Chapter Text
Lysithea let out a sigh.
Her view was met with a line of trees and buildings whizzing past as she leaned her elbow below the glass pane she was staring out of.
It wasn’t what she was seeing that made her anxious; it was the knowledge of where she was headed. She’s been to school before, of course. But this was a more prominent first day of school because it would be her first day at one of the most prestigious schools in the region; the institution of Garreg Mach. It was located in the center of Fodlan, and provided both a secondary school and a university for those who graduated. Students from all over would attend the institution in the hopes for a stellar education facilitated by the best professors and faculty members of not only Fodlan, but neighboring regions as well. Nevertheless, this meant that enrollments were slim relative to its size and getting in was… difficult to say the least.
Lysithea did not have to take the entrance exams, fortunately, only because her grades were so high from her previous school. Paying the tuition was also not a problem for her seeing as she came from a family that can only be described as coming from the higher side of the socio-economic spectrum. In fact, a sizeable number of students that attended Garreg Mach came from affluent families. This could be attributed to the simple fact that most families of such status would only accept their students going there and nowhere else due to its acclaimed reputation. That is not to say less economically-advantaged students could not attend the school however – many exceptional individuals from modest families were accepted as well, and were given leeway with regard to payments.
It’s been around twenty minutes since she left her house, accompanied by both her parents with her father driving, despite Lysithea’s complaints that it was unnecessary. Garreg Mach wasn’t that far from where they lived, but it was far enough for them to consider her staying at one of the dormitories.
“I hope I can study without too much trouble” Lysithea thought to herself.
Her daydreaming was cut short by the sound of the car engine dying and the steady feeling of motion coming to a halt.
“Well, we’re here.” Her father, Mr. Ordelia piped up. “You excited?”
“If I’m being honest, not really” the white-haired girl said in response.
“Aw I’m sure you’ll be fine, sweetie. Don’t worry about a thing.” Her mother turned around from her seat in the front planted a kiss on her forehead.
And with that she reluctantly opened the car door and hopped out, one arm clutched on the strap of her shoulder bag. It was a different bag to the one she usually carried to her old school – a backpack that was visibly bright pink under the sun – because she insisted on getting one that would make her seem more mature. She reached into it to grab her school itinerary, which included a map and information about where her classroom was located, along with her schedule for the day.
Apparently, how it worked in Garreg Mach was that you were put into one of three ‘houses’; each of which was comprised of one homeroom class. Each year students would continue to be in the same house unless they decided, with approval, to transfer houses. Lysithea had been assigned to the “Golden Deer” house which was located on the first floor.
She made her way past the gated entrance of Garreg Mach after being greeted by two guards and was amazed at what she saw. She caught sight of some of the buildings peering over the trees on the way, but now that she was inside she could see the educational institution in all its glory. Huge towers that reached into the clouds, wide steel doors, and faculty buildings that were quite archaic in design, but had some modern touches here and there. It sort of looked like a school from one of those movies about wizards she watched.
After passing the expansive stone courtyards, she was able to find where her class was supposed to be. Beside the open doors that led into the classroom was a large golden insignia with the silhouette of a horned deer. Lysithea looked at it curiously for a moment, then walked into the class.
As soon as she stepped foot in the room she could already hear the audible chitter-chatter that was going on inside. Class had yet to start, so the students that were there were using the time to get to know each other.
“Hi! And you are?” Lysithea was approached by a girl who had long pink hair tied into twin tails that draped down the sides of her head.
Before Lysithea was able to respond, the girl chimed in again.
“Oh, how rude of me! I forgot to introduce myself, sorry for that. My name is Hilda Valentine Goneril, and I’m looking forward to being your classmate.”
“Lysithea von Ordelia. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” the shorter girl replied as she shook Hilda’s hand.
“Say, you didn’t happen to run into who’s supposed to be our teacher on the way here did you? I just wanna know when class is gonna start is all.”
“No, I’m afraid. All I know is that his name is Professor Hanne-“
“Good morning class! I do apologize if I am tardy. I hope that isn’t the case.” A voice that belonged to an older man wearing a monocle and brown clothing greeted the room as the said man hurriedly walked into view of the students.
Those were still left standing quickly found their seats and Lysithea took the spot nearest to her, which just happened to be next to Hilda. Professor Hanneman’s arrival cut short Lysithea’s chance to get to know the rest of the students that she would be sharing a class with for this year and the next three years for the moment. Not that she cared that much. It is also worth noting that in Fodlan it took students until the thirteenth grade for them to graduate, which meant that most were only able to obtain their diploma at a later age.
There were around twenty students in the class but the ones that stood out to Lysithea were: a blue-haired girl with sullen eyes situated at the back of the room, a burly male whose shirt was clearly too tight for him, another girl who had her hair shorter than most boys did, a nervous bespectacled teenager who carried a large sketchbook, and a tall boy with neat violet hair who looked like he cared about his outward appearance. In particular, there was also a tan-skinned individual with jet black hair who didn’t seem like he originated from Fodlan.
Hanneman set down his laptop and connected it to an adapter for a projector.
“Students, I would like to begin by saying welcome to Garreg Mach! It must be exciting for you all to be officially studying at one of the most prestigious institutions in Fodlan. My name is Hanneman von Essar so you can address me as Professor Hanneman or Mr. Hanneman. I will be your homeroom teacher for this school year. I am eager to get to know each and every one of you, but there will be time for introductions later so pardon the formalities for now. As per what is expected of me, I will be running through the class syllabus and how things work in Garreg Mach. I believe you know about the Seiros diploma program, yes? At the end of your school year here, all of you will be taking exams that will determine whether or not you are eligible for this program. These exams will include special subjects that are exclusive Garreg Mach so there will be many learning experiences new to you, I’m sure. In particular, we are putting an emphasis on social studies as of late, so if you were part of a natural science-based stream in your old school, you will need to adapt accordingly. Oh don’t worry, I’m sure….”
Hanneman’s voice trailed off after Lysithea heard the latter part of his blather. All she focused on was the fact that there was to be an emphasis on social studies in the school. She had always excelled in her studies. In fact, she had consistently been the top of her class since she was little. But that was in the natural sciences. She was a prodigy in learning everything technical and set in stone, or at least things that had an objective answer to them. Her previous schools had subjects related to humanities, but they were usually only one or two and relegated with a less important weight because she had always taken the science stream in her academic endeavors.
“Looks like I’ll have to work harder.” Lysithea mused.
After their morning classes which comprised of Hanneman droning on about what they were going to learn in their time at Garreg Mach, they were dismissed for break and Lysithea was able to meet some of the other students and learn their names – particularly the ones she thought were interesting earlier.
“What I’m worried about is what our teacher said regarding the emphasis on learning social studies subjects. I’ve never been an expert on them, seeing as I came from a science-focused school.” Lysithea expressed with concern to the small group that had formed.
“Oh it’s not the social studies I’m worried about. I had those in my old school. It’s the difficulty of the subjects Mr. Hanneman was talking about. They sound like a lot of work!” Hilda added.
“You two worry too much! All I’m thinking about is checking out the menu at the cafeteria! I say we head over there and we can talk about what worries us later.” The large-framed boy named Raphael said with a loud voice.
The rest of the group, which included the two named Ignatz and Marianne who had mostly been silent, agreed with him and they left for lunch.
Later on, Hilda informed Lysithea of a final-year student who was willing to teach and help underclassmen of the subjects that students normally struggled with. She had heard of him from her big brother, who was the same year as him.
Lysithea, never having needed a tutor before, was initially hesitant on the idea but came to the conclusion that she would at least try to join.
“Great! I’ll invite some of our other friends that we made earlier because I’ve heard he’s only willing to teach so many. Don’t want other people finding out and taking up all the spots do we? He is teaching for free, after all.”