[right][sub][color=F4F0EC][b]Location:[/b][/color] Ares Colosseum
[color=F4F0EC][b]Mentions:[/b][/color] Jamie Flanagan [@lopsided], Kelsey Marston [@NeoAC][/sub][/right]
[center][img]https://txt-dynamic.static.1001fonts.net/txt/dHRmLjk2LmY0ZjBlYy5VbWxzWlhrZ1FtOTNaVzQsLjA,/guthen-bloots-personal-use.regular.png[/img]

[img]https://66.media.tumblr.com/d1a1d04d44543c2396eba4594729a410/tumblr_pki9hcWHw51u4ypbyo1_540.gif[/img][/center]
[hr][hr]
[indent][indent]For most, summer was a time of joy, of lazy afternoons spent with family and friends. But for Riley, he’s just glad to be away from Swansea again. The air back home smelt like smoke and sea salt, a heady combination that made his head spin.

Here at Olympus Academy, things were overwhelming in a much different way. Throngs of students, both old and new, chatter amongst themselves about all the fun, exciting things they did during the summer, and Riley couldn’t help but think about what he’d done — which was not very much at all. A good part of his summer was spent cooped up in his room, tinkering away at an old Commodore 64 he’d found at a garage sale. It was a fascinating piece of machinery, and he’d just about gotten it to run on a 16-bit processor when his mother breezed into the room, smiling with red-painted lips.

Riley and Elain Bowen had an… unconventional relationship, to say the least. Rather than mother and son, the two were instead brought up as siblings to avoid scandal. After all, the Bowens have long been a pillar of Swansea’s Anglican community, and it simply wouldn’t do to have one black sheep sully the entire flock. Nevertheless, Elain preferred to act like Riley didn’t exist, only calling upon him when she found herself in need of help. That time, there had been something wrong with her phone, a memory error that he managed to fix in just fifteen minutes. Coincidentally, fifteen minutes was exactly how long Elain bothered to stick around, leaving behind nothing but the stench of menthols and cheap perfume in her wake. Riley probably should’ve been upset by her nonchalance, but it was difficult to miss what was never there in the first place.

The trip to Olympus was uneventful, something that he was eternally grateful for. By now, baggage checks and stone-faced security guards have become routine, but when Riley came to Olympus for the first time, he was so overwhelmed by all the noise and activity that he didn’t even think he would make it onto the plane. Fortunately, a kind-hearted stranger had offered their assistance, and Riley managed to catch his flight before it took off without him.

And thus began the long, agonising process of meeting new people and getting to know them. He likes to think he’s used to it by now, [i]socialising[/i]. Back home, his grandparents were happy to let him hole himself up in his room all day; but here, avoiding conversation was a task easier said than done. People were friendlier, somehow — well, at least most of them were.

Compared to the dour, oppressive atmosphere of his old school, Olympus Academy was paradise. Here, he could do anything, talk to anyone, create machines that ran on circuits and magic. Most of all, he was looking forward to seeing Phaedra again. It goes without saying that a sentient, mechanical wolf would cause quite an uproar in working-class Swansea, so he had to leave her behind when he went home for the summer. He was still working on a feature that would allow him to compact Phaedra into a less inconspicuous form. It was, however, proving to be quite the conundrum. How do you reduce the mass of an object without affecting its inner functions? He was going to have to spend a lot more time thinking about it.

Just then, a familiar voice booms across the campus, jolting him out of his reverie. Paired with the massive, and frankly terrifying image of Olympus Academy’s Headmistress splashed across the clouds, the announcement brought to mind passages from the Old Testament, of a wrathful God raining fire down upon the earth to cleanse it of sinners — or in this case, [i]latecomers[/i]. No doubt his grandfather would give him a lash across the palm for even thinking such blasphemy, but what he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him. Still, Riley quickens his footsteps, not wishing to attract the ire of the Headmistress on his first day back.

With all the stuff he’s carrying, it takes longer than he’d like to reach the arena. When he went back home for the summer, school policy dictated that he had to bring his tools with him. This, of course, resulted in two full-size luggages, and a backpack stuffed to bursting. Thankfully, Riley manages to make it to his destination without keeling over, though he’s more than a little out of breath by the time he settles into a chair near the back of the arena. Among the three-thousand-odd students present, only a few were familiar to him, his half-sister being one of them. Jamie’s bright, auburn hair stands out easily from the crowd, and Riley chances a smile at her, raising his hand in a sheepish wave.

The Headmaster’s speech seemed par for the course, at first, but as soon as the Headmistress took over, Riley sensed that something was amiss. Shifting slightly in his seat, he sits up straighter, and cranes his neck to look past the person in front of him. It wasn’t until the word [i]experiment[/i] came up, however, that Riley understood the true ramifications of what was happening. He’s used to working in solitude, by himself, [i]alone[/i]. The idea of a roommate was anathema to him, and from the exclamation of disbelief he heard immediately after, it was safe to assume that he wasn’t the only one who felt that way. But the Headmistress did say that out of the entire student body, only thirty-two of them would be picked, right? He couldn’t [i]possibly[/i] be unlucky enough to be one of them. As name after name is listed off, Riley feels some of the tension melt from his shoulders — [i]so far, so good[/i].

And then, the instant the thought crosses his mind, he hears his name echo through the arena like the ringing of a funeral bell.

[i]Oh[/i]. Now this was bad. Very, [i]very[/i] bad.

Riley watches with an increasing sense of helplessness as the rest of the students file out of the arena, save for thirty-two of them, of course. Included among the [i]“lucky winners”[/i] was Jamie, and the one who had readily expressed her indignation at the arrangement — Kasey, maybe? Whatever her name was, it definitely began with a K.

…[i]Probably[/i]. He wasn’t great with names, or faces, for that matter.

With his baggage in tow, Riley trudges reluctantly towards the front of the arena, where he is soon handed a piece of paper with the living arrangements printed on it. [i]2A, 2B, 2C[/i]… 2M! Upon seeing who he was paired with, Riley lets out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. It still wasn’t ideal, but it was better than having to room with someone he hated. Folding the paper into a neat rectangle, he tucks it into the inner pocket of his parka, and waits for someone else to speak so he doesn’t have to.[/indent][/indent]
[hr][hr]