“I like these tiles.”

Soledad and Carlito looked at Terra, who sat between them with her fingers over her ears. She swung her feet and lightly scraped the soles of her boots across the green, speckled flooring beneath them.

“Huh, I’ve never really looked at them before,” Soledad hummed. “Now that you mention it, they are a nice shade.”

Terra looked at her. “Have you been here before?”

“Yeah, only once. This is where they hold graduation if it’s raining,” she informed.

Frowning, Terra tilted her head; she opened her mouth to ask further, but Carlito lightly nudged her before she could say a word.

“We came to the ceremony when our oldest brother graduated a couple of years ago,” he explained. “It was like a monsoon outside, and it was cold. It sucked having everyone crammed in here, but it was better than standing in that for a couple of hours.”

“What’d your brother graduate with?”

“Justice and Protection,” Soledad and Carlito said at the same time.

Terra let out a tiny laugh. “I probably should have guessed,” she muttered.

In the back of the auditorium, Chika and Adela walked through the doors, pressed as close together as they could be without touching. The former winced at the amount of people already seated, and she glanced at Adela, who curled in on herself further than she thought was possible while standing. Chika quickly flicked her eyes around, searching for a spot for them to go.

“There’s a lot more people here than I’d thought,” she muttered.

“192,” Adela replied. “Every class starts with exactly that many.”

Chika could only hum in response. A set of black wings towards the front caught her attention; a spark of fury attempted to claw its way up her throat. Pressing her lips together, she forced herself to swallow it, but not without a glare shot at the back of the girl’s head.

“Let’s find somewhere near the back.”

As soon as they settled in their seats, the lights on the stage turned on. The chatter died out almost instantly, leaving an anticipatory silence in its wake. There was a beat, and then a man in a crisp, white dress shirt walked out from backstage.

Adela hummed, a smile forming on her face. “Professor Wagnui!” she whispered.

Soledad raised an eyebrow. “He’s the one giving the speech this year?”

“What happened to Dr. Lani?” Carlito muttered.

Professor Wagnui glanced around the room, fingers fiddling with the small stack of index cards resting in his hands; they began to slip, and he lurched to catch them before such a disaster could happen. In the process, his head bumped against the microphone, sending a short Screech! over the speakers that had everyone wincing.

As soon as he fumbled himself back together, Professor Wagnui cleared his throat and pushed the braids out of his face, which revealed his cheeks to be a tad darker than they had been before. He took a shaky breath before finally speaking.

“G-Good morning,” he stammered out, “And welcome to Camp Schesi, everyone.”

Before he could get out another word, a few students let out cheers, leading to a round of applause. He let out a soft laugh and tipped his head down while waiting for its end.

“I’m sure you’re all excited to begin orientation activities, and I assure you, we will be getting to those soon,” he read from his cards. “However, before we can do that, we need to discuss the ‘business’ aspects of your attendance here.

“For those of you who don’t know me—which is most of you –my name is Professor Sterling Wagnui, and I’m the vice headmaster of this school.”

“Wait… really?” Chika quietly asked. “But he can’t be more than a few years older than us!”

“You’ll usually find me in our office on the top floor of the Training Arena, handling the paperwork and more technical things,” he continued. “I don’t stray from that too often, but I’ve been asked to open this year’s welcoming ceremony because, as Dr. Akiona said to me, she wants to see me break out of my comfort zone: a phrase that I’m sure a lot of you will be hearing from her as well, as we work to help you all become the best people and students you can be.”

Terra squirmed in her seat, shuffling further down as her eyes flicked to the floor. Soledad quirked an eyebrow at her, but before she could say anything, Professor Wagnui continued.

“In order to do that, though, you’ll need to follow the rules and guidelines we have here at Camp Schesi. While we aren’t nearly as strict as some other schools, the rules that we have must be followed for the safety of you and the other students and staff. Anyone caught breaking them will be punished however we deem as fit.”

“That’s… ominous,” Chika muttered.

Adela nodded. “It’s meant to be. The rules are there for good reasons.”

Professor Wagnui held up a finger. “First, and the one most of you are the most eager to hear: magic is allowed on campus. While most schools ban it outside of class, we believe it’s important to be able to practice whenever possible, just as you’ll be able to after graduation.”

Terra blinked. “Wait… what?”

“However,” he continued, “You may not use it on other students without their permission, and anyone with potentially harmful magic types must report to either Dr. Akiona, myself, or any of the staff in the health center.

“Second, you are not allowed to leave campus at night without permission unless you are leaving in a vehicle or the train. This will be lifted for any Justice and Protection-focused students upon returning for your third year. The forest surrounding us, like most forests in Marban, is home to many monsters and creatures that could kill you in an instant, and your safety is our top priority. There are no other curfews as long as you remain on campus, but we do expect you to be responsible about your sleeping habits.

“Finally, although most of you are here for physically taxing future careers, this is still a school, despite what the name might imply. Your minimum grade requirements differ depending on your focus; when you all meet your camp counselors tomorrow, they’ll inform you of what that is. If you find yourself struggling or falling behind, there are services available for tutoring and other academic help.”

Letting out a slow, deep breath, Soledad slid down in her seat. She crossed her arms and stared pointedly at the stage while Carlito leaned forward to shoot a glance at her.

“Don’t,” she hissed.

Professor Wagnui let out a sigh of relief and lowered his cards.

“Alright, now that that’s out of the way… I’d like to welcome Camp Schiesi’s Headmaster, Dr. Akiona, to the stage.”