Once things had become fairly routine, school began to pass by quickly. One Monday a few weeks later, Arthur flagged Fee down at the end of history class. "Fee, have you got a minute?"
She blinked at him, surprised. "Sure, yeah. What's up?"
"Tine wanted me to ask you if you're able to come over tonight after practice. To work on trigonometry with her."
Fee considered it before she answered. "Yeah, I think it'd be fine. Oh, do you think you can write your address down for me?" She pulled her planner out of her bag and offered it to him. He duly jotted down their address before returning it. "Thanks, Arthur!"
"Any time. Seeya, Fee," he replied with a jaunty wave.
After class, she made her way to practice, as usual. Over time, all her practice had begun to pay off, and Fee was on her way to becoming a proficient rider. Her present task was developing her riding aids, especially non-hand communication. Excessive use of the bit could stress a horse more than necessary, which ultimately could be detrimental to the horse's training. Moreover, Fee could tell that Mahnya didn't like her bit, and this itself provided motivation for her to master the other cues.
Near the end of practice, Fee approached Mr. Chalphy. "Coach, do you mind if I leave a bit early today? I've got to go to Tine's to work on trigonometry tonight."
"That'd be fine, yes. You've been improving quite rapidly of late. You and Mahnya make a great team, don't you?" He smiled his pleasant smile, and Fee's mouth turned to cotton.
"Th-thank you, sir," she barely managed. "S-see you tomorrow."
"Later, Fee." With that, he turned his attention back to the other students.
Fee cleaned up and began heading out to Tine's house. It was on the other side of the city park from the parsonage, about an extra fifteen minutes' walk.
She rung the doorbell and before long Tine answered. "Heya, glad you could make it," she chimed. "Come on in."
It was a nice house, much bigger than her own. Fee imagined that it might even have been big enough for more than one family to live in.
"Do you mind if we work down here in the living room?" Tine asked.
Fee shook her head in response. "No, not at all. How come it's so big, though?"
"It's not that big," her classmate quibbled. "We do have a few guest bedrooms, I guess. Sometimes Amid and Linda use them when they come over. Ishtore and Ishtar used to visit, too, but they're both going to university in Freege right now. They've been too busy to stop by."
"Are they your cousins, too?"
"Mhmm," Tine agreed. "Ishtar and I, we look a lot alike. She's got long hair and is very pretty. I'm sure she's doing great at university, since she's so smart."
"I suppose it makes sense to have such a big house if you've got that much family."
"Yeah, I suppose. So hey, let's get working, alright?"
The two fished out their trigonometry binders and sat on the floor by the coffee table. They first went through what was left of their homework assignments, then they compared answers on the study guide.
Once they were done, Tine heaved a weary sigh. "Finally," she lamented, "I didn't think we would make it."
Fee grinned at her friend. "Come on, it isn't that bad."
"Pfft—yeah it is," Tine replied. "If it's not so bad for you, it's because you're so smart."
"W-what?" Fee stammered, her cheeks flushing from the unexpected compliment. She was so used to being compared to Ced that she never considered herself to be smart. Ced was nigh genius, after all. "That's not true. It's just a matter of taking good notes and doing the assignments."
"Whatever," Tine said, shrugging helplessly. "So how do you like Belhalla so far? Have you got a boyfriend yet?" she asked, changing the topic.
Fee's stomach did a wet somersault and her face turned beet red. "W-well, first off how are those two things related? Now that the summer's over and I'm keeping busy with riding practice, I don't mind Belhalla. I've gotten to know my teammates, which is nice."
"Yeah?" Tine asked, her lips quirking into a grin. "And what about the boyfriend part?"
"Sh-shut up," sputtered Fee.
"What?" Tine asked dubiously. "New, smart, mysterious, pretty girl like you and you haven't gotten a boyfriend? The guys should be falling all over you."
Fee shrugged quietly. "I guess I haven't had enough time for anything like that."
"Oh, do you have a crush?" Tine asked, growing excited. "Fee, you must tell me if you've got a crush."
Her face grew even hotter, and Fee was amazed it didn't catch fire.
"You do! You've got a crush, don't you?" Tine grinned from ear to ear with anticipation. "Can you tell me who it is?"
Fee awkwardly stared down at her hands in her lap, not knowing how to reply.
"Is it one of the guys at Belhalla Secondary?" Tine watched her friend's face for any response before changing her guess. "Hmm... is he from another school, then?
But Fee kept staring demurely at her lap, tongue-tied.
"No? Huh. Wait, is it... is it one of the teachers at our school?" Tine asked, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Fee's stomach sank and she felt her cheeks once again burning with embarrassment.
"It is?!" Tine gasped, her voice incredulous. "Is it Mr. Isaach? Wait, no... our advisory teacher, Mr. Chalphy?!"
Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes began brimming with tears. The embarrassment in her stomach seethed like brimstone, and Fee found herself wishing she was dead.
"Aah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean—" Tine apologized, placing a hand on Fee's shoulder. "It's not my business, alright? Really, Fee, I'm so sorry."
Fee took a few breaths to calm down and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "So, yeah," she said quietly. "Yeah..."
Tine giggled happily. "It's so sweet, though. You know, the two of you would be such a cute couple!"
"Shut up," Fee grumbled.
"What? It's the truth, though."
She simply glared bitterly at Tine. "You're not helping," she said, pouting.
"So," her friend continued, "what are you... planning on doing about it?"
Lost for words, Fee could only shrug in response.
Tine's eyes grew wide again. "Wait... is this your first romance? How is that even possible?"
She managed a halfhearted glare at her friend. "The school I went to in Silesse was a girl's only academy," she growled.
"Unfortunately," Tine explained, "I don't have a lot of experience with... this particular type of romance. So, um... while I wish I could help, I really don't think I can."
Fee heaved a dejected sigh, feeling defeated. "Right," she breathed.
"But," chimed Tine, "I'll be rooting for you all the way, I promise. And if you ever need to talk, I'd be more than happy to hear you out, okay?"
Fee nodded glumly. "Okay."
"Again, I'm... I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have teased that out of you."
Closing her eyes, Fee took a deep breath. "Honestly, it feels... it feels a bit better."
Tine nodded understandingly. "Yeah, keeping a crush bottled up can be painful. And if you can't do anything about it, talking about is the second best thing."
"Y-yeah, I suppose so."
"So do you mind going for a walk? There's an ice cream shop a block from the park we can hit on the way back to your house. What do you say? It'll be my treat."
Fee wiped her eyes once more and managed a smile for her silver-haired friend. "Thanks, Tine. I'd like that."
