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The jump from sleep to wakefulness was sudden. Abrupt. And, exactly the same as it had been for the past... who knew, really. The first thing Tate consciously laid eyes on was his clock. Five minutes before the alarm was meant to go off. It was the eternal paradox that he'd grown accustomed to recently: if he set the alarm, he'd always wake up before it went off. So just don't set the alarm, then? Yeah, and say goodbye to all your appointments, fucker. Tate groaned as he rose to a seated position. He couldn't remember much about his time in the world of slumber, but the vague recollections were enough to give him pause. It was different. Tate was used to his dreams being incomprehensible, but there was something off. It made... too much sense, and despite barely remembering anything about it, Tate couldn't shake that feeling out of his head.

What was he, getting spiritual now?

Tate shook those thoughts out of his head. The hell was he getting all pensive for? He had a day to get through. With that in mind, he quickly hopped over to his alarm, turning it off right before it sacked him with the high-pitched beeps Tate had learned to dread it for. Consistently waking up before his alarm had one upside, he guessed. With that out of the way, Tate hopped into the shower. This was also part of his routine, after all. It helped get everything in order for the day. Routine was the main thing keeping him grounded right now. Tate freshened up for the day ahead, putting on a grey t-shirt and blue jeans and slipping into his black hoodie. He slipped on his shoes before leaving his dorm room...

Only to immediately run into someone.

[color=ffd277]"Heya, Joss,"[/color] Tate said to the girl. This was also part of the routine he'd settled into. He and Jocelyn would meet just outside his room, before heading off to school. It was why he'd woken up so early today, even though he didn't have a class until the evening.

[color=febaff]"Hey yourself,"[/color] Jocelyn replied, [color=febaff]"Ready to get swarmed?"[/color]

[color=ffd277]"Swarmed?"[/color]

[color=febaff]"Yeah, you know. By the freshies."[/color]

[color=ffd277]"The fr-... ohh, yeah, no, uh..."[/color] Tate started, a look of realization coming over his face. The first-years were gonna be out in full force. [color=ffd277]"Things are gonna get crowded as fuck, huh?"[/color]

[color=febaff]"Listen to this man talking like he wasn't [i]exactly[/i] part of the problem less than a year ago,"[/color] Jocelyn replied, rolling her eyes, [color=febaff]"You got everything?"[/color]

[color=ffd277]"Yeah, course I did."[/color]

[color=febaff]"You sure? If you realize that you forgot something later, I'm not helping you."[/color]

[color=ffd277]"I [i]got[/i] it, Joss. Jesus."[/color]

[color=febaff]"Uh huh. If you say so,"[/color] Jocelyn said, and began to walk off.

Well. Tate followed her without another word.

The walk to the main building was short and uneventful. The freshmen were, indeed out in full force all around the campus, and at several points Tate could have sworn he was wading through the crowd as opposed to simply shuffling through it. He and Jocelyn talked about games and anime, mostly. Their shared interests. Jocelyn saw someone at her MahjongSoul table pull off a nagashi mangan. Tate talked about how he binged the entirety of Season 27 of Detective Conan over the weekend.

[color=febaff]"Bruh. What the fuck."[/color]

[color=ffd277]"I mean... same."[/color]

Jocelyn shook her head as they entered the main building.

[color=febaff]"Alright, I'm heading off to class. See ya later,"[/color] she said, before heading off in her direction.

Which left him alone again. Tate moved to one of the common areas to see what was what. He had so, so much time to kill. Time to see how he could kill it.

Maybe with breakfast? You haven't eaten yet, doofus.

...He'd probably get something soon. Fine. But for now, he scanned the room.