TaliPaendrag

Academy 218: Still looking for new people to join - now is the primetime.

Beth Carson

As Beth waited for the instructor to finish answering questions and begin the lesson, one girl, whom Beth recognized as the brunette who had sat at their table the night before, shouted a question concerning how the course would handle people who didn’t have combat-oriented abilities. Mr. Blackmore seemed to take pleasure in the question, though he walked a little ways away before raising his voice to address the entirety of the class.

Once he was done with his little speech concerning the his purpose in running the class, he explained that their goal was to reach the dark room on the other side of the hall without using their powers. More than a couple of people, Beth included, were a little confused by that, as it was just a simple walk. But then he waved some sort of remote, causing the ground to shake as it rearranged itself to reveal a full-fledged obstacle course.

Upon seeing the course, Beth’s stomach sank. For someone of her size, these obstacles were virtually impossible. Beth didn’t really think that her powers would help her all that much anyway, but it would have at least enabled her to complete some of the obstacles in the course. Now the whole thing seemed kind of hopeless, though that didn’t mean that she wouldn’t try.

Figuring that she should go sooner rather than later to avoid being dead last and have everyone waiting for her, Beth hurried to the first obstacle, the Tough One, and got started. This first obstacle wasn’t as bad as Beth has expected, as it was fairly easy to climb the cargo net, cross the walkway, climb the ladder, and descend the other cargo net because of the availability of handholds and her good balance, though it was quite tiring.

Pausing at the bottom of the end of the first obstacle to catch her breath near the boy with the pink stripe in his hair, Beth felt quite good about herself. She had managed to pass the first obstacle, which gave her a good dose of confidence for the rest, even the ones further on in the course that looked to be particularly hostile to someone of her size. After she managed to catch her breath, she began making her way towards the next obstacle, trying to pay no mind to the number of people who had passed her by already.

Hogwarts: Ignition - Year One

I'm still around. :3

Academy 218: Still looking for new people to join - now is the primetime.

Beth Carson

Beth couldn’t help but feel that her first day at the Academy had flown by, with the exception of English class, as she arrived at the Training Hall for her last class of the day, Power Instruction. Upon arriving, an aide had thrust a bright green suit of some kind at her, briefly explaining that she would need to put it on if she was going to participate in class and directing her to the locker room. Thinking that it was some kind of strange gym uniform, Beth obeyed the woman’s directions and slipped into the girls locker room to change and store her belongings until class was over.

One of the first things that Beth noticed upon exiting the locker room and moving to stand near the front of the crowd next to the boy with the pink stripe she had seen at the banquet the night before, was that a lot of people seemed rather uncomfortable with the suits, as they were picking at them or otherwise trying to adjust how they fit. Personally, Beth didn’t mind them. The one that she was wearing felt a lot like the unitards and leotards that she wore in gymnastics, and that had been quite comfortable. The only thing was that the suit weighed a good deal more due to the thick vest and pads on the shoulders, knees, and elbows for protection.

Of course, there were several people who didn’t seem so perturbed by having to wear the suit, such as the black haired girl in the bright pink suit who smiled like she was on top of the world or the intimidating, broad-shouldered guy with shaved black hair leaning against the wall. As the instructor, Adam Blackmore explained what the purpose of and rules concerning the suits were, Beth made a mental note to avoid the mean-looking guy. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who would tolerate her presence for very long, if at all.

As Mr. Blackmore opened the floor to questions, getting swarmed by more than a few students who had something they wanted to know or complain about, Beth noticed a guy with black hair in a bright orange suit walk up to the broad-shouldered fellow and start talking to him, though they both seemed as if they were on edge. After a few seconds, the people around them made room, and it looked like there was going to be a fight already. Fortunately, Mr. Blackmore chose that moment to intervene and break it up, though Beth couldn’t hear what he said to do so.

The excitement over, everyone dispersed and got ready to continue the lesson, though it seemed that everyone was mumbling about what had just transpired or who the two guys were. It seemed rather… silly to make such a big deal over two guys almost getting in trouble for fighting, but Beth could kind of understand why people did. What would happen was completely unexpected because no one knew what anyone else’s power was, which is what made it exciting. Really, it was sort of like a good movie, at least according to her uncle.

Sighing at the sudden pang of homesickness, Beth returned her attention to the teacher, waiting for him to announce what they would actually be doing for class and what that would require of each of them. Hopefully, whatever it was wouldn’t be too physically demanding.

Academy 218: Still looking for new people to join - now is the primetime.

@Empour: It took a while, but I found it here. Though Sawyer and Piper are no longer in the game, of course. Seraph's character Lucy is also in Adam's class, though it hasn't been added to the list. :D Hope this helps!

Academy 218: Still looking for new people to join - now is the primetime.

@Empour: No problem. :3 I think that they should get along just fine, and I'm looking forward to it. :D

Academy 218: Still looking for new people to join - now is the primetime.

Beth Carson

Stepping out of the sleek elevator, Beth was glad to note that the numbers on the rooms that she could see immediately were on the same level as the number that was on her key card, indicating that, unless the school’s organization was really strange, that her room would be on this floor. It had taken her quite a while to find it, primarily because people had a hard time seeing her in the crowds and always took the elevator before she could get in. Regardless, she had finally made it to the right floor, so all that was left was to find her actual room.

Unfortunately, she had taken the elevator on the opposite end of the hallway, which meant that she had a decent walk to get to the side where her dorm would be, a walk made more arduous by the fact that she was so short and that her legs were already tired from wandering around with the other students until she found the dormitory. Still, she persevered and eventually made it to the end of the hall where her room was, looking at the numbers on each door until she found the one that matched her card key, which happened to be open.

Taking a moment to catch her breath before walking in and meeting her new roommate, Beth noticed that their luggage had been dropped off at the ends of their beds, ready to be unpacked. Unfortunately, her roommate wasn’t readily visible, which meant that Beth had nothing to go on about what her roommate would be like. Hoping for the best, Beth stepped hesitantly inside, though she tried to hide her anxiety as best she could.

”Hello? Are you in here, Kayla?” Beth said as she walked through the open door and closed it behind her, stepping out of her comfort zone and speaking up first for fear of being rude by surprising the other girl with her arrival. ”I’m your new roommate, Beth.” As she went further into the room, she noticed somebody with long blonde hair, whom she presumed to be Kayla, sprawled out in the bed by the door.

Fearing that her roommate was sleeping, Beth was quiet about slipping her shoes off and climbing into her own bed, barren though it was, after pulling the small, black phone that her uncle had given her when she accepted the invitation to the Academy out of her bag so that she could send him a status report. He would want to know how everything was going so far for sure, as evidenced by the two voicemails from his number on her phone already.

Academy 218: Still looking for new people to join - now is the primetime.

@Prince of Seraphs: I edited it. I feel like, in return, I should let you know that Beth is far shorter than a ten or twelve year old though. Lucy would be being very generous to guess that she was either of those ages. :3

Academy 218: Still looking for new people to join - now is the primetime.

Sorry for the delay. I just got back to school from Easter break yesterday, so I was a little busy. :3

Academy 218: Still looking for new people to join - now is the primetime.

Beth Carson

”No, probably not even your pinky finger,” Beth replied, smiling as Michelle held up her pinky, which was the size of a normal person’s pinky and about the width of Beth’s palm, and wiggled it. She was glad that the atmosphere was as relaxed as it was, though she was still afraid to be too open about herself and becoming too close to Michelle, a desire that conflicted with her aversion to coming across as rude. To say the least, Beth had mixed feelings about the conversation that she concealed almost by habit.

Michelle seemed to have put some thought into why she was attending the Academy and what she wanted to get out of them, as she shared that her primary reason for attending in the first place was to acquire her NEST certification so that she could continue to perform in the circus. Beth was about to ask what that was like, as she had never been to a circus before, when they were joined by another girl, who had light brown hair and was fairly tall, at least from Beth's reckoning if not most other people's, asking if one of the seats at the table was taken.

Looking up at her, Beth shook her head no and motioned that the seat was hers for the taking, though she didn’t say anything else. She also wasn’t sure if she should go through with asking Michelle what the circus was like, as she didn’t know if the giantess would consider that a breach of her privacy or not. The decision was made for her, however, as the loudspeaker jumped to life with an announcement that every student should make their way to the reception area in order to receive their rooming assignments and learn who their roommates for the year were going to be.

”Well, I suppose that I should get going then,” Beth said, slipping off the side of the seat and onto her feet before grabbing her plates so that she could drop them off at one of the stations where they would pick them up for cleaning. ”It was nice meeting you, Michelle and I’m sorry we didn’t get to talk longer, miss.” And with those farewells, one directed, obviously, to Michelle and the other to the newcomer, Beth left, dropping her plates off on the way and following the throng of people to the reception area.

Fortunately, it seemed that the school had the foresight to establish several stations in the reception area where students could be told who their roommate was going to be and where they were going to be rooming. As such, the lines weren’t as long as they could be, and everything progressed at a fairly smooth pace, though there were the occasional delays when a student complained to the receptionist about who their roommate was.

Eventually, Beth reached the front of the line, though it wasn’t until she made use of her power to hover above the ground a bit that the receptionist could actually see her. ”Hello. My name is Elizabeth Carson, and I’d like to get my room assignment and learn who I’ll be rooming with,” Beth said to the receptionist, a sort of elderly woman with a surprised expression on her face due to how suddenly Beth had popped up.

---

@Mr Allen J, @Prince of Seraphs

Academy 218: Still looking for new people to join - now is the primetime.

Beth Carson

If there was one reaction from Michelle that Beth hadn’t expected when she revealed that she was actually fifteen years old, it was laughter. And not just a quiet chuckle, but a deep, hearty laugh that drew the eye of more than a few of the people around them. Her comment regarding the benefits of milk to a person’s growth was also quite surprising, more so because it indicated that Michelle didn’t understand that Beth was so short because she had a medical condition, though her misconception was understandable considering the fact that she towered above even tall people.

”They might have, but I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have helped,” Beth said, cocking her head a little bit to the right while watching Michelle flex an arm that was thicker than she was at the shoulder. Michelle was not someone that Beth wanted to make angry, that was for sure. ”See, my body doesn’t produce enough growth hormone, if it still does at all. In other words, I’m a proportional dwarf.”

The idea of shaking Michelle’s hand elicited a small giggle out of Beth, though mainly because of the mental picture of Michelle’s hand completely engulfing her own hand and wrist. ”I don’t think that I’d even be able to shake one of your fingers, let alone the whole hand,” Beth replied, giggling slightly again in response to Michelle’s laugh, which was honestly a bit contagious.

Feeling full, Beth pushed her plate forward on the table a little, though there was a good bit of food still on it. Unfortunately, that was the norm for her, as usual portion sizes were far too large for her to actually finish. So, instead of grabbing another forkful of food like she wanted to do, Beth grabbed a napkin from the holder in the center of the table and wiped away the sauce that had managed to get on her mouth, setting it on the plate once she was done.

Apparently, Michelle had also gotten full, as her plates, which had been laden with significantly more food than Beth’s had, were pushed away from her and ignored. She also seemed interested in continuing their conversation, turning to face Beth and crossing her arms before asking if there was anything that Beth was looking forward to.

”I’m not entirely sure,” Beth replied after taking a moment to think about it. ”I guess I’m looking forward to learning how to keep my powers in check, but I’m also looking forward to finishing high school.” Having nothing but the flier, of which she couldn’t read more than a sentence here or there, and her uncle’s brief and limited explanations, Beth wasn’t entirely sure what all the Academy was about except for preparing Metahumans for public life.

”But what about you?” Beth asked politely, curious to know if the larger girl had any goals in attending the Academy that might shed some light on what they were all about without Beth having to expose her ignorance on the matter to Michelle. ”Is there anything that the Academy offers that you’re particularly looking forward too?”