Aurora had arrived in the auditorium before most of the student body had begun to trickle in. Had it been anxiety over her quiet thoughts that had driven her here? Or was the the longing to be welcomed back into the only place she could think of as home? She couldn't know. She only knew that when she was alone, and undistracted, it was hardest not to go back to that dark time in her life. Had she ever really left it?

She ran a hand through her long, lively locks as the students began to enter. She was grateful to see them. The past weeks of vacation had been difficult for Rory. She had envied the number of students able to go home, to visit their relatives and be among loved ones. She had longed to walk through the doors of her grandiose home, to great her father in the far too large foyer, to hear her mother scold her for tracking soil from the garden over the new carpet. To hold her sister, who had died before she was old enough to really know what death was...

Suddenly, Kitty Pryde's voice cut through the gloom of her thoughts, professional, but filling her with the warmth of familiarity. She was relieved to find herself surrounded with people, who helped to ease her pain with their welcome jokes, mishaps, and other distractions. She was especially thrilled when her eyes landed on the dark, straight hair of one of the better friends she had made here. "Alicia!" she hissed, only to be shushed by a stuffy mutant at her side. She gave a toss of her eyes, and slowly, stealthily, lowered herself from the folding chair to the ground. A few curious eyes watched as she crouched, took in a deep breath, and quickly phased. In the blink of an eye, she had sprung from her spot and had landed in the seat next to Alicia, her wavy, dark hair bouncing around her shoulders as she came to a sudden stop. 

She gave Alicia a sideways smirk, quite pleased with her clever maneuver and whispered, "Hey," complete with a wink of one eye. She bit her lip and gave a shrug of her shoulders in the direction of a faculty member that gave her a scolding glare.