Planeshift: Petra's Intro

Mr Arterberry, a tutor of natural science and geography in the wealthier districts in the Archadean Square, watched the timepiece strike twelve noon. His students awaited further instruction anxiously, their soft, unworked hands resting hesitantly on their desks, eager to turn the pages of the test paper before them. The tutor rapped the desk sharply with the end of his cane, clearing his throat. He pushed the spectacles up on his nose, clearing his throat in a manner which bespoke his irritation.

“It seems that Miss Lyon has chosen not to grace us with her presence this afternoon, students,” he said, looking at the group of five before him. No, four...he counted again, certain his eyes were deceiving him. But no, young Axel’s seat was distinctly empty, and he did not know him to be a truant like Miss Lyon. He set the cane on the desk, drawing the chair out.

“The examination will commence as normal,” he said tersely. “You have until two-thirty. Begin!”

Scarcely had the order been given that pages began to fly, and quills scratched out hasty answers. Mr Arterberry took his seat. Petronilla’s truancy was something he had been prepared for. But Axel? No, that boy’s absences were rare, and he had never missed an examination before. The tutor muffled a sigh in the sleeve of his coat. This did not bode well at all.

***
Petra was laughing as she stepped off the kerb, followed by a less enthusiastic Rowena. Both girls were in their last year of schooling, though Rowena did not share many of her friend’s classes. The silent but acknowledged truth was, they shared very little at all. Rowena’s father was an associate of Petra’s, and apart from that, all they could confidently claim to have in common was the year of their birth. Rowena was as dull as Petra was unruly. And unless it was for her disobedient friend’s interference, she nearly always abided by the rules set by her superiors.

“Your parents will find out, you know,” she called righteously from behind, as Petra kept up her rapid pace. She felt the lace of one of her fine leather boots was undone, and she ignored its annoying dragging as well as she could. There would be no time to slow down to fasten it, not until they had cleared the immediate vicinity of Cloudreach.

“Don’t care,” Petra replied monosyllabically. Frowning, Rowena tried to keep up with her fiercely-paced walk, feeling the low heel of her boots hit the pavement with painful repercussions for her ankles. She had to jog forward a few steps to bring herself in line with the other girl.

“Where are we going anyway?” she asked tetchily. Petra wondered, not for the first time, why she’d dragged tedious, submissive Rowena along.

“The park.”

Rowena’s eyes looked ready to pop out of her head. “The park! Oh Petra, can’t we find somewhere nicer? How about those beautiful new tea rooms near the—”

“What, that silly little place your mother took us to last week?” she cut in impatiently, leaving Rowena astounded at her friend’s disregard for the most basic social etiquette. “The tea was so insipid there.”

“I thought it was a very pretty place,” replied a cross Rowena, who was genuinely fond of the establishment in question.

“If you don’t like it, don’t come,” said Petra coolly.

Rowena halted suddenly, her brow furrowed in disbelief. It took a few moments for Petra to realise that she had fallen back. “Well you know what? I think I won’t.”

Petra shrugged. “Fine with me.”