To Make Friends

Chapter Seven: To Make Friends

Zenith hummed, seeing Layla's expression. She must have experienced another troubling encounter, like whatever made her want to kill herself earlier.

He'd have liked if she could show him each student's table and say their names but she didn't look like her sanity would hold.

He needed to leave her to fight her own demons because that's the only way for her to grow as a person and as a Mage.

He dropped the books by her feet, and instructed. "Place each book on the Translocation Circle in your class, according to their names. You can't use the spell, right? Knock on my door when you're done." He turned to leave, then remembered. "Thank you."

Layla watched him leave, her eyes went down to the books. The presence around him had been normal even when he's angry at her. Did he spare her or was this her test?

She sighed, leaving the ground and picking the books up. "I don't know anyone's name apart from Nephis and four other students. If I fail this test, what'd happen to me?"

She shook her head, and nodded at herself. If the Mage wanted her to redeem herself by performing these tasks, then it's a small price to pay. Learning the students names would also help her make friends.

"I might need Nephis for this but first…" she walked to her class, gripping the books under her arm. "I can guess their names by their seat placements."

Somewhere in her head, she knew their names but didn't really attribute it to their persons. She stayed in front of the class. "That loud girl sits here. Leah?"

She searched for a book that had a similar name and only found a Lilian. "Maybe she's actually called Li, right? There's no other L name."

The next seat belonged to A'lessander of Miano, One Who Conquered Death and she could never forget his name, especially as the teachers said it everyday.

The next student was a quiet boy so she skipped the seat and hoped to use the method of elimination to figure out his name. She dropped hers on the table but couldn't find Nephis.

She turned to the door, with a worried gaze. "Could it he didn't evaluate Nephis' book because of what she did? I shouldn't bring her here then."

She went to the next table and dropped the book that belonged to Alexandria Feloncia. That was another student whose name stood out in the class, probably because of their family lineage.

Using that method, she paired all the student's books with their desk, except two. She raised them up. "Alez Zander and Tomah Jalingo."

She remembered that the Jalingo tribe were a tribe with dark skin and she had read about their healing herbs which almost rivalled normal healing magic.

The only boy with dark skin in her class should be the Tomah Jalingo so she dropped the book on his desk and with a smile, finished with Alez Zander on the quiet boy's desk.

She looked at the work and kept on nodding. She basically knew all their names now and faces, she could randomly greet them tomorrow calling their names and hope they reply.

With the sense of pride, she bounced to the young Mage's office, but instead of a knock, she opened it. Her senses slapped her in the face when their eyes met. "Eeeekk!" she slapped the door back.

"Good reaction." Zenith buttoned his shirts. He had released the buttons and rested by the window, while enjoying his snacks, so his body was barely covered.

He remembered clearly saying she should knock so this couldn't be sexual harassment. He left the office but she was long gone. Reaching the class, the notes had been placed so he strolled about, trying to memorize the names and seat placements.

He reached Nephis's table and noticed the other book. "Layla Herbert." At least, that's two students he knew and also had an idea of their personality.

Nephis was a reckless Guandan, a recklessness he found admirable if she had the power to back it up. While Layla was a depressed soul who had many troubles. And they seem to be friends, an interesting matchup.

His eyes caught a rabbit's head with a key attached to it. It took him few seconds to accept that the rabbit's head wasn't real and only a key holder.

"Ah, Sir Zenith." The female teacher peeked into the class. "You handled everything. That's impressive."

Zenith would've liked to accept the compliment but it wasn't true. "A student helped, I didn't know the students' names."

The teacher looked around the hallway, thinking it was quite odd to still find a student around the school at that time. "Did they come to take something?"

Zenith shrugged but turned to the key holder on the ground, it was besides Nephis table. Could it be what that Layla wanted to take?

She didn't have it with her when he met her. It had keys that looked like the ones used to lock gates and apartments. She might've been trapped outside.

The female teacher slapped the wall lightly. "Well, it's good that they were close. We have really nice kids here, I'm sure they'd grow on you too."

Zenith said nothing and the teacher left.

He tried to leave but paused, looking at the key holder. "Nice kids, huh? But they're forgetful enough to leave their house keys." He sighed.

She came to collect it and he had distracted her with his request, so in a way, it was his fault. He grabbed the keys and initiated a spell that made him walk past the wall.

Standing outside, he used Ultra Vision to check if she was around the school. If she was too far then he'd forget about helping or he could get lost.

He found her pacing around, with a phone in her ears. It was a straight road so he'd find his way back to the school. There was no one to use Translocation on and he realized that he shouldn't use it on random people.

He saw the female teacher walking out of the school. He got an idea. "Are you leaving for home, Miss?"

She turned to him and paused, she met him in a class now and he didn't pass her so how did he get outside the school building? "W-Well, yes. Oh and sorry for what you had to see in there. We've been dating for a while."

That didn't concern Zenith. He looked at Layla again with the Ultra Vision. "I'd send you ahead. You're welcome."

The female teacher tilted her head. "Send me ahead?" She didn't notice when her body evaporated. Zenith turned to the position she had stood at when Layla appeared.

Layla looked around, and slowly turned to the Mage behind her. This was finally the moment?

She didn't see anything but his back, it shouldn't count, right? Again, she'd made another mistake that should cost her life.

"Here." The keychain was tossed to her. "I can't send you back so walk. Till tomorrow." Zenith kept his hands in his pockets and walked into the building. "That's good and done. Now to send the books…"

Layla felt confusion more times than normal, and it annoyed her because she's supposed to be calm headed. "It's either he doesn't want to kill me or he's still thinking of the best way to do it."

She cut the call she had tried to make to Nephis. "I'm going to atone for all my sins so don't shy away from punishing me." She said to no one in particular.

Also, she wouldn't let herself die while being punished. She still had a lot of people to save as she promised. "I should stop being dramatic and concentrate on my promise." She clenched the keychain and hurried home.