Lorena made her way to her classroom and began to set it up. You thought she was a student? Ha. Ha. How embarrassing would that be! She's twenty-two years old for crying out loud! She was thirteen when Zachary found her, nine years later would make her twenty-two. It was simple math really.
Speaking of math, that's what she was teaching. There was no honors math like the schools in her world. Math was just math. Her classroom was roomy and there were five rows of six desks. She didn't really like the way her classroom was set up, but the desks were bolted in, so what could she do?
After she was done, Lorena sighed. She wouldn't be seeing Boss as often as she would if she was right beside him. She understood that he needed her here, but it still hurt to not be by his side. After all, she worked so hard to get there!
You could only leave the campus if there was an emergency, or if it was a holiday. She obviously wasn't going to abide by these rules, boss needed her to report her findings on the selected noble children. Getting dirt on people was one thing Lorena did best. She especially loved when they know she knows about their dirty little secrets. Seeing their desperate and scheming eyes was a bit of a thrill for her.
Pity? Mercy? She didn't feel the need for those. She had a bottom line, and if someone crossed that bottom line, not even the king himself could save them. One of the reasons she liked Zachary was because he shared that bottom line with her. She didn't have to worry about him ordering her to do something she didn't feel comfortable with because he wouldn't. She had unconditional trust in him and nobody could shake that. It was something strong and pure.
She wanted to get this done and over with as soon as possible, but the soonest would be a year! How would she survive?! Students started coming in as she was trapped in her gloomy thoughts. They sat in whatever seat they wanted, and she didn't stop them. She knew everything about every single one of her students. How could she call herself an informant if she couldn't even do this much?
She didn't know if it was the work of Zachary, but almost all of her targets were in her class. Investigations would only be conducted after class. She'll be damned if these kids don't learn anything.
The bell rang and the students were still chatting, namely, the nobles. They showed no signs of stopping either, probably used to being able to do whatever they want because the teachers were too afraid to reprimand them. Well, that mentality was going to stop, now.
"The bell rang, so why are you all still speaking?"
The question was asked in a normal voice and wouldn't normally be heard with all of the commotion going on, but everybody heard, and everybody obeyed. The nobles looked disdainful and angry. The commoners looked surprised.
"Why do we have to listen to you old hag?"
A boy with light blue hair and dark blue eyes spoke with a disgusted tone laced with warning. Lorena took no notice of the boy and proceeded to take attendance.
Let's see, Anastasia, Noland, Jeriah, Loise...
"Hello! I just spoke to you, you lowly person! How dare you ignore me?!"
Lorena reluctantly looked up at Noland, the son of the Duke of Cutch, with disdain.
"Now that I'm sure that most of us are here, I believe I'm going to have to set some ground rules."
Lorena walked around to the front of her desk and sat on the edge. She raised one finger.
"First, while I'm talking, you're not."
There were a few scoffs and murmmers at that. She raised a second finger.
"Second, I do not care who your daddy or mommy are. In this classroom, you're all you. I don't call you by your last name, I call you by your first name. Don't like it? Well, get used to it."
She raised a third finger.
"And lastly, it is up to you whether or not you learn anything. I will assign homework, answer any questions, and gladly give you advice if you ask. It is up to you whether you utilize the tools you've been given."
Lorena stood up and started to pace the front of the class.
"For the nobles here, children of merchants, or any other students that would like to have a business, this is the class for you. We will learn how to weigh risks, invest, calculate numbers both on paper and in your mind, and we will learn how to manage money. In simpler terms, I will show you how to manage, make, and spend your money."
She got some interest in some students, but a majority didn't quite believe her. She was a woman. Women didn't know how to manage money or have anything to do with money except spend it. Yet she wanted to show them how to spend theirs? Ha. Ha.
Lorena, of course, knew what they were thinking, but she didn't really care. She'd shove all of the facts in their faces and make them choke on them. If there was one thing she had, it was a business sense. But of course, before she got into complexities like that, she had to know the level of her students. Were they ahead, behind, or about the same in terms of skill level in her old world? She'd find out today.
"Now, this," she held up a stack of papers, "is my test. I want to see just how smart you all are. No one but me and you will see your results. Whether or not you show other people is up to you. I'll pass these out and you will work on them until the end of class. No talking, no sharing answers, no asking questions. This is measuring just how much you know, so that I can teach you more and not waste both of our time."
Lorena passed out the papers and the students got to work. Looking at most of them scrunching their brows in confusion was pretty worrisome for her. Did they not know their multiplication tables? How to add and subtract? How to organize information?! The results she got at the end of class was enough to answer those questions.
They. Did. Not. Know. Anything. The addition and subtraction problems were easy for the nobility and they got most of them right, except when there was more than one digit. The same could be said about the children of the merchants, except they could add the two-digit numbers together. The commoners that did manage to get in? Well, they were stuck on how to answer the questions in general.
Lorena sighed. By the end of this year, she was going to make these kids math wizzes. Every single one of them. Looks like she had a lot on her plate.
Fun.