Chapter Four: Presentation

“It’s not gonna bite you.”  Reece tried to reassure me as he nudged me forward.

“It does not need to!  You would have me crawl straight into its belly!”  I said.

“It’s not an animal, it’s a machine.  It’s like a carriage!”  Reece said.

“Where are its horses?”  I asked.

“It doesn’t need them, it runs on fuel.”

“Fuel?”  I questioned.

“Energy.  It… it burns energy in order to turn the wheels.”  Reece answered, his tone growing exasperated.

“Is that a new sort of magic?”  I asked, raising my eyebrows.

“No, it’s…”  Reece stopped, closing his eyes with a sigh.  “Yes.  Yes, Sophia, it’s magic.  Now will you please get in the car?”

Reece nudged me forward once more, and I did as he asked.  Daria slid in next to me with a reassuring smile.

“Stop laughing.”  Reece snapped at Hale.

“I’m not laughing.”  Hale said, but his shoulders shook as he spoke and a wide grin was on his face.

I started when Reece turned the key in the ignition and the beast thrummed to life beneath me.

“It’s normal.”  Daria said.  “Don’t panic.”

I took a deep breath in, and let it out.  I was never going to get used to this.

Within a few minutes, I found my face pressed up against the glass and my mouth wide open as I took in wonder after wonder.  I bombarded Daria with questions, almost like a child.  Thankfully, Daria was patient and answered what she could.

What seemed hours later, ornate buildings rose up around us.  I stared out the window in awe.

“Our university.”  Daria explained.

Reece stopped the car, and allowed me out.  I stared at the buildings and the people passing by with a mixture of amazement and apprehension.

“Class starts soon.”  Reece said, crossing his arms with a deep breath.  “We should get going.”

“I think I’m gonna be sick.”  Nirina murmured.

“It’s alright.”  Daria said.  “Remember, we don’t need to impress anyone but Professor Lars.”

“We never had a shot at impressing anyone else.”  Nirina said in retort.  “I just hope they don’t throw things at us.”

“Throw things?”  I questioned, tearing my gaze away from the buildings and turning to face them.  “Why would students of the sciences throw things at you?”

Hale coughed in a loud and obnoxious manner.  Reece gave a nervous laugh.

“Magical beings aren’t popular on campus.  Especially not with science majors.”  he said.

“You mean to say you are supernatural creatures, and thus your fellow classmates are hostile towards you?”  I asked, feeling nervous flutters in the pit of my stomach.

As if sensing my unease, Reece dropped back a step and clasped his arm around my shoulders as we walked.

“Hey, don’t worry.  They’re just a bunch of college kids with inflated egos.  Speaking in front of them is nothing like fighting dragons.”  he said, smiling.

“I am unarmed.”  I whispered. 

Reece chuckled, turning away with a smirk.  “And it’s a good thing too, or I’d spend winter break in the dean’s office.”

We entered into the building, and Reece opened the door into a cold, sterile-smelling room.  I took a hesitant step in, my eyes darting over the shelves and the tables.  At first, the space reminded me of Reece’s alchemy cabinet back at his home.  Strange ingredients, unfamiliar creatures, and odd potions sat on display, but there was something much more mechanical and emotionless about it.  

The second thing that struck me was the noise.  The room seemed full to the bursting with brutish, wild youth who chattered and laughed like drunkards at a tavern in the wee hours of the morning.

“Settle down!”  a booming voice sounded from the very front of the room where an older man in a sleek suit and black spectacles stood at a podium.  “I know you’re excited for the end of the semester, but we still have one final, and very important, order of business.  Now, if you would please take your seats…”

“This way,”  Daria whispered to me, motioning her head to a couple of seats at the back.

I turned my head as I followed her and gave a start when my eyes rested on a skeletal form in the corner.

“Ancients!”  I exclaimed, stepping backwards.

“It’s not real.”  Daria quickly whispered, pulling me forwards.

I was reluctant to move closer, but when I did I could see that the bones gleamed in an unnatural manner.  I had a thought that some poor soul had displeased the brutish youth and they had put up his remains in order to warn their enemies off, but since the skeleton was artificial I could think of no reason to put it on display.

“Take your seats!”  the man at the front repeated, and the chatter in the classroom quieted down.  “Thank you, thank you… Mr. Sterling, all electronic devices off and away, please.  Miss Gazelle, your lips do not need further touch-ups, let me assure you… and Mr. Lewis, who is your guest?”

Reece’s shoulders jerked up and he turned to the front of the room.  A few of the student snickered.  Reece glanced from me, to the man at the front, and then a mischievous smile lit up on his face.

The professor’s eyes widened behind his spectacles.

“You didn’t.” he whispered, his deep, booming voice suddenly sounding hoarse.

Reece continued smiling.

The professor’s eyes darted briefly to me, and then he coughed.  “Alright, settle down.  Sit down, all of you.”

I stood frozen where I was.  Daria nudged me, pulling out a chair.  I dropped down into it, ducking my head.  The professor’s voice boomed out as he called the names of several students.  A trio of students stepped up to the front of the classroom and proceeded to give a dry, unenthusiastic report of flower growth. 

My eyes wandered back to the corner of the classroom where the skeleton stood.

“Daria…”  I whispered.  “Why display such a grotesque object?”

“It’s for educational purposes.”  Daria whispered back, trying to keep her eyes on the front of the room, though I could tell by the slump of her shoulders that she was just as disinterested in the students’ lackluster presentation as I was, “To learn how the human body functions so we can understand it.  Learn how it works and how to mend it.”

“Mend it?”  I said, leaning forward.  “You learn to mend it here?”

“Yes.”  Daria said.  “Well, I do.  I’m pre-med.  Here, it’s all in the textbook.”

Daria pushed a thick hardcover book over to me and flipped it open to a page with a diagram.  I picked the book up and scanned over images, reading the captions beneath.  Within moments, I was completely enthralled by the knowledge contained in the book.  I thumbed through the pages, drinking it all it.  I lost track of the time, and lost count of the students going up to the front of the room.

“Mr. Lewis!”  the professor’s voice called out.  “Miss Ward, Miss Aquaria… Mr. Mystic.”

I started as Daria got up, then closed the book and followed behind her.  I could feel the heat of the students’ eyes on my back.  There were whispers and scattered snickers as Reece took his place at the podium.

“What’s your project on, witch-boy?”  a girl at the front said with a sneer.  “Fairy dust?”

“The Netherworld and resurrection.”  Reece answered nonchalantly, as though she had asked a serious question.

“That’s not science, that’s magic!”  a boy from the back exclaimed, a cross frown on his face.

There were several shouts of agreement.  The professor slapped his hand down on the desk and the commotion stopped.

“For the last time… Magic is a science.  Of a sort.  Now, Mr. Lewis… please continue your presentation.”  the professor said, leaning back.

“Thank you, professor…”  Reece said, taking a deep breath.

Reece launched into his explanation of the different methods of resurrection.  Each of the group members took a turn speaking on the history of those methods and why they worked.  I had watched them practice this presentation at Reece’s home the past few days and found my eyes wandering over the watching students.

The ones that did not appear annoyed or enraged were clearly not paying any attention at all.  I clasped my sweating hands together and tried to ignore the ones who were glaring at us through narrowed eyes.

“… and that brings us to right now.”  Reece finished, reaching his hand back towards me.  “Sophia?”

I jerked my head up and stepped to Reece’s side.  Reece turned back to the front.

“I would like to introduce you all to Sophia Carol…”  Reece started.

He was interrupted by a chorus of laughter.

“You expect us to believe that’s Sophia Carol?”  the girl in the front shouted.  “Like, sword-waving, dragon-slaying, standing proud and majestic in town square with wings sprouting out of her back, Sophia Carol?”

Reece bit his lip, closing his eyes and waiting out the laughter.  I glanced at the professor out of the corner of my eye.  He leaned forward, studying my face.  I grit my teeth together and faced the girl in the front of the room.

“I am.”  I insisted.  She ceased laughing and stared at me.  “You speak as though I would deny myself.  I am Sophia Carol, the dragon slayer.”  I said, holding my chin higher.  “Though… I never in my life grew wings…”

Her only response was to snort and shake her head.  “So if you can bring back Sophia Carol, the dragon slayer…”  she said, mocking me,  “… what’s to stop you from raising the whole reaping graveyard?  Why’d you stop at Sophia Carol, anyway?  Where’s King Arthur?”

The class laughed along with her, but Reece held his head up.

“That’s an excellent question, actually…”  Reece said, walking to the chalkboard at the front.  “The Philosopher’s Stone can only reach selected spirits.  There is no consensus on why this is in the supernatural community, but I have a theory.”

He drew a series of circles on the board and then turned back to the class.  I stepped closer to listen.  He had never gone over this part in their practice sessions.

“The Netherworld is made up of layers, three of them.”  Reece said, numbering the circles as he did.  “And the transition between them is so seamless that the wandering soul can barely recognize the shift.  It’s like a dreamscape.” He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.  “You know, when you’re asleep and one dream just blends right into another.”

It was like dreaming.   I thought to myself as I listened.  Almost.

“First layer is the Void, where spirits report they experience a lack of feeling and a sense of lost time.  The Philosopher’s Stone can only reach souls who are in this layer of the Netherworld.”  Reece explained.  “Second, the Maze of Shadows.  It sounds kind of confusing, but from the consistencies in the accounts of ghosts it’s like a labyrinth in a dream.”

There was a series of rude murmurs through the classroom, and I glanced back at them, irritated.  If they could express no interest in what Reece had to say, they could at least be silent.

“Finally, the Realm of Chaos.” Reece said, labeling the final circle.  “Now I’ve only heard a little bit about this one, I think it’s the deepest layer of the Netherworld.  And ghosts who’ve been there always seem a little… unhinged.”

“You’re unhinged.” a student in the front row quipped.

Reece ignored her.  “It’s the most vivid layer of the Netherworld, but it’s also the most frightening.  Like the deepest part of REM sleep…”  Reece trailed off, drawing an arrow outside of the outermost circle.  He cleared his throat.  “Now, beyond the Netherworld-!”

“Hey Sophia!”  one of the students in the back shouted, interrupting him.  “Is it true you were born on the fields of Triblith, your mother still slaying dragons with one arm while she was in labor?”

The room erupted into laughter again.  I felt my face heating up.

“What?  No… that is absurd…”  I said.

“What about the horde of dragons you defeated alone and armed with only half a shield?  I bet that didn’t really happen either.”  Another student added.

“I… I killed a matriarch of the ancients with only half my shield once.”  I said, though it seemed as though no one was listening to me.  “But my comrades in arms were there with me…”

“Please… you could at least ask a serious question.”  Daria said, stepping to my side as though she could shield me from them.

“Yeah, well you could bring a serious science project to class.”  One of the students in the front said, rolling his eyes.  “Vegetable.”

I caught a flicker of hurt in Daria’s face.  My rage boiled over.  I strode straight up to the student’s desk, and he started backwards.

“How dare you use such a derogatory insult against this noble dryad!” I shouted, my hands clenching into fists at my sides.  “You are the most boorish, selfish lot of people I have ever encountered!”

There was stunned silence in the classroom for a moment.  The student stared at me with wide eyes.  Then, he snorted, shaking his head.  Snickers rippled through the room.

“Girl, are you for real?” he said.

“That’s it.”  the professor shouted, silencing them at last.  “Class dismissed.  Go on, get out of here!”

There was another eruption of noise as chairs scooted backwards and bags opened.  The students left the room in the same manner as they had entered, with obnoxious shouts and laughter.  The girl who sat in the front turned around, walking backwards down the aisle and tossing a wad of paper at Reece.

“Nice project, witch-boy.”  she scoffed.  

She flipped her bag over her shoulders and strode out the door.

The classroom was at last empty and quiet, save for us and the professor.

Nirina let out a sigh of relief.  “That went so much better than I thought it would!”

“Arrogant, insolent fiends!”  I exclaimed.  “The most coarse, disrespectful, ill-mannered youth I have met!”

The professor chuckled.  “I like her.”

“Professor Lars,”  Daria said, appearing worried, “I promise we had a great conclusion all planned out…”

The professor waved his hand in dismissal as he rose from the desk where he sat.

“No, no… I’ve seen enough.”  he said, striding over to us.  “Now, Miss Carol… was it?”

“Yes, sire?”  I said, standing up straighter.

Professor Lars blinked.  Hale snorted, covering his mouth and turning away.

“Miss… Carol,” Professor Lars began, “Please forgive me, but I do feel the need to verify your identity.  You could easily be an actress who specialized in historical drama for television.”

He was opening his mouth to continue but I interrupted him.

“What is television?”  I asked.

He stopped, glancing back at Reece.  Reece just smiled.  The professor shook his head, letting out a sigh.

“Well you certainly seem as though you were born yesterday.” he murmured under his breath.

“No sire!”  I said, “I have been alive again now for two days, having been resurrected three hours before dawn on morning of the winter solstice-!”

“Fine.  I believe you.” Professor Lars said, waving his hand.  He turned to Reece.  “Well, Mr. Lewis, I must say… this is one of the most intriguing pieces of student work that I have ever seen.  You should share your findings, publish them.”  The Professor scratched his head.  “Well, I’m not certain there are any scientific journals interested in research on the Netherworld… but perhaps a group in the supernatural community?  Miss Ward, would you know of any?”

“I can look.”  Daria said, holding her head up higher with a wide smile on her face.

“Excellent.  It would appear there is a brilliant science student in you after all, Mr. Lewis.  I wonder where he’s been all semester.”  Professor Lars said, turning back to Reece with a raised eyebrow.

Reece’s cheeks tinged red and he gave a small, nervous laugh.

“Overall, excellent work all of you.  I will be re-reading your written notes and posting grades on Tuesday, but I believe you will have a solid A for the project.  Miss Ward, that should maintain your 4.0, and Miss Aquaria, you should pass the class with a C.”

Nirina let out a sigh.   “Thank you, professor.”

“As for you, Mr. Lewis, your exam scores were abysmal and I don’t believe you ever turned in your paper on genetic disorders.  I am afraid your final project grade will not do much to bring up your average and I must advise that you repeat the course.  On that note, I will be seeing you next semester, Mr. Lewis.  Good day, students.  Miss Carol…” the professor said, nodding to me as he turned towards the door.

“Good day, sire.”  I said, bowing my head.  The professor paused at the doorway, giving me a strange look.  Then, he shook his head and left.  

I turned to Reece.  He stood up against the wall looking down at the floor.  All four of us stared at him.

I spoke up first.  “I thought you said your poor performance as a wizard led you to the sciences.”

Reece smirked.  "I'm not a great scientist either."

“You didn’t tell us you were flunking.”  Daria said in a low, sympathetic voice.

Reece shook his head with a dismissive shrug.  “It wasn’t relevant.  Come on, let’s go out to lunch.”

“Daria and I could have helped you with your paper.”  Nirina said, falling in step behind him.

“It’s fine.”  Reece said.  “Don’t worry about it.  I haven’t lost any aid, and I’m not done for.”

“But you have to repeat the class, Reece.”  Nirina practically whined.  “And that sucks.”

As we exited the building, Daria handed her textbook back to me.  I took it, looking up at her with raised eyebrows.

“You seemed to be enjoying it.  You want to keep it?  I don’t need it anymore now that the class is over.”  Daria said.

“Oh, I cannot accept this!”  I said, shaking my head.  “Surely it was expensive.”

“Nah,” Daria said, shaking her head.  “It’s just a textbook it was… well okay it was kind of expensive.  But that’s okay.  Like I said, I don’t need it.  I’ll probably need to get four or five different ones next semester…”

I flipped through the pages, my finger running over the words and the diagrams that had completely entrapped me what seemed only moments ago.

“Daria… why do you come to this university?”  I asked.

Daria smiled.  “I’m studying to become a doctor.”

“A doctor?” I repeated, tilting my head to the side.  “Is that… is that like a healer?”

Daria nodded her head, still smiling.  “Exactly like a healer.”

I clutched the book to my chest, quickening my step to keep up with her.

“And this University is where you learn all the knowledge and skills to do so?” I asked, my heart beating faster.

“Yes.  It’s not really one of the top schools for it… but it’s in price range.  They have a good internship program.”  Daria said.  She turned to me, a puzzled expression on her face.  “Why?  What’s on your mind?”

My face broke into a wide grin.  I turned towards the front of the group.

“Reece!”  I called, out.  He stopped walking and turned around to face me.  “What must I do to be admitted into this institute of education?”

Reece, Nirina, and Hale all stared at me with blank looks on their faces.  Reece scratched the back of his head.

“You… want to come to university?” he asked.

“With all the heartless blowfish?”  Nirina added.

“I believe she called them, ‘boorish, ill-mannered youth’ actually.”  Hale said, mimicking my accent.

I stepped closer, looking down at my feet as I spoke.  “All my life, I wanted to be the one who nursed the sick and wounded.  If there are no ancient dragons, I thought then… perhaps…”

“It’s perfect!” Daria declared, jumping forward.  “Had you thought about what she could do after we made the presentation?”

“I-!”  Reece started.  He bit his lip.  “Err… no.  But how are we going to put her through University?  We’re barely paying for it ourselves.”

“Surely there is some trade I can learn in order to produce the funds!” I said, clasping my hands together.  I was breathless with excitement.

“You mean… you want a job?” Nirina asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Yes!”  I answered, practically bouncing on my heels.

“Okay,” Reece started, holding his hands up, “But in order to get a job, in order to get into University for that matter, she needs some essential paperwork.  Namely, a birth certificate.  A social security number.  She doesn’t have either of those.”

I felt my heart sinking.  I did not even know what those were.  Nirina smiled, jabbing Reece in the shoulder with her fist and pointing to Hale.

“Oh, Hale can totally forge those! Right Hale?”  she said, a wicked smirk on her face.

“Yup.”  Hale said with a single nod of his head.

Reece stared at Hale with narrowed eyes.

“I shouldn’t ask.” Reece said.

Hale slowly shook his head, a grin on his face.  “No… no you shouldn’t.”

Reece turned back to me.  The light was back in my eyes, my excitement rising again.  He pursed his lips together.

“Okay…” he said, nodding his head.  “Well, Sophia… if you’re sure.”

“Yes!  Oh, more than anything!” I answered.

Reece gave me a shy smile.  “Then we’ll make it happen.  Um… somehow.”