Glawen stated: "Aries has written a book for the use of Bold Lions only. It is called Manual of the Erotic Arts. On the first page he should print a warning: "Never admit to being a Bold Lion! If you do, the warranty on this book becomes void."" Kiper said smugly: "I'm glad that I'm not a Bold Lion. What of you, Glawen?"

"I'm quite happy the way I am."

Aries declared grimly: "Neither of you will ever be invited into the group; you can be sure of that!"

Kiper jumped to his feet.

"Come, Glawen! Let's leave before Aries changes his mind!"

Glawen and Kiper departed. Uther made a wry comment: "For a fact, our public image seems to be, shall we say, not superb."

"Most odd!" said Cloyd.

"After all, we're not deep-dyed ruffians."

"Not all of us, at any rate," growled Kirdy Wook.

Aries demanded sharply: "What do you mean by that?"

"Your suggestion to the girls that we go somewhere and cuddle was preposterous, if not vulgar." , "You voted for it!"

"I did not want to hurt anyone's feelings," said Kirdy virtuously.

"Hmmf! Well, it was an idea. They could have said yes or they could have said no. Who knows? Next time it might be yes. That's the theory behind a whole section in my book, entitled: "Go for it;

what can you lose?"" Kirdy rose to his feet.

"I've got schoolwork to do. I'm going home." He departed.

Aries said thoughtfully: "Kirdy can be just a bit pompous at times. He's not what I would call a typical Bold Lion."

Cloyd said: "If just for this reason, he improves our image."

Uther sighed.

"You may well be right. Except for Kirdy, we're a fairly erratic group, at the fringe of civilization . I'm going home too. I'm a bit behind in mathematics."

"I guess I'll do the same," said Aries dubiously.

"Old Sonorius hit me with an Urgent Notice that I'm supposed to show my mother."

Uther asked in interest: "Are you going to do so?"

"Small chance of that!"

But when Aries returned to his chambers he found that the lyceum had sent his mother a separate notification.

As soon as Aries appeared at Clattuc House, Spanchetta demanded an explanation of the Urgent Notice.

"Apparently you are repeating last year's work, a fact which I am now learning for the first time! Why was I not notified at the start of the term?"

"Of course you were notified!" declared Aries.

"I told you myself, and you said, "You must do better this year," or something like that, and I said I would."

"I recall no such occasion."

"You might have been thinking about something else."

"How is it that you are doing so poorly even on the repeat course? Don't you ever study?"

Throwing himself down in a chair, Aries cast about for some plausible excuse.

"I'm certainly capable of better work, but it's not all my fault! I blame it mostly on those dreary little bookworms who call themselves instructors. You can't imagine the stupefying boredom to which they put you nowadays I'm not the only one who complains. But I get singled out for criticism and bad grades!"

Spanchetta surveyed him with eyes half closed.

"Odd. Why should that be?"

"I suppose it's because I have an inquiring mind and I can't take everything for granted, just to get a good grade. I consider them a snobbish little clique of pettifoggers, and they know it."

Spanchetta nodded with ominous deliberation.

"Hmm. Why do other students manage so well? Glav/en has won a certificate."

"Don't talk to me of Glawen! He uses every smarmy little trick imaginable to ingratiate himself! Everyone knows it and everyone but Glawen feels as I do! We all want reasonable teachers, who play no favorites!"

"I'll have to look into this," said Spanchetta.

In sudden alarm Aries asked: "What are you going to do?"

"I am going to get to the bottom of the situation, and one way or another straighten things out."

"Wait!" cried Aries in poignant tones.

"I'd prefer that you just give me a letter, stating that I have many responsibilities and don't need such a heavy concentration of mathematics and science! It won't look well if you go down there yourself."

Spanchetta gave her head an impatient shake, which caused her great pile of ringlets to sway and lurch, but by some miracle maintain their shape.

"When I want something, I get it, no matter how it looks. You must learn to be thick-skinned if you want to get on in life."

"Bah," muttered Aries.

"I'm doing quite well enough already." ;| "If you lose Agency because of bad grades you will sing a different | song." | The next morning Spanchetta took herself to the lyceum and approached Instructor Arnold Fleck in the hall outside the mathematics | classroom. i| Spanchetta halted. Looking Fleck up and down, she took note of| his slight physique, thin pale face and mild blue eyes.

Could this be a the malevolent ogre of the many revenges so feelingly described by " Aries? } Fleck recognized Spanchetta and instantly divined the nature of| her mission.

"Good morning, madame. Can I assist you in any way?" I "That remains to be seen. You are Instructor Fleck?"