Specialist Class

"I'm going to be a Summoner. If you want, I can talk with you about being a Summoner at lunch tomorrow."

Rowen did not need to add that tomorrow was better because today would be her first Summoner class. Reading the books was one thing, hands-on training was another thing. They stood up and threw away their trash then stacked the dirty trays in the designated spot.

The walk to the elevator, and subsequent ride to the eighth floor, was filled with idle talk. As they stepped onto the eighth floor Nazeri asked Rowen about her favorite shows. She had just finished a spiel about her own favorite shows, one of which just happened to be Magical Guardian Princesses, Rowen's old favorite.

"I enjoy watching documentaries, mostly those about history. I could honestly teach the history class. I've watched that much."

Nazeri laughed but stopped when she realized that Rowen was being serious.

"You don't watch anything else?"

Rowen shrugged, "The news. I just can't get into anything else."

She had tried to watch the Magical Guardian Princesses. Gabriel was curious about it and she had enjoyed it before. It had just made her angry the longer she watched it. It had constantly talked about how good things happen to good people and was full of positivity.

Instead of enjoying it like she once had, she and Gabriel had spent the entire episode making fun of the characters. Rowen had no desire to watch another show that was not a documentary or news. She could deal with facts and reality, the lies that the other shows fed were too much.

"Good luck with your class."

"You, too."

Nazeri smiled and gave a wave, then went off to her class. Rowen watched her go until she disappeared in the classroom then made her way to the opposite side and her first Summoning class.

~That one has potential.~

Rowen grinned, ~Definitely. If we can convince her to stay a mage I think we can get a deal out of it.~

~You think more like a demon every day.~

Gabriel's laughter filled her as she walked into her classroom. Out of the seventeen students in her sophomore class, nine were Summoners. This classroom had name tags on the chairs. The teacher did not leave it to the students to pick their seats.

Rowen found herself sitting next to a new group. To her right was a boy with short red hair and intense green eyes, he had a dark green tint to his skin that told her he was of dragon bloodline. She also assumed that he was the Zidon Sarkis that Nazeri had warned her about.

To her left was a boy with shoulder-length purple hair. He had green eyes as well, but his were friendlier and he actually smiled and greeted her when she sat down. He had a hint of purple in his skin tone.

"Hey, my name's Ewen. How are you enjoying your first day in class?"

Rowen tried for a friendly look, "It's a little overwhelming trying to remember everywhere I have to be."

"Oh, gods, yes. It took me forever last year to find my way."

The whole class became quiet when the teacher stepped into the room. He wore a serious, if severe, expression and appeared to be somewhere in his mid-thirties. His black hair was cut close, close enough that he did not have to brush his hair, and his grey eyes surveyed the class as if he were trying to decide which students would eventually drop his class.

Rowen, or rather Gabriel had and she had gotten it second-hand, had read that an average of thirty percent of Summoners quit before they graduate. Another twenty percent never seek out-licensing after graduating. The statistics had been from all of the schools.

The teacher wrote 'Mr. Edwards' on the whiteboard then turned around to face the class.

"Good afternoon, class. I would like to start this class off with a trip to the twenty-first floor and get an idea of where each of you is with summoning. This year you will start to work with demons that you have personally summoned."

Rowen was excited to hear that. She had been reading a lot about the summoning process. She was not sure if she could accurately draw a summoning circle without a reference, but she was sure she could do it accurately with a reference. She also liked the idea of having another demon around to talk with.

Mr. Edwards motioned for everyone to stand and follow him. As they were moving out Zidon bumped into Rowen and turned to her with a frown.

"Watch where you're going."

He turned and walked away and Ewen rushed to her side.

"It's best to stay away from him. Unless you're Saraiva Dias or Lysander De Clare, you're fair game. The only exception is Deimos Apodis, no one messes with The Giant."

Ewen nodded in the direction of the tallest student and the only one that was clearly of orc bloodline. Rowen stared at the back of Zidon and considered whether it would be worth it to make him shorter than her.

Ewen was just a little taller than her, it was such a minor difference that they could still look eye-to-eye without looking up or down. Zidon, on the other hand, had made her look up at him when he had spoken to her. She did not like that.

Zidon had caught up with two boys. One was just as tall as Zidon and had short brown hair, the other one was a little shorter with blond hair that was long enough to cover the tops of his ears. Ewen quietly explained who each boy was; Lysander was the tall one and Saraiva was the shorter one. The latter she knew to be Nazeri's cousin.

"Now, just to remind everyone, we are headed to the twenty-first floor."

There was snickering just ahead of them and the trio eyed Rowen and Ewen.

"Looks like the useless have once again found each other."

Zidon said just loud enough for them to hear right before they stepped into the elevator. Rowen rolled her eyes but noticed how Ewen lowered his eyes and clenched his hands.

"Are they that much better than everyone else?"

Ewen looked up in surprise, "They say that they've already summoned demons. The rest of us haven't. I may have a strong bloodline, but that doesn't mean that my family has the money to give me a safe place to summon. The Academy doesn't let you summon a demon until sophomore year. They say it's too dangerous."

The two of them stepped into the elevator. Rowen remembered to keep the floor in mind that she wanted and stepped out onto the twenty-first floor a moment later. They rejoined the class and followed the teacher to the far end of the hall.

There were four rooms on either side. Mr. Edwards explained that each room could be used by students to summon demons and train with them. The freshmen also used that floor for their summoning class, but it was the teacher who would summon a demon and let them work with them. That was only done during the second half of the school year.