Instead, he could only stare at his longtime friend, shamefaced and abashed at his kindness.

“Oh, and make sure you make up with Zasia, please?” He let out a disappointed sigh. “I long ago resigned myself to being the mediator when you two went at it, but I think you may have been particularly harsh this time. She seemed quite hurt yesterday.”

Mention of Zasia gave way to more feelings of failure and embarrassment. That was not a conversation Aldric was looking forward to.

“Give her some time to cool down. Knowing her, she’s planning on shunning you to give you enough time to stew in her anger. I’ll do what I can, but most of it will need to come from you.”

Aldric’s mouth moved to reply, but all that came out was, “Why?”

Kedrin looked at him in confusion, as if he’d asked the most obvious question in the world. “Because I believe in you, obviously.”

With a pat on the shoulder and a parting smile. Kedrin went back into his office and shut the door behind him, leaving Aldric staring stupidly at nothing.

“Sorry, professor, the headmaster is awfully busy. He’s like that when he’s distracted,” the secretary Brianna whispered apologetically, misinterpreting Aldric’s stunned expression. “People say he just catches everyone up in the whirlwind of what he’s doing. Despite how nice he is, he’s like a force of nature sometimes.”

“Yeah... yeah, I know.” Aldric muttered. Kedrin had always been like that. He swooped in, fixed everyone’s problem, and never expected to be thanked for it. It was just the guy he was. Even for a frequent screw up like Aldric. What the hell did Aldric ever do to deserve a friend like that?

“What time is it?” he abruptly asked Brianna.

“Um, about a quarter before first bell?”

If Kedrin wouldn’t let Aldric thank him, then the best he could do was live up to his expectations. Old doubts held for years were still trying to claw their way out, but Kedrin’s faith made it easier to bury them again this time. Determined not to squander this precious chance his friend had given him, Aldric marched off to his classroom. He was actually on time, for once.

~~~

LILIANNA HAD COME TO class early this morning. She had hoped to meet with that girl Nadrina, and hopefully strike up another conversation with her. At the very least, she wanted to apologize for making her uncomfortable.

She’d noticed on the first day that their dorm rooms were right next to each other, and then later realized they had some special sort of class together. She’d hoped to establish a friendship, a real one this time, without the constant oversight of her family getting in the way. Her plan, however, had gone horribly awry.