Jake looked up. "As kind as that gesture is, and I don't know if he'll take it, but do you really think he'll have a first year friend?"

Jake set the book down for a second and re-cleaned his workstation. He was worried about the girl and all too, but he was sure that the boy wasn't supposed to just drag her out of the class right in front of the professor, without awaiting instructions.

"Maybe we should calm down, and stop shouting," Jake suggested, more to himself and anyone around him who heard his soft voice. "The more we shout, the louder we have to be to be heard... and it echoes like the Dickens in here," Jake rubbed his ears, before he picked up his book and carried on reading, intent on staying out of the mess for now.