The notice had been folded around my breakfast schedule. Ren placed both on the desk, with the academy seal facing upward. I opened the smaller sheet first and learned that the kitchen could accommodate the earlier hour.
Then I opened the other one.
Mandatory core inspection.
Twentieth day of the first month. Morning appointment. Bring the placement record, treatment notes, and any declared restrictions on Aether use. I stopped reading at the word mandatory and went back to the beginning.
Seven days.
The public assessment came in three. This waited behind it, with a list of documents I had spent the last week keeping as narrow as possible. Ren watched from beside the tray.
"A reply?" he asked.
"Attendance confirmation. Leave it here."
He nodded and returned to the ordinary work. I waited until he left the room before putting the notice beside my private notes.
The third original slot.
