Page 62 of Stray
To be fair, if the Academy was anything like the rest of the shifter world, it probably was.
“Now that we’ve resolved that little melodrama, perhaps your walnut brains will entertain a brief introduction,” he said, making his way to the front of the room. “As most of you already know, my name is Sterling Bryant, but that piece of information is utterly irrelevant, considering that you lot will only be referring to me as Sir, Mr. Bryant, or--and this one is my personal favorite--the teacher whose class will single handedly tank your collective GPA.”
The fact that no one laughed did not bode well for Ella. She had already struggled to understand what most of her other classes were about, given that everyone else had years of context to go off of and all she had was a stack of syllabi and an as of yet unused login to the online classroom boards.
“I’m sure those of you who already have me for Colony Structure and Civics are wondering where the lovely woman whose name is printed on your syllabi is, and how you came to be blessed with my company,” he continued, scanning each table in such a way that each of his students could feel sufficiently singled out. “The unfortunate answer is that Mrs. Talbot has run into some unexpected complications during the third trimester of her pregnancy, and I’ve been asked to take her place for the rest of the semester. Thus, the unenviable task of molding you spoiled, pretentious little kits into reasonable and well-adjusted queens and toms capable of attending a dinner party without shaming our collective species falls to me.”
Ella took a deep breath and let it out as slowly as possible. At least he didn’t seem to have any particular disdain for her that he didn’t lavish on the rest of his students.
“Now that we’ve gotten the pleasantries out of the way, it’s time for an overview of what we’ll be doing this semester,” Mr. Bryant said, slipping on a pair of black square glasses that somehow made his features even sharper and more appealing as he looked down at the syllabus in his hand.
“Though I have a great deal of respect for Mrs. Talbot, I take a slightly different philosophy when it comes to teaching. She would typically spend the first month or so reviewing the finer points of etiquette in various common social functions, as well as the traditions and reasons behind them, but I am not so charitable and I don’t believe in repeating myself. A quick glance over the course plan and you’ll see these are all things even a stray should have learned from primary school, and if you can’t put them into practice, there’s very little hope of you surviving in this cutthroat society anyway.”
Ella winced internally. She wasn’t sure if he knew of her lowly origins and was intentionally trying to get under her skin, or if he was just the same as everyone else. Either way, she decided to keep her mouth shut and hope against hope that no one told him where she’d come from--and where she hadn’t.
The rest of the class period was a blur of etiquette terminology the others all seemed to grasp perfectly, judging from their assenting nods. Ella struggled to keep up with flipping through the pages as she tried to skim over each section the others breezed past, but when the teacher tossed his copy away and came to stand in the center of the room, she realized she was out of time.
Of all the classes on her schedule, she’d assumed this would be the easiest one, but it seemed the Academy was intent on proving her wrong every step of the way.
“We’re going to end today’s class with a brief exercise even you uninspiring souls should be capable of,” he remarked, walking down the line of tables. “Introductions. I want you to split into two lines and pair off face to face, boys with girls if you can. Or, for those who’ve written off the opposite sex entirely, a partner of your own persuasion.”
There were a few chuckles, but no one seemed willing to take him up on it. Ella was reasonably hopeful of her chance of getting through the exercise without humiliation since, despite Axel’s absence, there were a good many more boys than there were girls. She stopped in front of one timid looking young man who was too far from the group to have a partner, but his eyes bugged out as soon as she drew near and he quickly rushed to pair off with the one girl who hadn’t chosen yet.
There were only three students left, and Ella found herself looking fearfully between the two boys opposite her. They looked at each other and pointedly stood on opposite sides of the line, making it clear they preferred that arrangement to one of them being saddled with her.
“It would seem we have an extra,” Mr. Bryant remarked, his tone short with irritation. Ella could only assume it was directed at her, and when he came to stand in front of her, she wanted to hide under a table. “No matter. You’ll work with me. It’ll give you time to watch the others.”
With that, he walked to the other end of the line and clapped his hands together when the first pair proved too slow for his liking. “On with it.”
The blond-haired boy flinched, but he stepped forward and bowed to his partner. “Your Grace,” he said stiffly.
“Your Grace?” Mr. Bryant scoffed, leaning over as if to have a better look at the brown-haired girl in front of him. “I’m sorry, did Tally become royalty without my knowing?” he taunted, striding back over to the boy’s side. “‘Your Grace’ is reserved solely for the Empress and her King. When approaching a queen of higher birth and station, a tom may address her as ‘my lady’ or, equally acceptable, ‘madame.’ Try again.”
The boy gulped and bowed to Tally once more. “A pleasure to meet you, my lady.”
Tally and Mr. Bryant both waited expectantly until the boy jolted with the realization that he wasn’t finished. He reached for her hand and bowed to kiss it hastily.
Tally gave a well-practiced curtsey and replied, “The pleasure is mine, good sir.”
“Very good,” Mr. Bryant said approvingly, moving on to the next pair. “Now, this is a good example of a couple on equal footing. Go ahead.”
“Good evening, Miss Hale,” the second boy said, giving a half-bow to his female partner.
“Mr. Worth,” she said, responding with a less dramatic curtsey.
“Surprisingly adequate,” Mr. Bryant quipped, moving on to the next pair. “Dreadfully boring, but adequate.”
He continued on down the line and, despite a few fumbles that could more fairly have been attributed to nerves than a lack of training, the other students did well. By the time the teacher reached Ella, she had reached entirely new heights of dread.
He stood watching her for several seconds that felt like small eternities, each one encapsulated solely within the cerulean prism of his gaze.
Breathless as she was, Ella opened her mouth to speak and prayed that whatever came out wouldn’t be more humiliating than the poor first impression she’d made on him.
Before she could venture a guess as to the proper address to use with him, Mr. Bryant took her hand into his own with an unexpectedly gentle embrace and lowered himself to one knee with a fluid grace that felt like poetry.
Ella’s breath caught in her throat and she found herself unable to blink, so stunned by his gesture. Was he mocking her? The other students hadn’t taken the opportunity to laugh, but they were probably as confused as she was.
Not that she could tell. She could no more look away from him than a moth could resist the alluring warmth of a flame. She knew if she lingered too long in that icy gaze, it would burn her alive, but she lingered all the same.
