Dorm rooms

Yuna was right: it didn't take too long before Maria was the proud owner of an id and a schedule. But just as she was about to leave...

"Miss," said the woman who had given her the id "before you go, you should talk to the water dorms administrator and go check into your new room. You can deal with getting your other school materials afterwards."

"I... there must be some sort of misunderstanding. I don't need a dorm room, I live quite close to the Academy."

"Look, all earthens need to check in at the dorms as the native students will help them accommodate more easily. New rule this year and it's the principal's order." The woman lowered her voice: "Look, just for my sake, go talk to the administrator and get the room key. If you don't want to stay in it, that's fine by me." She then made a shooing gesture and pointed towards the queue: "Now off you go. I got enough trouble as is." Bewildered, Maria went on her way.

Maria decided to pick up the stuff that she'd need for her 1st year before checking the dorm, in the hopes she'd get to meet up with Yuna and ask her about this weird situation… But she wasn't there. She got handed a box of random stuff and a stack of leather-bound books and was sent on her way.

Once she got out one of the giant buildings of the Academy, Maria tried to find a place that was at least more quiet. After sitting down under a tree at the edge of Misty Wood, she opened her communicator, a shiny bracelet that created a spray of water through which you could see the person like a sort of hologram, and tried to contact her dad, ask for some advice. No answer. Now that was peculiar, as her dad didn't do much work in Aetheria and was rarely busy.

Hoping for the best, she decided to head for the dorms and find out just what kind of situation she had gotten herself wrapped up in. She entered the dorm campus. The buildings were fascinating, all having interesting shapes or colorful additions, looking as if each one wanted to surpass the others. As such, it was quite easy to find the water dorm, which had water tubes attached to the building, all filled with colorful fish.

Normally she would have looked around, struck with awe, but she wanted to get this business over with. She kept replaying what she'd say to the dorm administrator over and over: "no, I don't need a room, yes, I'm sure the place is lovely, I'm sorry, I just think it's better to live with my dad, I had a tutor over the summer, I'll be fine."

Maria reached the administrator's office and knocked.

"Come on in!" a male's voice shouted from inside and gosh, this was still nerve wrecking. As she put her hand on the door handle she was suddenly very aware just how sweaty her hands had become and she tried to wipe them before pushing the door open.

She entered the clean white room, stopped in front of the ornate desk and stared at the administrator with nervousness, before talking:

"Hello mister, I am a newly enrolled earthen student-"

"Ah, so you must be here for your dorm room key. Id please?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, I actually live fairly close to the Academy-"

"I don't know if you heard miss, but the rule says ALL earthen students must stay in the dorms. The rule is here for good reason: it forces earthen students to interact with their native peers and learn something new in the process. Now, I believe you don't want to go disturb the principal and tell him you don't like his new rule. Now, your id please."

Maria numbly held it out and stared as the bald moustached man completed documents over documents. Then, he handed her a key with a shiny 223 on it. "Second floor, now off you go."

As Maria walked up the stairs, it felt like she was dreaming. None of this felt real and the decor didn't help either. The water tubes had openings at each floor, decorated with some water motifs made out of white stone. Students jumped in and out of certain tubes moving at dizzying speeds, some stopping at the floor with a big splash, some coming in for a clean landing. The fish looked unperturbed, but as she continued climbing, she swore she could see a student coming in and some fish flying out of the tube. The banister of the staircase was made out of the same white stone, sculpted with fish, urchins, starfish, seahorses, seashells and jellyfish, some moving around the banisters as freely as if they truly were alive. The stairs and floor were also made of stone, but both the first and the second floor hall had intricate mosaics on the wall depicting certain aquatic scenes and thick, woolly carpets on the simple, gray floor.

After the entrance of the second floor, the hall split two ways, a line of doors on each side. Maria took the right path and quickly found her door. She put the box and books down and put the key in the door.

"Here goes nothing." She sighed, then tried to unlock the door, but it was already unlocked.

Then the door opened. Two light blue eyes stared into my stormy grey ones.

"Hello!" The girl said. "Come on in!"

Maria entered the clean, simple room and immediately saw that it had a single bed with shelving above it and a bunk bed. The upper bed was already occupied by another girl. Her short black hair with blue and green tips was covering her eyes, while she was quietly reading a book. She seemed to be ignoring Maria. The other thing Maria noticed was that the single bed was made as well, covered in a vibrant pink.

The blue eyed girl entered the room with Maria's stuff and Maria immediately jumped in to help her. The girl smiled, dimples appearing on her tanned skin.

"Thought you could use some help carrying your stuff." She put down my stuff and extended a hand. "My name is Mya! So nice to meet you!" She then looked back at the hall again. "Any... other stuff that you need help with?"

"Actually... I didn't know I had to stay at the dorms, since I have a home in Aetheria already. Still trying to talk to my dad about this."

"Well, that means more room for us." Came a voice from the bunk beds.

"Hey! That's not very nice!" replied the Mya.

"Sorry" said the black haired girl, not sounding sorry at all.

And that was the confirmation that Maria needed to go home, talk to her dad, get this whole mess sorted somehow. After all, if she wasn’t wanted here, why should she stay? Her dad will figure something out for sure. He was friends with Mr. Brown after all. Maria picked up her stuff, carefully opening the door with her elbow.

"Well," Maria said, "since I'm obviously not wanted here, I'll just... go back home." But as she headed out the door, the Mya caught her hand.

"You can't leave me alone with her!" she hissed. "I have tried everything to be nice with her, but all she's done this morning is climb in bed and read goodness-knows-what. And, like, it's my first year and I am trying sooo hard to adapt to all of this and being so far away from home is-" At this point the girl was actually crying. And Maria didn't know what to do.

So she put her stuff down in the middle of the hall, awkwardly pet her shoulder and said: "Look, I'm really sorry... I just want to go back to dad. Get this sorted out. You’ll probably get an awesome new roommate… Oh dear. I know it's hard to be away from home, I mean, I've barely been to my home all summer, barely seen mom as well..."

"Why?" Mya sniffled.

"Well, I moved this summer here in Aetheria to study at the Academy and getting used to magic and the city has been such a chore...“

"Did you just say... magic?" she asked, and as she lifted her eyes, wide with surprise, Maria realized what she'd just said a little too late.

"You're an earthen?!" Came two voices at the same time, one from the crying girl beside Maria, one from back in the room, which was followed by a loud thud.

Maria peeked her head back inside and looked at the tall skinny girl fallen on the floor, while Mya entered the room and helped her back up.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"I'm fine." but Maria could see the other girl rubbing her hip. Then she moved toward Maria and for the first time she saw her eyes: a greyish sort of green, staring intently at Maria as if she had purposefully made her fall on the floor.

"Why didn't you tell me you were an earthen?" She was towering over Maria and she gulped. Why did she say that she was an earthen? She just stumbled for words trying to calm a crying girl and now who knew what was going to happen. The voices stood silent, almost as if waiting for her to mess up. Maria guessed there was no other way than to face her little mistake... she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and stared back.

"Well, people don't usually like hearing that." Maria replied, trying to not make her voice shake.

"No kidding." The girl grumbled. "It's a pain to adapt to it. People talking behind your back, some subtly, some" and she looked at the other girl, who shivered, "not as much."

It took Maria a second to process what she'd just said, before replying: "You're... earthen too."

The girl blew a strand of hair away, before extending a hand casually "Nin. And I'd appreciate if both of you" and she scowled at the other girl again, "would keep it on the down low. Like you said, some people don't like it." Maria took her hand and shook it, smiling nervously "It's a done deal."

Mya stepped timidly forward, trying to shy away from Nin, who was still scowling at her. "I didn't quite catch your name?" She said.

Maria shook her hand as well. "I'm Maria."

Mya went to get Maria's stuff from the dorm hall (again), but as Maria went to help, Nin stopped her.

"So, clarify please" said Nin, "why are you at the dorms if you have a house in Aetheria and also don't particularly want to be here?"

"Well, there's this new dumb rule that all newly enrolled earthen students must move in the dorms to be able to learn and gain experience from native folk. Came from the principal himself."

Nin was already stewing. "Why, those stupid half-wits who've got nothing but sand in their ears! This will just make everything worse for the new earthens! Do they have any idea what they've done?!"

"Is it really... that bad?" Mya asked, as she put Maria's stuff down.

Nin stared at Mya with such a scalding look that Mya shriveled away, muttering "sorry sorry..." over and over.

Maria touched Nin, trying to calm her, but she got startled and moved away, as if she were some sort of hurt animal, no longer trusting the touch of a friendly hand.

"Whoa Nin, calm down. Look, it hasn't been that bad for me, but-"

And that's when Maria's dad decided to use his communicator to get in touch. Maria asked Nin and Mya if she could talk to him in the room (sitting in the hall just felt embarrassing) and brought her dad up to speed. And just like Nin, he was incredibly upset.

"This is just a subvert form of discrimination!"

Nin grimly nodded in the background, absently rubbing her arm.

"Why, I didn't expect something like this from Mr. Brown. I'll have to talk to him immediately. And for the excuse that earthen students can learn from natives of Elementum? Now that's just-"

"Dad?"

Her dad stopped his angry rant, looking at Maria with worry.

"Yes, dear?"

"I was wondering... if I could stay over the week here? At the dorms I mean."

All three people in the room stared at her with surprise, while jer dad asked the question staying on everyone's tip of the tongue:

"Why?"

Maria looked at Nin, rubbing over a faint burn mark on her arm and at Mya, her face still a little bit red from crying:

"I just feel like... my new roommates and I could help each other." She looked at Nin, smiled faintly. "Power of friendship?"

Nin expression quickly twisted into a frown: "Don't you dare. Don't you dare finish that."

Maria smiled mischievously: "What can I say, friendship is magi-" and Nin put her hands over her ears and started humming very loudly.

"Are you sure?" Said her dad, from behind the curtain of droplets, his worry still there, but easing somewhat.

Maria looked at Nin, still humming obnoxiously and Mya, who had her hands clasped over her mouth, trying very hard not to laugh. Maria smiled.

"Yeah, pretty sure." She replied.