The ninth class arrived in autumn.
Twenty-eight students from twenty-one territories.
He sat in on the first session the way he had sat in on every first session — at the back, not teaching, watching.
Calla opened with something different from what she had said to the previous eight classes.
"I want to tell you what's different about this class," she said.
The twenty-eight students looked at her.
"The first class came because the work was urgent and new," she said. "The second and third because the signal had reached their territories. The fourth and fifth because the school existed and the work needed people." She paused. "The sixth and seventh because the wellspring had opened and the territories needed support." She paused. "The eighth because the participatory curriculum needed building and the students who came built it." She paused. "You are the ninth class." She paused. "I need to tell you honestly what I see when I look at you."
She looked at the room.
