"Not at all," Abel assured.  In fact, he had started to grow a little bored halfway through Oswald's explanation, particularly because the two had reached the junction in the hallway where their different classes forced them to split.  Fortunately, the feeling was imperceptible beneath a face fixed in its ordinary neutrality.  "Sounds pretty rough.  Good to know about Sapphire, though.  Funny how someone else knows our leader better than we know her, no offense.  Catch you later."

Though fairly stimulated by the thought of a hardware class, where he would be able to admire and learn from the technical skill of others, Abel knew that he was ill-suited for it.  He simple lacked the creativity and mechanical prowess that many others were blessed with.  In fact, the closest he had gotten to an idea was some sort of boot that enhanced his kicking ability.  Far better, he knew, to attend Grimm Studies, where he would learn every detail about killing specific Grimm while simultaneously not getting killed by them.  He strode into Grimm Studies with about forty seconds to spare, noting that the storage hanger (where the rows and rows of weapon-toting, rocket-propelled lockers were kept) was just down the hallway.

The Grimm Studies classroom was, at first glance, a lecture hall like Math had been.  More careful analysis of the room and its setup, however, revealed that it was more angular in shape, and with a far bigger open area in front the amphitheater-esque seats.  Standing by his desk could have been none other than the teacher, a rotund, silver-haired gentleman sporting a bristling mustache.  Abel navigated to an empty seat on the front row, noting a few of the other students who had arrived: the pink-haired girly-girl whose undergarments had been revealed in first period, the bespectacled former foe Robert, Merlin with his impressively grassy head, the girl with the red claw arm, and two boys who Abel guessed were her teammates.  Neither made much of an impression.

Abel was roused from his thoughts by the resonance of the bell, which declared passing period done with.  He looked toward the teacher expectantly.