Jax cleared his throat, his voice cutting through the whispers like a dull blade through butter.
"I'm Professor Jax Rayne. Sword Combat."
Silence. Then whispers erupted.
An elf girl in the front row leaned toward her neighbor. "He looks younger than us."
A dwarf boy in the back snorted. "Is this a joke?"
Jax stood there, his mind completely blank.
'Shit. What the fuck am I supposed to teach? Lysandra said to prepare something. I didn't prepare ANYTHING.'
His eyes darted around the room, desperately searching for inspiration, and landed on a clipboard sitting on the desk.
'Attendance. Perfect. The universal time-waster.'
He snatched it up, flipping it open with exaggerated authority.
"Attendance," he announced. "When I call your name, say 'here' or whatever. I don't care."
Murmurs rippled through the class, but Jax ignored them. He squinted at the first name on the list.
"Aeliana von Crestia."
"Present," a bored, melodic voice replied.
Jax looked up.
Holy. Shit.
