Rain had not completely settled in mentally with his accommodations yet – at times he’d still wake up and not know where he was. It was a bit strange, as he was a boy accustomed to change before, but the entire experience had been, at least subjectively, pretty damn surreal for him. Colour coding dormitories so rigorously, he thought, was dumb and unnecessary, and he didn’t particularly like the depressing shade of his assigned dorm. He’ll grow out of it. At the moment, though, the striking white of any envelope on his night table stands out very well, with him noticing it immediately when entering the room. He took off his jacket with swift, rehearsed movements, walked over, and tore the letter from its casing. This school apparently prefers private written communication over all the other forms employed in academia – he noted the same thing next to the others’ beds. 

 A welcome ceremony, that’s nothing out of the ordinary, right? Truly he didn’t know, but he isn’t just going to go around asking how schools work, and he was confident enough of his ability to just figure it all out along the way. His thumbs crumpled the bottom of the paper a bit, as he read it over a second time, making sure he didn’t miss any crucial information. One can be a bit unsure on one’s opinion about the possibility of others marching into his room at any time to leave clothes and messages. This is quite a fancy place; one of those places where this could be entirely standard. Rain reached for the wardrobe handle, and grabbed the new fabric waiting for him. How the light hit it, the entire thing looked eerily uncomfortable, but he couldn’t bet on his own experiences. With its string around the neck was a masquerade mask. It had probably been chosen carefully, as he faintly recognized himself. The blond gazed at the door before untying the knot that held it on top of his new outfit. As he tried it on for the first time, it was as he expected it – the sculpted curves wrapped the top half of his face perfectly. 

[b] “Absolutely ridiculous” [/b], he sighed. It was half expected that the mask would be uncomfortable enough for him to toss it aside, but I guess they did intend to host a full-fledged masquerade ball, in which masks were necessary. Nothing too extravagant, luckily: a black mask with a braid pattern under the eyes and small, elegant silver tone decorations between them on the forehead - so he could wear it and just expect that everyone else had to as well. Laying the accessory on his bed, he pulled the tuxedo off the hanger and, before his roommates got back, put it on methodically (or at least, in a way he supposed people put tuxedos on methodically). Surprisingly the attire didn’t choke on any of his limbs – they only had the bare measurements for his uniform, but they surely did a good job in tailoring his upmarket clothing. The strangeness of his life at the moment hit his thoughts again as his hands slid out of the jacket sleeves. [b]“This is a joke. Such a joke.” [/b]

And yet he conformed, taking the mask by the ribbon in his left hand and sitting down on the black mattress where it was. Rain stretched to reach for the paper that he had previously scrunched, having to read it one more time. Ten o’clock –more than half an hour from now. He always preferred being prepared early on rather than at the last minute anyways, since before this his life was pretty much built on last resorts and quick decisions. Being early gifts a fake sense of control, and plus, there’s now plenty of time for loitering. Rain stood up and walked out the door to the shared living room, mask in one hand, a ball of wrinkly paper in the other. 

Rain stepped out of the room alone, quietly making his way towards the Grand Hall, only now beginning to feel out of place in his bow-tie. The change in atmosphere was baffling once he got there, but his expression was kept the same if just a little bit softer than usual. He stood at the entrance, quickly identifying everything familiar here as a defense against the grandiose unfamiliarity: curtains, flowers, flowers. He felt assured that he wasn’t the first one to come, although he wasn’t going to put on his mask just yet. Standing against the wall a fair distance from the gates he began noticing details and planning out his approaches. Only when he realized how out of place he’d look with a bare face and the very typical, customary tux he was provided once a lot of people were here did he try to strap it on. Maybe he should have kept it from the first time, because the ribbons somehow became a lot harder to knot together the second time around. Rain started, ritualistically, swearing under his breath as he sunk away to examine his mask further. [b]“I don’t belong here. Ridiculous.”[/b]