New

The award ceremony was long, tedious, and more than enough to bore a couple of people to sleep, but Tip was grateful for the extra time to put her proposal together. She hadn't quite figured out how to present it as more than the ravings of a 19-year-old girl, barely out of high school by a year and barely accepted into the academy because of her past grades. Tip thinks her only saving grace was the grades she got in her intro to Lamps class, which was an elective that counted as college credits that also allowed her to skip that class entirely and move straight into the labs if she passed a test. She'd take the test later this afternoon while everyone had free time, but she was hoping to present her idea before then. As the ceremony drew to a close though, her paper wasn't much better and her hopes were looking bleak.

Tip shimmied out of the mass of bodies exiting the chairs and made her way towards a darker corner to wait as the Lumous got their speech and welcome before the matching. She scratched at her head as she tried to think of anything, anything at all, but drew an even bigger blank than she was drawing that morning while still on the ship. Tip tapped her pen against the paper several times before giving up on a professional presentation altogether. She would just show them her papers and ideas when she went and hoped they understood enough to need the bare minimum explanation.

They called everyone to the auditorium again and Tip found herself a little jealous that the Lumous got such a short speech and they were sat there for two hours hearing about stuff they already know and that didn't matter. Once all the seats were filled the Director came up to the mic.

" It is my utmost honor to be here with you all this year as you receive the honor of being the future's newest lights. As you go on your journey know you can't and won't do it alone, as your partner walks beside you, allowing you both to complete the path set before you with the best of your ability on display. The matching system has taken into account your previous academic ability, your strengths and weaknesses, and your essence type and aptitudes. For the first semester, you will be rooming with your partner and another pair, so it will be 4 to a room. Unless something major happens, switching partners for the first semester is not allowed. In about 5 minutes, you will head to your room and your partner should be in front of the door along with the other pair rooming with you. A monitor will come round and confirm partners and then give you the keys once everyone from your room has arrived."

The rest of the rules were laid down and then they were sent off to collect their stuff from the front where they checked in and make their way to their assigned dorm building. Tip grabbed the paper with her room number on it and trudges her way outside and to the Chimera dorm, something that made her preen with pride as she read her name over and over again next to those bold letters.

The Children de Chimera were her favorite Lamp unit, and being in the dorm named after them didn't guarantee a spot in their corps after she graduated, but it would put her pretty close. All the dorms were named after Lamp units and it was common knowledge that your chances went up for getting into the unit your dorm was named after if you proved your worth enough.

Room 407 was where they had stuck Tip. 4th-floor room 7, beginning of the hall, and she was not in fact the first one there. Already stood in front of the door was a girl with dark brown hair that was pulled into the regulation bun and light brown skin. Her eyes were closed as her slender form leaned back against the wall next to the door. She wore the pilot's uniform, a skin-tight clothe body suit that was red instead of black with a black coat, and all the same trims as the Luminoes uniform. Her soft-looking lips were pulled into a tight frown as she bowed her head towards the floor, and it took Tip a second to realize that the girl was sleeping standing upright.

Tip set her stuff down on the opposite side of the hall where the windows were, taking care not to disturb the other girl, before taking a seat on the floor. It was five minutes before they were joined by the second pilot sharing their dorm. She was taller than both of them, but even in the rather sharp look of the pilot's uniform, she looked soft, kind, with black hair shaved into an undercut and bangs that fell into her eyes, though through the hair Tip could make out the faintest hint of green. Her skin was tanner than the other girls, deeper and more obvious in the fact that it was brown. Her pearly white teeth were put on full display in a smile, and Tip had to point out the sleeping girl across from them before the other had a chance to be too loud. After looking at the other girl's sleeping form, the taller nodded before crouching down and taking a seat next to Tip.

" Hello, my name is Hyacinth Marielle, but you can call me Bugs. Though you can call me Cinth or Mari if that's too weird. It's just what everyone back home called me after all the Bugs I collected as a kid. What's your name?"

" 'S Xanthippe Gehrig. Mama calls me Xander, but all my friends call me Tip. Nice to meet you Bugs," a smile bloomed across the other girl's face as she accepted the handshake Tip offered.

" It's also nice to meet you Tip!"

Even at a whisper, Hyacinth was still a little loud, so it wasn't a surprise when steel grey eyes crept open to glare at the two against the window. They relaxed when they realized their roommates had arrived though, she never planned to sleep for that long anyways. She slid to the floor and joined in on the introductions.

" Good evening, my name is Yin Xiu Lian, but most people too lazy to learn to pronounce my name just call me Anne."

The two reintroduced themselves and then they all had a fun 20 minutes where they took turns pronouncing things. Xanthippe had a fun time trying to teach her roommates Greek, and Yin Xiu Lian tried to teach them some Mandarin. And while Hyacinth's name wasn't hard to pronounce, she did also join in and tried teaching them a little Spanish. They were a little worried when no other Luminoes showed up, but it was a big campus and people were still trickling in off the planes. It only really became a concern when the monitor came around.

" Alright, I'm looking for a Xanthippe Gehrig and a Yin Xiu Lian," they raised their hands.

" Awesome, and then a...Hyacinth Marielle, and a Xanthippe Gehrig? Do you happen to have a sibling with the same name, or know someone else with the same name?"

Tip shook her head as the monitor started to furiously scroll through the tablet in their hands, only to sigh and look up.

" I'll give you the keys but you shouldn't unpack yet. I'll be back in a bit."

They handed over the room keys before moving off down the hall, telling the other kids he passed that he would send another monitor around in a little.

The three of them looked at each other before wordlessly picking up their things and making their way into the room, locking the door firmly behind themselves.