"Could be worse."

She sits up and attempts to leave the circle. The circle disagrees with her life choices. She prods the invisible barrier. "...okay, that's gonna get awkward."

"Uh. That part doesn't have to stay put if it's safe to let you out but I have to tell my mom." Korulen's voice shrinks over the course of the sentence.

"No!" exclaims Saasnil. "No don't I'll be expelled -"

"We can't just leave her there!"

"...I can technically survive a few years locked in a little circle but I'd really rather not have to. Also I'd like somebody to tell my girlfriend what happened to me, ideally without locking her in another little circle."

"We can send her a letter," Korulen says, "and we can send you food and stuff but we really can't just leave her there Saasnil -"

"Don't tell your mom, it's all right for you but me they'll kick out -"

"There is no bathroom in my little circle," Anlei points out.

"This is among the reasons we cannot just leave her there forever, Saasnil."

"Don't please please we'll think of something - go buy a drake or whatever now and do it -"

"It might not even work. I have to tell my mom."

"I'm not in a huge rush, but it seems like maybe you'd get in less trouble if you fessed up now than if you argued about it for an hour first," says their summonee.

"Also Nemaar might tell."

Saasnil whimpers.

Korulen's eyes close and a moment later the door opens. A green haired woman is frowning at the girls.

"Hi," says the summonee.

"Hello. I'm terribly sorry for the trouble." She looks significantly at the girls. They bolt. "Do you mind if I do a minimally invasive mental scan to determine if you're safe to let out of the circle?"

"Uh," she says. "How invasive is minimally?"

"I won't look at anything that doesn't bear directly on your ability or willingness to be dangerous."

"Okay, sure."

"...okay, I'm going to let you out, but I'd like to ask that if you run into something you don't know how to handle you ask someone - me, if nobody's around - for help first. You can get ahold of me by thinking my name, 'Keo', at me."

"Sure."

Keo smudges the chalk.

"Freedom," she says. "Or at least so I assume. I'm Anlei, by the way. What, uh, is the deal here?"

"This is a wizard school, where you have been summoned from another world," sighs Keo. "Where would you like me to pick up from there?"

"Until today I didn't know there was more than one world. I also have no idea what a wizard is, besides somebody who can do some really crazy magic I've never heard of."

"Wizards are a local kind of magic user. You won't be able to pick it up. There are plenty of worlds but it's in no way customary to summon people out of them."

"Yeah, I'm getting that sense. Okay. So where does that leave me for the next few years while your kid waits to get a familiar, whatever one of those is?"

"A familiar is a magically attached animal that expands the size of spell she'll be able to cast. The school's responsible for you; I can put you in an empty dormitory and get you cafeteria access and make Korulen take you shopping."

"Sounds good! I hope you don't expel that other kid, she seems nice."

"We won't expel her," Keo says. "They're both in a lot of trouble, though."

"They made a pretty dumb mistake. Could've been a lot worse than it was," she says. "But they got me and I'm not mad, so. Oh, I do want to reassure my girlfriend that I wasn't kidnapped... wasn't exactly kidnapped... sometime soonish."