(Amaia)
Jamina Astride, the woman who is perfection from head to toe. The woman who is the fiancée of my mate; Alnilam, was intimate with this very woman hours ago and brought me such immense pain.
She is also my professor.
She is going to teach us everything we need to know about mixing and creating concoctions and potions.
I watch her with a mixture of envy and awe. Her loose golden hair dances on her shoulders, she has left them open today.
The bright green eyes seem intelligent and kind as she stands in front of us and introduces herself.
"I am Jamina Astride, and from today onwards, you guys and I will be taking a very interesting and fun-filled journey along some mixing of potions. I am so glad you could join me in this chaos we are going to be creating today." She rubs her hands together in excitement.
Her smile is radiant, her spirit fiery and I could see why Alnilam chose her. She makes his dull world brighten up.
Jamina moves between the wooden desks we are sitting on so she can focus on each one of us.
"Buckle up, because this isn't your average class. This is our launchpad for discovery." She bangs her hands on Mintaka's desk and cheerfully continues while he sits back with his arms crossed on his chest and sulks. "We are about to dive headfirst into a world of fantastic concoctions that go BOOM (safely, of course!)mysterious elixirs that can tell us what a substance is hiding, and we will decode the secrets behind the life-saving potions that will aid you in battles against the monsters."
She pauses, turns and smiles directly at me. Jamina doesn't know my truth, so she takes me as a normal student, and it seems Alnilam hasn't shared with her what he has with his brothers regarding me.
"So, prepare to get curious, get a little messy, and see the world in a completely new way. Let's make some gloriously beautiful mistakes and have a fun-filled journey doing it. Are you with me?" she asks and a cheer goes around.
"Yes!" Everyone chorus. She gestures for us to stand up and points towards the other side of the class where tables with science equipment have been arranged.
"Perfect! So let's divide you people into partners. In my class, you will sit in pairs and work in pairs too. Each individual will pair up with someone from another house and not your own."
Jamina spent the next 10 minutes sorting us into groups of two and one group of three as we were 15 in number.
I am paired with a boy who has a streak of blue hair in his white ones. He is from House Serpen.
"Hello! I am Cristo Faign. I love to sleep because I am always so tired. How about you?" He introduces himself in a lazy voice, making me laugh.
"Hi! I am Amaia Zhāng and I love jellies and killing monsters. It's nice to meet you."
We both shake hands. I focus on others and see that Kacir has been paired up with a boy from Pegasus. Falir, I think, is the name of the boy.
Rahria is with another girl from Serpen, and the way they are talking and glancing at me, I can tell they know each other.
Ignoring them, my head turns towards Professor Astride, who is convincing Mintaka to pair up with Luthial from Pegasus.
"I want to pair up with my brother and no one else," he insists, making the situation difficult. He refuses to sit.
"Why don't you pair up with Luthial here and we will go for one of our runs later? We can do one every day." She bribes him, but I don't understand what all that is about.
"You promise?" he questions with knitted brows.
"Across my heart." She smiles at him like an older sister does towards her younger bratty brother.
"Fine." He swings his legs and settles down, making her sigh in relief.
"Perfecto. Now that we are all paired up. Let's turn to textbook page 89."
I threw open the thick book with a brown leather binding. The smell of aged wood, dried ink and the dustiness of old paper hit me. The scent of time lingers between the leaves of this book.
"Professor Alnilam told me you guys will be battling an Antrodias tomorrow. We will begin with studying a potion which can dull the senses of Antrodias by attacking its nervous system. Since they are sharp creatures and can hold their breath for long once they detect poison in the air, the very first sniff needs to be lethal and vital," Jamina explains, walking over to the long white slab with all kinds of glass containers and bottles lined on it.
"Cristo, will you do the honours of reading all the ingredients we need to create a potion for making an Antrodias lose its bearings and become an easy target to be flipped over?" Jamina points to my partner and he sighs.
"Oh! Man, all this reading makes me sleepy."
He stifles a yawn and stands up, obeying her and slowly begins to read:
"The dried heart of a black fox.
Three-quarters of the white ash from the Moonfir Tree.
Three hairs of a sloth.
A pinch of Epsom salt.
Two cups of water boil until it remains one quarter.
Two cloves.
One Muscimol mushroom, dried."
He concludes his reading.
"Thank you! Cristo. Please, take a seat." Jamina then reads and guides us through the process of making and cooling the liquid.
"Once it's perfectly made it should have a yellowish brown colour. You will find all your ingredients on your table, inside the wooden box." She points towards the boxes, laid out on our tables.
"Work in pairs. You have one hour which should be plenty of time. Whoever will condense it to perfection will receive 10 extra points from me and also a scented notebook."
She holds a purple notebook with unicorns and hearts on it and waves it at us in excitement. The boys chortle in laughter while the girls giggle.
"Laugh all you want but this is a limited edition from the old world. The ones that are not made anymore. So it's one of a kind. I am sure a girl can understand and relate. Right, Amaia?" She looks directly at me and asks with a smile.