"Please follow me to the front office for check in and to retrieve your room keys."
Aayla let out a small sigh of relief when she finally finished her lines. Her smile became a bit stiff under the probing gazes of the crowd. To avoid the discomfort, she quickly turned around and headed back towards the mansion. Groups of parents with their children began to follow behind her. No overly entitled parents so far. Hopefully, she could get through the next couple of days without issue.
The crowd slowly trickled in as they admired the grounds. While a bit too modest and sparse for modern tastes, the grounds were much better than expected. A few even left the path to take a walk outside first. There's an entire day for check in. They might as well relax and wait for the line to shorten a bit.
The front doors opened automatically when Aayla arrived at the stairs. The parents marveled at the ornate, vintage interior while the students heaved sighs of relief that the building was not as awful and rundown as they had feared. Aayla secretly massaged her aching cheeks then put on another bright smile.
"This is the lounge area" – Aayla gestured to the fireplace surrounded by plush sofas and chairs – "where all students are allowed to relax.
To your right is the dining hall and stairs for the Men's Wing. To your left is the office and Women's Wing. Only men are allowed in the Men's Wing and women in the Women's Wing. The full rules and regulations can be found in the resident's handbook that will be given to the resident at sign in.
Please get in an orderly line in front of the office for check in. We are a bit short staffed, so thank you in advance for your patience."
With that out of the way, Aayla walked to the office and got behind the counter. Everything still appears gremlin free. Excellent. Soon parents and students flooded into the office. Aayla silently cursed Daren and Chris who still haven't shown up. Didn't Headmaster Marin tell them to help out? Hmph. Those lazy, unreliable good for nothings.
Aayla completed the check ins as fast as she could. Check the student ID. Sign them in. Give them a welcome package. Have the student sign a waiver. Give them their room key. Done in under 5 minutes. The counter became crowded with people as they became impatient to check in. All that Aayla could do was frantically help the new residents as fast as she could. She felt like she was working a Black Friday sale with 95% off everything store wide. Dormi even had to toss a couple of parents out when they tried to duel each other in the lounge!
When the line finally disappeared, Aayla sunk to floor in exhaustion. A mess of papers covered the floor behind the counter. She began to pick them up and organize them. Every student marked on the sign in sheet had to have a waiver. This student has one, and this one too. Oh, no. Please tell me that I didn't lose the one for that student! Phew, never mind. It was still on the floor.
Aayla was so busy that when the counter bell dinged, she didn't even look up.
"One moment please."
"Good morning Miss Aayla. Your knights in shining armor are here to save you from the paper dragon."
She looked up to see a familiar cheeky and calm pair of friends. Aayla checked her pocket watch. The time read 10:23 am. They were over two hours late.
"Unfortunately, the knights are far too late. You do realize that sign in started at 8 this morning? You're over two hours late. Weren't the both of you supposed to sign in weeks ago anyways? You missed all of the cleaning."
Chris coughed and awkwardly looked away.
"Who even opens the dorms this early anyway? You should've just sent us a message," Chris grumbled.
"So, you say to the girl without mana or knowledge of where you've been for the past weeks. You two should've stopped by anyways even without a message!"
"Our apologies, Miss Glowery. There were some sudden security issues that the university had to resolve first. Headmaster Marin wanted us to stay close to him until then," Daren slightly bowed his head in apology.
With a wave of Daren's hand, the scattered papers flew about and neatly organized themselves. Aayla picked herself up off the ground and signed them in.
"Since both of you are friends, I put you in the same dorm room together. Here's your keys and welcome package. The far staircase is for the Men's Wing. Feel free to get settled in and look around a bit. Just come back by lunch so I can take a break. I will find you if you don't."
Aayla glared specifically at Chris when she pushed two welcome packages and keys towards the boys. He has been forever labeled as a trouble maker in Aayla's mind. Chris smiled brightly and nodded his head as if he was the best-behaved schoolboy in the world. Aayla rolled her eyes at Chris and began looking through the sign in sheet as she waved them away.
"From my count only 80 students have checked in. We still have 520 to go so be prepared to work late if everyone tries to register at the last minute."
"What? 500 students left? But there's only 3 of us!"
"That's why you better get back here soon, because I am not going to be the only person handling all of these sign ins today."
The pair quickly ran off to find their room as another large group of parents and students arrived. Aayla put a bright smile back on her face and braced for the worst. The rest of the morning was a rushed frenzy of checking in students with the occasional duel between parents. Maybe it's just the type of people that attend Nafriton, but the people here love their duels just like how Americans love football. Fortunately, with Chris and Daren the process went much more smoothly. Aayla still didn't get lunch though.
By late afternoon, most of the residents had already arrived. The crowds had calmed down again when a student rushed into the office. Flustered she pushed people aside to talk with Chris.
"Hey Jacki, what's going on?"
"Chris, we have a serious problem! I don't know how but those two are here."
"The Goldings?! Since when? We have a restraining order out on them."
Chris sprinted out of the office. The pen dropped out of Daren's trembling hand and the whole room went silent. Students and parents alike had expressions of disgust, fear and anger. Aayla furrowed her brows. This doesn't look good. What's so wrong with them that people clearly don't like them? Aayla pointed to the student.
"You! Your name is Jacki, right? Come with me. Daren, just stay inside and continue registering people as they arrive. Dormi should have no problem kicking out anyone that tries to do anything stupid. Speak up if they bother you or Dormi might not have the authority to act unless they physically do something."
Daren stood in silence while Aayla grabbed Jacki by the arm and pulled her out of the room.
"Who exactly are the Goldings and what's wrong with them?"
"Wait, you don't know? How can you not –"
"I'm not from this country, alright? Never mind that. What's wrong with them?"
"Well, they were Daren's parents... you know, those two from the Forolan family."
"Were his parents?"
"They were publicly excommunicated from the Forolan family and stripped of their right to inherit the City Lord position. Officially, they were corrupt and stole from the family coffers. Now they are no longer Daren's legal parents and aren't allowed near him."
"And unofficially?"
"… There are rumors that they abused Daren when he was a kid and have ties to some magical extremist factions. The main family hasn't confirmed or denied anything, though."
Aayla rubbed her temples. Well, so much for a peaceful re-opening.
"Dormi, can you kick them out if they try anything? Can words alone be evidence of legal action for now?"
The walls creaked and groaned while the curtains of nearby windows fluttered in a shrugging motion. Aayla sighed. They will need the actual legal documents to keep them out but they are already on thin ice. She pulled Jacki towards the open front door. She could hear an intense argument coming from outside and saw a crowd gathering. She pointed to a window.
"You stay right here. Keep the door closed while I'm out and point out the Goldings to Dormi."
"Uh, who's this 'Dormi'?"
The walls groaned in discontent. Aayla gently patted on the door in comfort.
"The building's artifact spirit, who's apparently more than a bit sensitive by the way. Literally just point at them or something and Dormi will take care of the rest."
Aayla ran out of the door leaving the dumbfounded Jacki behind.