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Once Nicole was finished with her shower, it felt like it took a monumental effort to lift her spent body from the bed it laid on, despite its uncomfortable, rigid composition. Astrelle swiftly proceeded to the bathroom without exchanging more meaningless small talk with her new roommate. At the very least, Astrelle paid attention to Nicole’s warning and very carefully fiddled with the cold faucet. 

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There were a handful of hours of peace before the blaring trumpets of Nova Lux sounded to callously steal them away. Astrelle clinged on to the fleeing remnants of sleep, slow to rise from her fluffy grey duvet. The sunlight that streamed into the room from a window between the girls lifted the drowsy weight on her eyelids, and with a brief passing of time, Astrelle found herself regrettably wide awake. If she had a choice in the matter, she’d sleep for as long as possible to avoid what was to come.

The uniforms that the school provided were the same blue and gold as all of their furniture. With it on, Astrelle felt like another piece of decor in the room. She put on a pair of sheer black tights underneath the uniform’s skirt to add some degree of familiarity. It felt more comfortable to have something black on; the blue and gold of Imperium’s brand were far too loud for Astrelle’s tastes. After putting on a light layer of makeup, Astrelle followed the directions from the staff and proceeded towards the auditorium behind everyone else.

For the most part, Astrelle dissociated from the day’s events. The morning assembly was nothing unexpected, a typical address to the students by staff. As the staff rambled on, Astrelle preoccupied her mind with something or other, thinking frequently about her life in Valentia. It was hard not to feel disappointment with her current situation. Her normal luxuries were out of reach, even if she was thrown in here with a sizable amount of funds. Her future was uncertain, and that left Astrelle with an uneasy feeling. Shock from yesterday’s events lingered and it still seemed likely that she could die at any point. If that were the case, Astrelle figured breaking more rules would be the fun way to go.

The clinical examinations and tests were by far the least pleasant parts of the day. It wasn’t something Astrelle would have consented to if it were not part of the Ars Magi process. Her anger built, directed towards her parents for putting her here in the first place. They likely wouldn’t contact her unless necessary, so her anger didn’t have anywhere to go, it simply muddied her mood. Even the slight smile that Astrelle usually donned was wiped by dinner time, replaced by a cold scowl. 

Penny brought up an interesting hypothetical situation. Astrelle’s opinion on the matter differed from the others’, of course, she would [i]love[/i] to find that she couldn’t be an Ars Magi after all, but she wasn’t too keen on returning to her parents’ home, disappointing them once again. Her mouth remained shut, however. She wasn’t in much of a mood to talk, and focused on stabbing the leaves on her plate with her fork.