They all made it to First Bell on time, which somehow felt like a small miracle. The Lotus courtyard was already full with students and teachers ready to start their day.
The banners hung high, stirring in the faint breeze that always seemed to live here even when the rest of the city stood still, and uniformed students streamed beneath them in chaotic groups, slate tablets tucked under their arms, every collar exactly where it belonged. Everything looked perfectly balanced – thaotic yet almost practiced. Then the eight Royal Scholars cut straight across all that disorder — no uniforms, silver stars shining in the light, all of them moving stiffly after three weeks bent over books, their spines still holding a grudge.
Raizen walked in the middle without meaning to, bouncing a little on his heels. Three weeks of sitting still had left him with something to burn.
"You're smiling," Keahi said, suspicious.
"Second period's Combat Kinematics."
"So?"
