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Tentatives
Head pounding from trying to stuff it full of new information, unfamiliar vocabulary, and impossible magic became the norm for Eliza over the next few weeks. She was a month behind in every subject and totally out of practice as a student. Leaves celebrated October by creating a riotous display of colour which drew students to spend these precious fall days out of doors. Eliza envied them as she spent her hours rubbing her neck from the strain of bending it over so many books. She had never considered herself old before, but being surrounded by young teens who absorbed information like sponges made her feel positively ancient.
After her first supper had been shared with Patty they did not eat together again. Patty was frequently locked into a passionate embrace with her boyfriend Beau, and Eliza had the sense she was not welcome at most tables. Even the older women whom she had judged as friendly crones made the spare chair from their table disappear suddenly when Eliza began to approach them on her second day at the school. Over the first few weeks, Eliza tried sitting with a few different groups of students at mealtimes, but nothing clicked. When students allowed her to join them at their table, she was sure that they were merely tolerating her presence. No one engaged her in conversation. It wasn’t until her third week she decided to join the transparent witch and the yeti. Faye Griggs and Mashu Menengai, respectively.
Eliza had quite given up on making any new friendships by this point. Besides, she was completely absorbed in her coursework and her desire to prove herself. She had no time for idle conversation and laughter, as the other students did. She felt harried by her ever-growing pile of homework so when she sat to join Faye and Mashu for supper one day, it was without intention of joining their conversation.
Mashu was a peculiar-looking creature. He was less than five feet tall, had broad shoulders nearly as wide as he was tall and long arms that reached his knees. His face was nearly obscured by thick white fur that appeared to cover his entire body. He moved awkwardly and without grace, such that Eliza suspected wearing clothing and shoes was not in his usual nature.
The other student, Faye, was equally strange but dazzling in her beauty. She was hard to focus on, she shimmered as if lighter than air. A petite witch with pearly skin that glowed like the moon, her eyes narrow and dark. Eliza suspected Faye to have a large pair of wings like an overgrown butterfly but try as she might, she could never focus her eyes upon them. She was certain the wings were there in her peripheral vision.
The pair did not speak to Eliza that first day, but it was a comfortable silence in which they all remained seated at the table together long after supper had ended. They studied until half past eleven, and when Mashu rose to leave, he wished both Faye and Eliza a good evening. The girls made eye contact then, and Faye rose shortly after Mashu and bade Eliza goodnight, too. From then on, Eliza counted herself among a table of friends.