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Our Latin class was so late and had stopped by the dining hall to pick up breakfast before class, so I was left to find it by , I was still standing in the foyer, staring down at my schedule as students rushed past me

Elementary Latin M W F 8:00 am

EW, II, VII, Horace Hall

I was pretty sure that , second floor, seventh roo, second room, seventh floor Or maybe EW were the initials of my professor I tried to ask for help, but everyone pushed pasthaze of pressed shirts, cuff links, ties, and penny loafers This place couldn’t be that hard to navigate; I just had to think I had a gut feeling that it was on the seventh floor, so in a somewhat arbitrary decision, I

I found the roo Breathless, I pushed open the door and flung myself inside, a flustered, sweaty mess The entire class turned in roup; everyone was sitting around a single wooden table, hunched over their books when I interrupted They all looked older and so boy with short auburn hair that was neatly co a black suit, far fancier than anyone else in the class, and tortoiseshell glasses Next to hiirl who could have been his sister I couldn’t decide as h hers was tailored to her slender frame Her short black hair was parted and slicked back, as if she were a wealthy financier fro olden retriever He was lecturing in a language I didn’t understand It was probably Latin, though I was sure this wasn’t the class I was supposed to be in The professor stopped speaking and gavelook I could feel my face turn red

"Is this Elementary Latin?" I asked stupidly

The person in the seat closest to me turned around, and to my surprise, it was Dante He raised an eyebrow, a beautiful eyebrow, and stared at ain, I felt e over the back of his seat, his collared shirt pulled tightly around his broad shoulders His wavy brown hair was pulled back with an elastic band, a few stray locks dangling just below his chin I ih it

We

"No," the professor said, taking off his glasses Behind him, the board was covered in notes written in Latin The only words I recognized were Descartes and Roure was drawn over and over again in different iterations and diain It couldn’t be anything other than the i me for the last teeks: a coffin

"I … I’an to back out the door, when Dante stood up and walked toward s, and he reached behind iving me a barely discernible smile, he breathed, "Second floor Seventh room on the left"

I was late for Latin When I walked into the classrooain, all heads insilence Eleanor’s eyes ide and terrified for let of hair around her finger nervously But I didn’t dare respond The professor stopped lecturing

"I I’ot lost"

"I don’t want you to speak; I want you to sit," she said, as if I should have known

Trying to keep a low profile, I huggedand made my way to the back of the roo a wide, shapeless dress and a thick pair of glasses Professor Edith Lumbar ritten on the board in wobbly cursive

Edith Lurandfather had told hed, wishing I hadn’t already gotten on her bad side

"To continue where we left off, while you are in my classroom, there will be a nu"