Professor Ward gave first-years the worst possible assignment. A group presentation. Harper considered this worse than exams.

"I can do things. I don't want to stand there explaining things I did."

Ava looked delighted.

"We have to create a safety improvement proposal."

"Exactly. Talking."

"With evidence."

"Worse."

Groups were assigned randomly. Jasper, Harper and Ava were not together. Jasper worked with Mia, Soren and Leila. Harper got Theo, two quiet students from East residence and a boy who had not spoken more than ten words in any class all year. Ava ended up with the North residence boy who had fallen, plus two others. Ward explained the task.

"Choose one ordinary school system. Identify a reasonable risk. Propose an improvement that does not require infinite money, impossible magic or banning children from moving."

Harper raised her hand.

"Can we ban homework?"

"No."

"Risk: sadness."

"No."

Jasper's group chose library ladders. Not exciting. Exactly why Ward approved. Students climbed rolling ladders to reach upper shelves. The ladders locked automatically when weight was applied, but the lock indicator was a tiny brass pin easy to miss. Mia proposed a light that turned green when locked. Soren proposed simply moving all books lower. Leila said the library contained tens of thousands of books and asked where. Soren conceded. Of course.

Jasper suggested a simple ward tone if weight was applied before locking. Their final proposal combined both. Harper's group chose handball courts. Their risk was balls crossing walking paths during crowded lunch periods. Theo suggested a giant wall. Harper said giant walls were ugly.

They eventually proposed low magical boundary strips that softened balls crossing court edges without affecting play inside. Ava's group chose coastal class equipment. Everyone expected this after the falls. Instead Ava rejected cliff barriers.

"Adults are already reviewing them. Our project should solve something not currently solved."

The North residence boy suggested bag hooks. His fall had begun because he stepped onto a loose strap. They designed fold-flat hooks and marked equipment zones behind student working areas. Simple. Cheap. Useful. When presentation day arrived, Jasper's group went second. Jasper hated standing in front of the room. His mouth went dry. Mia started confidently. Soren explained the current ladder lock. Leila demonstrated the proposed light. Jasper explained the warning tone. He stumbled over one sentence. Nobody cared. They finished. Harper's group was chaos until the moment they began. Then Harper became strangely good at presenting because she spoke the same way she argued.

"Balls go here. People go here. When ball becomes people problem, line slows ball. Easy."

Professor Ward said, "Clear." Ava's group presented last. The room became quiet. Harper sat down looking shocked by praise. The North residence boy explained the bag strap accident himself. He did not dramatise it.

"I stepped back. My foot got caught. The bag shouldn't have been in the walkway. People leave bags there all the time because there's nowhere else."

Then Ava showed the fold-flat hook design. Ward approved a trial installation in two Ocean Studies areas. The boy smiled. After class Harper said, "That's cool." He nodded.

"Better than everyone staring at me."

Harper understood.

"Yeah."

The project changed how Jasper thought about accidents. Rules after Deepwater. New barriers after Harper's fall. Equipment zones after the second fall. Storm gate repairs. Not every consequence had to become fear. Sometimes it became a hook on a wall that prevented someone else from stepping on a bag. The academy was not safe because nothing bad happened. It became safer by remembering what did. Ava wrote that sentence in her notebook. Harper accused her of becoming philosophical. Ava blamed Jasper. Jasper refused responsibility.