Free The Finding by Jenna Elizabeth Johnson Page B

saying, ‘Mama! What kind of people are those? They have hair like a crow!’ Scede and I were upset at first but then our mother said to us, ‘Just imagine how sad it is that she knows so little.’ ”
    They then had a good laugh and Jahrra soon stopped crying. The three of them had been so caught up in the talk from across the yard that they almost didn’t notice a man on horseback coming up the path. When they finally noticed, all three of them sat stark still and appraised the man who could only be their school teacher.
    He looked younger than middle-aged and his clothes were not as fine as most of the other children’s, a fact that somehow warmed Jahrra’s heart. He wore brown pants and a faded dark green riding jacket, along with a pointed hat complete with an exotic bird’s feather.
    The man slid off of his tall chestnut horse and led it around to the back of the school building. Jahrra, Gieaun and Scede watched as he took the horse to the small stable out back, not once acknowledging the curious students glancing his way. After he was done caring for his horse he turned and walked over to the children. He immediately noticed that Jahrra, Gieaun and Scede were on one side of the schoolyard while the others were on the other.
    “What’s this?” he asked in a warm voice, his hands placed casually on his hips. “Did these three try to bite you?” He lifted one long arm and gestured towards Jahrra and her friends.
    Ellysian and Eydeth blushed at the comment but kept their faces stern. Jahrra, on the other hand, saw the amusement in their new teacher’s eyes. She smiled. She was glad to have another person with a light heart here; the other children were much too serious for her.
    “I’m waiting,” the man said, crossing his arms and tapping his foot in a falsely annoyed fashion.
    It was the boy Eydeth who spoke up first. “That girl is Nesnan, and those two Resai want to be her friend.”
    Jahrra frowned. So what if she was Nesnan or Resai? What did it matter if she had less elf blood in her veins then the rest of the class? It mattered to Eydeth and Ellysian, apparently.
    The man raised one eyebrow and scrutinized Eydeth for a while. “What’s wrong with that?” he finally asked.
    Jahrra allowed herself a more abundant grin.
    “She’s lower in class than us! We can’t learn with her, our parents won’t have it!” Ellysian insisted, stamping her foot in a small fit.
    The man curled one hand under his chin and gazed at the group in a pensive manner. By now, even the oldest students had stopped what they were doing to gaze on in interest. Finally, after what seemed like several minutes, the man spoke, “My mother was Nesnan, and therefore I’m half. Will that be a problem as well?”
    Ellysian simply stood where she was, mouth clamped shut, not knowing what to say.
    “How about we forget about who is Nesnan and who is Resai and focus on our studies instead? Now, everyone into the classroom, we’re wasting the day!”
    The man walked briskly up the stairs and pulled open the door, smiling in Jahrra’s direction. Jahrra, Gieaun and Scede quickly ran over to the building and went inside.
    “Come on everyone!” The man called out to the quiet crowd. Slowly and reluctantly they all piled into the building, Eydeth and Ellysian coming in last.
    Once inside, Jahrra narrowed her eyes and gazed around the spacious room. It was quite large with many windows that let in little light due to a thick layer of dust. At the front of the classroom was a huge black board for writing and in the right hand corner was an enormous stone fireplace. The room was lined with small wooden tables and chairs, and at the front there was a larger desk and chair for their teacher.
    Maps covered the wall on either side of the chalkboard, and Jahrra stared at them in wonder. One map had the word Ethoes scrawled across it, the other Oescienne . Jahrra didn’t yet know how to read all that well, but she knew those two words from