Walking through the large doors that had already been forced open, we were greeted to a sight that I assumed was normal for Boingo: a crowd of creatures were scattered on the field, some already talking with parents that had arrived at the school a tad earlier than they should have. Seeing this, I wondered just how educated these older aliens were in casting spells. Either they had an escort or were strong enough to transport themselves to the school. All of the times that I peered at the horizon that surrounded us, I saw no sign of civilization other than this one gargantuan building.
Deciding to wait in a spot that would nearly guarantee that the two of us would be seen, we began to wait. While we did so, we talked about things that would normally be reserved for when we had private time inside of the labyrinth.
As minutes dragged on, we began to get increasingly restless. I assumed that close to an hour had elapsed, and we could still not see any of our parents.
"They should be here by now," Boingo said partly to himself. "They usually mark the date down on their calendars and eagerly wait until they are allowed in."
"I'm sure they wouldn't forget you," I reassured the small, quivering being. Meanwhile, I folded my arms and contemplated; If my parents had no experience with magic, would they even be able to visit? I shook my head. Surely Midnight would retrieve them for me? I was on his mind, after all.
"Boingo!" After an uncountable number of minutes, Boingo's name was called. Swivelling our heads in the direction of the sound, I could see two creatures that looked somewhat like Boingo approaching him.
"Mom! Dad!" In an instant, my friend tackled his parents to the grassy ground underneath. Instead of reacting with anger and confusion, the two simply wrestled with wide smiles on their faces, which would occasionally produce a giggling sound.
Before long, the three nearly identical aliens shook themselves out. Boingo's father spoke first. "How have you been?"
"Good!" Boingo talked to his parents in a way that I hadn't seen before, not even when we first met. "What about you two?"
The mother spoke next. "Oh, you know," she almost dismissed. "The usual."
"The usual?" The small family began to talk for a long time as I spectated. It was mostly about Boingo's academics and living situation; it seemed as if the creature had some issues in his previous years, but he was confident in sharing his progress so far. Everyone then proceeded to beam with pride.
"Oh!" Boingo suddenly switched the topic. "I made a friend!"
Both of the creature's parents looked at one another. "Who would that be?"
Boingo turned around and stood next to me. "His name's Feste! He pays attention way more than I do."
I felt the gazes of Boingo's parents drill into my head, their silent judgement crushing my composure. "How'd you two meet?"
Boingo started to respond before I could even open my mouth to do so. "Well, we sat next to each other on the first day and just started to get along after that!"
The two older creatures didn't make any effort to mirror Boingo's gleeful expression. "Feste, what year are you in?"
My answer came out a bit shakily. "First year."
"How much experience have you had with magic before joining?"
"None, sir."
The two drew closer to me, and Boingo offered me a crooked smile. They then proceeded to sniff me, which surprised me at first but I learned to get over fairly quickly. A brief moment later, they retracted, cold expressions displayed on their faces. "Does anyone else on your planet cast spells or is it just you?"
"Just... Me." I gave this answer vocally, but was somewhat conflicted on the inside; while I couldn't identify anybody that used magic other than street performers that abused classic illusions, I knew that there was at least one other person that had the proper training to do so.
Deciding that they were through with me, Boingo's parents started conversing with their son once again. After a few exchanges, the three headed off into the school, with Boingo offering to show them his dorm room and some of the classes that he was in.
I was quickly left alone in the field; looking around as I had before meeting Boingo's family, I could see creatures that were either talking with their parents or people that were just as alone as I was, some desperate to pass the time.