Mira Arvaith
I entered House Bronzard's workshop. Heat from the furnace cuffed my face.
My classmates walked in with cool rags and miniature fans to keep them from overheating.
Being connected to the Great Pyroclasm constellation made my body relatively immune to extreme temperatures.
I have been able to work for longer periods and get more done during these work sessions than most others, which has led to others envying me over the past few weeks.
"Alright to your stations," Professor Cynel commanded.
"We all know what today is," the class moaned.
Today is presentation day. A day when we have to create astral tech from memory, based on one of three blueprints we were given at the beginning of the week.
Most of us loathed the tests. They didn't feel realistic and were often too complicated to remember fully in such a short period of time. But Professor Cynel didn't care. He reasoned that a rift would not spare us, so why should he?
Sitting at my workbench, I watched him pull an apron over his head and tie it around his wide belly.
Professor Cynel wasn't a good-looking man. He was often the bud of our jokes, spilling food all over, and zapping himself during demonstrations.
But he was an excellent builder. I wonder why he would waste his talents teaching us, instead of making a hefty salary from a guild.
Some students around me looked calm, but by the way they rapidly tapped their feet beneath their tables, I knew their nerves were getting to them. No calm person gives off that much seismic activity with their movements.
Professor Cynel walked around, handing out materials and explaining what we were supposed to build for the test. Some students were pleased with their assignment, while others lost all color in their faces. I was ready to go, eagerly waiting for Cynel to give me mine so I could get back to what I truly wanted to do.
In a few moments, I got my wish. "Good morning, Mira," he said, scanning his tablet.
"Morning, professor, what ya got for me today?"
He looked at me and just smiled. "A surprise," placing a box of items on my workbench. Looking through the box, I didn't recognize anything.
"For your test, you will be building a Celestium grader." Many students looked over from their benches in surprise.
"Professor, but there wasn't a blueprint for this."
Cynel slowly walked away from my bench. "You have one hour to complete. Good luck"
My jaw ached from clinching my teeth.
My hard work was for nothing.
All that hacking and snooping, just to not get what I assigned for myself. I ran through the scenarios in my head, wondering if I messed up or if I changed the wrong person instead of mine. I couldn't see myself messing that up.
I haven't messed with school servers in years.
I stared at the materials in the box, paralyzed. I had no idea what I was looking at. Time was ticking.
"Mira, you'd better get started. Ten minutes have already passed." Mildoara whispered across the table. She was right, but I was still in shock.
After a few more minutes had passed, I finally mustered the courage to dump the box. Pieces of the machine I was supposed to build sprawled everywhere as I sorted them into groups. I had a vague idea of what the ore grader looked like. But I had no idea how it actually functioned.
I wish I'd paid more attention to the miners who sold us celestium back home.
All I could do was hope I could figure it out before the time ran out.
Time ticked away fast, and my body and mind felt like they were in quicksand. I must have looked like a toddler trying to fit pieces in where they don't belong.
It felt like I was trying to solve a puzzle with missing pieces. And every time it seemed like I was getting somewhere, a spring would pop out, or a pin would be too small to keep a piece of the rig in place. It was beginning to become frustrating.
Slamming my fist on the bench, I looked at Professor Cynel sitting at his table. He was eating a sandwich that dripped all over his apron. We matched eyes, and his belly just bounced as he giggled at the sight of me.
I knew for a fact he sabotaged me. He was a devious man. I was going to get back at him for this. Now I couldn't even focus, knowing it was all going to be for naught. I threw the parts aside and just sat and waited for the timer to run out.
"Time's up!" the professor announced. Everyone in the workshop immediately stopped what they were doing and started walking over to the professor to hand in their assignment.
I sat for a while, letting others go ahead of me. Milodara tapped me on the shoulder, checking to see if I was ok. I assured her I was fine and told her to go ahead.
After everyone was out of the workshop, I took my box of scraps up to Cynel's desk.
"What was this?"
"Why do you ask? Did it cause you trouble?" A sly smile formed on his face.
"You know it did. Nothing belonged to the other. Why would you do something like that to me?" I shouted, slamming my fist on his desk.
"To teach you a lesson, of course."
"About what?"
"Cheating,"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb with me, girl. You are not the only one who can hack around here. It was sloppy work; you triggered my systems almost immediately." He said, slamming his hand on the table as well.
My stomach twisted. I was caught and feared what would have happened next.
"If it were anyone else, I would have filed a motion to get you expelled. But out of courtesy for your late great father, I will not. He did a great deal for me years ago. But if I catch you doing something like this again, I will not be so lenient."