20 A new form of art! (2/2)

”Jeniva broke her pointing stick on your head. Then she confiscated the perverted figure. I found it would be a waste of time to carry you to the infirmary, so I took you along to the next three lessons and dropped you into your seat.” Celes explains.

”My innovative art got confiscated? But it was as close to reality, as I could make it! I think I will never manage to pass this lesson! I guess I have be lucky with Samarin's question at the end of the year.” I drop my head.

”Strangely enough, she gave you a positive evaluation on your first art. And I am not sure any more, if I should call you perverted hermit instead of stupid hermit from now on!” Celes answers.

”Really!?” Oh, thank you Jeniva, maybe I have some talent after all.

”She still said you would have to learn to paint one way or the other. Otherwise she won't let you pass.” Celes has a sarcastic smile on her face.

Ugh. Not good, I am no painter. ”Soooo, which lesson do we have next?” I ask. ”We will have rune magic.” Celes answers with a displeased face.

Good, hehe. If I have problems with a subject, you should have them too! So we will see teacher Mirgurd Salar again. He seemed to be the boring type, with nothing but magic circles in his head.

Mirgurd is a young, but sick looking fellow. He has something like angel wings on his back. The first time I saw someone with such a drastic trade.

During his first lesson, he did nothing but reciting an introduction to his lesson. Rune magic is all about the correct use of runes, to gain an effect you wish for.

If you have more complicated goal, you can combine multiple runes into a magic circuit. It is really nothing more than a simple programming language.

So we enter the classroom upon arrival and find pure chaos there. Mirgurd has papers all over his desk and on the floor. It looks like, he is searching for some documents.

As we enter together with other students he looks up and counts us, while the bell starts to ring. ”Good, good. Everyone here. No injuries!?” he asks into the room.

”Why should we have injuries?” -student

”Haven't you heard? There was a terrorist attack on the school yard in the morning! Multiple students and four teachers were paralysed for over an hour with a strange new weapon! Everyone is in an uproar. Nobody knows how such technology could come to be over night, with no implications of its development.” he explains his behaviour.

Celes and I try to not give away our knowledge of the whole case. But the teacher doesn't go deeper into the matter and starts to hand out some sheets instead.

”I have a difficult problem here, two incompatible runes which are to be combined via multiple connection patterns. If you paid attention yesterday, you should be able to solve it.” Mirgurd hands out the sheets and immediately takes up his searching activities again.

It seems like he is the type, who drowns his pupils in work, so he can do whatever takes his interest at the moment. It look at the sheet and ponder over it for a moment.

Then I scribble the answer down and draw the required circuit. No big deal, it is the same as connecting two variables over a few logical commands.

Then I want to watch out of the window, which is on my left. Unfortunately for Celes, she is sitting left from me and I notice that her eyes are not where they belong.

I grin like a devil and lean with my elbow onto the desk to cover my sheet. Now she looks up at me with a grim expression.

Suddenly I get poked into the ribs by something pointy. While I twitch, she snatches my paper and starts outright copying it. The witch used her tail!

That is cheating, I say! Yes! Aaahhh, its unfair, why can't I cheat in art classes. Should I snitch her? But she hasn't done anything really harmful to me since your contract. Wouldn't that be a violation?

I am not against cheating. Cheating is not against the rules, as long as you don't get caught! Yes, that's my opinion on this matter.

Suddenly Mirgurd looks up from his sheets, ”Miss Celes, this practice is not meant to copy the work of another student!” Has the guy eyes in the back of his head? He stands up, walks to our desk and takes my sheet.

After a short nod, he puts it back in front of me. ”It's wrong anyway. Next time copy from someone else.” he shakes his head.

”Huh!? Angrod wrong with magic? Is the end upon us?” Celes asks. I arch an eyebrow and take another look on my sheet, but I find no mistake.

”Um, can you explain what I did wrong?” I ask Mirgurd. Then the teacher sighs and answers, ”You mashed both runes into each other. They have to be put beside each other and then you properly connect them with connection patterns.”

”Huh!?!? Why should I do something stupid like that!? You would have to interlace patterns around both runes. What a headache! It is much faster to connect them, fold them over and use the patterns to fix the remaining open connections!” I blurt out.

Mirgurd, looks at my sheet again with big round eyes. ”You can fold runes?!” he asks and starts mumbling to himself.

Oh..oh... It seems nobody had this idea yet. Damn! Fucking backward civilisation! I lost money again!

Celes tugs my elbow, ”Don't worry, if you hadn't spilled it, I would have. It's such a basic idea, even I know that much.”

Should I worry, or be happy that Celes seems to understand me better than I do her?