Jinny was not amused with the stares. It had been less than 24 hours and the staring thing was already old. She took it in stride, though, making eye contact with the older students, and then letting her gaze pass through them as if they didn’t matter. (She had been practicing this in the mirror for months.) 

It was nice to get a good look at the school with less people around. Now that she knew certain things were there, she was noticing the missing cameras, walls and areas of the grounds that seemed a little off, staff that looked a little too bulked up to be normal. What she really wanted to do was explore the place in earnest. But: there was class. Oh well, maybe tonight.

Early morning math was the best thing to get her mind going. It was a very normal classroom, which was a definite disappointment. She settled in the middle of the class, noting the equation on the board and writing it down. Playing with her braid, she let it simmer in her brain a while. Some of the math she was able to work out and write down, but the rest of it stumped her. That was exciting. So far, she hadn’t met an equation she couldn’t tackle, but this… this was new.

She actually had to tear herself away from the new puzzle in order to take her test. It wasn’t particularly hard. She’d seen most of it in the textbooks she owned at home. Finished in half an hour, she dropped the completed test off on the teacher’s desk before quietly starting back on the complicated equation. What could it be for? It was a little disappointing to leave, especially since she had the dreaded English next.

While she could read, it was a slow process. Letters tended to move and twist, leaving words incomplete, or incomprehensible.  Sometimes she jumped lines and had to go back. Certain fonts left her illiterate entirely. She’d gotten around it in school with memorization and audiobooks. 

It was a surprise to see the blended class, though. She was definitely not the youngest, but the older students were a bit of a surprise. It didn’t particularly bother her, though. If she was going to make it here, especially in the upper level courses, she’d just have to make them respect her. Easier said than done. She left English with a clouded brain and an early assignment.

Power Control helped clear that up, happily. If she’d been asleep before, she was definitely awake now.  Now the real tests were going to begin. For her power demonstration, she levitated the training dummy while lifting herself off the ground at the same time. And then, she shoved it into the nearest wall with a hard wave of her hand. It didn’t break nearly as spectacularly as Jinx’s had. She chose to ignore her roommate, only in part because Jinx had chosen to do the same. It would probably be easier that way, going forward.

With her free period, she decided to meditate. It had been mostly a day of sitting down and paying attention, so far. It made her antsy, for one. And for another, there was no sense in breaking from a routine that worked. She went back to her room, and after locking the door and putting on peaceful music, she sat on her bed and closed her eyes. Not asleep. Still aware. Just… letting her fast and scattered thoughts compose themselves into some kind of order before lunch. She spent a good 45 minutes at that before going to lunch.

The cafeteria was quite busy by this time of the afternoon, even with the multiple lines leading to multiple dishes. Today, she decided to try some pizza, a supreme with plenty of toppings. Once she was done getting her food, she peered around the cafeteria for the few people she knew. Finding no one, she sat alone. After picking off the olives and eating, the rest of her time was devoted to picking at that morning’s math problem again.

The teacher’s challenge in the Stealth class was somewhat ignored. Jinny knew she was good at stealth, but not perfect. Being able to float was helpful, but she wanted to learn it for real, from the ground up. She recorded the teacher on her phone for later note-taking, knowing for a fact that this would be integral for her to learn well.

And then:

Weapons.

She stepped into the gym, noting her Otou-san standing in the middle. She did not go to him, though she sort of wanted to. It was still intimidating to her, seeing him in full gear. While she wasn’t scared anymore, she figured that he was in a serious mode. Maybe she’d bother him once the day was over. The table of weapons gave her pause. Maybe she should try something new for the class. Start from the top, and keep the daggers to her private lessons.

Joining her friends, she pretended to be just as surprised and intimidated as they were. The surprise was fake. The intimidation? Much less so. “I bet it was a lot of money. I also bet we’re probably going to get our asses kicked. A lot.” Both true statements, but how true remained to be seen. “How’d the rest of your classes go, guys?”