The lecture hall was only half-full when La'gaan and Blubber arrived at their first class. Not even the professor had arrived. With nothing else to do, they took their seats (close to the front, since Blubber insisted) and waited for class to begin. La'gaan took the opportunity to scout out the rest of his classmates. There were only a handful of students that were as young as they were. Everyone else was at least thirteen or fourteen years old. It made him feel outnumbered and small, and he found himself longing for the familiarity of the streets. In Nanauve, he knew exactly where he stood. In Poseidonis, he had absolutely no idea.
His observations were interrupted by a light tap on the shoulder. When he turned, La'gaan found himself face-to-face with a mermaid.
"Is this seat taken?" she asked, nodding to the empty seat next to him.
"Um…no. No, it's not," La'gaan answered.
The mermaid girl smiled gratefully and took her seat. "Thanks…I kind of woke up late, so I had to rush to get here…I'm Lori, by the way. Lori Lemaris."
"La'gaan," he introduced himself. "This is Blubber."
Lori grinned. "It's nice to meet you…are you both first years too?"
They both nodded. Before the conversation could continue any further, however, the professor entered. A sudden hush fell over the students. He stood in front of his desk and surveyed his class. His silver eyes seemed to criticize anyone unlucky enough to be caught in his gaze. During this silent catechism, La'gaan thought that the professor's eyes lingered on him for a second longer than the other students. The young boy frowned back at him. He knew this professor was just trying to intimidate them all. Well, it wasn't going to work. Not on him.
"Welcome," the professor said. "I am Professor Tullus. I will tell you here and now: I am not here to be your friend. I will not attempt to be. Nor will I attempt to make this class easy. If you are not being challenged, I am not doing my job right. And if you cannot keep up…then I suggest you leave the Conservatory now. It only gets worse from here."
It could have been his imagination, but La'gaan was certain that Professor Tullus looked right at him when he said those words.
"Now, let's begin," the professor said. "Who can tell me what year Atlantis was founded?"
Hands (and in some cases, fins) shot up all around him. La'gaan sunk a little lower in his chair.
Professor Tullus pointed to Lori.
"It depends on which system you're using," Lori answered. "If you're going by the Standard, then it's the year 1. If you're going by the Ancient System, then it was founded in the year 116."
"And what is the difference between the two?" Professor Tullus asked, raising his eyebrows.
"The Standard starts at Atlantis' founding, when the first king of Poseidonis was crowned. The Ancient System begins when the first city-states were founded," Lori explained. La'gaan stared at her in complete awe. He didn't know there were two different calendars, much less when they started.
Professor Tullus nodded. "Very good. And who was the first king of Poseidonis?"
Again, hands and fins shot up. La'gaan stared down at his lap.
"You."
Blubber nudged La'gaan, forcing him to look up. Professor Tullus was staring right at him. In fact, everyone was. Why?
La'gaan was taken aback. "Um…what?"
A few giggles broke out among the students behind him. The professor, however, was not amused. He narrowed his eyes. "I do not like having to repeat myself. But, I will ask the question one more time: who was the first king of Poseidonis?"
"…does it matter?" La'gaan blurted out. As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew it was the wrong thing to say. Some of the other students started laughing. Others simply stared at him, astounded and scandalized he'd ask such a question.
"Does it matter? Does it matter? Of course it matters! It is your history. Our history!" Professor Tullus snapped.
"How does knowing the first king of Poseidonis help me in anything?" La'gaan demanded, crossing his arms over his chest. It seemed like a stupid question to him. Who cared about the first king of Poseidonis? He was dead. Long gone. "It's the past. It doesn't matter anymore."
Professor Tullus didn't say a word. The laughter died down, and an uncomfortable silence engulfed the room. Students squirmed in their seats. Even La'gaan began to wish that he would just get the yelling over with. It would be better than just sitting there waiting for the storm to hit.
"Our young friend poses a very interesting question," Professor Tullus finally said.
"…I do?" La'gaan stared at him in astonishment.
His teacher was ignoring him now. "It is a question that has been posed many times before by many different people. Why do we study history? Why do we put so much emphasis on the past? It is, after all, over and done with. Everyone who was involved and directly affected is dead. So why does it matter?"
He put his hands behind his back, standing like a commander surveying his troops. "Does anyone care to venture an answer?"
One boy raised his hand. "Those who do not know their past are often doomed to repeat it."
"Very good, Kaldur'ahm," Professor Tullus nodded once to the boy who spoke. "When a person makes a mistake, they learn from it. It is the same with a functioning society. We look at the wrongs we have done, as individuals and as a culture, and the mistakes we have made. If we were to forget these mistakes, we would be bound to repeat them. History reminds us of what we once were and tells us how we became what we are now. Without history, we would forget ourselves."
There was a long silence following his words. La'gaan looked down, refusing to meet his teacher's gaze.
"Now," Professor Tullus said, "can anyone tell me who the first king of Poseidonis was?"
xxxx
At first, La'gaan thought he might get away without a punishment. The professor said nothing to him as they left class, so he assumed he was home free. But that night at dinner, another student swam up and handed La'gaan a note. She didn't tell him who it was from. She didn't have to. The sympathetic look on her face said it all. La'gaan grumbled his thanks and watched her swim off.
"What does it say?" Blubber asked.
La'gaan unfolded the note. It took him a good minute to read the one sentence written on it:
Meet me at Quad after dinner. – Professor Tullus
The Quad was always a center of activity, as it was a favorite place for study and play. It had benches and tables where friends could sit, study, and talk. But there was enough open space for games and rough-housing. A statue of the sea goddess Salacia presided over it all, watching the students and protecting them.
La'gaan waited for Professor Tullus at the foot of the statue. He watched the other students go about their business like they didn't have a care in the world. A group of girls broke out into a fit of giggles every two minutes. One couple sat on one of the stone benches and kissed, oblivious to the world around them. All of them fit in perfectly here. And they knew it. Poseidonis was where they were meant to be. La'gaan envied them. He didn't know where he belonged.
"La'gaan." Professor Tullus' voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked up and saw his professor hovering over him.
"Sir." La'gaan frowned at him.
"Swim with me," Professor Tullus commanded. Without another word he began to swim off through the Quad. La'gaan hung back for a moment, unsure of what to make of this. He looked up at the statue of Salacia and said a quick, silent prayer. Then he swam off and joined his professor.
They swam for many minutes without saying a word. La'gaan could feel himself going crazy. He wished that Professor Tullus would just yell at him already. It was better than this agonizing silence. Finally La'gaan couldn't take it anymore. He snapped. "Are you going to yell at me or what?!"
"No, I am not," Professor Tullus answered. His voice was maddeningly calm. "I do not want to rant and rave at you, La'gaan. Because I am fairly sure you won't hear a word of it. Am I right?"
La'gaan looked away, glaring at nothing in particular. "Then why am I out here?"
"I want to know why you are trying so hard to get yourself thrown out of this school," Professor Tullus answered.
"I'm not trying to get myself thrown out!" La'gaan protested.
Professor Tullus raised his eyebrows. "Really? Because you are doing a fantastic job at it."
"Maybe it's because I don't belong here," La'gaan grumbled. "I don't know anything about this stuff. No one ever taught me math or history or anything like that. No one taught me anything."
"That much is obvious," the professor sighed. "If you don not belong here, where do you belong? Hm? Out on the streets of Nanauve? Stealing and fighting for every scrap of food? Is that the sort of life you want for yourself? You are capable of much more than that, and you know it."
La'gaan gritted his teeth and balled his hands into fists. "No, I'm not! Why do you guys keep thinking that?! I can barely read and write! I'm just some charity case to you people!"
"Even if you are, you have been given an opportunity!" Professor Tullus was angry now. He frowned down at La'gaan. "You may not belong here. But when the gods give you a blessing, you do not ask why it was sent. This is your chance to save yourself. No one is going to do it for you, and you may not get another try."
The young boy sighed in frustration and sat down on the sea floor. He crossed his arms over his chest. "I just don't know what everyone is expecting of me."
Professor Tullus sighed and sat down beside him. "Well, I see your life taking one of two paths."
"What are they?" La'gaan asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
"You will either achieve greatness, or fail miserably," Professor Tullus answered. He smirked slightly at him. "But it is better to try and fail than to not try at all."
"…you really think I could be great?" La'gaan asked. No one had ever said anything like that to him before.
"Yes. Which is why I will be pushing you twice as hard. My job is to make sure you become the great sorcerer you are meant to be." Professor Tullus stood. "So, I will do everything within my power to make your time at this school the most challenging and frustrating experience of your entire life. Do you understand?"
La'gaan wasn't sure. This whole conversation was confusing to him. "You believe in me, so you're going to try and make me give up?"
His professor seemed amused. "Close enough, I suppose. Now…the only thing left to discuss is your punishment. You can spend the next month polishing my collection of Ancient Atlantean artifacts."
"What?! That's so unfair!" La'gaan argued.
"You will start tomorrow evening." Professor Tullus said. With that, he swam off.