[b]GM Post[/b]
[b]Time:[/b] 4:50 PM, Monday, 23rd August 2032
[b]Location:[/b] Campus Commons; the Welcome Back Banquet
[b]Interacting:[/b] Everyone

Warm afternoon sunlight flickered in through tall trees, creating a dappled pattern of light and shadow across well-manicured lawns and flagstone pathways. The air was warm, with just a faint touch of crispness hinting at the fall to come. The commons of campus, a large open area connecting a mix of buildings both modern and classical in design, was full of a good number of people, idly waiting for friends or striking up conversations with new acquaintances. 

On one stretch of pathway stood a line of hastily-arranged picnic tables, topped with cheap tablecloths and a wide array of food-warmers and serving bowls full of chips, fruit, and cookies, staffed by a variety of smiling kitchen help. Many of these workers recognized the students who hovered around the line, asking about summer vacations and other lighthearted subjects while good-naturedly shooing them away from the food – the banquet was not to start until 5pm precisely.

It was going to be a good school year. Today, the first day of classes, had gone smoothly… as smoothly as the first day of courses could be expected to go, at least. There were about three thousand, five hundred students on this side of the campus, more or less evenly divided between the high school and college levels. As with most years, nearly a third of these students were new to the grounds, which was often a recipe for disaster. Unlike most years, however, the Institute had successfully made it through the entirety of move-in week [i]and[/i] the first day of classes, all without a single Star-mark-related incident. Sure, there had been a few of the more ordinary sort of disagreement, roommate squabbles about bunks and the all-too-common homesickness, but none of the more newsworthy sorts.

All of the faculty were certainly glad about that; the fewer newsworthy scenes on campus this year, the better.

As the crowd of students continued to gather, approaching the full population of campus – the dining hall was closed for the banquet, and most students weren’t about to turn down free food – various senior student leaders (Identifiable by their tacky “Hello, my name is…” nametags, and equally-tacky Welcome Week tee-shirts) began to make their way around the edges of the crowd, gathering up students who looked like they might be a little bit lost or overwhelmed and striking up conversations with them. It was going to be better than home, they all promised – everyone was here to help them be their best, and if they had any questions, they just needed to ask, either any of them or the faculty. It was all going to be okay.
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[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/C0qYgjG.png?1[/img][/center][color=ea7024][b]Time:[/b][/color] 4:55 PM, Monday.
[color=ea7024][b]Location:[/b][/color] Campus Commons; Welcome Banquet
[color=ea7024][b]Interacting:[/b][/color] Anyone coming from class!

Phoenix disdainfully adjusted the blazer jacket he wore, prying it away from the clingy, cheap t-shirt for what felt like the millionth time. He’d signed on to be an RA, and a Welcome Leader ([i]vomit noises[/i]) besides, but he’d still rather show up to the banquet naked than in a shirt this tacky. After much pleading and cajoling, the others had agreed to let him wear a blazer to at least have [i]some[/i] hope of saving the outfit.

His fiery hair very much stood out like a beacon, especially paired with the flame-orange shirt he’d been forced into, and several of the freshmen he’d helped find classes caught sight of him even across the field, waving to him giddily. He smiled back, inclining his head, but didn’t wave – he [i]never[/i] waved to people.

After locking eyes with several of the other welcome leaders, and knowing they had the crowd well in hand, he positioned himself on the main path between the classroom buildings and the commons, hoping to catch any stragglers. He adjusted his blazer yet again, putting a pleasant smile on his face, and awaited the new students.