And off Odette goes home.

And the next day, LEARNING!!!

So much learning! And with considerably more context than yesterday! In most of the classes, anyway; if he follows through on going to Odette's botany class instead of Intro Chem there shall be considerably less context.

He does do that.

Odette smiles at him but does not otherwise initiate Interaction that would link the two of them in the professor's mind. The professor is a dour-looking man who smells of chalkdust and soil; he briefly examines Milan's auditing pass and then shoos him to an empty seat.

Milan is going to be such an attentive not-quite-student!

Then the professor will probably not pay a huge amount of overt attention to him!

Hmm. Maybe not the best starting point from which to engage him in philosophical conversations, but at least in the meantime Milan can learn fascinating things about botany.

Botany! Taxonomy! There is probably enough context to at least figure out a general idea of what taxonomy is. The teacher is eminently professional and does no more than give Odette sharp glances when she does something by Gratuitous Magic.

Milan politely refrains from doing any Gratuitous Magic in this class.

The professor consequently does not give him any sharp looks!

And he learns so many interesting things about botany!!

Yes! Much of it he is going to have to do hella background reading on to make any sense of, mind, but even as contextless factoids it's so shinily sciency!

And he knows how to do the background reading now. The background reading will not defeat him.

Odette smiles at him again on the way out of class but elsewise continues not to draw the teacher's attention to the connection between the two of them. Once they are far enough from the classroom, she says, "so how do you like botany?"

"Botany is interesting!"

"I'm starting to suspect there is nothing vaguely sciency you don't find interesting."

"You're probably right."

"It is an admirable trait."

He grins.

"And this is a really good place for it!"

"I am getting that impression!"

"It is an accurate impression."

"Anyway, I better go absorb some more science. See you!"

He goes. He absorbs science. And magic and history and literature and, when classes are over and he returns to the library, several more books.

Odette swoops in when he has been there for several hours. "Hi!"