The clocktower bells chimed 26th bar. Instead of rising, Rhea released a prolonged groan and slumped harder against the table.

"Let me talk to Seerla," Thirtyx said. "We have our capstone next block. I can corner her if I get a head start—explain the situation, talk her up a little. She doesn't seem the type to say no because I’m the one asking."

Rhea nodded against the table but didn't lift her head. "It's the best chance we have, I guess."

Benn patted Rhea on the back on his way to the door. "Great vote of confidence for him, sis."

Thirtyx stood over Rhea for a moment before taking her arm and tugging her toward a standing position. "Come on. You don't want to be late to your capstone, do you?"

"Maybe I do," she grumbled. "Maybe I should just perish here instead of facing the humiliation of leaving a table unmanned at the activities fair."

Thirtyx tsked. "That would be so anticlimactic for the future ruler of Lamiakk to die of embarrassment, wouldn't it? Besides, this is hardly the most embarrassing thing I've seen happen to you. Remember that time in fourth year, when you forgot to do your math homework and tried a stupidly complicated confusion spell on—"

Rhea's head snapped up, eyes aimed in a glare at Thirtyx. "Okay, okay, I'm up. Stop it." She pushed herself out of her chair with one hand and playfully turned Thirtyx toward the door with the other. "But you'd better get Seerla on board if you want me to forgive you for that jab."

Thirtyx didn't think his chances were good, but they were admittedly better than nothing. He steeled himself and joined the throng filing out of the library.

Seerla was about 15 feet ahead with her friends from the library—friends Thirtyx knew would probably peel off toward a magic class in a few minutes. Sure enough, Seerla paused to bid them farewell as they turned, which provided the perfect segue for Thirtyx to catch up.

"Oh, hey, Thirtyx!" The brightness in her voice and the fact that she spoke first put Thirtyx considerably more at ease. "You ready to see what good old Dexy has in store for us? Last year's seniors made it sound super brutal."

Thirtyx scratched nervously at the back of his neck. "Yeah, by the time I heard those stories, I didn’t have the right credits to switch my major to history. It still haunts me. But it would be dumb to quit now, wouldn't it?"

"Eh, probably." Seerla gave a coy shrug. "Doesn't stop me from wanting to run away and live in a Troll hermitage sometimes."

"Mmm. That sounds tempting enough that I could join you. But then we wouldn't be hermits, I suppose."

"Oh, that’s the beauty of the hermitages! Everyone has separate cabins—independent living but with general proximity." She gave a self-conscious giggle. “It’s a fun fantasy, but I’m far too social to actually survive in that environment. Guess I’ll have to stay at Wydewood.”

"Yeah, speaking of your packed social schedule…" Thirtyx heard the awkwardness in his voice and hated himself a little. "It was really fun having you in Service Club last year. You're doing it again this year, right?"

"Of course. Honestly, I only joined because my guidance counselor said I needed more volunteer work to be competitive for law apprenticeships, but it was so much more fun than I imagined. Has Rhea planned our first meeting?"

"Rhea has been a little busy. So busy, in fact, that she hasn't found anyone to cover our table at the activities fair. Would you—"

"Thirtyx, no. I couldn't possibly." It was hard to discern a blush behind her face scales, but he was pretty sure it was there. "Compared to you and Rhea, who have been in the club since we were preteens, I don’t know enough—"

He put a hand up to stop her. "It's not about knowing enough. The story you just told is why you'd be perfect. You can convince people how fulfilling it is and how you wish you'd joined sooner."

They paused in front of the classroom door, and Seerla narrowed her eyes like she was trying to see through a glamour. "It feels like you're buttering me up, but you couldn't say it if there wasn't truth in there."

Thirtyx seized the rare opportunity to use his forced truthfulness to his benefit. "I really do think you'd be great at it. And if you don't do it, I'm not sure Rhea can find someone else. You’re definitely better than an empty booth, right?"

Seerla rolled her eyes. "Well if the bar is that low, fine. Let me think about it during class, and I'll get back to you, okay?"

"That's all I can ask for."