I emerge from the training room about an hour later. I wasn't timing myself, but I know how long my workout takes.
No one else came into the room when I was exercising, but that wasn't surprising.
I head to the locker rooms to wash off before heading to the Auditorium for orientation.
A clock on the wall reads 8:30, and I quicken my pace. The school day officially begins at 9.
I get to the locker room, find an empty shower stall, strip, shower, get out, dry off, get dressed, and speed walk out with my hair still damp. A few other people had come in, but I pay them no mind.
Rushing to the reception desk I check out and the receptionist motions for me to hurry. It should be a 10 minute walk to the Auditorium from here, so I have a bit of time to spare.
I exit the training center and get my bearings. Although I've been here before and sort of know the route, I'm still new and it'll take a second. While I'm looking around I have a thought.
I haven't seen Alex since we split here. I hope he doesn't get lost on the way to the Auditorium... does he even know that orientation is happening there?
Well he'll find his way there eventually if he just follows the crowd. Speaking of the crowd, I should get over there fast so I can get a seat before people start really gathering.
With that thought, I set out in the direction of the auditorium.
* * * * * * *
'I'm late, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late, AAAAAAAAH'
Are the only thoughts going through Alex's head as he runs around through the campus' streets searching for anyone who can show him where the Auditorium is. The guide is as unhelpful as ever, or he's just bad with directions.
'I should have tried to meet up with Morgan, he would know where he's going.'
Then with impeccable timing, he spots a small group of people ahead.
'Ah finally!'
His face lights up, and he runs at full speed towards the group, but puts on the breaks when he is almost upon them, turning into a small alley. He finally got a good look at the people in the group, and panicked.
'That's the Princess! I almost just ran directly into the Princess!!! What's she doing here, she's supposed to be at the Auditorium, are they also lost?! I thought they'd be upperclassmen or something!!!!'
He backs further into the alley, and sits against the wall. Pulling out the guide again, he tries his hardest to plot a route to the Auditorium.
With renewed confidence he stands and peeks out of the alley towards the group.
'I just need to get past without them noticing. It's already a miracle that they didn't see me before.'
The group appears exactly the same, and he pulls back into the alley.
Looking up, he has an epiphany.
'I can use the rooftops!'
He scans the wall in front of him. Grabbing a handhold, he deftly pulls himself up. Anyone who saw this would think he was a monkey.
In seconds, Alex is on the roof, and he quickly crouches down. It would be bad if he got caught. Squinting, he can see a large building in the distance.
'Wait a second... that's the Auditorium! I should have just done this earlier!!'
On that thought, he slowly makes his way along the buildings towards a street in clear view of his destination. He'd rather not stay up there for longer than necessary.
Unbeknownst to him, he'd already been seen.
'What on earth is that person doing up there?' Princess Marcella thinks, taking a quick glance up at the sneaking Alex.
She had seen him when he'd climbed onto the roof. In fact she'd noticed him running towards her group before as well, but didn't say anything since he didn't approach them.
Luckily she was the only person to have seen him, otherwise he may have gotten into serious trouble.
The people with the Marcella are two members of the disciplinary committee who'd seen her wandering the streets aimlessly, and offered to guide her to the Auditorium.
"Follow us Princess, we will take you to orientation."
"Ah yes, thank you." The committee member's words snap Marcella out of her momentary daze.
They begin to walk in the direction of the Auditorium, the committee members staying uncomfortably close to Marcella the whole way.
* * * * * * *
I should have come earlier...
At some point I'd gotten stuck in a large crowd of people headed towards the Auditorium, and been heavily delayed on my way to orientation.
I hope they wait a while, it seems like a large portion of the first years aren't there yet. The first bell rang several minutes ago, and I'm still stuck outside.
On top of that, a certain person somehow got pushed by the crowd straight into my side.
"Oh hey Morgan!"
"... Hi Alex." I sigh inwardly.
I don't know why I was worried about this guy, he seems to get wherever he needs to go just fine.
Soon enough, we enter the building and it's even more grand than I expected. Somehow it feels bigger on the inside. We're only in the foyer now, but through the open doors on the other end of the room, I can see a massive hall with an incredible amount of seats.
We're pulled by the crowd, and I'm stunned by the size of the Auditorium. What I could see through the doors was only a fraction of the actual hall. It's absolutely massive.
As I'm staring in awe, I feel a strong tug on my arm. Alex pulls me out of the procession and towards an entirely empty row of seats.
"These are the best in the whole building!" He suddenly says as he pulls me towards the center of the row."
"How would you know that, I thought you'd never been here before."
"... Call it... intuition!"
That's entirely unconvincing, but it doesn't matter. I'm glad we got seats, though I wonder why no one was sitting here.
Soon the students funneling in begin to subside, and the hall is still only about 70% full. This place is gigantic. Only a few other people sat down in the rows around us, none closer than three seats away. The lights have dimmed so I can only make out their silhouettes.
I feel like I've seen one of them before, a person with hair just below their shoulders. In this light I can't make out any other features.
As the last people come in I look towards the stage expecting someone to come out soon.
Instead of someone coming out on stage, I sense a person sit directly on my right. I have no idea who it might be, but they really caught me off guard. I had no clue they were coming.
I have no time to figure out who they are, as someone comes out on stage before I turn. This is certainly more important than whoever just sat down next to me, so I'll figure it out later. The person stops at a podium in the center of the stage and speaks, their voice projected all throughout the giant room.
"Welcome students, old and new!"