Once again, Auren and Kenzo were in the very front row of the class, seated on the green grass, listening to the old scribe go on and on about how certain rules came to be. By the time class began, Auren had nearly forgotten the scared look the new girl, Katla, had given him after seeing the horse rider.
There was clearly something going on with her, but he couldn't let her know what he thought—or she might stop coming to the classes altogether, or worse, even leave the village.
But when Thomas started the lesson-hearing, surprisingly, the girl herself stood up from her place—which was in the last row behind the girls. She took a few steps forward as half the class looked at her, and then stopped near Auren, looking down at him. She was asking to sit with them, he realized. Auren gestured for her to sit down. She did so promptly—clearly, the attention of so many children was akin to torture for her.
