"Yes. I did realize they wouldn't fit all the students of the city into a single building," Krian says good naturedly, "and it isn't bad. It's not like I'm 10 and would want to spend recess running around the playground or something."

Ev tilts his head. "Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, fitting everyone in one school would be a bit weird with transit times and stuff. And there's a gym if you want to get some exercise, anyway."

"I meant I don't need time outdoors, not in the middle of school hours. There is a gym in my new home."

That last comment was very much deliberate.

Ev opens his mouth, raises an eyebrow, and responds, "Oh."

The teacher starts the lesson! Ev turns to face them and pay attention. It's fun math. Ev actually kinda like math. It makes sense and doesn't have annoying, confusing, conflicting parts that he has to sort out and mesh together. People do, which admittedly makes them interesting, so he's not really complaining.

But math is more straightforward.

Math! No poetic nonsense. Just doing the works and knowing when you actually got it right or wrong.

Exactly!

The teacher introduces the topic for the day and explains how to solve some problems of a specific format and why the method works and how it relates to other things they've covered so far, then hands out some work for them to do. She doesn't let them talk all through the lesson, but if they want to have short discussions about tangentially related things while also doing the work then that's okay.

Plus Ev has extra leeway because he's known to actually try at the subject, so she's even less likely to tell them off if they on fact decide to talk about a wholly unrelated topic. Ah, the perks of being a good student.

Krian is focused on the work, but he is fast enough that maybe someone could start a conversation.

Ev is also pretty quick at completing the work, but he maybe doesn't do it quite so quickly as Krian. He doesn't have any brilliant ideas for conversation topics, so instead he just mentions some current events at the school.

Which is not gossip, because it's important information that Krian might need to know.

Thario, meanwhile, is not in as much of a bad mood. For some reason, it's the anticipation of a literature lesson that makes him frustrated, not the actual lesson itself, because he's okay at writing in the specific structure and making up sensible-sounding arguments to back up his points.

Krian is curious enough to keep up the conversation. It is pretty clear he is not the gossipy type or the type that would use any kind of gossip but he is happy enough hearing what is happening in his new school.

Kay is doing well in this class too. He actually does pretty well in literature.

How nice for him!

"I'm Thar, by the way," he says to Kalor, realizing that he didn't actually introduce himself earlier. That was rude. Oops.

"I'm Kay, in case you forgot." He checks Thar out again.

Thario looks a bit confused but shrugs it off.

They are in fact studying some random poet from like 200 years ago.

It's not particularly fun, but fortunately there are lots of words that he can pretend have certain connotations and whatever.

Kay can't understand this attitude, the best classes are the ones you can bullshit through!

Thar much prefers classes to make sense and teach you some useful skill.

… Admittedly, bullshitting is a useful skill, but he doesn't like that it's a useful skill and he doesn't like it as a skill, so.

Heh, people can approach schools and skills in different ways, specially if they are cute Rhune boys.

Cute Rhune boys? Excuse me– yeah, okay, no, can't argue with that.

He's a cute Rhune boy with purple eyes! They're very purple. He likes his eyes.

Good thing he is so agreeable!

Those eyes are very lovely.

The lesson, meanwhile, continues. They analyze a couple of poems as a class, pointing out specific things that they've noticed that could be commented on, and work out a good example structure for the essay.

Eventually, class will end and it'll be time for Thar to have a study period in the library.

Which means he will try to be less generally annoyed and he'll talk to people who also have a study period.

Ev also has a study period, in which he will do some homework and also talk to people!

Kay is one of those people.

"So I just moved into town. How about you? Have you been here for a long time?"

Meanwhile, Krian gravitates back to Kay.

Thario is also someone who gravitates towards Eivar. He's sitting beside him, looking over some of his (Eivar's) notes to find out what he did in his previous lesson. Seeing as the question presumably wasn't aimed at him, he doesn't look up nor does he respond.

It seems like he's being less snappish right now.

Eivar himself has a few friends around, but they're fine having a conversation over to the left of him on the bench, instead of surrounding him.

Thario is on his right and it would seem Ev is talking to Kalor across the table!

"I've been here – in Kerune, that is – basically all my life?"