I woke up early today against all reason. My normally late biological clock decided to be an early bird for one day. Today was Zale's first class. The last time I saw him was when he drove me back to Fleur's home. 

He went out of his way to get my number, but he never texted. 

I did look at my phone now and then. Nothing. 

I wanted to text him a thank you. I stopped myself after all; he might be too busy to reply. 

I opened my wardrobe. After searching, I decided I no longer liked any of my clothes. What is wrong with me? 

I checked my suitcase for any clothes that I hadn't taken out yet. Again, nothing caught my interest. It is just a pottery lesson. Why is my brain running wild? 

I put on a purple t-shirt and knee-length denim shorts. I looked at my reflection. This was nice and practical. I put my hair up in a ponytail. 

I went down to the kitchen to prepare my coffee. 

"Did the sun rise from the west today?" Fleur was amused. 

"Hera, you woke up early?" 

"Mmm." I looked around the kitchen for my new coffee mug. 

"You are early yourself, Fleur?" I said a while later. 

"She did not sleep since yesterday." Maeve corrected me as she came out of the painting classroom. 

"You didn't?" I looked at Fleur. 

Fleur, who worshiped nothing but sleep, didn't sleep. Is the world ending?

"The air conditioner broke last night," Fleur shrugged. 

"I couldn't sleep until a repairman came to fix it." The doorbell rang. "There he is."

She walked towards the door. I looked at Maeve. 

"You know she took the phone number of the repairman last time. She said that the customer service would take ages to send someone. So she pestered the poor man the whole night." 

"Is that even legal?" I was worried. 

"I don't know." 

A man appeared and went upstairs directly. I shifted my attention from Fleur probably breaking a few laws and started boiling eggs. 

Ten minutes later, I was sitting at the table with my boiled egg sandwich and coffee. 

"Hera, is everything ready for today's class?" 

"Yes." She disappeared into the pottery classroom. 

Maeve always looked after us. What might be okay for us could mean disaster work-wise. I was already too used to her working style to mind. Actually, she had always kept the studio from falling apart. 

I kept glancing at my phone. Nothing. 

I finished breakfast when my screen lit. 

I picked it up quickly. 

Orion's name appeared. I put my phone down. Again, not him. 

I thought he might have questions about what to bring. 

He didn't really need to bring or prepare anything, though. 

I remembered Orion. Not replying was rude. 

I finally opened the messages. We had talked a bit since the meeting day. He came yesterday, filled the painting class form, and left. Fleur was livid that her new student didn't wait to meet her. It made no sense since she was out. 

Now he kept asking what he should buy and what to prepare. 

We do provide materials, but he wanted to experience it fully, from buying stuff to finally finishing a painting. I sent him some online pages, but he said it would take a while until delivery. He had applied for the earliest class available. 

I wanted Fleur to contact him herself, but she had none of it because he didn't wait for her.

I ended up being the poor messenger between them. I answered his questions, then locked the phone. 

"Maeve, I am going for a walk," I told her when she returned. "Don't be late for class." 

"There is still an hour." 

"Hera!" 

"Okay, okay, I won't be late." 

**************** 

I wandered around aimlessly for a few minutes when my phone screen lit up. I looked at the screen.

Zale. 

I smiled despite myself. I was just excited to have my first Yin-Ra student; that was all. 

I read the message

-Hello. 

-Hello.

-How have you been?

-Great, and you? 

-Same. 

-Hera, I was wondering if there was any dress code? 

I put the phone down for a second.

Did he say dress code? 

-No, Zale, wear any clothes that you don't mind getting ruined. *Tears of joy emoji*

-We have aprons, by the way, but you can bring yours if you want to. 

-No, I will use the one you provide. He replied instantly. 

-Cool. 

-I will be there soon. 

-I will be waiting. 

I turned off my screen. I headed back to the villa. The birds started singing around. I have lost my mind.

****************

Zale

I sat in the car and started texting Hera. Today was our first lesson. 

Hera just sent me a yellow face that was laughing and crying at the same time. What was that?

"Draco"

"Yes, Elder."

"I was wondering what these yellow faces humans use while texting."

"These are called emojis. They use them to convey emotions."

"Oh, so what does a laughing and crying emoji thing mean?"

"It is laughing till they tear up."

"Is that possible?"

"For humans, it is possible, Elder."

"..." 

We reached the villa. Fifteen minutes early. After a bit of research, I found that being fifteen minutes early was acceptable by human standards. 

Draco wasn't fond of being early at all. The only sentence in my mind was I will wait for you.

A respectable elder shouldn't let that little creature wait for a long time. 

When we arrived, the door was open. 

"Do they normally leave the door open in the middle of the day?" 

This didn't seem very safe. 

"Maybe they do, during the working hours of the studio." 

I shook my head. I didn't like this.

We had just entered when I heard Hera's aggrieved voice.

"Who did this?" 

Was she crying? I felt a chill run through my spine, then strode quickly towards the voice. 

"Elder, wait," Draco said. I ignored him. 

I stopped in my tracks when I found her. She was on her knees beside a basin, holding a greyish lump that was dripping through her fingers. 

She didn't look harmed or sick. I was relieved. 

"Clay soup," Hera glared at Fleur. "This is a pottery class, not cooking." 

"What did I do now?" 

"Maeve said the repairman was holding a bucket of water when he came down."

Fleur then glared at Maeve, who shrugged. 

"I told him to dump it anywhere. How was I supposed to know he would dump it over your clay?" 

Hera then threw the lump in the basin and sat down. Her clothes were covered with streaks of greyish clay. 

"Hera, let's postpone the class until we get new clay," Maeve suggested. 

"Are you suggesting I waste these valuable pieces of Earth, Maeve?" Hera asked.

"Fine, Hera, what should we do?" 

"Bring the heavy duck canvas" 

"Now?" Maeve asked. 

"Now." 

"I think this is my cue to go." Fleur announced then turned towards the door. She saw us. 

"Elders!" She exclaimed and slipped away.

Hera and Maeve looked towards us. 

"Zale, Draco," Hera waved. 

We waved back. 

"We had an accident; we might need to start a bit later. " Maeve bowed her head and left. 

Hera just looked back at the basin.

"Elder, we should go sit outside." 

"Zale, this is actually a good learning opportunity; you should wait"

Maeve then appeared carrying a heavy cloth. 

The moment Hera saw the cloth, she smiled. She didn't even smile when she saw her student.

She put a sheet of cloth on the floor. She started taking out the clay and spreading it on the sheet, then she put another sheet of cloth above the clay. She then looked up proudly. 

Even her chin now had greyish clay streaks. 

I was so entranced. I watched as if nothing else existed except this little creature who was making a fuss over wet clay. 

She then took off her slippers and stood over the sandwiched clay. 

She started looking at Maeve, who quickly excused herself before Hera could say a word. 

She finally looked at me. She walked barefoot towards me and grabbed my hands. 

"Zale, come help me; this is a nice exercise." 

She took my hands and pulled me towards the clay. I felt the star-lines all over my body throb.

"Miss Hera, I can help." I didn't even realize Draco was still here. 

"Call me Hera, and Draco, you always seem so sick. I would rather you skip this exercise before you start coughing." Draco turned an interesting shade of pink. 

"Zale, take off your slippers." 

I followed her instructions. 

She then stepped over the canvas sandwiching the clay and dragged me there. She started pacing over it, and I followed her. The wetness that seeped through the cloth reached my feet.

She began explaining that this was one of the quick ways to fix clay that got too wet. She then went on to talk about different types of clay, how clay is obtained, and the history of ceramics.

I heard everything and nothing. I didn't want her to let go of my hand. 

I don't know how many minutes had passed when she stopped. 

She stepped onto the floor; I followed her. 

She let go of my hand. 

I wanted to grab her hand back but restrained myself. 

She crouched down and removed the upper sheet. She touched the clay. It did look less wet and more formed than before. She started gathering it. 

I crouched beside her. 

She looked at me. 

"Go wear the apron first."

I looked around. 

"Where?" 

"Go ask Maeve." 

I went back to the reception. Maeve handed me an apron. When I went back, she had already gathered most of the clay into one large mass.

She then tried to carry it up. 

"Wait, let me help you?" 

I took the clay from her, then followed her. We walked to the room at the end of the corridor. 

She turned on the lights. 

There was a pottery wheel and a table at the back. Many shelves and a lot of clayware everywhere. 

She pointed to the table. 

I put the clay down there. 

She then appeared beside me holding what looked like a metal thread.

"This is called wire, the easiest way to cut clay." She then cut the lump in half. 

She took half and left the other in front of me. 

"Finally we get to start the real lesson." She sounded excited. 

"The most important thing is to wedge this clay to get any air bubbles out." She explained. "One stray air bubble can damage the whole piece later in the kiln." 

She then leaned on the table and put her hand into the dense grey mass. She pushed down until it flattened then started folding the clay over itself in swift, practiced motions. I did the same to my clay. My rhythm finally synchronized with hers. Thud, lift, fold. I was fascinated. The more I folded, the more flexible the clay became in my hands. She then brought the wire again and cut her piece in half. 

"See the cut surface. No holes. No air bubbles. This is what we are aiming for."

She gave me the wire. I did the same. Mine looked good. 

She then put her two halves back together and repeated the process until it became one again. 

I followed her lead. 

She finally looked at me. 

"I think we can try centring the clay today." We moved towards the wheel. 

"Now I want you to throw this clay on the center of the wheel with enough strength for it to stick. Try to make it as close to the center so centering doesn't become one hell of a job." 

I held my lump and threw it with enough strength. That was what I thought. 

I heard a crack. 

She heard it too. 

She looked confused at first. 

She froze before saying.

"You didn't break my wheel, did you?"

Author Note

A pottery lesson, a clay disaster, and an Elder discovering that human equipment can be fragile. 😂

What do you think happened to the wheel?

See you in the next chapter! ✨