Uncalculated (2)
Enjoy was the last thing on Lia’s mind right now as she squirmed in her seat and fumbled at her utensils. She winced when she remembered how awestruck she was by the presence of the royalty. Never in her wildest dreams to be this close to one, much less a King.

The music continued to pound on her ears. Too many people. Too much noise. Everything was too much.

Her mind seemed to have turned to jelly at the moment, making it harder and harder to focus. She liked the fanfare but never as the center of attention. She preferred to be the one looking from the outside, the one lingering at the back.

Lia tried to calm herself, but what she got were rapid, shallow breaths. Her senses told her to run. She was alone in a sea of strangers.

‘Get a grip. This is not you. You’ll be fine.’ She repeated the last sentence again and again, her hand reaching out to her jade pendant. Somehow, that calmed her down.

Lia felt a hand on her elbow. It was light but firm. She looked up and found Charlotte’s worried face. “Didn’t you say that you were from somewhere in the east — no, I mean…” Her expression was replaced with a quizzical look but the worry in her eyes lingered.

“South,” Lia replied. She realized that Charlotte answered a question for her when she lost in thoughts.

Charlotte giggled, shaking her head. She turned to the king, “Right, Your Highness. I meant, south. I always forget things.”

The king roared with laughter. “You young ones are already forgetful at your age.”

The rest of the group joined the laughter and proceeded to talk about politics and gossip among the other nobles. Lia tuned out of the discussion. The sudden question put her on the spot and her nervousness peaked again. It only started to ebb when the attention was deflected from her. She sent a thankful glance at Charlotte’s direction, and the other only smiled.

***

Soon after, the king retired and the banquet wrapped up. The scholars were sorted into the ministries according to the subject where they got their highest score. There were about twenty-six people including Lia and Charlotte in the Health Ministry being ushered to their new room by a senior physician. Thankfully, they all had individual rooms the size of a studio type apartment.

‘Not bad,’ Lia thought to herself as her eyes roamed around the room. She crossed towards the window, and it opened to the sight of a lagoon. As she took in the scene before her, she stretched her arms and thought of how she would proceed from now on. She was lucky to have this room all by herself.

Others did not seem to be like that though. Not too long since they entered their rooms, there was already ruckus in the hall. Lia poked her head from her door and found some people complaining to a senior.

“My room is too drafty!”

“What’s with that small box you put me into?!”

“The servants’ rooms in our house are bigger than my room!”

“Everyone has the same size. You are now government officials. You serve people. The kingdom is not going to serve you. If you have complaints, feel free to leave.” The senior turned to all of them who were peeking from their rooms. “We have an early assembly tomorrow. Go back inside.”

Someone snorted, loud enough for the other scholars to hear. Lia watched Charlotte rolled her eyes when the others glared at her direction. She turned back and caught Lia’s eyes. Charlotte mouthed ‘brats’ at Lia before going back to her room. Lia suppressed a smile and went back inside.