Disclaimer: Anyone you recognize from DL isn't mine. Neither is almost
everyone is this chapter.
For this chapter, I was lazy and didn't feel like changing my italics to asterisks or anything, so please know that anything said between Dally and Raistlin is thought, not spoken aloud.
Chapter 2: The New Kid
When I came to my senses on the other side of the portal, I found myself in a wooded area looking over a strange building. It appeared that the school day had just started, and there were droves of young humans emerging from what I believe are called automobiles and entering the building. I used my natural elven stealth to sneak into the crowd.
When I was in the building, I looked around. There was one room that looked like it might be the office. I went in, and barely looking up, the woman at the desk gave me directions to the Guidance Office.
I walked around the corner, and went into a smallish office with a couple of women sitting at desks. I explained to the one closest to me that I was a new student.
"Name?" She said in a fairly bored tone.
"Da..." I started without thinking.
"Fool! Not your real name!!" My Shalafi bellowed in my head. "Say 'Daniel.' It's a fairly common name there."
"Daniel." I finished. "Daniel ... Silver, Ma'am." I used the Silvanesti translation of my true last name for my new identity.
The woman at the desk looked up at me. "Well Daniel Silver, I need a letter from a parent if not to see them in person if you're to join the school." I pulled the letter Raistlin had written and spelled for me out of my pocket and handed it to her. She quickly skimmed the letter, and looked at me quizzically. "Eritrea?"
"Yes, Ma'am. It's a small country on the eastern side of Africa. I can speak both the major language, Tigrinya, as well as the one most spoken in my village, Kunama." Raistlin was dictating to me, because I hadn't had time to study the country. All of a sudden, it hit me what I'd just said. "What!?!" I thought to Raistlin. "I don't know any African dialects! What if someone asks me to say something? What if you don't have time to dictate a sentence to me? How am I supposed to keep up this ruse?"
"Don't get hyper, apprentice. Just speak Elvish. You know Silvanesti as well as a lot of Kagonesti. No one there will know the difference. I chose a country with fairly unknown languages for just that purpose. Don't worry." Raistlin thought back to me.
By that time, the woman at the desk had re-read my letter, and was speaking into an odd device that seemed to broadcast her voice. "Will Alanna Cooper please come to the Guidance Office?" She put the device back on the hook. "There's a young lady coming down here now. She'll show you around and you can follow her schedule for now. Ah, here she is." A fairly slim, short, attractive young human with long, wavy, brown, flyaway hair walked into the office. "Alanna, this is Daniel Silver. Daniel, Alanna Cooper. Alanna, if you will show Daniel around and get him settled? He just moved from Eritrea, in Africa."
"Sure Mrs. Rivera." She started out the door. "Hi." She put her hand out for me to shake. "Our first class is Global. This way. Most of your classes will be in that wing," she pointed, "which is the eleventh grade wing."
We walked down the hallway and into a room. There were a bunch of human teenagers sitting at desks, which were arranged in rows with groups of three connecting. At the front of the room, there was a tall male who was explaining a diagram of the defenses of a fairly primitive-looking castle. It was to this man that Alanna spoke. "Mr. Clearlake? This is Daniel. He's moved here from Africa, and I was asked to show him around."
"Welcome to the U.S. Daniel. It happens that the seat next to Alanna is empty, so why don't you sit there. As you can probably surmise, we are studying the Middle Ages in Europe. Take out paper and a pen, and start copying these notes." He indicated the wall with the diagram.
I followed Alanna to the front of the class to the three desks in front of the teacher's desk. As we sat down, she indicated the girl on the other side of her seat. "That's Jess." She spoke in a low whisper. The girl Jess was slightly slimmer than Alanna, and had glasses. She also had long wavy brown hair, which seemed a little tamer than Alanna's did. She was also taller than Alanna, who was not a giant, to say the least.
"Thanks. Paper and a pen?" I thought to Raistlin.
"Yes. I have some. Reach back as though you're reaching into your back pocket. I'll hand some through."
I did as he said, and found some odd, white lined paper and a skinny writing utensil in my hand. As I turned around, I noticed Alanna reading a note written in an odd, flowing manner I couldn't read, chuckle, and nod in total agreement to Jess. "What's that?" I asked. It didn't look like any form of written Common I'd ever seen. It's delicate curls and curves actually bore a strange resemblance to Elvish.
"Oh. Nothing. It's Elvish. I'll explain after this period," she whispered back. I nearly fell off of my seat in shock, and went back to copying the diagram. Then, I noticed something.
"Excuse me, Mr. Clearlake? Is that diagram supposed to be to scale?"
He looked at me oddly. "Yes. It's not perfect, but it is approximate. Why? Is something wrong?"
"Well sir, if you're illustrating the castle's defenses, the walls are too short. They'd have to be a little higher for the archers to be able to hit the enemy over the moat without being hit themselves if they were standing on top of the walls."
"How did you figure that out? Anyway," his voice took on a defensive tone, "I said it was an approximation."
"Oh, well, um, my father was a bit of a Middle Ages buff, and he taught me a lot about castles. Also, once we took a trip to England and toured several. Once you know castles well, it was just a simple equation." I said the first thing that came to mind, with a little help from Raistlin.
Then, Raistlin spoke to me. "You IDIOT!!! Don't draw attention to your knowledge of that time period! You can't seem anything out of the ordinary. Also, I may not always be listening closely enough to catch your little slips!" My Shalfi sounded furious. I was a bit glad that I was on the other side of the portal. I thought back a mumbled 'sorry' and turned my attention back to class.
The rest of Global passed without incident; I kept to myself comments about the primitive nature of the castle and it's defenses. Then, a loud bell rang and made me jump. "That bell means class is over. Our next class is English. Come on!" Alanna got out of her seat and followed Jess out of the room. I soon joined them in the next room to the left. Once we'd gotten seated and Alanna had introduced me to the teacher, I remembered her cryptic remark from Global.
"What were you talking about, with that paper?" I whispered, not wanting to reveal anything.
"Oh. This?" She showed me the piece of paper. "I said its Elvish. From Tolkein. You know, the author of Lord of the Rings?" I suppose my face showed my conspicuous lack of recognition. "Well, maybe in Africa, you wouldn't have heard of Lord of the Rings, or fantasy, or elves."
There, I had to interrupt. "Well, I've heard of elves. And magic and things. Just not that ... Token? you mentioned."
"Tolkein," she corrected. "Anyway, that's the lettering he invented for the elves in his stories. Jess and I sometimes use it to pass notes, because even if we're caught, no one will be able to read what we wrote."
"Oh." Now I understood. Books seemed to be very common on this world, and their 'Elvish' was an author's invented code. Then, the teacher, Mrs. Poveronti spoke.
"Today, we'll do an essay based on the story you all should have read last night. Your topic will be writing an essay about a member of your family who you depend upon. Now, can anyone tell me what this has to do with our story?" She looked around the room. Several people raised their hands, including Alanna and Jess. Mrs. Poveronti called on a skinny girl with kind of limp, strait dark hair. "Catarina?" The girl shook her hair, and shot Alanna and Jess a sneer in the process.
"Well, Mrs. Poveronti, the main character Josiah was looking for his family through the whole book. The moral was to never take what you have for granted." She flashed a grin to several blonds who were sitting on either side of her, who smiled back.
The teacher seemed unaware of this classroom rivalry, and smiled. "Very good Catarina. Now get to work."
"Oh dear." I thought to Raistlin. "I may need some help on this one. Well, here goes. Lets see ..." I started to write. 'My father worked as a doctor in a small village in the African country of Eritrea...'
Author's Notes: First: thank you to all of my reviewers. Sorry I didn't post earlier; I know I promised I would after three. So, I can't count! ~_^ To everyone who requested Raistlin's appearance, it's coming in a while, it was in my original plan for the story. No worries!
Alien21XX: To clear this up, the contact lens thing doesn't affect vision in any way, it just has the form of modern contacts. Thanks anyway. Also, in my little world, the portal can change shape to become smaller – say binder or smaller sized.
All right. I know someone will say something in this round of reviews, so I'll say it for you. Yes, I'm aware that this is a self-insertion. Tough if you don't like those. The names are changed, by the way. Feel free to flame and vent if you wish, I know it brings satisfaction. (I frequently flame slash just because it pisses me off) So, feel free, but know I'll probably leave you a nice note in this section in the next chapter. Also, I prefer it when people give a REASON for not liking my story; more than not feeling I'm a good character. I assure you, it does have a plot, and in my view a good one. So, please bear with me for this lapse in my normal style. Another 3 reviews before an update, please! (Really three this time! Honest!!!)
For this chapter, I was lazy and didn't feel like changing my italics to asterisks or anything, so please know that anything said between Dally and Raistlin is thought, not spoken aloud.
Chapter 2: The New Kid
When I came to my senses on the other side of the portal, I found myself in a wooded area looking over a strange building. It appeared that the school day had just started, and there were droves of young humans emerging from what I believe are called automobiles and entering the building. I used my natural elven stealth to sneak into the crowd.
When I was in the building, I looked around. There was one room that looked like it might be the office. I went in, and barely looking up, the woman at the desk gave me directions to the Guidance Office.
I walked around the corner, and went into a smallish office with a couple of women sitting at desks. I explained to the one closest to me that I was a new student.
"Name?" She said in a fairly bored tone.
"Da..." I started without thinking.
"Fool! Not your real name!!" My Shalafi bellowed in my head. "Say 'Daniel.' It's a fairly common name there."
"Daniel." I finished. "Daniel ... Silver, Ma'am." I used the Silvanesti translation of my true last name for my new identity.
The woman at the desk looked up at me. "Well Daniel Silver, I need a letter from a parent if not to see them in person if you're to join the school." I pulled the letter Raistlin had written and spelled for me out of my pocket and handed it to her. She quickly skimmed the letter, and looked at me quizzically. "Eritrea?"
"Yes, Ma'am. It's a small country on the eastern side of Africa. I can speak both the major language, Tigrinya, as well as the one most spoken in my village, Kunama." Raistlin was dictating to me, because I hadn't had time to study the country. All of a sudden, it hit me what I'd just said. "What!?!" I thought to Raistlin. "I don't know any African dialects! What if someone asks me to say something? What if you don't have time to dictate a sentence to me? How am I supposed to keep up this ruse?"
"Don't get hyper, apprentice. Just speak Elvish. You know Silvanesti as well as a lot of Kagonesti. No one there will know the difference. I chose a country with fairly unknown languages for just that purpose. Don't worry." Raistlin thought back to me.
By that time, the woman at the desk had re-read my letter, and was speaking into an odd device that seemed to broadcast her voice. "Will Alanna Cooper please come to the Guidance Office?" She put the device back on the hook. "There's a young lady coming down here now. She'll show you around and you can follow her schedule for now. Ah, here she is." A fairly slim, short, attractive young human with long, wavy, brown, flyaway hair walked into the office. "Alanna, this is Daniel Silver. Daniel, Alanna Cooper. Alanna, if you will show Daniel around and get him settled? He just moved from Eritrea, in Africa."
"Sure Mrs. Rivera." She started out the door. "Hi." She put her hand out for me to shake. "Our first class is Global. This way. Most of your classes will be in that wing," she pointed, "which is the eleventh grade wing."
We walked down the hallway and into a room. There were a bunch of human teenagers sitting at desks, which were arranged in rows with groups of three connecting. At the front of the room, there was a tall male who was explaining a diagram of the defenses of a fairly primitive-looking castle. It was to this man that Alanna spoke. "Mr. Clearlake? This is Daniel. He's moved here from Africa, and I was asked to show him around."
"Welcome to the U.S. Daniel. It happens that the seat next to Alanna is empty, so why don't you sit there. As you can probably surmise, we are studying the Middle Ages in Europe. Take out paper and a pen, and start copying these notes." He indicated the wall with the diagram.
I followed Alanna to the front of the class to the three desks in front of the teacher's desk. As we sat down, she indicated the girl on the other side of her seat. "That's Jess." She spoke in a low whisper. The girl Jess was slightly slimmer than Alanna, and had glasses. She also had long wavy brown hair, which seemed a little tamer than Alanna's did. She was also taller than Alanna, who was not a giant, to say the least.
"Thanks. Paper and a pen?" I thought to Raistlin.
"Yes. I have some. Reach back as though you're reaching into your back pocket. I'll hand some through."
I did as he said, and found some odd, white lined paper and a skinny writing utensil in my hand. As I turned around, I noticed Alanna reading a note written in an odd, flowing manner I couldn't read, chuckle, and nod in total agreement to Jess. "What's that?" I asked. It didn't look like any form of written Common I'd ever seen. It's delicate curls and curves actually bore a strange resemblance to Elvish.
"Oh. Nothing. It's Elvish. I'll explain after this period," she whispered back. I nearly fell off of my seat in shock, and went back to copying the diagram. Then, I noticed something.
"Excuse me, Mr. Clearlake? Is that diagram supposed to be to scale?"
He looked at me oddly. "Yes. It's not perfect, but it is approximate. Why? Is something wrong?"
"Well sir, if you're illustrating the castle's defenses, the walls are too short. They'd have to be a little higher for the archers to be able to hit the enemy over the moat without being hit themselves if they were standing on top of the walls."
"How did you figure that out? Anyway," his voice took on a defensive tone, "I said it was an approximation."
"Oh, well, um, my father was a bit of a Middle Ages buff, and he taught me a lot about castles. Also, once we took a trip to England and toured several. Once you know castles well, it was just a simple equation." I said the first thing that came to mind, with a little help from Raistlin.
Then, Raistlin spoke to me. "You IDIOT!!! Don't draw attention to your knowledge of that time period! You can't seem anything out of the ordinary. Also, I may not always be listening closely enough to catch your little slips!" My Shalfi sounded furious. I was a bit glad that I was on the other side of the portal. I thought back a mumbled 'sorry' and turned my attention back to class.
The rest of Global passed without incident; I kept to myself comments about the primitive nature of the castle and it's defenses. Then, a loud bell rang and made me jump. "That bell means class is over. Our next class is English. Come on!" Alanna got out of her seat and followed Jess out of the room. I soon joined them in the next room to the left. Once we'd gotten seated and Alanna had introduced me to the teacher, I remembered her cryptic remark from Global.
"What were you talking about, with that paper?" I whispered, not wanting to reveal anything.
"Oh. This?" She showed me the piece of paper. "I said its Elvish. From Tolkein. You know, the author of Lord of the Rings?" I suppose my face showed my conspicuous lack of recognition. "Well, maybe in Africa, you wouldn't have heard of Lord of the Rings, or fantasy, or elves."
There, I had to interrupt. "Well, I've heard of elves. And magic and things. Just not that ... Token? you mentioned."
"Tolkein," she corrected. "Anyway, that's the lettering he invented for the elves in his stories. Jess and I sometimes use it to pass notes, because even if we're caught, no one will be able to read what we wrote."
"Oh." Now I understood. Books seemed to be very common on this world, and their 'Elvish' was an author's invented code. Then, the teacher, Mrs. Poveronti spoke.
"Today, we'll do an essay based on the story you all should have read last night. Your topic will be writing an essay about a member of your family who you depend upon. Now, can anyone tell me what this has to do with our story?" She looked around the room. Several people raised their hands, including Alanna and Jess. Mrs. Poveronti called on a skinny girl with kind of limp, strait dark hair. "Catarina?" The girl shook her hair, and shot Alanna and Jess a sneer in the process.
"Well, Mrs. Poveronti, the main character Josiah was looking for his family through the whole book. The moral was to never take what you have for granted." She flashed a grin to several blonds who were sitting on either side of her, who smiled back.
The teacher seemed unaware of this classroom rivalry, and smiled. "Very good Catarina. Now get to work."
"Oh dear." I thought to Raistlin. "I may need some help on this one. Well, here goes. Lets see ..." I started to write. 'My father worked as a doctor in a small village in the African country of Eritrea...'
Author's Notes: First: thank you to all of my reviewers. Sorry I didn't post earlier; I know I promised I would after three. So, I can't count! ~_^ To everyone who requested Raistlin's appearance, it's coming in a while, it was in my original plan for the story. No worries!
Alien21XX: To clear this up, the contact lens thing doesn't affect vision in any way, it just has the form of modern contacts. Thanks anyway. Also, in my little world, the portal can change shape to become smaller – say binder or smaller sized.
All right. I know someone will say something in this round of reviews, so I'll say it for you. Yes, I'm aware that this is a self-insertion. Tough if you don't like those. The names are changed, by the way. Feel free to flame and vent if you wish, I know it brings satisfaction. (I frequently flame slash just because it pisses me off) So, feel free, but know I'll probably leave you a nice note in this section in the next chapter. Also, I prefer it when people give a REASON for not liking my story; more than not feeling I'm a good character. I assure you, it does have a plot, and in my view a good one. So, please bear with me for this lapse in my normal style. Another 3 reviews before an update, please! (Really three this time! Honest!!!)