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That afternoon as Mahrree visited the market, she fretted. But not about serious issues such as Guarders, or possible changes in education, or why she was suddenly distrustful of the Administrators. Oh no, she was far too silly to think about important things.
Everything had been going just fine until Teeria asked the question about the captain’s eyes. Then Mahrree felt the same flustering heat as last night on the platform, and spluttered for a few seconds before blurting out, “Brown. Very deep, dark chestnut brown.”
She didn’t need eight teenage girls squealing and bursting into laughter to know she’d turned red. She hoped that her students were the only ones to notice that the captain had an effect on her. Well, the Densals knew it, too. And so did her mother. But maybe that was all.
As she worked her way through the market, she realized it was maybe a few more people than that. More villagers than usual waved at her, and several mentioned they’d be closing up their shops early on the night of her next debate. She was sure she blushed redder every time someone mentioned it. Fortunately Rector Densal would be bringing her the topic that night so she could prepare.
The first thing she’d prepare was keeping her face from turning red.
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Tuma Hifadhi ambled out of the small back office and into the room where twelve men sat waiting for him around a large, simple table. He smiled at them, his white teeth gleaming against the backdrop of his gray skin and hair. Years ago he was taller and darker, but age had stooped and faded him. But it hadn’t dimmed him; his bright grin lit up and wrinkled his entire face.
“So sorry to keep you waiting,” he said to the men who were starting to rise from their chairs. He motioned for them to sit back down. “But I just received a most intriguing message. As you know, Edge has a new fort, and now a new captain to go along with it. And he spends his days just staring into the trees. My friends—” he waited for their eager exclaims to die down, “—I believe it’s finally time.”
“Do we start training now?” asked one middle-aged man.
Tuma shook his head. “Not yet. There’s more he has to do before we can be sure. For now, we just watch. As always.”
Chapter 6 ~ “Miss Peto, it’s obvious you have very little experience with men.”
Mahrree had worked herself into a near frenzy of fretting by the evening of the second debate. She fretted she might run into him, although she never went as far as the new fort built a quarter mile away from her home. It was to the northeast, and the school and markets were to the south, so she couldn’t think of a good reason to wander up to the fort, even if she was interested.
She fretted that he might have walked by her house again and she didn’t notice.
And she fretted that she was fretting about nothing.
It was all so ridiculous, and so she fretted about her being ridiculous all the way up until the start of their second debate.
As she walked to the amphitheater she kept checking the color of the sky, just to have something else to think about. It had hints of purple by the time the debate began.
Half an hour later she didn’t have to worry about blushing in his presence again, because the second debate was nothing like the first.
Hogal Densal had decided they should discuss some of the new educational ‘suggestions’ being tried in Idumea. One of the more controversial was holding school all day, instead of just in the mornings for younger children and in the afternoon for older children. Mahrree argued that removing the parents from their daily work and discussion time with their children could weaken their family connections.
But the captain retorted that having such a break from the children could be beneficial to the mental and financial welfare of the parents. Even with families limited to just two children—a law enforced more diligently in the past few decades—parenting was still a great strain. With the children in school all day, both parents could spend more time laboring.
The tension mounted when Mahrree insisted that the Creator had intended for the parents to educate the children, and the captain contended that there was nothing wrong with letting the Administrators be in charge. That’s when it erupted into a shouting match.
“The Writings, which you love to quote,” he simpered, “say everyone has the right to choose for themselves, Miss Peto!”
“But The Writings also say we’re accountable for those choices, Captain! What about innocent children who suffer at the ineptness of their parents’ choices? That’s what we suffered under the kings. Querul the Second and Third held us petrified that someone would say the wrong thing. The Fourth made us all suffer rising foods costs because of his chicken incompetence. Oren was like a neglectful parent who cared for nothing but himself. We suffered under his selfishness, so what evidence do we have our children won’t suffer the same way, if we become just as selfish as Oren?”