The Sunday before school starts you drive, either your own car, or your parents drive you. Upon arrival the Headmistress Standiford is waiting at the top of the steps. She greets you, and your parents warmly, directs you to the Gym for the welcoming ceremony.

There you join the 99 (or so) other students that attend Northwood. Many look nervous, the weight of the previous year heavy on the crowd. The Freshman look around curious as to what the year will be like.

Once everyone has sat down the Headmistress enters and greets the students. "Hello, and welcome to Northwood Academy. I look forward to what the new year will bring, as much as I am sure you all are. You will find your schedules, and room assignments under your name in the file over there." She gestures to a table organized by last name. "I'd like to talk about a few rules that have been instated since last year. First the lake is off limits without Ms. Reese there as a life guard. She will make sure to post a schedule of times that she will be there."

A few groans came from the crowd, primarily the seniors. "Second a curfew is now mandatory for all upper class-men." A few more groans, this time a bit more angry. "Curfew for Freshman and Sophomores is nine pm. Curfew for Juniors and Seniors is ten. Lights out for everyone is ten thirty. Now please feel free to collect your welcome packet." The Headmistress steps away from the microphone allowing the students to file down and get their packets.

Inside the packet you will find your room assignment, key, locker information, and a class schedule. Check the OOC for that information. You can pick your electives, sports and clubs, both are STRONGLY recommended. Please add this information to your CS.

Katalina Hargraves

Katalina had been dropped off by her parents, and they left without so much as a good bye. She was use to this by this point. Since her first year at Northwood, her parents would drop her off, and then only pick her up at school breaks. She shrugged and went to the welcome orientation. She sat with a few friends, and chatted with them before the Headmistress entered. After she gave her speech, it was time to get the paperwork.

Katalina picked up her packet and looked over her schedule first. She smiled to herself as she saw that everything was in order with her schedule. She then picked out the room assignment and keys, and nearly dropped them. They had roomed her with Ash. Ash, who hated her guts. Ash, who was her most fierce competition for swimming. Ash, who had repeatedly asked Katalina to be no where near her. She groaned and rubbed her face for a moment. She just knew that Ash was going to pitch a fit over who got what, but that didn't bother Katalina. She would take what she could get. She went to gather her bags and headed to the dorm room. Once there, she unlocked the door and walked in. She simply set her bags down next to one of the dressers and waited. She would let Ash have her choice first.

However, there was much nagging at the back of her mind. After what had happened to Natalie last year, it was a surprise that they had even started a new term. She knew her parents wern't thrilled about the fact that a girl had been found on campus. What was worse for Katalina was the fact they found her body in the lake. She loved to swim in that lake in spring, and to know that Natalie had been dumped there? It was terrifying. This school was suppose to be safe, and help them get ready for life. But, after last year, there was a cloud hanging over the whole school.

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Stella Herbalem

Stella and her parents pulled up to the school in their rented car, and parked with most of the other parents. Stella got out of the car and looked around, and smiled to herself. The campus was more gorgeous than she had thought. There were so many beautiful plants around, and so well cared for! A place like this would surely be a great place for her to go to school. Her parents looked around and nodded approvingly. They helped unload the car, and gave kisses to their daughter before sending her off to welcoming ceremony.

"You sure you arn't going to stay too much longer?" Stella asked.

"You'll be fine our little star. We know you can do this. Anyways, if you need anything, send a letter or call. We can accept the costs for you," her mother said, hugging her tightly.

"Don't worry Stella-bella. We'll miss you, but it is time for you to live your own life," her father said, hugging her as well. Stella nodded, wiping a few tears from her eyes.

"I'll see you at Christmas break then! Love you!" She said, waving as they left. She wiped her eyes and went to the ceremony. She took a seat by herself, with the other freshmen. She looked around her class, wondering if there were any other students that would be as interested in the Horticulture club as her. However, as she sat there, she could feel this lingering feeling of nervousness and heaviness in the room that made it quite, well, chilly. She had heard rumors of what had happened, but this seemed to confirm it. She listened to the speech, noting the rules. She could keep those in mind. She was not a fan of swimming, so the lake did not appeal to her, and dark wasn't great for plants.

She went over to the packet table and picked hers up. She noted that she was alone in her room, for the moment, and smiled. She guessed they had an odd number of female students in her year. That was fine for her. She was sure she would be the odd one out in her year, like usual. People kept telling her that she had her head in the clouds, and they weren't wrong. She headed to her dorm, with her bags in hand, and went to get settled in. She was sure she heard something whispering, but she pushed it out. She couldn't afford to be weird at the moment... she could get to know the plants later.

Kiddo groaned as the headmistress stepped up to talk. He didn’t want to be here. His mother made him though. The main mall was full of people. People that looked very interesting. There was a very mixed crowd. Every person was wearing something different, they looked a different way, talked a different way, walked a different way, but on the inside they’re all the same. Or at least close.

From across the room he noticed a girl. Light strawberry blonde hair, green eyes. She looked close to his age, maybe a fellow freshman. Kiddo didn't think about how pretty she was, like most guys would, he began thinking about what she looked like on the inside. Her blood, guts bones. He smiled at the thought. He quickly pushed out his fantasy as he realized he needed to grab his packet.

After the mob died down Kiddo approached the table and picked up his packet. Before opening his packet containing his schedule Kiddo adjusted his sleeves. Making sure they were properly rolled up kiddo pulled it open to find it was properly in order.



Ugh, I forgot I chose football as my sport. Blah! Kiddo thought as he memorized his schedule and room location. This was followed by him crumpling it up and throwing it into the trash.

Kiddo headed up to his room and basked in the silence. He began putting his anatomy books on book shelves. He also began putting his clothes away and the notes he has taken over the years. Then after that task was over kiddo check to make sure he had all the proper supplies for his little habit. Having a room to himself meant that Kiddo could keep doing what he loves. Kiddo laid down and smiled. He realized that maybe Northwood wouldn't be so bad. He just had to find a way to obtain the animals. That was going to be the problem. He sighed and began to sketch out the human body and its parts.

For all time. Natali had to trod through the unmarked road. She was dropped off an mile or so off of the campus by her Foster poppi and mommy. They were an nice couple, and had four other foster children, the female being barren herself. She thought on this as she saw cars driving past her, in an hurry to drop off.. Parents sometimes stuck around. She wondered what that felt like. As she finally got to the gates of Northwood, she bypassed the main-building and its attendance committee.. She didn't need to deal with Dr. Mann now, or his stares. She pranced straight into the Gym, seeing all of the students she smiled. "Bozhe mіĭ!" she expressed in her native young, glad to be back for another year. Some of the others looked at her.. She didn't talk too much, and nobody had bothered to get to know her..

She was, as they would say, the russian one when in fact she was Ukranian! She always laughed, ah americans, she liked their quaint little voices and fast-speaking patterns. As if everything was a rush, they barely even pronounced their vowels. However, back in Ukraine, people were.. Less accommodating then the kids here. They called her Vid'ma, witch. She called herself The Valkyrie. She wondered which one had worse connotations?

As her mind dragged itself on, alone in her thoughts, she strut to the table with her file. Arro Jenkins. She pouted, she didn't know this girl. Well, she had seen her. She didn't know many. A schedule filled with Dancing was not bad, yearbook would allow her to at least take some pictures, swimming..? She didn't know how to swim. She figured she had to learn sometime. She sighed, they'll make fun of you. She didn't care, she never cared. Straightening her hat, she headed off to her room. She needed to set up her canvas. You should paint it red! Perhaps she would?

Jamie rocketed down the winding road to Northwood Academy like a bat out of hell, hands gripping the steering wheel and holding on for dear life. Okay, so, he wasn't the safest driver of all time, but who was? He firmly believed, as did his father and older brother, was that the only way to learn how to drive properly was to go at (or over) the speed limit in a brand spankin' new 1972 Lancia Stratos. The little amber girl went from nought to sixty in a time frame so short that Jamie couldn't even be bothered to count. Her windows were down, letting in the brisk air to slap his face and keep him alert as he drifted around the corners.

Goddamn she was a nippy little thing.

If Jamie had almost failed his driving test back in Scotland, he certainly didn't drive like it. Well, there was no 'almost' about it – he did fail, though admittedly not by a large enough margin so his bribe didn't stick. His examiner had been a friend of a friend of his father's and Jamie was sure he was going to fail him either way, just to try and leech a bit more dosh out of him. Yeah, that was it. The lily fear he'd felt from the man was related to some sort of impoverished background, yeah. It wasn't to do with Jamie's driving.

Jamie let him go... this time.

Naturally he slowed down as he approached the school gates, just so he didn't wrap the lustrous bonnet of his car around the wrought-iron fences. He wouldn't be driving it again for a while, at least until the next break, and he worried about what the sap from the trees and precipitation would do to it while it was parked up, unused. Would it rust? Would his father kill him? Probably not. He walked up the dirt pedestrian path and waved at the Headmistress standing outside. She always made him feel... uneasy, like there was something else, some other emotion lurking beneath the surface facade.

There was the girl in the year below just ahead of him. Natasha? Natalie? That was it, minus the 'e' of course. Jamie always hesitated to call her Russian because some of his father's 'business partners' were Russian and she didn't remind him of them. Then again, he was just about sure those men had been criminals of some kind, white-collar, so he didn't suppose there was any comparison to a teenage girl. He filed her under Eastern European, just to be careful, since Jamie knew how it felt to be called 'English' when he was actually 'Scottish'.

Jamie had never actually been close enough to her to sense anything with his empathy before – unusual, definitely, but not unseen. Now he was following her into the building from a few paces away he could taste wistfulness (muted lilac, like fabric softener or soap) in his mouth. Not much to go on, that's for damn sure, and while emotions were his forte, the thoughts and intentions behind them were certainly not. So, he walked on.

And when he stepped into the hall for the annual assembly that would be his last one ever, Jamie was hit by a shiver of cloying anxiety – the crowd mentality infecting him with a palpable unease. It was to do with Coleman's death, that was for sure. Nobody who'd been best friends with her was in the room (since she was a senior, and her year had graduated) but at the same time the fear that someone could be – murdered – in a sacred space such as their school was almost unimaginable. Jamie had to force himself to stay seated and stop fidgeting, throwing all of his focus onto ensuring he was unaffected by the blanket of emotions.

He wanted to be cool ice-blue, indifferent. Steely neutrality.

It worked, at least, up until the Headmistress started speaking and informed all of the seniors, juniors and sophomores that the lake was off-limits. Indignation what hard to ignore, especially when it was amplified by his own feelings. He loved the lake! No wait, Ash loved the lake, and so for obvious reasons such as eternal friendship and loyalty, he had to be mad about it! Thus, Jamie couldn't help himself from being a little insensitive and exclaimed, "What? Why? It's not like someone else is gonna die there!"

He rightfully silenced himself at the few glares from the student body who'd known Coleman, even when the new curfews were announced, and remained so until he joined the first rush of students to get their packs. There was only a hundred of them – naturally it didn't take long. Jamie thought himself lucky – they'd approved his request (no doubt aided by his dad's school visits) to split his 'Sports' time between Track and Football. Even if he still had to take Science, which he was flunking, it wasn't bad:


Room Assignment – Floor 2, Room 4? Not the worst part of the dorm. It was one with a half-decent view of the school grounds. His partner for the rest of the year was Benedict Caleb, another senior (obviously) who if Jamie recalled correctly wasn't on any of the sports teams. He'd need to see the face to remember... but as it was he was looking for a more vital one. Where was Mareino?

After a few seconds of searching, he slunk back in the direction of the dorm hall. He'd see her eventually, either way.

[Mae & McHaggis]

This boy. She had felt something, she was sure. She was thinking on him, trying to make out his features… He was of her height, had auburn hair, slightly handsome.. A typical boy. She clicked her boots against the floor, she had monopolized the hallway, she had wished someone had a camera.. The shot would be a rather appealing one.

No. She couldn’t distract herself now! There were at least, what, fifty boys here? So many, but she knew she could make out this one. She hadn’t gotten a good glance at him, being behind her and all, but if he think he could catch The Valkyrie unawares, he was sure for a misfire! Was it misfire? She hated american sayings.

She drowsily looked towards the stairwell, what would she do if he walked in right at this moment? A large grin spread on her face, and she thought of just exactly what to do.. Ah, being devious, maybe they had a right to call her Vid’ma.

The boy – James? – sauntered in just then, eyes pinned to his schedule with the smallest of grins on his face as if he was rationing them. His new bowling shoes, soft and brown in colour with rubber heels made squeaking noises, ones that he seemed overly amused by. For a moment, he looked at ease with the world. Alone, isolated from the rest of the students in the gym hall who had yet to collect their packs. All that was for naught, as she strut her leg out, hoping to trip him as he walked, unaware of her presence as she leaned against the wall.

And then his face froze as he neared, that same tiny smile seeming almost plastered on or carved out of stone, and indecision flitted through his eyes, as quick as a flash. His pace slowed, but he didn’t stop or react with any realistic surprise as he walked straight through into her leg. The boy didn’t trip, but he did stumble.

“Hey, nice one,” he said easily without seeming the least bit upset as he righted himself and stopped for a moment to stare at Natali.

She smiled innocently, like she hadn’t done it at all. “Hallo.” She waved, and then tapped him on his nose. “Why’d you trip?” She tilted her head, her accent thick as she said the words, taking a considerable more leave of time than he did to pronounce them.

His words slowed considerably from the fast-paced motormouth of the Scottish accent as if in an attempt to make himself understood, just in case. He ran a hand through his hair, folded his schedule into a crinkled mess and shoved it into his back pocket. “Oh, I dunno. Could just be the Soviets leavin’ their legs lyin’ around the place, y’know?”

She hissed, but then concealed her lips. “I’m not a fool, you don’t have to.. Do that.” She was referring to his speech. She did notice. “And you know, being compared to a Soviet in my country either makes you an bastard, or an soon to be dead man.” She shrugs, smiling fondly. “Here in america, I suppose, revolutionaries aren’t common. You seem.. More of an Imperial man, though.” She snorted, saluting him, “Is that what you British do, eh?”

“Well, even Americans’ve asked me to slow down a’fore, but if you want to me speak normally – like a true Weegie – I can do that.” He shrugged, utterly ambivalent. “I wouldn’t go around threatenin’ death on all those who offend you. Most of my dad’s business partners are Soviets, so I made a guess. Sorry.”

She peered into his eyes, “Sorry. Pappi says I should.. Be less confrontational.” She put her finger onto his chest, “I don’t really care what you call me. What I do care about, is you spying on me.” She shuddered. “I felt you. It was strange.. You were nowhere near me, yet.. It manifested just the same. What were you doing?” She scrunched up her face, cutely trying to look fierce.

“Dunno what you’re talking about,” Jamie said with unusual nonchalance for a kid in his situation. His eyes did narrow at the finger on his chest, but he said and did nothing about it. “Maybe it’s just one of those things, bit like electric shocks ‘n the like? Deja vu? In-ex-plicable phenomena?” He emphasised each and every syllable of the ‘in-ex-plicable’ in a jaunty voice.

“You have powers. I have my own.” She snickered, “Just tell me what you do. If you can’t control it, then.. Well.. Why were you doing it?” She bit her lip, and recoiled her hand. She didn’t know what he saw, but she felt an intruder in her.. Thoughts? No. It was more raw, less complicated than that.

“Look, no offense, hen, but I don’t have a clue what you’re on about.” He moved away from the wall he was seemingly pinned back into the open hallway, ready to walk away. “And seriously, get some help. Psy-chi-atric, if you need it.” Again with the annunciating big words for emphasis.

Her eyes glared at him, her own nose flaring at his words. “Well. I will find out. And when I do.. I am going to be slightly unsettled by it!” She looked a fool. But if she didn’t make a threat, what could she do? She let her guard down, this boy was nothing, she concluded, her shield loosening as indecision and nervousness scrambled out of her mind. She wheeled. “Tata.” She said hoarsely, whipping her coat-cape with her.

“See ya. Have fun.” James let out a startled (and almost victorious) laugh, almost as if he hadn’t yet been able to process what was going on. “Go save the world or something, yeah?” She thundered to her room. Mocking her, The Valkyrie, Just like an Imperial. -James? Jaime?- you will DIE!

Sitting with the other teachers behind the Headmistress as she gave her speech to the students in the gym, George Mann supressed a yawn. He had been up all night flying around the Academy grounds as a crow. Feeling the wind through his feathers, the great sense of freedom… He always flew when he was stressed. And with the death of that poor girl, Natalie Coleman, Dr. Mann had been particularly stressed. The place where he saw generations of children grow into adults and go out into the real world, their powers finally realized, had been defiled with the blood of an innocent.

Not normally given to strong emotion Dr. Mann took a deep breath, settling his nerves. He had to be extra watchful this year. Emma had asked him to be, and he couldn’t refuse anything the Headmistress asked of him. He owed her this much, at the very least.

As the speech ended and the students began to wander off to get their packets, Dr. Mann stood up and excused himself from the other teachers. He needed to get away from the large crowd, away from all the noise. He needed time to let his mind relax and regain focus. His face sitting in its normal stern expression, it hid the turmoil going on inside his head.

Navigating the corridors of the Academy with the ease that comes from years of experience, Dr. Mann was startled to see a young woman already wandering the hallways ahead of him. She had moved fast, but seemed more inquisitive than lost. She seemed to be enjoying the freedom in fact, as he watched her spread her arms and pirouette around as she walked.

He recognized her after a few moments observation. She was the Ukrainian girl. An interesting case. He had chatted with her for a short while before the welcoming ceremony. What was her name? Natalia!

Straightening his tie, and putting on one of his friendlier smiles, he walked up to her, calling out in greeting. “Hello Natali. It is good to see that you are in high spirits."

She turned, looking at Dr. Mann, grinning. She truly was a beautiful woman, he noted. It seemed quite likely that she would be receiving the attention from boys in the Academy in no-time. "I told you to call me Valkyrie." She put her hands on her hips, strutting out her waist as she walked to him "How has it been, doctor? I heard you had a date with the head mistress!" She had a cool and calm composure letting out an coy smirk.

"I have been well Natali, thank you for asking." He said calmly. She seemed like the playful type, he thought. But more intriguing to him was where the rumours about his Emma’s relationship came from. The rumours weren’t incorrect exactly, but they weren’t entirely true either. He sighed inwardly, remembering the old saying ‘Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.’ Seemed like the opposite was true though. "And no, the

Headmistress and I do not have that sort of relationship." He gave her a faint smile, his green eyes flickering with bemusement. "Has something pleasant happened to you? You seem to be in exceptionally high spirits."

She straightened his tie, bending over as she almost leaned against him "Well, I am here..' She paused, thinking her words "I was bored at home, as they say... Parents equals lame?" She smiled "And here I can be me. Do you feel the same, ever?"

His hands went up to readjust his tie as he took a step away from her, his face unchanged from its faint smile. He hated it when people got too close to him, but he wouldn’t push the girl away. The students here needed attention and care, not neglect and avoidance. "Please don't do that Natali." Letting his hand fall back to his side he tilted his head slightly. "It is good you find it exciting, and perhaps enjoyable here. As for me feeling the same... What do you mean? The same what?"

"Do you not like it here?" She folded her hands behind her back, standing on her haunches, then going onto her toes. She had been like that during the ceremony to, he recalled. She looked constantly restless.

"I enjoy it very much. It is always a pleasure to teach the next generation." He said with a relaxed tone. It also helped that he was near the Headmistress and had a roof over his head, a bed to sleep in, and a nice secluded location to use his powers in. But she didn’t need to know that. "I wouldn't work here if I didn't take enjoy my job, or take pride in it."

She wheeled around "Do you think I could be an teacher?" She faced one of the paintings on the walls, studying its features. It was an original of some lesser known artist. Still seemed fancy though.

He nodded to himself. "Of course. You can be whatever you wish Natali, just make sure it appeals to you."

"Such endearment. Why don't you ever give the going away speech? You should this year!" She snickered, and swaggered herself, to start walking.

"Public speeches are not my forte." He said with a slight shrug, the idea of addressing a large crowd leaving a bitter taste on his tongue. "Nor do they appeal to me. The Headmistress is better suited to such tasks, so I leave matters like that in her capable hands."

"Such.. capable hands. I am sure you think fondly of them. Tata, my Aragorn." She kissed her hand, and waved to him, as she started to skip past him down the hallway.

He sighed quietly, but smiled none-the-less. She may prove to be a handful. At least she had good taste in literature. "Goodbye Natali. Stay well."

"Valkyrie!" She shouted, before launching herself around a corner and out of sight.

Dr. Mann rubbed a hand through his hair wearily. This was definitely going to be a busy year.

[Joint IC between Tapscott and Maelvona]

Ash rode in the car her brother had rented. They had left New York a few days ago to enjoy a road trip together, staying in hotels and looking at the sites. It was honestly the most fun Ash could have while the knot in her stomach twisted as they neared the school. It wasn't going to school that bothered her. It was Coleman's death, and the now tainted lake. Her eldest brother was doing the best he could, but he knew the real reason, and that Ash wouldn't be receptive to much. He had encouraged her by asking about Jamie.

At the school Ash listened to the welcoming speech. Each rule irritated her. Especially the ones about the lake. Admittedly she wasn't so sure about going to it right now, but it was still her lake. She was one of the annoyed voices. She heard Jamie, but didn't see him, join her. That pleased her.

What didn't please her was her room assignment, and of course that her parents had made sure she had music again. She sighed, this year was not going to be as wonderful as she had hoped. Ash tossed her keys up and down for a moment. She didn't want to head straight to her dorm, even with her heavy bag having to be in tow until then. Going to the room sooner meant dealing with Katalina sooner. Instead she shoved the bag in her gym locker, a new one, bigger thankfully. Then went looking for Jamie.

[

Zaylin gawked at the school building as her grandmother expertly drove beyond the grand entrance gates. She had seen a brochure in her research on the place, sure, but the pictures she found did the actual thing no justice. The building itself held an ancient air about it, as if time had decided to stand still for it and it alone. There was so much land, so much room to roam! And then there was the lake, now shrouded in a dark shadow of mystery and murder… or so the papers said.

“Sorry I can’t stay,” her grandmother said sadly, pulling behind one of the many other cars already parked there as parents and students alike entered the building. She looked in her early twenties, the neckline of a purple blouse showing off her shoulders and its flowy sleeves draping downward.

Zaylin shook her head. “It’s fine. Really.” She offered the woman a smile, her dark lipstick making her face look paler than it really was. She quickly got out of the car, leaving the front door open.

“If you forgot anything, let me know.” Her grandmother watched as the girl gathered her bags from the backseat. “And don’t forget about you’re other studies,” she reminded sternly.

Zaylin rolled her eyes. “I won’t, Gram!” She reached through the cab and gave the woman a quick hug and final farewell, then joined the others trickling into the building.

She returned the headmistress’ warm greeting before following the other students who looked like they knew where they were going. She kept near the walls, the tails of her usual long coat flaring slightly as she stayed out of the way as well as she could as she took in the majesty of the building.

She stepped to the side of the doorway of the gym, taking in the number of students and teachers mulling around, their conversations echoing around the room as friends greeted old friends. It looked like a hundred students, if even that, a strange sight after her overcrowded school back in California.

Despite the many lighthearted conversations, an aura of fear lingered in the room, the topic of the recent murder spoken in a few hushed whispers Zaylin caught as she made her way to a seat, her attention shifting curiously toward them.

After the headmistress gave her speech, Zaylin hung back as students rushed to find their schedules in a mad heap. Once the crowd up front died down, she found her folder and quickly looked over her room assignment and schedule.

Art! she thought, fingering the schedule her grandmother had set up for her. She does love me! Suppressing a grin, she folded the papers, shoved them in a pocket of her pants alongside the key, and headed out of the gym to search for the dorms, eager to deposit her bags.

@Maelvona

She walked. She never knew why she walked there, but she had. Arro looked up at the large school, taking a deep breath to recover from the long haul from her house over ten miles away. She had started earlier in the morning that they and just now got here. She had her suitcase clutched in her hand and she sighed. Why was she so weird about stuff like that? She always had these impulses to do something unusual. Why?! She tugged at her hair and clothes, making sure she looked alright, before heading inside.

She stopped by the speech, listening intently, before heading down the aisle and grabbing her packet. She opened it quickly and examined it, checking out her class list. She smiled when she saw that she had gotten all of the classes that she had wanted. Well, why shouldn’t she? She noticed that she had swimming, and she didn't mind, but she was never as smooth in water as she was on the air. She smiled. It would help her a little bit if she did "accidentally" propel herself forward with some wind.

Arro then examined her welcome packet again, looking for her room number and floor number. She figured it out quickly and placed her schedule and welcome packet into her bag. She didn’t have much in her bag. She never carried much with her wherever she went. She felt that material possessions were not of a necessity.

She hurried up the stairs to her dorm and checked the packet for her roommate’s name. Natali Valkyrie. Never met her before, but Arro was sure that she had heard the name before. She strode into her room and saw the young woman in there. She had already claimed a bed, so Arro put her things on another one. She smiled at Natali and said, “Uh, hi.” Her slight Texan accent showed a little bit and Arro coughed. “Um, I’m Arro Jenkins, if you didn’t already know… you must be Natali. I apologize for not having met you before, but I don’t know a lot of people here.”

She smiled at Natali again and didn’t say much afterwards. Instead, she examined her side of the room and sighed. It was very dull colored. She would probably wind up painting it with pictures of air and wind, like she normally did. Or black. Black was always a fun color. She didn’t stay for very long in the room though. She stalked out after she set her bags down and began to walk around, just exploring, like she normally did. She noticed a few people in her floor and she slowed down and watched them. She did love to people watch, but it sometimes creeped people out, so she tried stopping, but she sometimes can't help it.

Kiddo let out a sigh as he closed his sketch book, leaving it neatly placed on his bed. He began pacing around his room. Bored out of his mind already. Hmmm. Maybe this is the perfect time to make friends. Mom always said- No! I will not give in now. I can’t. Kiddo punched the wall in anger.

After a while of thinking a growl erupted from Kiddo’s stomach. He hadn't ate since the car ride to Northwood. Pulling out his wallet, Kiddo grabbed $5. He didn't know if there were any snack machines anywhere. But he it was worth looking into.

Opening the door Kiddo looked both ways down the hall, out of habit. Usually when he was done studying he would check to make sure nobody was around before stepping away from the scene. Kiddo made his way down the hall. You could hear whispers all around, people seeing old friends, people arguing, crying. The emotions were endless. Taking his index and middle fingers he began to rub his temples. Ugh. To many people in a single setting. Let’s just get our food and get back to the room. Hopefully before anybody tries to talk to us.

Finally after a little while of searching he found a single snack machine, alongside a soda machine. Kiddo put his money into the machines. He pulled out a bag of pretzels and got a Big Red. Kiddo twisted the cap. *Hiiissss* Kiddo sighed once more, pulling of the cap and taking a small sip, savoring the flavor. He then sat down on a bench placed nearby. This was followed by opening the pretzels, eating a couple, taking a sip of soda. This was repeated multiple times. Kiddo laid his head back and closed his eyes. He began to think as the other voice in his head died down.

Benedict, also known as Ben, was glad to pull up to Northwood on the first sunday of the school year. He loved sundays: they were the most relaxing. He kept his window rolled down and breathed in the fresh mountain air - that was what he loved about this school. The area was beautiful, and the surrounding forest was green and lush. “Wake up, Marie.” He nudged his sister’s shoulder and she slowly came awake, her eyes scanning their surroundings.

Madison Ariel, who went by a combinations of the two: Marie, took her time in sitting up in the passenger seat of Ben’s truck. “We late?” She asked in her small voice.

“Just missed the opening speech, by the looks of it.” He nodded past the parking lot where the students were filing out of the main hallway. He pulled the handle of the door and pushed it open. He slid to the ground and stretch his limbs towards the sky after a long drive from their house.

“Good.” She muttered, and slid to the ground the passenger’s side. She lifted her rucksack from the bed of the truck. After sliding it onto her shoulders, she removed her suitcase and guitar case from the bed as well. Unlike Ben, she’d only brought the single instrument.



He’d brought enough to equip a small band. He unloaded his 6-string guitar first; then his 12-string. Next came his mandolin; and finally came his Cajon drum. He pulled his enormous backpack over his shoulders - it was stuffed full with his clothes and necessities. How he fit them in their, Marie would never know. He grabbed the instrument, two handles in each hand and they started towards the dorm area.

Marie glanced around at the kids and recognized a couple people. Generally she didn’t have many friends, but people were generally nice to her, but that was probably because Ben was popular… She glanced over as he almost tipped under all the weight of his instruments.

“You should’a made two trips, Benny.” She observed. He shrugged and pulled himself upright.



“That would’ve taken two times as long.” He replied with a grunt of effort.



About two minutes later, they had gotten there welcome packets from the main hall and were headed towards their dorms. When they reached their parting place, Ben turned to his sister.

“Celebratory-first-day-of-school-jam-sesh?” He posed the question with a smile, to which she simply nodded. “Cool, meet me in the courtyard.”

He then took off down the hall in the opposite direction. Marie set her own bags down in her own dorm room. Fifteen minutes later, the two siblings were sitting on the grass in the courtyard, and Ben finished the last couple notes of House of the Rising Sun. A couple onlooking students gave a couple claps. A young kid, whom ben assumed was a new freshman, stepped forward.


“Y’know any Stones songs?” He asked hopefully.

“Sure do, man.” He replied, and quickly picked the first riff in The Rolling Stone’s, Paint it, Black. The freshman smiled approvingly. “Ready, Marie?” He glanced to his sister as she nodded.

Ben picked the intro and Marie began singing as a couple more students wandered over.

Athena sighed of relief as she trees around the car she rode in began to thin out. It had been countless hours of driving to get to the academy but it was always worth it when she got an eyeful of the campus. The girl stretched out on the passenger side of the car and turned to look at her mother as they pulled into the drive way. "Thank you. I'll make sure to either write or call..... If I'm not too busy." Athena grinned at her mother, and once the car was parked in front of the main doors, she reached over to hug her before giving her a kiss on the cheek and grabbing her stuff.

Like every year, Athena waved as the car drove off and was safely out of sight. She always liked knowing that her mom was at least safely out of the school grounds for some reason.

The young woman turned on her heels and made her way inside, giving the headmistress and glance but not returning the greeting. The lady gave off a strange vibe ever since she could remember. "Thanks," was all Athena muttered before making her way to the gym.

Naturally, she was interested in seeing what the new faces looked like but unfortunately for her, she had gotten there just a tad too late and the student body had already dispersed. Following the same routine, Athena walked over and grabbed her packet before looking through it. She practically beamed as she saw dance twice on her schedule. No other class really mattered to her except for dance. "Yes!" The girl wanted to jump around and clap her hands but she kept her calm as she focused on making her way to her new dorm. It was unfortunate she wouldn't be able to have her old roommate, Aubrey Collard, another officer from the dance team. She had hit the jackpot last year with her teachers and her roommate. Hopefully this year would be the same. "Floor two, room one.... Zaylin Devonshire? Oh.... A new name..... A freshman? A new kid?"

The girl's brow furrowed as she tried to match a face with the name while she walked up the stairs, ignoring those around her. It was a good thing too; Every year, without fail on the first day of school, many of the freshmen or new faces would fall under the spell of her ability. It was annoying to say the least. Not because of the blank looks or the amount of people that would be affected, but because she hated that she wasn't normal like everyone else. She wanted to draw attention because of who she was, not because of some freakish ability.

Athena finally looked up when she was at the door. It was already ajar so that made her feel a bit better because she did not have to be in suspense. She cleared her throat and looked down to make sure she looked presentable before opening the door and walking in, her eyes scanning the room. They stopped once they found her new 'roomie', dressed in all black. For a second, Athena wanted to laugh to ask if it was a joke but she bit her tongue and decided to only make any sort of judgement after she had properly introduced herself and the other girl had introduced herself as well.

"Hello!" Athena entered the room slowly with a small wave, but a grin on her face nonetheless. "I'm Athena.... Your roommate." 'Please don't give me a blank stare, please don't give me a blank stare, please respond, please say something.'

[

[Natali and Arro!]

After the awkward sexy girl walked out of the room without even having to hear what Vid’ma had to say, she scowled and jumped out of the bed. How did she think conversations work? Typical. She sighed with bemusement, and darted out of the room. She followed Arro around the halls for a little, until she stood on her heels, cupping her hands around her mouth, “Yo!” She called.

Arro turned around and looked toward her roommate. Arro cocked an eyebrow and asked, “Yeah?” She took a deep breath and looked toward the other people on the floor. She avoided people as much as she could, but she couldn’t exactly avoid her roommate. She knew that she was going to be seeing this chick every day, so it needed to be done. They needed to bond… Arro just hoped it wasn’t as painful as it was going to seem. Arro frowned. “Did you need something?” she asked politely.

Natali strode across the hall, pushing people past her way as she had a determined face on her, “Why, you ran off so soon, I could barely introduce myself.” She snickered and smiled, “You’re a junior too, eh? Do we have any of the same electives..?” Her accent pondered and thought on each and every word, talking much slower than most of the entire student body.. It had a certain charm, however.

Arro shrugged, looking at her carefully. She hooked her thumbs on her belt straps and said, “Correct. I am a junior. I dunna know if we do. Do you have yearbook, swimming, music, or theater? Those, I believe, are all of my electives. I’m also taking French 3 out of Latin and French. I prefer French because it is the language of love.” Arro rolled her eyes at her last comment and laughed. “Not that I’ve ever been in love.” She rolled her eyes again, laughing in her head at the concept of love.

Natali waited patiently until she had stopped talking. And she thought she rambled. “Ah! I have yearbook and Theatre.. Do you like taking pictures? I’m an photographer myself!” She beamed slightly prouder than usual, snickering and playing with her nose as the girl talking about french. “I picked Latin, because, well, it’s more similar to my native tongue then French!”

“I prefer writing,” Arro said, “but everyone says I can take a pretty picture.” She chuckled. “Speaking of your native tongue, where are you from? I’m from Texas if you can’t tell from my accent.” Arro smiled as she let her accent slip a little bit. Over the years she has learned to control her accent and sound a little more normal, but she some times lets it slip when she wants to or when she’s really excited or scared.

“Ukraine.” She tapped the girl’s nose, “It didn’t say on that file yah got? Its almost like they want us to talk to each other.” She folded her arms and smiled. “So I guess we got a few things in common, do yah got a boyfriend?”

Arro, startled by the question, laughed loudly, running a hand through her black hair. “Uh, no. I just went on a rant about never being in love and then you ask me that?!” Arro laughed again, shaking her head. “Nah. No guy ever wants a girl like me. I’m too weird.”

“You don’t got to be in love, to date, darlin’.” She scowled, and snorted slightly. “What? You’re gorgeous. I’m sure any boy would... die, as you americans say, to date you.” She said so matter-of-factly, putting her hands on her hips as she started click-clack her boots against the floor.

Arro chuckled again. “Let me rephrase that. There are many idiotic boys who only look at looks who want to date me, but I never let them.” She sighed, crossing her arms across her chest. “I prefer if people see me for who I am, as I do to others.”

Natali nodded, “I’ve never had a boyfriend, but I’ve had many.. Suitors. “ She shuddered, “Do you want to grab some coffee, maybe?” She extended her hand, attempting to be friendly.

Arro gave a little half smile. Huh. Maybe this girl wasn’t half bad. Arro looked at her hand curiously and took it gingerly. “That sounds like fun.” Arro smiled at her fully this time, exposing her dimples on her cheeks.

“So, Arro Jenkins, what was your first few years like? We never really met, so, I wouldn’t exactly know what you went through.” She started to urge her to skip, she liked to skip, thinking it elegant and fun.. But she would back off if Arro started to resist. Her face turned, looking at Arro’s with a surprised expression. “Oh gosh, are those.. Dimples? Cute!” She snickered, poking them.

Arro raised an eyebrow at Natali, not even trying to skip once. She couldn’t even see herself doing something as girlish as that. “Actually, this is only my second year here… I was a late incomer because of my background.” Arro didn’t leave any space for questions there. “Yeah, I’ve had dimples ever since I was young. I don’t like them too much… They make me look a lot younger than I am.”

“A lot cuter, maybe. You seem my age nevertheless! I joined cause of some ruff’ stuff back at home..” She nudged her shoulder, “but since we’re roomies, I guess we can pick each other up.. Especially if either one of us falls apart!” She giggled, then thought for a second. “There needs to be some rules though, like no scaring me!”

Arro immediately dropped Natali’s hand after she said this and rubbed the back of her neck self consciously. “Um, that might not be possible,” Arro said quietly, cringing at how weak she sounded. She didn’t want to scare her roommate, but sometimes she couldn’t control it as much as she wanted to.

Natali tilted her head, “Oh, so you got a hankering to spoil lil’ ole me?” She pouted and jutted out her hip. “Hmpf. Well, then you’ll have to make up for it, alright?!” She raised an finger and wagged it at her.

Arro raised her eyebrows. “Mhmm… Alright then. I’ll try.” Arro smiled carefully at her and began walking again, but this time with her arms crossed across her chest. She stayed a good distance away from Natali.

Natali followed her, walking, one-step two-step three-step one.. One-step two-step three-step one.. After a while she got anxious. “What’s wrong?” She asked as they neared an student lounge where they could sit and eat.

Arro smiled at her carefully, hiding something behind her eyes and said, “Nothing’s wrong… Everything's fine.” She lied through her teeth to her new friend, but she didn’t exactly have time to explain what was wrong with her. She drew back a seat for Natali and then took her own seat.

Natali nodded, getting them some coffee before returning. She smiled softly to see the other girl at paid the attention to roll back her sea, which she took comfortably. “Look, if you ever need to tell me something, you can.” She sipped off the foam in her cup.

Arro smiled and took a quick swig of her coffee. It burnt her tongue slightly, but she didn’t pay it any attention. “Of course.” Arro murmured, smiling at her friend. But it was going to be a very long time before she was going to tell her anything. Arro smiled at her again carefully before taking another sip.

...

(Stella and Zaylin)

Stella was looking at the map of the school and wandering around the halls trying to find her dorm. She kept her suitcase close to herself and looked around. However, as she looked at the map for a moment, she bumped into one of the older students. She dropped her suitcase and welcome packet and frowned. She then looked at the other student and went wide-eyed.

"Oh! I am so sorry! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going!" She said, offering her hand to the older student.

"Neh, don't worry about it," the other girl said as bent over and picked up the Stella's packet, before shaking Stella's hand. "Here." She handed the packet to Stella. "I'm Zaylin, by the way."

"I'm Stella. Nice to meet you. I'm new here, first year and all. Seems you know your way around, so I'm guessing you're one of my upperclassmen?" She asked curiously, as she tucked her packet away.

"Actually, I'm just trying not to get lost." Zaylin sat her suitcase on the floor near her feet. "Just transferred for my sophomore year."

"Ooh... so we're both new then. We can not get lost together then," Stella said with a smile, and then added, "Say, um, do you know why it felt so gloomy in the opening ceremony? I mean, yeah, its a new year, but it felt like there was this like cloud of sadness."

Zaylin nodded. "All I know is that a girl went missing and was found dead by the lake."

Stella glanced over as a couple giggling girls passed by them and headed down the hall ahead. "Oh, how sad. No wonder. So, where is your dorm? Mine is Floor 1, Room 3," she said, pulling out her assignment and looking it over. "Also, which club did you join? I know any grade can be in them," she added, wanting to have something in common with this girl. She seemed nice.

"Uh, good question." Zaylin reached into her pocket and pulled out the pieces of paper. Quickly unfolding them, she read, "I'm floor two, room one." She looked to her schedule. "That's right. Horticulture." Zaylin quickly folded the pages back and replaced them in her pocket. "You?"

"Ah... seems we're on different floors then," she said and then seemed to light up with Zaylin said Horticulture. "I'm in that club as well! I love plants! I had a little window box back home. Oh, yeah, I'm from California. Where are you from?" She asked happily. She had found something they had in common! Yay! However, she had to wonder if Zaylin could hear plants like her. But that was silly right? Only she had a talent, and she was not suppose to talk about it.

"Really?" Zaylin looked Stella in the eye. "Me too. But I didn't have a plant box. Honestly, I don't exactly have a green thumb, but thought it'd be fun try it. Who knows: maybe I'll find some magic dye or something."

"Oh awesome! What part of California are you from? I'm from San Fran," she said with a smile and giggled at Zaylin's joke. "I have a knack for plants, and when they said they had a Horticulture club, I was on board."

"Palm Springs. And that's cool. Maybe you could give me a few tips." Zaylin said, while nodding. She then glanced down the hallways again. "So, uh, should we start trying to find the dorms?"

Stella paused for a moment and then nodded. "We should... I guess this is good bye for now, but I'll see you later, right?" She said with a smile.

"Yeah, see you later!" Zaylin gave Stella a friendly, two-fingered wave, picking her suitcase back up, and headed towards the stairs.

Stella nodded and gave a waved and went to her own dorm, and once there flopped out on her bed. She smiled to herself happily. It was a good day so far.

Elizabeth Hawkins - Truth of Truths

Quietly in a simple, long-sleeved blouse behind nearly the entirety of the student body resided a pale, heavily freckled girl with fiery red hair. Observant of he behaviors of those in front of her, Elizabeth quietly watched on while the Headmistress discussed the rules of the school. Rules that she had heard the exact same revisions of for the past two years. Coming here was somber after the prior year, especially since there was the death of a student. At least there was something to look forward to this year, particularly that she was no longer really one of the lower members of the horticulture club.

Instead, her knowledge about growing plants and herbs would be passed down for once, rather than constantly being taught.

It was satisfying for her to imagine such a process, and it caused a slight smile to rise upward upon her rosy lips. Once the whole ordeal was dismissed however, she walked forward with the rest of the masses. Paying ill attention to the world in front of her as she rifled through her bags for a moment. Within it she brought out an old and leather-bound journal, with small multicolored tabs of paper sticking out in various spots through the top in order to keep note of specific spots of interest. Once this was tucked safely beneath the folded arm of her long coat, the smile she wore didn't fade in the least as she casually meandered her way towards her dormitory room.

She knew these halls all too well, having spent the last two school years of her life there. It did not cause a sensation or inept direction or even a penchant of worry. Having snuck out past the Sophomore curfew from time to time had brought her much fortune and misfortune alike.

Sauntering gracefully through the crowds, the Alchemist wove her way through the chaos of nervousness, giddiness and excitement to coolly find her own humble abode. Deft fingertips dug through an array of bags that she had mailed to the school, plucking out a variety of personal items, clothing and bits of decoration; finishing of course with a picture of her mother and father upon the nightstand. Sitting upon the comfortable mattress, the fiery looking girl took the mahogany handle of a hairbrush and gently ran it through her strands of red, smoothing it and forcing it to behave slightly better than it normally would.

This is going to be a beautiful year...less gloomy than the last, I hope. She softly contemplated to herself while glancing over her shoulder, figuring that her roommate should have arrived by now. It was a new one, a girl she hadn't met yet, and even in spite of how small the Student Body was, one or two always seemed to slip between her fingertips.

Figuring that it would be dinner soon enough, she snapped up her odd, leathery book and an additional notebook. Tucking a simple pen into the crook of her ear, Elizabeth would smoothly make her way to the dining hall. Pushing the wide doors open, she found her usual seat towards the middle of the room and sat, patiently waiting for a chance at dinner while she opened the notebook itself. Within her eyes as she did such, there would be a crimson flicker of anticipation. The Stone that she had become wanted more knowledge and intellect, just as she did.

Oddly, the leather-bound elder book appeared to just be a listing. Nothing more. No hints, no clues, just a list of written story-like passages and contacts that had once been friends of Flamel.

But the procurement of such would require the deciphering of Nicolas Flamel's second written volume. It held much more code than the last, so plucking her pen from her ear and biting her bottom lip, she began her work once again. Hopefully she could make some more progress than she had the prior night before.

After a bewildering encounter with the Soviet (Jamie considered himself mean enough to note her as that in his internal commentary since it was 100% correct but not enough to say it to her face) whose emotions he could barely taste – not enough to determine more than a simple ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ vibe from them – the Scottish boy continued on to his dorm room. People who his empathy didn’t work on fully weren’t unheard of, and he’d met more than enough of them in his life. Businessmen, politicians, compulsive and professional liars.

His own father, for one.

Jamie didn’t care a whit about her supposed ‘powers’ – if she had them, he had no doubt she would’ve been warned to keep them secret from, well, everyone as he had been. He didn’t want any trouble. He didn’t want to be outed as some sort of freak, and so when he saw anything unusual – like his aforementioned ex-roommate lifting entire beds with one hand – Jamie refused to make a big deal about it. It was none of his business. Empathy was more… abnormal than anything else, and he was sure the thought of him fiddling around in others’ emotions would be enough to get him ostracised, in the same way that Miss Dubois’ (his telepathic guidance counselor) biggest fear was discovery.

But… enough of that. His colours were turning into the midnight sky – too contemplative and downward-spiralling for his own good. Jamie entered, surprised to see his roommate wasn’t around for some reason and dumped his backpack on the unclaimed bed. It was a fairly decent room, nothing special, save for the numerous musical instruments taking up half the floor space. A flash of irritation filtered through his system as quick as it came, since he wasn’t all too good at holding on to little things like that.

Lying out on his pristine white duvet with inky emotions spreading out to stain it (at least in his eyes), Jamie realised in a sudden flash of daffodil that he ought to go out and collect the rest of his luggage – all four cases of it – from his car before clouds concealed the bright sunshine they’d been having all day. With a groan, he rolled back up onto his feet.

He should go and find Ash first… He did want to.

No, stuff first; best-friend-maybe-more later.

Yep.

As it turned out, after Jamie had carefully side-stepped past his roommate’s instruments, he could kill two birds with one stone (as unfortunate a metaphor that was when a girl had died last year…) Approaching his car, he could sense Ash’s presence before he saw her – happiness blooming out from her like ripples in a serene pond, albeit one with a flicker of salty irritation. Emotions were more difficult to discern from Ash than most other folk, if only because when he peeked into the outer layers of her mind it was as vast and inhuman as the ocean.

It was nice.

She was wearing shorts, and if Jamie tried to suppress the blush that surfaced at the sight of her leaning against his car reading, well… It was impossible. “So. What d’you think of her?” He asked.

“She’s beautiful.” Ash grinned looking up from the paper back that she then shoved into her back pocket, badly. Despite noticing, he didn’t really care, enraptured. He unlocked the door, reaching around Ash to open it and lean in to the passenger side where the first dufflebag was.

“You got any luggage? I can help you carry it, if you’d like.” Yeah, that’s right Jamie – assert your masculinity by offering to carry stuff. He almost cringed at himself, and how obvious the rosy flush of… well, everything about him felt.

“Thanks, but I shoved it into my gym locker already. I’ll deal with it later.” Ash shrugged.

Jamie didn’t have much else to say to that, rubbing the back of his neck in a futile attempt to stop the heat from trickling down it like hot candle wax. He ran around to the boot to pick out yet another bag and then one of the luggage cases, one with most of his clothes. “I don’t suppose they’ve changed the rules on guests in dorm rooms, then?” Girls could enter the boys rooms, pre-curfew of course, but the reverse wasn’t true. “Welcome to come and save me from my new musical roommate, who I’m sure is gonna be a hoot... And by a hoot I mean noisy as all hell.”

“Sounds just as awesome as my roommate. The great and wonderful Katalina Hargraves.” Jamie cringed as the salinity of Ash’s fluid emotions just doubled, then tripled. The irritation, as inhospitable as drinking from sea water would be, dissolved the flicker of unease. It wasn’t jealousy (which he’d never felt from his friend, really, which was part of the reason why he l– liked her) but it was more primal, a natural nervousness brought about through threatening competition.

“Christ, put itching powder in her swimsuit or something, if she’s as bad as you say,” he suggested. Mean-spirited? Yes. But Jamie would willingly compromise his own morals for something like that, even if he’d have to absorb the resulting humiliation and all the horrible feelings that a prank brought out in others. “You’re always welcome up in my room – second floor, Room 4. See if you can like, climb up a drainpipe or somethin’ after curfew.”

Smooth.

“As long as goody-two-shoes doesn’t tattle on me.” Ash grinned, “Might as well try to get to the lake while we’re breaking rules.”

That was more like it. “Definitely. No risk of staying inside and getting your toenails painted by a frenemy, or whatever it is girls do,” Jamie said, infected by Ash’s grin. His own smile split from ear to ear. When she laughed, he felt all of his own nerve ending light up with saccharine delight.

Ash shook her head, still grinning, “Yeah I don’t see Katalina painting my toenails anytime soon. You never said, who is your roommate?”

“Eh… Ben Calebs? Does that sound about right?”

“He’s in music, has been all three years.” Jamie knew that Ash often complained about her elective, the one her parents damn near forced her into, but from what he’d heard over the past four years, she was great at singing. “He’s good. Like really good.” Well, that was surprising – a compliment. No jealousy. No jealousy, Drummond. “I think I heard him and his sister playing in the courtyard.”

“That definitely explains all the instruments in my room,” Jamie noted. “Hey – um, you know the chick from like, Russia or the Ukraine or whatever?”

“I’ve seen her, in class and such, but I’ve never talked to her. Why?”

“She’s batshit insane,” he said flatly, with a nod of dead-certainty, moving away from the car with his possessions and tilting his head as if waiting for Ash. Her eyebrow raised, impressed and curious as she followed Jamie. “I mean, I live in Glasgow – I’ve had more than enough people sayin’ they wanted to smash my head in, y’know? But I’m pretty sure she actually meant it.” He put a finger up to his temple and ran it in a circular motion in the universal gesture for cuckoo.

Jamie looked over his shoulder suspiciously before continuing in a much lower voice, “And then she went on and on about how she knew I had ‘powers’ and how she had some of her own. Like I said, batshit.”

He didn’t expect the stagnant uncertainty, nor the flash of clear-blue belief, and his gaze turned contemplative even as she spoke. “Yeah, that’s batshit indeed. Probably should avoid her. Oh wait we can’t because we all have classes together.”

Return it to the joking, light-hearted way it was before. “You’ll cover me if I have to run, right? Or, you know, get in a cat-fight for me with a crazy Soviet?” He stopped before the door of the dorm hall, where students were still filtering in and out. “This is my stop, I guess. Spread the word of the crazies for me?”

“I’ve got your back.” Ash said with a smile. “I should probably get my bag and get the inevitable over with and meet up with Kataline the Sunshine bubble. At least it isn’t Snow again.” Jamie laughed.

“Right, see ya.” Ash gave a little wave and walked off to the gym, and as she left, Jamie let out a sigh like a deflating balloon as he headed up to his already full dorm room.