“Great!” Mr. Tynedale exclaimed when no one raised a hand or spoke up to ask a question. He gave them a few moments to finish settling into the chairs and such before continuing, even though most everyone was sitting down. Beth was lucky enough to get a seat between two girls, Rosy and Raven, despite coming into the room last. Of course, she still had to worry about the guys on the other side of the table, but at least they weren't next to her. Mr. Tynedale took her mind off that topic, however, as he began to speak.

“The rules are really quite simple,” he began. “First, you will in no way use your powers to harm anyone on campus. Doing so will result in severe punishment. Second, there will be no stealing of anything on campus. That will result in punishment, but also a retribution fine on the thief. Third, there is to be no mixing of gender in the dorms after curfew. Before is okay, but not after. Fourth, curfew is at ten o' clock. Everyone is expected to be back in their dorm building by then. Fifth, your classes are important, and we will not tolerate you purposely skipping them. You have three lates before you receive punishment for being late.”

“There are some more rules in your books, but that covers most of the big ones,” Mr. Tynedale said. “Now I'm going to announce the pairings for the dorm rooms. For the girls, the pairs are Rosy and Elizabeth, and Raven and Anzhelika. The pairings for the guys are Ray, Arson, and Nikolai, and Devon and Silas.”

“Now, I know that you were talking and socializing out in front of the academy while waiting for myself and Ms. Alberda to arrive, but we figured that it wouldn't hurt to have a little social thing here,” Mr. Tynedale said as several people entered the door carrying serving trays. “That's why we supplied donuts, muffins, bagels, and some drinks. Feel free to get to know your roommate and enjoy the food before we move onto the actual dorms, where we'll of course, split into two groups.”

After a few moments, everyone but the students had left the little conference room, obviously to make it a more relaxed environment for the kids. Having never had a roommate before, however, Beth wasn't entirely sure that their leaving made her more comfortable. How would her roommate feel about having someone who could read her mind around all day? “Hey, um, I'm Beth,” she said, turning to Rosy. “It's, um, great to meet you.”