New Residents, New Trouble

"A field day? So, like sports and stuff?"

"More like magical activities and dueling. Pure non-magical sporting events are secondary and rare. I'm surprised that they've moved it up so soon this year. Normally it's later in the semester."

Ramona and Aayla were talking in Ramona's office. The official transfer day was only two days away. It would take place next Shine Day. Jacki, that wonderful girl, dragged Chris and Daren into the office to finalize some of the details so Aayla could take a break. It appears that Aayla wasn't the only young lady that Chris's charms had a limited effect on. Aayla was going to miss her when she moved out.

Since Aayla was the head residence advisor and only a part time student, she was the only first-year to stay in the dormitory. Daren and Chris would be the only second years remaining due to university politics. Aayla seriously wondered if they were alright. Chris hadn't slept for several days muttering about butterflies and how to keep them away. On the other hand, Daren seemed to be sleeping way too much. He almost never left his room. The headmaster had to personally drag him outside every day.

Two days after that would be the start of the annual Nafriton Fall Festival. Ill health from constantly studying and leading a shut-in lifestyle was a constant worry for the older generation. As a result, the student council would host a series of sporting events each year to promote student unity and welfare.

There would be a variety of events including team sports, individual events and performances. The most popular events by far would be the performances of the theater-based clubs and the dueling tournaments. Open only to third- and fourth-years, there would be several battles to determine who is the best in each year and in the entire school. The second years had a more heavily regulated tournament, but it was less intense and far less popular.

Almost all of the upperclassmen strived for a chance to compete in the dueling tournaments. The entire campus was excited and stressed. They lost several weeks to prepare for the tournaments completely out of the blue. Those with high enough grades and three recommendations could immediately join. Otherwise, the Student Council launched several testing and pre-tournament dueling opportunities for students to earn their own way into the tournament.

However, none of this impacted Aayla at all. Not only was she uninterested in general, but Aayla wasn't even qualified to compete. She quietly took more lessons under Ramona and slowly mastered her new magical abilities. By the transfer day, Aayla should be able to cast basic lifestyle magic, such as heating water or cleaning an object. For now, she could slowly gather mana for the Full Moon Bracelet. Aayla still couldn't cast anything without Ramona's help, aside from activating the New Moon Bracelet.

**********

On the 23rd of Kilm, over 1,000 students transferred rooms. Gleeful underclassmen left for a luxurious life on campus in the morning while determined upperclassmen arrived at Nafriton Residence Hall in the afternoon. Aayla saw Jacki off to campus when she went to class, then hurried back to campus once class was over to help prepare for the afternoon rush.

The headmaster insisted on letting the gremlins work. Personally, Aayla thought that he was more than just a little insane. Letting them do simple chores was one thing, but letting them interact with humans was still somewhat frightening. In the morning, the gremlins checked the empty dorm rooms for damage then reported to Dormi, who would charge their accounts for damages. All the students had to do was check in their keys. That wasn't so bad.

The bad part was the afternoon, when they would handle luggage and guide students to their new rooms. Aayla was very concerned about theft. Headmaster Marin merely smiled and assured her that they would be the most excellent little helpers. She, Ramona and Deputy Downer were not amused.

Aayla sighed as the transfer check in continued. Most flocked towards Daren and Chris so she, Theo and the student council helpers had little to do. The gremlins would shriek occasionally when they got overwhelmed. While annoying, this cooled the easily excitable crowd so Aayla just went with it.

Everything went smoothly, until a group of young ladies waltzed right through the door. They were beautiful, even among all the beauties on campus they could easily stand above the rest. All of their clothes and accessories were clearly made and chosen with the finest of care. They seemed a little over dressed for the occasion. Another group of students stood quietly behind them like servants. A chubby young man with blond hair, sharp green eyes and a friendly atmosphere was at the very front of the second group.

The young lady up front was the most beautiful and finely dressed of all. With a haughty air, she moved through the crowd. They easily cut through the lines as people kept their distance. Aayla couldn't tell if they kept their distance out of fear or respect. Anyways, the young ladies simply walked right up to Daren and Chris. Chris looked thoroughly annoyed while Daren and the Student Council helpers seemed resigned to their rude actions.

"There is a line Lady Landrienne. It shouldn't be too hard for your ladyship to wait a few minutes."

"Oh, how lovely it is to see you too, Sir Vear. But there doesn't seem to be a line? Everyone just moved so politely out of my way on their own. How kind of them to let a delicate lady get out of the sun."

She conveniently ignored the fact that they only moved because they didn't want to get involved. Vanessa Landrienne smiled coyly and walked in front of Daren's table.

"It's been a while, Daren –"

Before she could speak further, he pushed a bunch of papers towards her.

"Please address me more formally, Lady Landrienne. We're not that familiar. Please sign here. Everything else has already been prepared. No need to thank me. It's just part of my job."

Vanessa's smile stiffened. Her grip tightened around her fan. No matter what she did Daren always seemed to avoid her. She glanced to the side. It's all that dolt's fault. Christopher Vear was always getting in her way and destroying Daren's regal upbringing. Allowing Daren to associate with commoners and otherwise lesser creatures was unacceptable. She would click her tongue in disgust, but that's unbecoming of a lady. One day, she would correct that and other bad habits as Daren's wife.

Yes, Vanessa was completely sure that she would become Daren's wife. There was no one else who could. Her smile and grip relaxed. Hmph. She'll take care of that fool Chris later. He still has some value with his pedigree and Daren likes him, so he can stick around for a little while. A good wife and stricter teaching should fix him.

Her pen regally floated across the papers as she signed them. Vanessa subtly touched Daren's fingers with hers when she carefully handed the papers back. Unnoticed to her, Daren's hand slightly recoiled in disgust when their hands met.

"Hohoho, not that close? Is that really what one should say to your childhood friend and fiancé?"

"Please watch your words, Lady Landrienne. Elder Lord Forolan and the family never agreed to that. Don't spread any unnecessary rumors. You could easily hurt someone's reputation."

Vanessa and Chris glared daggers at each other. The air grew heavy and tense. One of the Student Council members abruptly smacked the papers in their hands on their desk.

"If you all are finished, the gremlin helpers can take any extra bags and guide Ms. Landrienne to her quarters."

A tiny white gremlin with a cute little bow jumped onto the table and politely bowed. Vanessa snorted and headed towards her room. That annoying jerk. Just when I could talk with Daren, he ruined it! I'd better leave now so I don't have to look at that moron's ugly face and show anything ugly to Daren. Oh, well. We live together now, so I'll have plenty of chances to have Daren all to myself ~~<3.

As soon as her entire group was gone, the blond-haired young man quickly apologized to the crowd and signed his own group in. He introduced himself as Marc Lupton. Aayla felt a cold, calculated personality underneath his warm persona. She inwardly sighed. These new residents were going to be much more troublesome. There's at least one love sick mental case and a cold-hearted schemer. Aayla would rather face off against the berserk gremlins.

The rest of the day went relatively smoothly. Aayla sincerely missed the old residents. Many of these new ones have problems with their brains. She's seen some serious cases of extreme delusions, love sickness, Eighth Grader Syndrome, narcissism and more. Thank goodness that the Student Council members seem rational and normal.

Everyone went to bed extremely early for the next day. They were all excited for the following three days. The annual ranking tournaments would take place that would decide their fates for this school year.