Chapter 177 - 178
"Then let’s go for a bit of tea. If he gets angry, just tell him you had to use the privy."
Seeing the hopeful look in her eyes, he couldn’t find it in himself to turn her down. "I suppose I can. But just for a bit."
The dining hall was its own edifice, located around the centre of the collegia’s grounds where it was most accessible to faculty and students. Whitewashed like all of the other buildings, the single-story construct consisted of a large hall that was filled with several dozen tables of considerable length, each sandwiched between a pair of long, wooden benches. The far end of the hall was sectioned off, designating a large area for the cooks to keep a constant supply of food idling atop the lengthy counter that barred the area.
"Let’s get some tea and then go over there," said Lessa, pointing at an empty table in the far left corner. "It’ll be warmer if we sit closer to the kitchens."
Alistar agreed with a smile, though he only managed a few steps before he instinctively reached for a little brown blur that had just flashed across the hall. He caught the small baked potato with a sinking feeling, or at least would have if it hadn’t been thrown with enough force to explode upon contact with his palm.
Why is he here?
He reluctantly walked over to a beckoning Tramon, who had been enjoying a large helping of stew in a bowl that was twice the size of the ones that the dining hall provided. Looking closely, he had brought it from home.
Tramon didn’t stop eating in light of their arrival. "Didn’t I tell you to keep clearing snow? I owe the headmaster a favour, so I told him you’d clear up most of the grounds. Yet here you are, taking a lass out to lunch while your master’s reputation dangles on the line."
"What about you? Did you even have to talk with my uncle, or were you simply trying to waste time so that I would clear out more snow?" More to himself, he added, "And was it really necessary to hide your aura?"