As she was checking herself over a knock sounded on her door. Yenni opened it to find Diedre, who lived one floor down in the same residence. Yenni held up her hand to give Diedre the Creshen palm touch, but instead Diedre wrapped her in a crushing hug.

“Wha—” cried Yenni.

“Oh, how are you holdin’ up, mams?” said Diedre, resting her chin on Yenni’s head. She let Yenni go and held her loosely by the wrists. “I came to ask if you feel to go for dinner with me in town before, you know . . .”

“Before I leave the academy?” Yenni finished for her. “I am not going anywhere, Diedre, you will see. In fact, I was planning to go to the pubs to find Captain Augustin and yes, I would very much love your company.”

Diedre looked confused. “Augustin? But what he could do about this?”

“He has helped me before, perhaps he can help me again.”

Diedre shrugged. “If you say so, mams. Come, if we run we could catch the next tram.”

Diedre led her at a steady jog to a road at the north of the campus where two long, silvery tracks, stretching off toward a copse of trees, divided the dirt. Beside them was a row of stone benches covered with wooden awnings where a few students sat in their uniforms, likely waiting for the tram-cart too. As they approached the tracks glowed blue with ach’e.

“Oh!” cried Yenni. Her skin tingled with the energy coming off the ground. As the other students stood from the benches Yenni heard a rumbling noise, then the ting of a bell, and a strange contraption came trundling along the tracks toward them. It looked something like a pleasure boat, with a red roof and rows of seats, but on land. It shuddered to a stop and students streamed off.

“Incredible!” Yenni breathed.

The other students filed onto the tram and Diedre and Yenni hurried to follow, but when it came Yenni’s turn to board the operator put out a white-gloved hand and stopped her.

“Just a minute, where’s your fare, en?”

“Pardon?”

“Your fare for the tram, mam’selle. It’s a quarter duvvy.”

Comprehension dawned on Yenni: she must pay to ride.

“I see,” she said, and reached into her back-satchel. She pulled out a hundred duvvy note. “Will this do?”

The man’s eyes went wide. “My dear, that’s far too much.”

“But what . . .” said Diedre from behind her. She trailed off incredulous and, shaking her head, reached into her own hip bag and pulled out a duvvy note about half the size of any of the notes Yenni had.