another world was like, but she dismissed the thought as too nosy.  It was safer to ask about class, so she asked, “How did you get interested in Obdresti literature?”

“English has always been one of my best subjects, and I needed another elective.  I didn’t want to take the Advanced Honors English, so the two other choices were both foreign literature this year.”

“The other was literature from the Great Kingdom, I think.  Why Obdrest?” she asked.

“I chose Obdresti literature because one of the diplomats who were involved in setting up this exchange was from Obdrest, and I heard stories about the country from him.”

“I hope only good ones,” she said.

“Mostly good ones, but also a bit about the country’s current troubles.”

She couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed as she looked around the almost empty classroom. Last year’s festival had been so lively and colorful, with music and a much broader menu. Now, there were only a few people, and the only sounds were a few conversations.

“This was so much livelier last year, I’m sorry you didn’t get to see the festival then.  There was even a group of girls who did a traditional dance out on the stage.  My mother ordered a dress in the hope that I’d join in this year.” She gave a sad smile.

Joel shrugged and then smiled.  “Your club did a nice job setting this up.  It’s a lot nicer than what my friend put together for the American booth.”

“Thanks,” said Violet, “I’d like to see it when I take a break from helping out here. Will you be at the booth later?”

“Some of the time, yes.   I’m helping out in my classroom, too.”

“Would you like another piece of cake?”

Joel shook his head.  “I don’t want to eat too much this early.  There’s a meat-skewers booth I really want to try.”

“Thank you again for helping out that day,” said Violet in a quiet voice.

“I really was glad to.  Before I go, have you been getting home OK since then?”

“Yes,” she said. “My mother has been driving me on days when my friend Tess can’t come with me.”

“I’m glad!   It was nice to talk a little,” said Joel. “Maybe I’ll see you at the booth?”

“Sure, see you then,” said Violet, and with that he gave her a little bit of a wave and she watched him walk out the door.  She hoped that she’d get a chance to talk to him again soon.

Friday, September 25^th [First day of the Festival of Nations], mid-afternoon
Our booth on the green

I wasn’t sure what to make of the start of the festival, but I was not a fan of wearing our full uniform again.  I hadn’t had to since the first day of school, and it had gotten hot again since the rain had ended. It also remained wickedly humid; the jacket and tie felt stifling inside even with air conditioning – outside running the booth, it was worse.

The opening ceremony had been interesting.  After some short statements by Dr. Mittari, the main speaker was a former senator and alumnus of the school.  He regaled us with the story of the founding of the Union of the Etciv in the wake of the Wizards’ War, and the festival’s origins celebrating that.  Yet another thing to write up for Hull, I suppose.

With the assembly over, Dr. Mittari dismissed us to tend to our booths and classrooms.

Our booth looked a bit thrown together, with mismatched posters hung from the back – NASA poster of the earth from space, one “I??NY,” and “Visit America’s national parks.”  We had a table with an array of candy and souvenirs out at the front, with the model space shuttle as something of a centerpiece.  For simplicity, everything on the table was one ticket – 10 mil, or about a dollar, for students who bought their tickets today.  Tickets would be twice that for anyone who bought them tomorrow when the festival was open to the public.

For the early part of the afternoon, I was on my own; Joel had gone to get some tickets for us, and then was going to check on the shift assignments in our classroom.  I was happy to pass on that, but he’d had the idea that he might be able to be on the same shift as Elise at some point in the weekend.

Our booth’s location was in the corner of the green between the arts center and the lower school building – out of the way for upper-school students, but in a way a good spot.  Our neighbors were clubs from the lower school.  It was quiet, and a little lonely.

Eventually, some lower school students wandered over from the large group at their literature club booth.  I was mentally prepared to repeat the conversation about coming through the Gate, but they surprised me.

“Hi,” said one of them, “we’re here to buy some candy.”

I smiled.  “Sure, what kind do you want?”

“I’m not sure.” she said looking at candies spread. “Are these imported?”

“They are, from America,” I said.

“And you can really sell them for one ticket?”

“They got donated.” I shrugged.  “We’re not really trying for a profit here, just to get American culture out there.”

“Nice!” she said, “I’ll take one of each, then.”

Each of her friends did the same except for one boy who only wanted one chocolate bar.  As they wandered away, I felt a little better.  There was a slow trickle of students – mostly from the lower school, given the uniforms – and I even sold a few souvenirs.

Around the time I started seeing some upper school students come by, I spotted Joel walking back over. When he got to the booth, he looked over at the pile of tickets I’ve collected and said, “I guess the candy was a hit?”

I nodded.  “Everybody likes chocolate.”

Joel chuckled, and then asked, “Want me to take care of the booth for a bit so you can look around?”

“Maybe in a couple minutes,” I said.  “How were things up in the classroom?”

“Going OK, I think.  I didn’t stay long enough to see if people were sticking around to watch the movie.”

“Did you sign up for a shift where Elise was working?”

He grinned.  “Sure did, on Sunday.”

“Are you actually going to talk to her?”

“Of course, I will!”

“Heh, we’ll see.”  I pointed to the grill.  “Can you help me figure out this thing?”

We spent a few minutes figuring out how to light the grill, and once it was warming up, I put up a sign advertising the hot dogs.  That attracted some attention, and we were busy enough selling hot dogs and candy that I did not get to look around until Jack came by to see if he could help.

When he did, I showed him how to run the grill, and asked Joel if he wanted to come along to check out the festival.

“Not yet,” he said. “I’ll hang with Jack for a bit, but I may come find you later.

“No problemo! I’ll probably be back before too long,” I said, and then waved as I headed off.

Our closest neighbors, the lower-school literature club was running a book sale, including a few novels I thought I might want to check out later.  Most of the other clubs nearby were lower-school athletic clubs, either just trying to recruit members or selling things as a fundraiser.

Wandering out of our corner, I noted that there were students assembling a stage in front of the arts center’s main entrance.  I had read that there would be some performances tomorrow, and I guessed that’s where those would be.  For now, it was still construction.

Moving past the stage there was a long row of booths starting at the corner between the arts center and the Upper School Building; all kinds of clubs had set up, with everything from food stalls to souvenirs. The largest was run by a group of sports teams working together, selling T-shirts and taking orders for customized school jerseys.  There were some generic Queen Sara Memorial Academy shirts not advertising a specific team, and I picked up two of them up – souvenirs for my brother and for Martin, when I got back to New York over winter break.

The row turned along the open side of the green between the administration buildings and the upper school buildings, but I went into the nearer of the two upper school buildings as I wanted to see how our class was doing.  Most of the first floor was the cafeteria – the seating was open although the kitchen had closed for the day.  It was uncrowded, but some students were sitting at the tables and eating.  The food must have been from the booths outside, and given the air conditioning, it seemed like a good place for it.  Without the full uniform requirement today, more of them would have been eating on the green instead.

I headed up to the second floor, where all the first-year classrooms were.  It was busy in the halls, and I didn’t stop to check out every classroom, but there was something different in each.  Not all of them were fundraising – one had diorama the class had built, showing our campus, plus the parks and a little of the neighborhood around it.  For a little less than a month since classes started, it had an incredible amount of detail.  Surprisingly, there wasn’t anyone in the room; had this been at home, I’d have worried about it someone trashing it just to be a dick.

One other classroom caught my eye on the first-year floor, class 1-B, which was a portrait studio.  From the sample photos they had up, it seemed like they were mostly expecting couples to come in, but they were quiet right then and I was curious to see local camera gear.  The two bored-looking students tending to the room perked up when I came in, and one asked, “Would you like to see the photo packages?”

“I actually wanted to check out your camera gear, but my folks might like a picture of me, so sure let’s look.”

She brought over a folder, and inside was a price list.  They’d take 4 pictures and you could either get one print of each or they would pick the best.   At the basic price of 5 tickets – basically $5 for students and $10 for anyone else – you could get 4 snapshot sized prints, or for six tickets, one slightly bigger print and 4 wallet-sized one.  I went with the second.  They gave me a little assistance in posing – and 4 shots went quickly.

“You can pick them up tomorrow after 5PM, or any time on Sunday,” the student told me.  Once that was done, I talked to them a little about the camera gear – it was local, so the brand was new to me, but otherwise it looked like a 35mm camera with manual focus from the prior generation back home.  When I asked more about it, the girl who’d been helping me said, “I’m sorry, I don’t know a lot about cameras.  This was all one of our classmate’s idea, and it’s his camera.  We borrowed the lights and backdrop from the arts center, and he showed us how to try to get a good portrait.”

“No problem,” I said.

As I started to go, the other student from the classroom said, “If you want to talk about camera stuff, Galen will probably be around later or tomorrow.”

It was a very uncommon name back home, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask, “Is that Galen Alcorn?”

“Oh, yes,” said the girl. “Do you know him?”

“We’re in the same club for PE.  I had no idea he was into cameras. If you remember, please tell him Mark from fencing stopped by.”

“Sure!”

I climbed the stairs to the floor with the second-year classrooms.  I went to our homeroom first and saw that the movie café was busy. Many of the seats were taken, and the movie they were watching was a local action movie.   Back home, I’d have said It looked like it someone’s D&D game.  There were four main characters, two of them in armor and dressed as a mage and a priest, and they were fighting their way through a dungeon full of undead.   The special effects were impressive, and after a minute I realized that the skeletons they were fighting could well have been animated magically rather than via film effects.  I wasn’t going to stick around for the credits, but it would have been very funny to see a line there for “necromancer.” Probably not?  At least, I hope those aren’t actual dead bodies they’re using.

Zaya was the only one tending to the snack bar, which was holding up well with drinks and popcorn. However, almost all the imported candy and local treats were sold out. Zaya thanked me for suggesting that we only put out a portion of the snacks for each day.

“It’s not quite 5 o’clock yet,” I said. “I thought it might be an issue for the imported stuff, but I guess a lot of people had a sweet tooth today.”

“Maybe,” Zaya agreed.

I looked down at the schedule.  It looked like Zaya was the only one watching the room until 7PM when we had to shut down for the night.

“I can’t be up here too long, but do you want me to watch the table for half an hour or something so you can take a break?” I asked.

That got a big smile out of her.  “Yes, please!  That would be fantastic.”

When she got back, I headed back to our booth – I wanted to see more of the festival, but worried that I was putting too much of a burden on my friends.  I found both Joel and Jack were still there.

“Everything go OK here?” I asked.

“So far so, so good,” said Jack. “Do you mind if I head out?  I’ll be back for a while tomorrow.”

“Sure, of course.”

Joel decided to stick around, and I was glad for the company.  “You’ll never guess who stopped by,” he said.

“Since you’re asking, should I guess Elise?”

“No such luck.  It was Cory from our physics class,” said Joel, with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“What did she want?”

“She’d seen one of the posters and was asking some questions about Hull coming to talk tomorrow.  Also, she asked if we were selling the space shuttle model.  I told her what I could remember about Hull, and that she’d have to ask you about the model.”

“Do you want to keep it for next year’s festival?” I asked.

“This whole American booth is kind of your thing and Hull’s. If you’re back home next year, I’ll probably just do something with my classroom or maybe the soccer team.”

“In that case, when we break down the booth, she’s welcome to it.” I made a mental note to make sure we didn’t pack it away or give it to someone else.

“Do I remember right that you said she and Gwen are pretty close?” Joel asked.

I nodded.  “Well, I think so.”

“Maybe you should try to get on her good side.  Friend of the girl you like and all that,” he said with a grin.

“Dude.  That is so not a thing except in your head,” I said.

“Well, think about it,” he said.

“What about you?  Zaya seems to talk to Elise a fair bit, did you think of doing the same thing?”

“Zaya and I get along fine,” said Joel.  “I don’t think they’re that close, they just talk a lot lately because of festival committee business.  Everybody seems to know Elise, but I haven’t found anyone who is close friends with her.  Maybe some of the student council members?”

“I guess.  She’s good looking, but you hardly know her.  Why is she so interesting?”

“I don’t think it’s just about her looks,” Joel said, shrugging. “Sure, she’s my type, but when she was talking at the opening assembly there was this energy about her. I felt like she was talking directly to me rather than the whole audience.”

“Well, good luck with her on Sunday.”

We hung out chatting and occasionally selling some candy until, at 7PM, the voice on the PA system announced that we’d be shutting down for the night.  By then, it was getting dark, and I took Joel up on catching a ride with him and Dormer.   I hadn’t been sure that the festival would be an enjoyable experience, but so far it had been, and I was looking forward to the next two days.