Dinner itself was quite refreshing, I had chosen something basic as I wasn''t that hungry and really couldn''t afford to spend much either. Sandra ended up kind of forcing me over to "her" table with a few others who looked just as awkward as I did with each other. Despite that she somehow managed to keep everyone else talking, at least one at a time but still struggled to make the others talk amongst themselves while I sat there only adding the occasional comment or chuckle which seemed to satisfy Sandra arbitrary quota. I felt honestly kind of sad for her as she kept on trying her best to keep everyone happy, I had been able to piece together everyone at the table, oh yeah, I somehow missed Elisa being there, not that she talked much either, she just looked annoyed if I were to put a name to it, were just a bunch of other students that Sandra had meet and found nice to hang out with.


    There were topics about specific classes, thoughts on teachers, and rumors that circulated not that I paid much attention to rumors, but they weren''t rude just kind of funny so I played along quietly. I heard them discuss about one of the newer teachers being caught taking bribes from noble families but not getting fired due to their backing which I just had to accept as a part of life at this point. It wasn''t confirmed, confirmed, but all the students in her class for third period had collectively stated that they saw a paper on her desk detailing the entire case when she left for something (Not mentioned), which I found quite careless on her part. The name of the teacher was Mrs. Paris, not a name that I knew but I guess it was an interesting enough topic which finally got some of the more sociable members as the table talking, which I ended up somehow being dragged into the conversation.


    "By the way have you heard? Apparently one of the noble families publicly defended her by saying that what she did was ''fair''."


    "What really? I doubt it''d just be one then."


    "I mean news, doesn''t spread fast, the most efficiently priced messaging we have is horseback, so who knows when we''ll here about more?"


    All this talking ended up attracting the attention of one of the supervisors who quickly told us off for discussing rumors embarrassing us all. Everyone mostly ended up eating in silence after but at least some of the others found conversation topics between themselves which made it feel a bit less awkward.


    Elisa was the least vocal in terms of opinion on the topic but not of voice, maybe she came from a wealthy family too I thought, not that it mattered to me, well maybe a bit but otherwise there wasn''t anything else notable.


    After a bit I finished my meal and quickly went back to my room not having considered what to do with my free time as I really couldn''t bring myself to lay back down on my bed. The academy had a field and everything but I wasn''t exactly comfortable presenting myself to the public like that, it wasn''t that I didn''t enjoy sports, surprising as it may be to others, but that the part about joining others in sports is what made it a bit hard to get involved.


    I ended up sitting there alone in my room as if expecting something interesting to magically happen, I mean magic does exist, but not in that way and after enough time I ended up relenting and making my way slowly to the doors outside, not exactly a long walk but stairs are annoying.


    The field itself was many sections dedicated to different sports, events, or other things not that I was confident enough to approach any of the choices I had. I ended up sitting on a bench next to the door trying my best to seem normal, despite failing, and just watching which honestly I found entertaining enough.


    It continued on like this with my occasionally switching what I watched as I internally noted Sandra joining the others in some sort of ball kicking game, Elisa not being present, and Sylv over in the corner of the field if a bit too distant even for my eyes to see what she was doing. The time seem peaceful as students went about their own forms of entertainment before a large *boom* sound could be heard from over besides Sylv. The other students quickly turned their attention to it as some of the students curiously approached while others just decided to return to what they were doing.


    I personally was curious enough to investigate, from a distance of course, as I made my way behind the crowd that was beginning to gather. At the center of the commotion was a gang of students, a human, two elves, a cat(As much as I hate the derogatory term, it''s true that it''s much faster to use, at least mentally even if it makes me feel a little guilty myself) that looked a bit too familiar, and a dwarf waving some kind of weird banner, the wind folding it made it impossible to read but it was brightly colored in red, yellow, and white from what I could see. The familiar cat was off to the side which ended up being my focus because that''s the only person I could recognize with his name being Lewis if I remembered correctly.


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    The boys themselves didn''t seem to be doing anything suspicious beyond the banner they were waving as they just stood there as if having a picture drawn of them. I couldn''t exactly pin down the emotion I was feeling at this point shock, horror, fear, anxiety, excitement? Maybe it was a mix of both but the situation itself was distracting enough to pull me away from worrying about that.


    Eventually they stopped holding the same pose, honestly looked uncomfortable, as they started to quietly laugh and looked around to see all the attention they had garnered. Lewis himself seemed to look at me a bit longer as if he was trying to remember my face before quickly moving on, fluid enough that you could miss it if you weren''t looking for it, which most people wouldn''t be, like I''m actually so jealous that there are people who have the ability to be so careless and yet so natural like this at the same time.


    During this time they had at some point thrown out little strips of paper which after looking around to make sure no one was watching, I don''t even know why honestly, I picked one up and stuffed into my sleeve for later.


    After the initial shock the other students started to disperse randomly and only dispersing faster with one of the teachers absolutely lightening the group up with colorful (although not vulgar) language about there actions but something told me that they were enjoying it more then anything. With another staff member incoming I decided that would be the best time to leave the place before I might be caught up in something that I didn''t exactly want to be a part of.


    Having left the scene mostly unseen, at least not any more seen than anyone else I was hoping, which was probably just the paranoia but that''s not something I can just fix as I slipped back inside the dorms to maybe find something else to do.


    When I had initially come here the place had been overwhelming and it still was but there had also been something that secretly caught my eye that I tried my best to not seem overly excited about, the activity room and club rooms. Again, as I child I didn''t exactly live a wealthy life but I had lived mostly comfortable enough comparatively, it still makes me feel guilty when I complain about everything I couldn''t have when I was younger, that I couldn''t exactly complain either, as I did have it better then most of the other "lower class" demonstrated best by my ability to attend the academy at all.


    The funny thing is because there were so many students of "lower class" (I learned to just accept this term, it''s something you get used to if you''ve lived your entire life with it), we were made to arrive early so they could pull us aside and explain everything we were supposed to do differently or not do at all like washing our own clothes amongst other everyday chores that we''d maybe have grown accustomed to.


    It was a quick half hour course that only helped to set the scale for me of how much better wealthier people lived. My parents had made sure I''d understood what I was getting myself into but I thought some of it could be chalked up to them just having grandiose and inflated dreams about how a "proper" academy or school would differ from what I would normally have gone to but it turned out that they hadn''t been thinking big enough unfortunately or fortunately, whichever way I wanted to look at it.


    But bringing myself back to the present I couldn''t help but look in the direction of the sign as I walked past it wondering if it was really feasible or "ok" for me to visit those rooms as I just told myself I''d ask one of the staff later.


    There wasn''t anything that happened as I walked, I went passed a few people chatting amongst themselves usually about their own classes or where they wanted to go to have fun as I tried my best not to listen into their conversations, it was a bad habit of mine because unless they specifically watched my ears they wouldn''t know and even then most of the time I''m noticed is because my tail is wagging uncontrollably, it''s embarrassing and I don''t know how to stop it and it doesn''t wag just because I''m happy or something, there''s a lot of reasons that I don''t even remember the list, and one thing ends up turning to another as I end up locking eyes with them and they think they''re the one''s who first looked at me starting the awkward stare but I know I''m the one who looked at them first when I was listening in and one thing... yeah, the point has been made. I don''t necessarily want to do it, but I''ve developed this bad habit and now I have to suffer because of it, I internally let out a sarcastic celebratory ''yay'' in my head as I rubbed my face while standing in front of my room''s door.


    After heading inside and sitting down the little slip of paper ended up slowly fluttering out of my sleeve as I tried my best to grab it out of the air but it always ended up fluttering away at the last second which is somehow one of the more frustrating things I''ve found in life, small pieces of paper falling slowly in the air.


    After attempting it grab it at least six times and causing it to go higher in the air every single time, it finally landed on the ground which started the second most annoying part about small pieces paper, trying to pick them off the floor, especially when I didn''t know if it was dirty or not and no matter what I did, it would always end up bent, folded, or crinkled in some way by the time I managed to get it off the floor. So with this knowledge I let out a small sigh as I pinched the center of the paper and picked it up to read.


    The writing itself was hard to read but after a moment of deciphering it I just accepted in my head that it read "Vote Tristan for student president," I didn''t know what ''student president'' was at least not in the moment, there was still more on the paper but at this point the frustration made me end up just tossing it as I didn''t really feel like reading it. And so once again I was laying on my bed without a real goal or anything, which always feels like a waste of time, but also too comfortable to just not once started.