Oh, well, I guess I’ll wing it.
I took the elevator to the fourth floor, where I knew Emmen’s office was, or at least that’s what the placard on the wall next to the elevator said. Wow, I really should pay more attention to things.
This was the first time I’d been up this high. I’d only ever stopped by to see Pip or his mate. I wasn’t prepared for how grand the space was going to be. It was elegant but also very business-like with a touch of history blended in. The academy didn’t do anything half-assed, that was for sure.
I was walking down the hall when the scent of cinnamon sugar donuts hit my nostrils. I might not have had a map, but I had my nose. I made a sharp right into what looked to be some sort of lounge.
There were two dozen donuts on the counter, probably meant for the teachers or the staff that kept the academy running smoothly, and both coffee and tea stations with actual mugs, not the paper kind you tossed. It was impressive.
“You can take one if you want,” a man said as he walked into the room. I didn’t recognize him. Though that wasn’t surprising. I really only paid attention to the dragon flight leaders and their teams. The rest of the academy was a mystery to me. Well, less of a mystery and more of something I never bothered to pay attention to. A mystery would imply I tried to solve it, and I never had before. Maybe that would change now that my mate was here.
“Oh, I’m not... I don’t work here.”
“You’re Emmen’s mate, right? Rhythe? You’re definitely not your brother. I just saw him.” The man looked like he might be second-guessing his assessment of the situation.
“Yes. I’m Rhythe. And you are?”
“Simon. I teach mathematics. Geometry to be more specific.”
“Oh, it’s nice to meet you.” My knowledge of his subject area was very limited.
I was fairly sure that I passed Geometry because my teacher never wanted to have me as a student again. Pretty sure that wasn’t something he wanted to hear about. When your passion in life was making others love and understand your special interest, being told it was too hard or something they didn’t care about was not the way to make friends, that was for sure.
“Have you been with the academy long?” It felt like a safe question, and it was.
I made myself tea as he told me all about his time here as a member of the flight team and how years later he felt the call to come back and teach mathematics, his first love. I might not know anything about math beyond high school basics, but I could more than hold my own in conversations about flight teams.
And he was midway through his description of his favorite maneuver when another instructor in his department, Melody, came in. She had never been on a flight team, but her son was an aspiring member. The conversation kept flowing, and by the time my tea was in my belly, half the department had joined us, and the conversation morphed to one about scheduling conflicts.
Come to find out, they had a huge whiteboard they utilized for the scheduling process. No wonder it was such a hot mess. If mathematics was the only department they needed to worry about, it would’ve been one thing, but the other departments all had their own systems too, and when everything was brought together, all the issues were glaring and easy to spot. But before that, they were all going in missing key information.
“May I ask why you don’t use one centralized program for this?” I wasn’t trying to be rude, but their frustrations were 1000% avoidable.
“Well… it can best be summed up with one word… precedent.” The youngest member of the department who couldn’t be much over forty rolled his eyes. “In other words, too many old dragons stuck in their ways and refusing to change.”
“As the child of an old dragon stuck very much like that, that’s so on brand.” I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“How do you get him to get with modern times?” Melody asked, and everyone’s eyes were on me.
I wasn’t used to having people caring so much about my opinion, especially when I was beyond out-educated. But here they all were listening to my every word.
“The key is being prepared and knowing all I want to get across when the conversation begins. If I don’t, I’ve lost before I begin.”
They listened to every word, asking questions along the way and before long, it was time for them to go. They needed to get ready for their classes and meetings.
“Thank you so much for your insight. I know you didn’t come here for an impromptu math department meeting, and we appreciate your time,” Simon said and excused himself.
I was about to leave too when my mate came in.
“Sorry, I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.” I walked into his open arms, needing his warmth and scent. “Were you there long?”
“Long enough to see how amazing you are in action. Did you just put a plan into place that could make life for this entire staff here exponentially easier?” He kissed the top of my head.
“I wouldn’t go that far. For one, it’s not my plan, and for the other, who knows if it will work.” I sank into his embrace.
“My assessment still stands, my love. You were amazing. Absolutely amazing.”
Chapter 11
