Pallavi Shankar crossed her arms in her uncomfortable seat and studied the room. Her classmates sat like marble statues on the wooden chairs with attached flap-like desks because every time they moved even an inch, the furniture whined. And every embarrassing whine made heads turn. She wondered how long it would take to get used to that. “If you think the reason you’re sitting in a circle is for another introductory session,” the pretty professor paused dramatically with a smile, “then you’re absolutely right.”