Christopher

“No y-ou didn’t, I w-as goi-ng to an Art cl-ass but I got lo-st, the sch-ool layo-ut still con-fuses me…”

Christopher chuckled at the boy. "I know that feeling. I was expecting you'd help me out, after all.. I just got in here! I have no idea of how to get anywhere." A map would've been pretty useful, but Christopher didn't know where to get one either. Probably exploring would be the best option, coming across a class by accident or something, who knows? The boy took a few steps forward, beginning to walk. He wasn't unsure if Zivy would follow him or not, but he was sure that he wouldn't just hang around the halls and talk.

Bael

What a mesmerizing place this was. Bael was feeling... different. It was such a refreshing feeling; to have someone to call a friend. A legitimate friend; even if this peculiar friend was by all means his actual foe, if you'd take a better look at it. Thinking about this was something Bael didn't enjoy, the whole idea that his friendship itself was wrong and shouldn't have happened, at all... Or should it? It was why he was here, after all. For this particular friendship...

When she asked him about the book section, he shot her a faked glare.

"Don't you tell me you don't know where it is? The boy moved his hand up to facepalm, recalling that she had no memories. "Oh well, it shouldn't be too hard to find, here, let's go this way..." The boy started to march forward, confident that they'd find it in a moment.

Zivon

Chris chuckled at him. "I know that feeling. I was expecting you'd help me out, after all… I just got in here! I have no idea of how to get anywhere." Zivon did slightly giggled at what Chris said. Then Chris started to take a couple of steps forward, then began walking. So Zivon stood there for a while with no idea what to do, of course he wanted to take his Art class but he had no clue where it was and buying the ingredients for dinner he could do later so he seemed he was stuck for the moment.

‘Maybe I should just stick around him, better then alone right…? Plus maybe wandering around alone might be scary…what if I accidentally bumped into that Allan guy from yesterday night…Oh that will so scary!’ He bit his lip from thinking that, he guessed that he would just go and walk around Chris. He turned around and walked up to the taller guy. “Umm…I ho-pe yo-u don’t mind if I t-ag alo-ng with yo-u.”

Anedine and Isse
Isse kept on being quiet as the two talked to each other. While he does have some rude habits up in him, it was his job today to mind his own business and let two people introduce themselves without intruding. There was a strange feeling however, as if it have already happened not a long time ago, and it had the sensation of it not being just an ordinary deja vu. But for now, he didn't mind. He kept his foot tapping to the beat on his earphones along with his head, and although the music blotted out the talking between Anedine and the man in front of her, he could still tell what was going on with his eyes.

But why is Anedine picking up mostly boys? There had only been one other girl i've seen last night, but she's not here... could this be the beginning of a reverse harem one of my otaku-something friends back at middle school talked about!?

Anedine greeted Dani with another kind smile. "Dani, eh?" She shook his hand. "Nice to meet you. Here are my friends back there, Isse and David and Ryuu... uhh, where in God's name did the two go!?" Anedine screamed in surprise. Only Isse and Dani remained as she turned her head towards where they used to be. "Never mind then, if you like to have a burger, have some. We're heading to the garden right away to eat, lunch time is coming closer."

She ran off, grabbing Isse's hands. "What!?" Isse exclaimed, although he did expect this kind of situation to happen. Anedine left Dani to decide whether he would join them or not, noting that he was just a newcomer in the group. As the two made their way into the garden, Anedine sat on one of the outdoor tables there. Isse felt something in his thoughts that was protesting about this, but nonetheless he still took a seat and began to take a bite of Anedine's burgers.

This... tastes GODLY! It's as if this was the Manna prepared by the angels, this is great as all hel- i mean, heaven!

...Just go back to chowing down on your food, Isse. Manna's sweet, this is savory. Though it is still better than all of the burgers i have tasted in my lifetime.

Drow infirmary

"Where... am I" She opens her eyes and finds herself lying on a bed. Sunlight strikes her eyes as she gets up out of the bed. Kiwi was still in the room but didn't notice she got up out of bed. Drow knew that she had to get out of there quick or else. Sneakily she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. 'Where is Criston' She had seen him falling from the balcony yesterday. 'I hope nothing has happend to him.' She starts to walk to her room as something interesting catches her eye. "Cute" She gazes at the indian and the lion that just walked past her. It was just to irresistible to pet the lion so she followed it over to the library. Drow stands behind one of the book cases spying on them. Slowely she moves towards them and keeps hiding behind things. It looked more like she was about to assasinate someone. They climbed the stairs as Drow followed them. The distance between them wasn't that much. Drow kept moving closer till she was next to the lion. She sat down on her knees next to the lion and patted his head. It felt like she was in heaven till she noticed she didn't emitt any electricity at all.

Little Feather

Little Feather frowned at Lion, replacing the book. “OK” Little Feather replied loudly to Kathy, flinching as she got a ‘hush’ from the lady at the desk. “Sorry!” She added her voice lower in volume this time. Lion had been watching the person lingering behind the book cases, his tail flicking behind him, he looked at the girl that crawled up to him and patted his head a purr rumbled through his chest before he descended the stairs again and padded over to Kathy as she sat down at the table, he plonked his butt down next to her on the floor. He could have rested his head on the table comfortably but he was busy looking at the strange girl who had petted him, if anyone walked in now he would probably have looked like Kathy’s pet lion. Maybe I am OK here though Lion purred, his ears flicked forward at the other girl watching her expectantly. No boom sticks or screaming yet...its a good start Lion rumbled, lifting a large paw and pulling it over his nose before putting it back on the floor. Little Feather moved between the rows of books upstairs, merely running her fingers along the spines of the books. Seeing Eric was busy she trotted back down the stairs, to start her exploration of the bottom floor. She weaved in and out of the book shelves, touching each book that she could reach occasionally hovering near one for a bit longer.

Little Feather tentatively took a book from one of the shelves holding it securely she carried on walking down the aisle the book pressed to her chest. A little further along she picked up another before skipping over to Kathy carefully placing her books on the table she hopped up onto the table next to the books careful to not disrupt Kathy as she did, sitting down cross legged she pulled a small dark navy book towards her opening it with care, her fingers dancing across the pages...Of course all there was on the pages were pictures...she’d picked up a picture book, this particular one had Native American art within it. Little Feather traced her fingers across certain pictures, she noticed the other girl and gave her a small wave. "Hi" She called in a hushed tone, with a smile before glancing back at her book.

“Hey Kathy...what are you studying?” Little Feather asked after a while of silence, her voice was small as she glanced up at Kathy momentarily before dropping her eyes back down to the books in front of her, she had opened the second one by now. It was again another book about Native Americans; though this one had words to go with the photos not that Little Feather seemed to pay them any attention. Both books had dream catchers embossed on their spines; it was how she had found them.

Lily - Bookstore

She blinked at his glare. Was he mad at her? What for? Her brows furrowed into a look of confusion.

"Don't you tell me you don't know where it is?" He seemed to yell at her. She swallowed, nervous.

"N-No..." She mumbled, feeling very nervous. She took in a deep, shuddering breath and put a smile on her face.

"Oh well, it shouldn't be too hard to find, here, let's go this way..." He continued. Lily nodded with a smile and began to dance over toward the back of the store, looking around for the books. She twirled as she went about, searching with a small smile on her face. She caught sight of a bookshelf and motioned for Bael to follow her.

"Found it!" She shouted, standing in front of it proudly, her hands on her hips.

Ryuu blinked.

His eyes then bulged out of his sockets when he saw David... and, soeak of the devil, the problematic (cute) girl coming straight into the garden. He then smacked his cheeks, wondering if he was in a dream or not. That white-haired girl had just come back to... haunt him? Or chase after him? Or something?! She was like a magnet that screamed "Look back at me, Ryuu~!" in nearly every way possible!

There was no doubt about. She ran because of... HIM!!! And there weren't any of those handsomely devilish men swarming ar-

DAMMIT, THAT ISSE KID IS HERE AS WELL?! Good God! I think I'll need SHOCK THERAPY after this one!

Ryuu simply grumbled, answering David as he regained his "bad-ss" demeanor,

"Oh, yeah, man. I am so fine with everyone busting into my conversation with good ol' Adenine. I don't mind you, but a whole crap-bunch of handsome fiends destroyed our intimate privacy!"

He humorously said the "intimate" part very quietly.

Kiwi & Allan - Infirmary

In the infirmary, those who were left could hear some sort of muffling sound coming from the back room...the room that Kiwi is only allowed to enter with her 'special' patients. To first timers it would be called the surgery room, but to everyone else...it was the portal to hell. She was ordered to take good care of this special patient, at least until the Vice Principle arrives. When Kiwi heard the muffling sounds, she instantly turned around entwining her hands together getting all excited and what not.

"Ooooh? It sounds like the dragon boy is awake!" She cheerfully said as she made her way towards the door and opened it halfway through to make sure no one peeked inside. The muffled sounds became louder the moment she opened the door, but as soon as she slipped inside and closed the door...the sound stopped.

Kiwi had somewhat sexually aroused expression on her face as she turned on the lights, looking at defenseless dragon who was restrained against a surgical table with chains instead of the regular leather straps. Allan was also gagged with surgical tape and had lines all over his face and upper body that Kiwi drew with a red marker overnight while he was sleeping.

"I've never gave surgery to a dragon kin before...Rackshaw would never let me do such a thing to him...but you...I have special plans for you after he is done doing whatever he needs to do to you..." Kiwi stated having a sadistic grin on her face as she casually walked over to Allan taking a look at his body carefully. "Your burns have healed like everyone else's...but it appears you are still suffering from pain...would you tell me about it?!" She asked raising her voice at the end as she ripped the tape right off Allan's mouth painfully.

Allan yelped out in pain and opened his mouth about to shoot fire out of his mouth once again, but Kiwi was one step ahead as she pointed her needle straight at Allan's throat giving him second thoughts. "Don't you dare burn my sanctuary...or you will regret it dragon boy..." She threatened and gave Allan a smirk. Allan's only reaction was to twitch his eye in annoyance as he was never put in such a disgraceful position before.

This...nurse...needs to die...along with that demon...and that harpy... Allan thought as his mind was off Dani for now and was bent on destroying Carmen, Bael, and Kiwi.

Kiwi brushed the back of her left hand against Allan's cheek gingerly and tilted her head slightly with crazed eyes. "You still haven't answered my question...I don't like being ignored you know...bad things will happen you know..." She warned as a small spider crawled off the hand she was touching him with and went in between his nose...just...staying there. Allan was crossed eye while looking at the spider then he looked back at Kiwi straight in the eyes a bit frightened now "...The...burns...I don't know a thing about them exactly...but it shouldn't hurt me...like that..." Allan stated not seeming to recall what happened during the fight just yet since his ears were still ringing from Carmen's sound.

Kiwi smiled back at Allan and pinched his cheek playfully as she stepped back away from him now "Fascinating! It looks like I have another person to experiment on! It just keeps getting better each year..." She said waiting for the arrival of Vice Principle now.

He sat up as he cursed in welsh. In his frustration he nearly threw his playstation 3 controller across the room. He sighed as he turned off the console and stood up. He placed the remote on charge and walked out of his dorm room. Not paying atention to the bed by his own bed. He had no roommate at the moment and honestly was no fussed about it. With a click the door locked as he walked to the library.

He entered the library. He walked silently to a book shelf. On his way he saw a girl reading a book. He glanced at it. He was not familar with Cherokee mythology but he recognised one of the pictures. "The water spider, right." He said this softly as he looked at the girl who was reading the book. He looked at the other girl as well. He noticed a lion as well. Lions was out of his domain, as they were not sacred to the celts, He wore a black hoodie and blue jeans. The hoodie helped hide the aroma of his blood. Which, thanks to his magical ancestrial bloodline smelled much more attractive then standard human blood.

At his what privacy? David thought, looking a little weird at the Otaku. Hell, this is the guy who talked about blowing up his rooms…several times over. I could make a slightly less appropriate joke with him….right? he counselled with himself. “So you really thought you’d get a private moment with a girl like Anedine…when she carries burgers around?” he said with a sarcastic tone. “Anyway, if you want to get some private time with her, why don’t you just fend of the other guys with your lightsaber and kidnap her?” he said. He hoped it was with his sarcastic voice. But it was a little to strong. There have been times that he has been super sarcastic that people thought he was for real. Which was weird. But he really hoped that Ryuu took it as a joke because he knew he’d do it. Somehow he just knew that Ryuu could try it.

Ryuu stiffened. Private time with Adenine? Now that David mentioned it, it would have sounded nice if Adenine did not have her burgers with her. In fact, things could have been a little different had she not carried those burgers around. The way David said this was somewhat forceful, but the otaku actually preferred getting information this way. He needed aggressive advice... yes, that was exactly what he needed.

Wait...

...

...He's right! Why didn't I just use my lightsaber and take her away? I mean, sure, I would never try kidnapping her, but that could've let me spend more time with her.

Ryuu nodded, his stiff expression slowly contorting into that of a pleased, evil mastermind.

Yeah! Then we could have talk. And talk. And talk!

AND IMMEDIATELY GET MARRIED! Wow, anime logic does work so well sometimes! I'ma try that out if I get the chance to look bad-ss next time! Of course, I wouldn't go too far since that girl's so timid, but...

Ryuu turned to David.

His face was that of a devil's.

"You know what?" Ryuu said, his eyes burning with a newfound hope for... spending time with an adorable girl, and feeling grateful for some aggressive advice. "That's really funny, David! As if I'd ever, ever, ever do that... lolz..."

Ryuu seemed to dwell in his violent-looking joy.

Matt
Matt averted his eyes as the boy turned into a cat without any clothes. However, the cat boy calmly put on some clothes that were just lying on the floor.
"Sorry I do not know, Heavenly aurora? Interesting quite interesting indeed." the boy said, licking his hand as if it were a paw.

“A heavenly aurora?” asked the other boy. “Nope, unfortunately I just got here today and missed out on all the fun last night.” After a small pause, he continued.
“Hey, just why are you looking for such an intriguing-sounding lady anyway? If there’s an interesting story behind it, I can try to help you out. For example, I can make a facial composite of her so you can just show the sketch to people instead of trying to describe her like that.”

"Well... I'm actually trying to figure out what happened." Matt began, trying to think of a way to explain it that didn't sound to insane. "Okay, so pretty much, last time I saw her the way she's supposed to be was last night, healing some boy who was thrown through a table. Some time between then and this morning, something happened that made her much younger, and also lose her memories. I'm trying to figure out when, and where, it happened."

Dani
"Dani, eh?" Anedine said, shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you. Here are my friends, Isse and David and Ryuu... uhh, where in God's name did the two go!?" she screamed in surprise.
"Never mind then, if you like to have a burger, have some. We're heading to the garden right away to eat, lunch time is coming closer." she quickly said, then tore off to go see where her friends went.
Hmm... To invitations to meals in one day. And I don't even eat stuff... Dani thought with a laugh.
"Nah, I'm not hungry. I'll see you later though!" he called after her. He then continued his trek up the stairs to the top floor, because why not?

He made it to the top, and looked inside.
"Wow, it really was fixed in here!" Dani exclaimed. Whoever worked here worked fast. He looked at the four people already there. Of all of them, he only knew one, the girl with the trumpet.

David, seeing Ryuu’s devil grin, back up for a second, afraid. Oh crap! Don’t take it serious? Please don’t let him take that serious. I’m begging you, oh seven gods, please let him understand that it was a joke. But his grin and words begged to differ. “Ryuu? Ryuu that was a joke. Please Ryuu, don’t kidnap her.” He said, with a little fear in his voice. “Just…just walk up to her? Maybe? I mean, the start of talking in private mostly starts from talking in a group?” That was a lie. At least in the life of David so far. Well, you sort of have to admire the guy for his confidence. he thought in the back of his head.

If people were paying attention to the main corridors outside the dorms, they would notice something very odd happening. Darwin had finally gotten out of his room after hours of arranging his anime and movie collection a and losing one shoe, and now he was ready to strut. This was until he had realised he might not of locked his door. He walked through the corridor with his earphones stuck in his ears playing 'Lollipop' as he hummed it to himself in great joy. He ran his hands across the walls with a giant grin radiating creepiness, when all he wanted was to make new friends and make everyone taste the motherfucking rainbow.

He went back to his room to make sure he had locked his room. He checked the door was locked before turning back outside and slamming the door. "Echo!" He shouted waiting for an echo, but it never came. He sighed and began skipping down the corridor, with little bits of rainbow flying off his fingertips. "Time fir some rock!" He shouted into the corridors as the attack on Titan theme blasted into his ears. "Wait...this isn't rock. This isn't even my iPod!" He kelt on walking despite this discovery.

– Kathy

“I’m studying human physiology.” Kathy answered Little Feather. But with a slight frown, she closed the book and put it on the table. “Or rather, I was trying to. Too high level for me at the moment, I should’ve started somewhere simpler.”

Glancing at Lion beside her she asked Little Feather, “If you don’t mind me asking… What exactly is the story behind Lion? He’s not a regular, real lion is he?” She wasn’t entirely sure pets were allowed in the academy, but even she doubted they would allow a carnivorous wild animal into the campus for no special reason. Her first guess at the party would have been a shape-shifter, but his constant presence by Little Feather’s side seemed to suggest something else. She knew she was probably onto something, but that was where her guesses stopped.

At some point during her failed attempt to understand human physiology, a girl with long, wavy blond hair had joined them by… Lion’s side. The girl was apparently quite fearless than most. Catching her eye, Kathy gave the girl a small smile and a wave but wasn’t sure what else to say, or if any conversation was even needed. Lion seemed to be keeping the girl preoccupied.

After a while, their table became even more crowded as a boy with a black hood over his head commented on Little Feather’s book. “Uh, hi.” She greeted, acknowledging his presence. Then looking at Little Feather she whispered, “An acquaintance of yours?”

Little Feather

Little Feather looked at Kathy quizzically, as she explained what she was doing. “High-level? You judge humans in levels?” Little Feather frowned at her, as if truly perplexed by such a thing. She was either having a moment or she was truly...clueless. Little Feather looked from Kathy to Lion, raising her eyebrows at the large cat. I don’t mind Lion allowed a rumble to reverberate through his chest, Little Feather grinned and looked back at Kathy. “Of course, we don’t mind!” She announced almost forgetting to keep her voice lowered. “Oops sorry...Lion is a spirit animal. He is not of this world, but he’s still very real at the moment” Little Feather explained emphasizing the word real which made Lion’s ears flicker and he lifted the corners of his mouth. “He doesn’t really have a story personally unless you count old generic tales, he is a symbol of power among a few cultures. He was one of the first spirit animals to approach me and he’s the only one that has never left my side” Little Feather grinned.

“The academy was a bit skeptical of him coming with me, but the elders persuaded them to let him in” Little Feather explained. “Is it strange having him about?” Little Feather asked, looking worried by the idea. “He’s pretty harmless” She reinforced her words. You shouldn’t lie to them, I’m about as harmless as that yellow sticky paper... Lion grumbled, Little Feather giggled remembering Lion’s encounter with fly paper. “You’re as fearsome as fly paper?” She asked, watching Lion flatten his ears and narrow his eyes his jowls dropping in a grumpy fashion. It's nasty stuff and you know it Lion growled playfully, his tail flicking.

Little Feather looked up as she heard someone speak softly to her, she blinked at the dark haired new comer. “Yes...” She answered him, raising an eyebrow at him. She shrugged at Kathy as she was whispered to, she looked rather confused herself “No...yours?” Little Feather mouthed back, as the boy looked down at her book. Lion looked up at the new comer, his ears flickering uncertainly as he looked up at Little Feather. Unexpected... He purred at her, his tail flicking behind him. “Hey, I’m Little Feather, this is Kathy, Lion and...person who’s name I do not know” She introduced herself and the others with a smile as she turned to face the boy. “So you have an eye for this then?” She asked him moving the book so he could see it clearer, she seemed curious. “What’s your name?” She asked him before he could answer her first question. Let him speak Little Feather... Lion grumbled, lifting a large paw and running his tongue along the side of it before pulling it over his ear.

"I go through abit of most mythology. I specialise in greek mythology and vampiric folklore. Excuse me for babbling. My name is Kenshi. The Welsh druid with a japanese name." He could as a druid summon celtic spirits but a oak tree is not a great help in a fight. But in the hands of a skilled staff user it was much stronger. On his back he had a oakwood staff. A iron tip on the top. Iron was considered a holy metal so coupled with the sacred oak wood it was a perfect staff. Weapons were as far as he knew banned. But staffs were not as they were used in spells and rituals. He pulled out a book and a simple carving knife. He did not know if it was banned but he had a hiding place for it if it was. "Do you mind if I sit down. He said as he ran the blade along his finger lightly to test its sharpness. The waterproof layer of his thumb was sliced, but apart from that it was a shallow cut. "

– Kathy

With a cough, Kathy suppressed her laughter as she repeated, “Humans in… Levels?” She was worried she her actions might be taken wrong and Little Feather would be offended, but the idea that someone could misunderstand her statement that way was so unexpected that she couldn’t help but find it incredibly amusing. It was quite adorable, actually. Clearing her throat she clarified, “Actually I was talking about the book. I picked up one that was too complicated for me to understand, nothing to do with humans themselves. At this academy there might actually be some benefit to divide people up in into levels though, like in terms of strength perhaps?”

Unable to hear the conversation from Lion’s end, she raised a slight eyebrow as Little Feather seemed to be conversing with him. ’Fly paper? What are they talking about?’ Deciding it was probably telepathy or Little Feather was actually able to understand the sounds Lion was making, she answered, “Having a lion around is little strange, but nothing to worry about.” Giving both Lion and Little feather a reassuring smile she continued, “Strange is the normal here, which means Lion is just going to fit right in.” She gave Lion a few gentle pats on the top of his head. “So you’re a spirit animal? First time I’ve met one. I guess that means you’re something like Little Feather’s guardian right? Take good care of her.”

Glancing from the hooded boy to Little Feather, she gave a small shake of her head and a slight shrug to indicate she didn’t know who he was either. Hearing his introduction she began, “Nice to meet you Kenshi. Sure, come sit down with….?” Kathy stopped talking mid-sentence when she saw the knife. “What are you doing?” Her confusion turned to surprise when she saw him run the blade along his finger, seeming to cut it. Worried, she jumped out from her seat and grabbed the boy’s wrist to keep him from moving the knife any further. After a quick examination, she let out a sigh of relief when she saw there was no blood. In a calm but stern voice she asked Kenshi, “Just what are you doing to yourself?”

Christopher

“Umm…I ho-pe yo-u don’t mind if I t-ag alo-ng with yo-u.”

Christopher turned himself slightly to give Zivy a thumbs up. "I was actually hoping you'd follow, Zivy." The boy confessed with a smile, keeping on walking. Hmm, so art class, huh. I hope we can find it. While they walked in search of the classes, Christopher couldn't help but constantly think about how this year would be... Would something nice happen? What about his abilities? Would he manage to improve them and better protect the friends he had yet to make? He glanced back at Zivy, his smile never fading away. Seems like he's my first friend, heh. I wonder what his abilities are...Guess I should just ask, that shouldn't hurt.

"So uh, Zivy... Sorry if this is a rude question but... Why are you in here? I mean, you're special too, right?"

Bael

Bael saw Lily motioning him over and was relieved that it literally took a few seconds to find the precious bookshelf. The boy quickly made his way closer, having the widest smirk possible on his lips; it was nearly scary, really.

"Hell's Breath!" He yelled, his eyes scanning every and each of the books, even if he didn't actually read their title. He was just taking in the quantity of books in there... It was more than he had stored over his whole life in Hell. Bael moved directly behind Lily, placing each of his hands on each of her shoulders. He leaned himself closer to her, whispering in her ear. "Look at how many books, Lily... That might be my definition of paradise. If you ever recover your memory, would you tell me how your paradise is like? As in... Heaven?"

Honestly, he wasn't sure of what he was trying, the question just came to mind. What was heaven like?. A magical place with a bunch of babies playing different instruments, perhaps. Bael wasn't sure... What he was sure of, is that he'd never see what it was like. Not that it interested him a lot, either way.

Oona - her room

after she had swam for awhile she dried her hair off as well as she could then threw her shirt on over the top, as she was going to get new clothes when she got back to her room.
so she hurried through the campus, she saw some people hanging around the garden but hurried along to her room, with her bag slung over her shoulder.

she pushed the door open and could hear sound from the other room "my room mate must be here," she muttered, she hurried to her own and got some casual clothes on. then she went to the girl's door and knocked "Hello? i'm your room mate, figured i'd come introduce myself"

Andromeda - Garden

after eating she didn't particularly feel up to classes, after the excitement of the night before so she headed to the garden, it had been niceand tranquil the day before.

as she approached she saw 2 guys talking to each other, she wanted to say hello but wasn't sure if she should, one of the guys was quite scary, but she needed to socialize.
she approached slowly and quietly.

when she was kind of close she cleared her throat, hoping to get their attention/