Chapter 36: Roomies
Kir was a bit sleepy during the welcoming speech for the new students. He vaguely caught that amongst the three hundred or so people that arrived, all but a handful had been accepted. A full quarter had been deemed knowledgeable or powerful enough to skip a year, provided they took an extra course each semester for subjects they had proven weak in.
His moms wouldn't been allowed to attend, despite Brigit being a former student and Darlae having snuck on campus enough to have a reputation. He'd given them a tearful hug goodbye before leaving for the campus, hiring a cab like they did yesterday.
The fact his moms hadn't gotten to attend was good, since halfway through the speech, Kir got smacked awake by a stern-looking teacher who seemed to feel no qualms about using wind magic to hit students.
He managed to stay awake until the end of the speech, and then it was time to take the elevator up to the dorms.
After his showing yesterday, Kir's reputation combined with the sour face he wore from lack of sleep made getting into the elevator an exercise in loneliness. No one near him wanted to approach, that is until Kordia squeaked her way out of the crowd.
"Hi Kir," she said as soon as she got in.
"Hi Kordia," Kir returned the greeting. When no one else was forthcoming, he decided to stop wasting time and pulled the lever with his tail just to get the elevator moving.
"You look tired," Kordia said... "And, um... I noticed you don't have your wings..."
"I am tired. Stayed up all night getting a magic tattoo to keep them out of the way," he leaned against the glass of the elevator. "What floor?"
"Oh, um... fifty-one," Kordia blushed a bit. "I, um... got something new yesterday too," she admitted.
Kir looked her over. It took a bit for his mind to finally focus as he ratcheted the lever to the correct number.