It was decided that we would get together to study classical literature on Saturday afternoon at the Northcourt home. I brought the idea up to Samuel on Thursday during music club. He told his mother about the idea and arrived at school with a letter from her in hand the very next day. She insisted that we hold the study session at her house. Aunt Lilianna was incredibly quick to take action!
“Are you sure that we won’t be intruding?” I asked Samuel.
“My mother is ecstatic that Prince Keith will be visiting us. You have nothing to worry about, Patience.”
I can clearly picture her making a big commotion about this.
“I really want you to make sure that she knows this is just a study session,” I urged Samuel.
He simply replied that he would try to tell her.
I had more important things to figure out, like how to make studying Dehn fun. When in doubt, it’s best to ask the experts. I headed to the teachers’ offices and looked for Mr. Morse, the foreign language teacher.
“You’re Patience, right? Did you have a question for me?” Mr. Morse was quite loquacious, which made him easy to talk to.
“I have a cousin who is struggling with classical literature, to the point that just hearing the name of the subject sends him running in the other direction,” I shared. “However, he has an incredible ear for music, so I thought that teaching him songs in Dehn may help him react more positively to classical literature.”
Mr. Morse let out an amused chuckle.
“It’s true that Dehn has preserved a lot of the former imperial language. The other dialects of Emperado have changed a lot more since the fall of the empire, so perhaps Dehn is the most similar to the old language; maybe that’s due to the kingdom being more isolated all the way up north. That sounds like a good idea. There are plenty of songs in Dehn. I’d love for you to teach them to your cousin.”
Mr. Morse then handed me a collection of Dehn songs, as well as a book of Dehn folktales.
“Thank you so much, Mr. Morse.”
He waved my gratitude away as if it were unnecessary.
“I may be secretly hoping that this will lead to more students studying Dehn, so there’s no thanks needed. If you need more songs, there should be collections in the library as well.”
I headed to the library, where I borrowed some additional song books. I really hope this will help Samuel and Prince Keith get over their dislike of classical literature.
Now that I was prepared for Saturday, the rest of Friday afternoon was my time to make a hot water bottle in alchemy club! I began counting on my fingers how many hot water bottles I wanted to make. There’s me, Nassius, Henry, my father, Mary, Eva, Wyatt, George, and Matthew!
“I wonder if it’s all right for me to make nine of them. I’ll have to check with President Caesar. Oh, I should make one for Princess Margaret as well!”
The dorm rooms were warm, and the princess’s room at the palace was likely perfectly heated, but Princess Margaret wasn’t a morning person. Having a hot water bottle could perhaps help her wake up more easily.
“Would it be shameless of me to make ten of them?” I mused.
Since I wanted to use my time today to focus on making hot water bottles, I’d prepared a more detailed diagram of a washing machine for the others. While President Caesar and the other members were busy going over my diagram, I could work on my projects.
“You’re late!” Benjamin scolded before I could even greet anyone.
I had indeed stopped by the teachers’ offices and the library before coming to alchemy club.
“I had to take care of some things,” I explained. Actually, club activities only start after classes are done, and it’s still third period right now. So I’m not late! “Here is a detailed diagram of the washing machine,” I said, handing them my drawing. “Can I go make my hot water bottles?”
Benjamin grabbed the diagram and immediately began poring over it with President Caesar.
“President Caesar, would it be all right if I made ten hot water bottles?”
“Sure, do whatever you want,” Caesar replied distractedly.
Yay, I got his permission!
I first started with just making one, since I could potentially spill hot water on myself and get a burn. I had to make sure that the opening threads and screw cap fit together perfectly.
“Become a hot water bottle!” I commanded in front of the furnace while picturing the hot water bottles from my previous life.
The metal transformed into an oval container with a flat bottom. The surface was corrugated, and the opening to add hot water stuck out a bit and was threaded so a cap could be screwed on.
“Become a hot water bottle cap!” I commanded next, and the bottle cap dropped beside the bottle.“I hope this fits properly.” I screwed the cap onto the hot water bottle. “It fits! Now I just have to see if it seals.” I filled the hot water bottle with some water and shook it around. “Looks like there aren’t any leaks or spills!”
Since it was a hot water bottle, I wanted to test my creation using actual hot water.
“President Caesar, would it be all right if I boiled some water?”
I asked for permission, not that I really needed it, and I got the half-hearted response that I’d expected.
“All right, let’s put some hot water in this bottle!” I used a kettle to boil some water, then poured it into my bottle before screwing the cap on.
“It’s so hot!” I exclaimed. “I need to put the cover on.”
Once I had the hot water bottle in its cover, it was warm to the touch. Thanks to the furnace, the alchemy clubroom was by no means cold, but I seemed to run colder than the average citizen of Lawrence. Perhaps the cold I’d experienced when I’d first reincarnated in this world had traumatized me.
I took a seat and hugged my hot water bottle, leisurely enjoying the comforting warmth. Being warm is so nice.
“Did you finish, Patience?” President Caesar asked. He and Benjamin finally realized that I’d been making something.
“Yes. I’m happy with the design, so all that is left is to make several more.”