Reading

After the morning homeroom session, the students go to their classes for their respective specializations. For me, this mainly meant that aside from my teaching duties as well as my studies in my own department, I am pretty much free for now.

Unless, maybe, someone got into trouble and I had to intervene.

True enough, within the day, one of the Elementalist teachers came to me with Ether in tow.

It's just the first day... Please give me a break.

"Excuse me. You're Mr. Hazza of Class M, right?" the instructor said.

"Uh, yes. Is there something wrong with my student?" I answered.

"He's been mostly alright so far, but I must let you know of this concern..." he said with a seemingly worried expression on his face. "He does not know how to read or write."

I had a feeling Ether had no experience with formal education, but this...

I suppose I should have expected this. After all, they don't necessarily give the regular entrance tests to the students who are admitted into Class M. From what I know, some of them are only brought in by virtue of their practical potential, like Ether here. Colin, on the other hand, would likely be able to work with this system, as he seems to be the theoretical type.

"I see... What do you propose we should do about it?"

"I would like you to find a way to teach him. I cannot be bothered to explain everything if he can't understand the material we're going to use in class."

Seriously, if the academy wants to keep these students, they should devise a better way to instruct them. They cannot just make a "special class" but still expect them to fit in perfectly...

Or perhaps that was the goal? To restrict them in case they actually pose a threat to the school, the community, and the world?

How am I going to be called a teacher if I do that, though? Aren't we supposed to help our students discover what they can do and use their talents responsibly?

"Understood. We'll work on improving his literacy..." I said in response, just to stop him from running his mouth even further. "However, I would like to ask that you still admit him into your class. It's not like he cannot understand spoken language, at least."

"That may be true, but wouldn't you be concerned about how he could be bullied or turned into a laughingstock?"

Honestly, if you think that way, then maybe you're the one who doesn't want him there.

I took a deep breath, and said "Fine. We'll work on it first. In the meantime, I would like to ask for his reading material, so we can try to tackle it as we go."

"Do you mean these things called books, Teacher? I have them here." said Ether.

"Yes, we'll be using those." I replied as I gave a nod.

"Good. I will be taking my leave now. The class is waiting for me." said the instructor as he started to walk back towards his class.

Good riddance, I say.

"Let us go back to our homeroom, Ether." I told my student as I watched the man who practically abandoned him walk away. It makes me think that maybe I could have done more to at least keep him in the class.

Or maybe it is better that he got kicked out of there. This boy might end up learning something unpleasant if he stayed.

"Yes, Teacher." said Ether as he started to follow me back to Class M's homeroom.

---------------

Along the way, Ether started a little chat. "By the way, that person did not teach me anything. Should I still call him 'Teacher'?" he asked.

"Right now?" I replied. "No, I don't think you should." I was still rather appalled by what happened earlier.

"Why do the others call him 'Teacher', though?" he asked.

"That's because he teaches them something." I answered.

He went closer to me and asked me, with a bit more expression, "Why not me, then? Why isn't he teaching me?"

"Because you can't read and write like they do. You've heard what he was saying earlier, didn't you?" I suppose I shouldn't sugarcoat. Also, that was the reason the instructor gave me.

Ether gave a look of surprise and confusion. "But isn't he supposed to be a teacher? He could teach me how. I will learn!" For a bit, he sounded like a brat, but you could also hear it, that innocence in his voice.

"He doesn't have the time for you to learn how to read and write, apparently."

It might hurt, for him and for me, but it's the truth. Manaspring Academy is a place for advanced studies, focused on magic, so it would make sense if the instructors won't give time for a refresher on the basics. It should have been covered if he had attended a normal school beforehand. This is partly why I somewhat gave up on trying to convince his Elemental Theory 101 professor (at least that's what I think he was, considering the amount of reading material).

But the problem now is that he doesn't seem to have had the opportunity to. And I can't possibly send him to one considering he's already enrolled here. I've already heard that the Holy Magic as well as the Curses and Hexes Departments are having problems of some sort with the Registration Office, and I don't want to make the situation worse.

He fell silent for a while. After that, he said something that made my chest feel even more pained for him.

"I'm glad that you have the time then, Teacher. Thank you."

This is someone who places his trust in me as his teacher. I can't possibly let him down now.

----------------

We soon arrived back at the homeroom.

Now we need to find a way to get him up to speed somehow. Although, frankly, I do not believe that instructor will even let Ether again in his class, or at least for a while.

Unfortunately, Class M isn't like the other field groups. Instructors have the right to refuse the students who belong to it, if they believe that there is nothing that they can do for them, as they are usually beyond what is normal. The only one with an actual obligation to them is their homeroom teacher, who is currently myself. I'm mostly the one who has to provide ways to challenge them and hone their abilities.

Thankfully, I've taken a bit of the subject, as it is necessary in my field. I could refresh my knowledge as well as try to familiarize Ether on it. Also, when it comes to reading and writing, we could just use the books as practice material. He already knows how to speak, so he only needs to know the letters. Grammar isn't much of a problem.

"Well then, let's get started." I said to Ether.

----------------

Time passed, and Colin has finished with his specialization subjects. He went to the homeroom to check on things. He saw us in the middle of our study session.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Hazza. And to you too, Ether."

"Good afternoon, Colin." I said in response. Ether was too busy practicing his writing to even care about answering. So far, he has been able to recognize the letters. He just needed to practice in order to gain speed.

"May I ask what you're doing? Judging from how you look, you've been at it for a while."

"Ah... you see..."

I told the story of what happened so far to Colin.

"Typical of Elementalists... You think that just because their subject of study is pretty much the base for everything, they can do whatever they want." he said. "I suppose I could try and help as well. After all, we are classmates."

"Thank you! Am I going to call you 'Teacher' as well?" asked Ether, who has snapped out of his self-induced trance.

"No need for that. I am not in a position to teach. I am a student, after all." replied Colin in a humble manner.

"So does it mean that if you're a student, you can't be a teacher?" asked Ether. I must say that he picks up quickly at times.

"Not necessarily. I am a student as well, but I am also a teacher." I said to him. "That's because I've already studied enough to officially become one."

"I see. So you need to study a lot before you become a teacher, huh?" he said.

"Yes, people need to learn before they can teach."

---------------

With Colin working with us, things have become somewhat more manageable. There were some difficulties on Ether's end though. I can't blame him, some letters can be confusing.

"Goodness, if you're having trouble now, what more if you're already studying runes?" noted Colin.

"Runes?" asked Ether, his curiosity piqued.

"Yes, those are these symbols right here." Colin showed a picture of a circle for elemental magic and pointed at the runes that were written within it.

"Ah, those? That's easy. They say [Lesser Fire]. I don't need that."

Did he just...? He can't have...?

In near disbelief, I asked Ether, "C-Could you say that again? What it says, I mean."

"Alright. I said it says [Lesser Fire]."

I understood what he had said, but I couldn't comprehend how it was said. Were there any sounds? I saw him use his mouth to talk, but it was as if the meaning went straight into my head and blocked out everything else.

I looked at Colin, and he looked as flabbergasted as I was. Ether, on the other hand, was simply confused.

"Do I need to say it again, Teacher?" asked Ether, noticing our expressions.

A beat passed, and Colin proceeded to break the silence.

"Ether... Do you... know what this means?"

"Yes, it means-" Ether was confident in his answer, but it was the wrong response.

"No. Not that. I meant this situation." Colin said as he stopped his classmate from mentioning it again. "You... You can read runes. Actually read them. Nobody else can do it, or at least not anymore."

"Really?" Ether asked, his face showing contemplation. "So what does it mean?"

"This is a huge discovery for mages everywhere!" said Colin. A little more, and he would be hyperventilating, from what I could see.

"So...?" Ether's face showed that he was clueless about the weight of our discovery.

"You're an important person. If people knew about what you could do..." said Colin in response to Ether's question.

If people knew... Now I wonder if the school knows about it or not. Is it part of the reason why Ether was enrolled here? I can only guess.

I don't know why, but I feared for his safety.

"Say, I think it would be best if-"

"we didn't reveal it yet." Colin and I said the same thing at almost the same time.

"You think so too, Mr. Hazza?" he asked.

"I was about to ask the same thing, Colin." I replied.

"I don't trust the Academy that much, to be honest. No offense to you, sir, but I really am just here for study. All the less for an important discovery such as this."

"I see..." I said in reply. For a while there, Colin had a scary look. "As for myself, I have a bad feeling about what's going to happen if we did let the school know. I propose to at least find out if the school already knows about it before we do anything."

"Understandable, sir. We'll keep it that way, then."