The Exchange Teacher - Welcome to Dyntril Academy

Basque - Banquet Bailing

Basque debated about storming over and demanding to know what they were doing there, not because of some sort of jealousy over their hand-holding, but rather because he hadn't been informed someone from the delegation would be coming. However, he held back.

Glancing over at his students, he saw Reianna watching him. He smiled at her and controlled his expression. Now wasn't the time. Soon, he'd tear into Eder. And what was with that haircut? He looked so ridiculous cutting it like a Kruamian. In all honesty, Basque was disappointed in Rakelle. She could do so much better. Why that slime—

A giant hand draping around his neck and squeezing his shoulder pulled Basque out of his thoughts.

"Basky! How's it going tonight?"

"Nel, well, we've got some unexpected visitors." He motioned his head towards Eder and Rakelle.

"I thought you'd be happy to see some of your own."

"It's complicated."

"Complicated?" Harnel took his arm off Basque's shoulders. "As in political or as in personal."

"Yes."

"Ha! Well, count me out, but I do have some popcorn, so let me know when."

"As much as I'd love to put on a show for you, I don't think they'd let me invite you."

"Well, guessing from your reaction, it seems like you didn't exactly invite them here. Should make things fair."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"It's caramel popcorn if that means anything to you."

Basque laughed. "Yeah, it means you have to share with me."

"Bahaha! Sure! Planning on being in the show and watching at the same time?"

"I'd rather not be in any show…"

Basque was still keeping track of the other two Hianbrun. They were still on the opposite side of the room from him. Rakelle had glanced at him but not acknowledged his presence. Eder hadn't even looked, but there was no doubt in Basque's mind that the snake knew exactly where Basque was.

The deputy headmaster made his way over to them, put on a giant smile, and shook Eder's hand, and bowed to Rakelle. That explained things from the Dyntril Academy side. Krill had definitely called them here to complain about Basque.

That didn't explain why Eder had accepted, though, let alone Rakelle. The more he thought about it, the more Basque seethed. He never asked to be put in this position. He had thought he would bounce from classroom to classroom, observing the lessons, not giving them.

Sure, the five years had seemed odd, but he wasn't the only ambassador with a long term. He was caught up in a political game from both sides, and he wasn't a fan. His mother was right, he should have stayed home and not tried to follow Rakelle.

"Sorry, Mom," he said under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Apologizing to my mother."

"Probably something we should all do more often. That and tell them you love them."

"Good to know kids are the same here as those in Hianbru."

"Kids are the same the world over. It's not till we adults get our hands on them that they really start to change."

Basque looked over at his class. The ballroom was now filled with all the students. His students were the only ones wearing uniforms. It was smart. While they stood out, they stood out together and made the impression of a single unit. He guessed that was why the nobles from the other four classes didn't try to mingle with them.

Basque was sure there were pure-hearted nobles, like Avali, but he had a feeling that more of them were like Lavrence, especially considering what they'd said about Avali the day before. She was a noble, yet they still looked down on her.

"What are you two guys talking about over here?" Julvie slid in next to Basque. She held a cup of some sort of red juice.

"Moms," Harnel answered.

"What about them?"

"That they're the best."

Julvie hid her face behind the cup and snorted.

Basque wanted to change the subject. "Have you two met all your students yet?"

Harnel nodded. "Greeted them all this morning, but didn't think to have a training session like some."

"For the most part," Julvie answered. She lowered the cup to her side without taking a sip.

"Why are yours all dressed in their uniforms?"

Basque shrugged. "Why shouldn't they be? This is a school function at the school. Seems more than appropriate to me."

Julvie shook her head. "I feel for your kids! This is one of the few chances throughout the school year they get to show off! Look at Miss Banca over there! Doesn't she just look fantastic?"

Basque looked over in the direction Julvie indicated. "Which one is she?"

"The lilac one," Harnel answered.

Like Julvie, the girl was dressed up in tones to match her hair. Others around her incorporated other colors into their outfits. Basque liked the multi-colored look more, but it seemed that getting full outfits and accessories to match one's hair was quite the status symbol.

"This will be her last chance to show off such luxuries."

Basque looked at her. He hoped his expression was neutral. "My students don't quite have that option."

"Hmph, I guess they wouldn't." She held the cup in front of her face again, but he could still see the corner of her lips up in a smile. "So, Basque-Shr, who are our guests?"

"That's Eder, the head envoy, and Rakelle, one of the medical ambassadors."

Julvie stiffened, but Basque didn't think Harnel noticed. She shook it off and didn't hide her grin behind the glass this time. "They seem awfully…close."

Basque grunted.

Harnel looked between the two of them. "Is there something I'm missing here?"

Julvie's grin turned into a full-on smile. "Why, yes, Master Harnel. That woman there is Basque-Shr's ex."

Harnel clapped Basque's back. "You sure have the eye for them! Now I see why you don't have any interest in any of the women here."

Basque suppressed his flinch. He knew Harnel was saying it to try to get Julvie to lay off, but he also knew that Harnel was making his life more difficult.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"You aren't very subtle, Master Harnel."

"Whatever do you mean, Madam Julvie?"

Julvie readied another response, but Basque held up his hand, cutting her off. "Enough. Thank you, Master Harnel, but Madam Julvie and I have made our positions clear to each other."

"I'm not going to give up, Basque-Shr."

"And I'm leaving in five years. Alone."

"You say that now…"

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Masters and Madams! Young misters and misses! Welcome to Dyntril Academy! The finest academy in Kruami and the world!" Headmaster Yasher announced.

Basque was still forming his opinion, but it would take a massive…something, anything to make the promise of two-thirds of the students dying before graduation before he could elevate the place to even the worst school in Hianbru.

"It is my pleasure to have two distinguished guests with us this evening. Please welcome the Honorable Eder Hektle, the head of the Hianbrun delegation, and Rakelle Pakre, his fiancée."

Basque coughed.

Julvie elbowed him in the ribs. "Weren't expecting that, were you, Basque-Shr?"

"I'm sure you all have questions for our distinguished guests; they'll be more than happy to answer them for you."

Basque had a million questions he wanted to throw at the two.

"But tonight is a celebration for our newest students! Children, please! Eat, drink, and be merry!"

"HOORAY!" The students cheered out as one.

Everyone had been hanging out at the edges of the room, but after the cheer, they all migrated towards the middle. Harnel patted Basque on the back, pointed at Rakelle with one finger, his eyes with two, and then mimed eating popcorn before walking off.

Julvie stayed by his side. "Not going to talk to your ex? Perhaps you would like to congratulate her on her engagement?"

Basque ignored the barb and looked at the subject in question again. Quite a few teachers had gathered around Rakelle.

"I've got all night."

"Interesting, the reception she has versus yours, huh?"

Julvie was right. The teachers who gathered around Rakelle, most of them men, seemed jovial and smiled brightly. Other than Harnel and Julvie, Basque had been greeted with disinterest at best and disdain at worst.

"Huh. So it is. Why is that?"

"One," Julvie put her index finger on Basque's arm. "She's a she and you aren't. Two," her middle finger joined her index finger, "she's wearing Kruamian clothes. I told you the first day here, you'd be more accepted if you did."

"And, my response is still the same. I'm not here to fit in."

She pulled her hand off his arm. "You're so stubborn! Well, I think I am going to go meet this illustrious 'Rakelle' that you would put in bed naked with me."

Once again, Basque ignored her attack. She waited for him to respond, but he'd turned his attention to the students. Julvie harrumphed and walked off to where Rakelle was.

Alone, Basque watched everyone interact. His class was still separated from the other students. It was like oil and water. The school uniforms of Class E clumped together while the bright dresses and suits of the other classes flowed and floated throughout the room.

Basque didn't really have an appetite, so he stayed away from the food-filled tables in the middle where everyone else was gathered around. He edged his way over towards the students. Not only did he want to hear their conversations, but none of the other teachers seemed concerned about what the students were doing in the slightest.

Just like Class E and the noble classes, the teachers and students didn't blend. The only teachers who looked in the direction of the students did so because the person to whom they were speaking was facing the opposite direction.

At last, part of his class and the nobles began to mingle. Fawna wandered over to where Avali was speaking to someone. Fawna's pod obediently followed. Basque couldn't make out their conversation, but he could tell Fawna was introducing her classmates to Avali. Only Fawna looked happy.

"Hey."

Basque jumped. He turned to look at Rakelle. "Does your fiancé know you're over here?"

"Basque—"

"Do you know how much of a shock it was for me to have to talk to him through your communicator?"

"What?"

"I called you last night, but he answered. Said you were asleep. Tell me. Rakelle, when you tried to sleep with me, had you already been sleeping with him?"

"We weren't..."

"Until last night?"

She didn't answer. She just looked at the ground.

Basque snorted. "I guess I should ask if he knows then."

"Don't be like that."

"How can I not when the person who I thought was the love of my life turned out to be…" Basque looked her in the eyes, "So disappointing."

She looked at his chest and stood in silence.

"Why are you here, Rakelle? What's your game? What's his game? No one else was scheduled to come to this, and no one informed me."

"When…when we woke up, I heard him agree to come to this. I wanted to go along to try and head off any misunderstandings."

"Oh, what like you fucking him because I turned you down? What exactly is the misunderstanding there?"

"Basque—"

"Oh, look, now your fiancé is making his way over here with the Yani-hole that pulled the nurse to try to get one of my students killed."

"He what?"

"That's why I had to call you. That Yani-bag palling around with your future husband—"

"Stop! He's not my future anything! That's—the only way I could get to come was for us to pretend to be that way."

"Excellent job keeping misunderstandings clear there, Rakelle. Also, gotta love how that's more concerning to you than the fact that the second person in charge of this shithole purposely abandoned a child to die. No, abandoned is too kind. He purposely set out to create the situation where a child would die a slow and deliberate death.

"I don't need five years to know there's nothing to gain from their education system."

Eder reached them, and Rakelle didn't have time to answer. "Basque Gerenet-Shr!" Eder raised his right arm, bent at the elbow, and smiled as if he was actually happy to see Basque.

"Eder Hektle-Tsh." Basque raised his right arm, and the two of them pressed their palms and arms together. "You look ridiculous. What brings you here?"

The smile didn't fade off Eder's face, despite Basque's barb. Krill hovered behind Eder. Basque wanted to punch the grin off both their faces.

"I hear you've been causing issues at the academy?"

"I am just following my duties."

"And what duties would that be, ones where you even had to get Rakelle-Shy to rush over here last night?"

"There was an incident."

"Yes, Deputy Headmaster Krill here was kind enough to inform me of the situation. Now, tell me, Basque-Shr, what are your primary objectives here?"

Basque sighed. "Observe. Evaluate. Don't get involved."

Eder poked Basque's shoulder. "Exactly. That's why the Kruamians were so gracious as to let us come in and observe their society as we endeavor to create a union between our two nations."

"Can the political speak, Eder-Tsh."

"Having Rakelle-Shy tend to an injured student, now was that observing?" Eder asked as if Basque hadn't spoken. "No, that's not observing. Could it have been evaluating? I guess if you really wanted to, you could say it was an evaluation of sorts. Technically, I guess you could say on Rakelle-Shy's part, she did nothing wrong as she observed and evaluated the boy's condition." Eder poked his finger into Basque's chest as he finished, "But it still violated our third objective!"

He withdrew his hand. "Basque-Shr, you're just a cog. Stay oiled. I don't want another squeak from this place again. If negotiations fail because of you, not even your dear mother back home will be able to save you. No matter the influence she has."

Eder pushed Basque out of the way and wrapped his arm around Rakelle's back and grabbed her opposite shoulder. He pulled her away from Basque and directed her back towards the gathering of teachers. "Master Krill, have you met my lovely fiancé?"

They walked off, and Basque stared at them. His vision was going red. He needed to calm himself. He needed to get out of there. Scanning the teachers, he looked for that bluish lily hair. She wasn't there. He couldn't see it anywhere. He needed a drink, and she was the one person he knew who would have one.

Looking back over at his students, there had been a lot of movement. Reianna's pod now stood with Fawna's and about twice the number of nobles surrounded them. The rest of his class hung back where they'd initially been, eating food from the tables nearest to them.

As he looked, Reianna's eyes caught his. There was a bit of pleading in them as if she wanted him to come help. He pointed with his eyes to the backs of Eder and Krill. He wanted to help her. He desired to help her, but he wasn't allowed to. His desire for a drink ratcheted up.

"Eder, you son of a Yani," Basque muttered. Then, instead of squeezing around the students gathered closest to him and making his way to the exit through the edge of the ballroom, Basque plowed ahead, pushing his way through the students.

"Pardon me," he said. "Coming through. Trying to get to the door." Basque bumped into student after student.

He bumped into Kyre. "Sorry, Kyre. I'm done for the evening. Trying to get to the door. Get back to the dorms."

Kyre looked at him. Cayelyn stepped up. "Understood, Gerenet-Shr."

Basque continued to ram his way through the students until he made it to the gathering around Reianna and Fawna's pods. "Pardon me, coming through!"

The students parted to make way for him.

"Trying to get to the door. Get back to the dorms, you know."

No one mentioned that he could have skirted around the students, but as he bumped into one here and there, they parted away, and the groups of uniformed Class E students and bedazzled upper-crust students once again separated.

At last, Basque reached the doors and pushed his way through. Let that jackass Eder find something wrong with that. He didn't care, he had an alcoholic and a drink to find.