[i]Thwack[/i].

Making a soft, pained sound in the back of her throat, Esperanza carefully gripped the seat in front of her with one hand, the other gingerly reaching to rub at the spot where her head had collided with the window. There had been quite a few bumps and whatnot throughout the ride, but that had been the roughest yet. The other students didn’t seem too pleased by it, either- annoyed cries, and some rather creative swears Esperanza mentally saved for later, roared around her. Frowning slightly, Esp gave her temple one last tender pat, then turned her eyes back to the window.

Esp had been awake for about thirty two hours flat, according to the phone Mama had given her before she left home. She had been so strung up with nervous energy and excitement, she hardly felt the urge to sleep anyway. Her hands were constantly occupied with the new gadget under her possession (she had changed the background at least five times before settling on a funny picture of a dog she found online), or with the sheets of paper cheerfully stating her admission to Marchand, or even with little things like a piece of string she found hanging off the sleeve of her blouse. When not keeping herself busy, her eyes had been glued to the windows of whatever transportation she had been on- the truck being no exception.

After travelling for so many hours at this point, one would think she would have grown bored of the journey, but Esperanza relished it. She devoured the scenery with her eyes. 

The truck eventually jolted to a stop, flinging students around left and right- luckily for Esperanza, however, her grip was enough to keep her from getting a broken nose to go along with her bruising. Jumping to her feet (and stumbling for a moment or two from the lack of blood in her legs), Esp slipped out of the vehicle and went to gather her things.

Marchand was far more grand than anything that she had seen- with the exception of the family church, of course- but Esp found herself vaguely disappointed that there was none of the peppy music playing within the school, like the movies always had. Rolling her shoulders under the weight of her backpack, Esperanza followed the line of other students to the office, and checked herself in. She hardly noticed the secretary’s idle look, more preoccupied with the sheets pushed into her hands that anything. 

The school was very large. 

After being ushered out by the secretary (she hadn’t realized she had been standing there for long until she felt the hands on her shoulders), Esp found herself heading to the common room, unsure of where else to go. She saw no point in wandering- especially when none of the other students were- and, besides, now that some of the nervousness had worn off, she had realized just how hungry she was.

The first thing she noticed upon entering was the number of people there. Gathered around tables, picking at their food, chatting. Esp stood in the doorway for a moment, hesitating, then braced herself and went to get breakfast- pancakes, since a few of the other kids seemed to be getting them as well.

Despite how early they had arrived, the tables were swiftly filling up- some students sitting by themselves, others already bounding together in groups of twos and threes. It meant that Esperanza would most likely have to sit with someone. Her eyes roved along the tables, eventually settling on a red-headed girl hastily trying to clean up a mess on her table. Intrigued, Esp walked over, carefully balancing her tray on one hand as she grabbed a bundle of napkins.

[color=#8B4513]“Here. Let me help you. There is a lot of…”[/color] She hesitated, looking at the sludge. [color=#8B4513]“Things on the table.”[/color] Carefully, she mopped some of the sodden cereal up, repeatedly glancing up at the girl to see her reaction.

[color=#8B4513]“My name is Esperanza. Ciervo. Esperanza Ciervo. By the way, it is good to meet you.”[/color] Her voice was heavily accented, somewhat awkward in intonation, but the eagerness in it was clear. 

[@VitoftheVoid]