Black Flame

Chapter 15: The Lecture Hall

"And here it is!" Bill grinned as he gestured towards a set of double doors, a sign above labeling it as 'Lecture Hall #10'. "Although classes aren't starting for another thirty minutes."

"That's okay. I'll be able to grab a good seat," Alex responded, stepping towards the door.

"Students are seated alphabetically. You'll probably end up near the front," Bill informed the Human.

"Oh..." Alex responded solemnly. "Thank you for informing me that."

"No problem. And hey, during lunch, wait here. I wanna show you something," Bill said with a devious, toothy smile, before waving Alex goodbye and turning around. He walked away from the door with his hands in his pockets.

Alex watched as the Tiger left, wondering what he could be wanting to show him. He continued to watch Bill until he turned a corner and disappeared down a hallway. Turning back towards the double doors, he pulled them open before stepping inside.

Alex's eyes widened as he looked around the large lecture hall. The room was shaped like a semi-circle, with rows upon rows of chairs placed in front of tables that descended towards a central podium. There an elderly Camel stood, dressed in a suit. The Camel seemed to be fiddling with something on top of the podium but stopped as he noticed Alex.

"Oh? Is it 8:45 already?" The Camel asked, looking up at Alex.

"Uh, no. It's not," Alex replied, walking down one of two sets of stairs towards the podium.

"Thank goodness," the Camel said before looking down at his podium and picking up a pair of spectacles. Placing them on the bridge of his snout, he looked back up at Alex, who was still walking down the stairs. "Oh! Pardon me, I didn't know you were the new student. May I ask what you're doing here?"

"Well, I thought I'd get here early and get situated. I hope I-"

"No. I mean why are you here in this lecture hall? Shouldn't you be in yours? Do you need help finding it?"

"No, actually..." Alex responded, slightly confused as he took off his backpack and retrieved his schedule. "It says this is my lecture hall."

Handing the paper to the Camel, Alex waited patiently as he read it over, what Alex assumed to be a bewildered expression appearing on the Camel's face.

"Indeed it does... That's... odd..." The Camel mumbled as he handed the piece of paper back to Alex. "I'm sorry for the confusion. It's just that I was never informed of a new student in my class. I do hope that the other teachers have been."

"Speaking of which, are you my math teacher?"

"No. I'm afraid your math teacher won't be arriving for another forty minutes. I'm your homeroom teacher, Mr. Nassim."

"Ah. May I ask what that is?"

"I oversee your education and assist the other teachers. I also act as a record keeper. I keep track of attendance, grades, and the like so you don't have to chase down your teachers for them," he explained, Alex nodding and pretending that he understood what he was saying.

"Would you know which seat I'm seated at?"

"As I've explained before, I was not expecting your arrival. We'll just see where you can be situated once everyone is here."

"Okay. What should I do until then?"

"Just sit down somewhere and wait I suppose. Maybe go over your textbooks and see if you understand the material. I've heard that technology isn't all that impressive where you're from, so I'd read into the science-related textbooks and see if you can learn anything new."