Moving in

"Ok, you're good to go," said the lady at the front desk.

"Is that all?" I asked.

"Yep. Make sure you talk to your R.A. (Residential Assistant) and get to know them. I'm fairly certain they come and visit everyone on the floor, especially Freshmen. Here's the key to your room and a room condition report. You can hand it to your RA or back here at the front desk by the end of the week."

"Um, Thanks"

"You're welcome, I hope you enjoy your time here at the Xavian Residence Hall"

I slid the room condition report in a file and placed it in my backpack. The entire building was shaped like an X, an atrium with 4 wings. X for Xavian I suppose.

I approached Jimmy. He slept seated on a couch near the entrance. He was supposed to be guarding the bags. Well, I guess I can't blame him, he must be tired after all that traveling. I yawned. I suppose I'm tired as well. And those plush couches looked really soft.

I poked his nose till he jolted awake and looked around confused. He yawned, stretched, and rubbed his eyes to rekindle himself.

"I have the keys," I said.

"Wha-? oh, yeah. Keys. Too many bags though, we can't carry everything up by ourselves in one go and I'm too tired to make multiple trips," Jimmy said.

"We could ask someone for help" I suggested

"Why don't you go ask those two kids over there? The one with the fliers"

I was suddenly struck by unease. I didn't understand why. I played it cool till now, pretended that I could handle the responsibility. But I was not ready for this. Living alone in a new place? I'm not sure I could have lived independently back home.

"Oh, my bad. you're at that age aren't you?" Jimmy said knowingly. What was he talking about? Did he think I was nervous because they were guys? I personally don't think it would've been any different if they were girls.

"Hey, guys. Could you help us out here?" Jimmy yelled at them. I squirmed in place. I might've squealed. Why did he have to yell so loudly?

One of the guys approached us. He was tall and chubby. I must look like a mouse next to him. He wore a simple t-shirt, which would've been unusual in Shizu. I similarly wore a simple white shirt. Back home in Shizu, we usually wore thick winter coats or at least multilayered clothing.

There was a lot more. How they spoke, what they ate, and even nature itself. I've read about life outside of Shizu but living it was a lot different. Would they think I was strange? The man seemed to be frowning. I hear some people are not always welcoming to outsiders. Is this person going to be like that?

"What's up?" he asked

"I'm helping her move in," Jimmy said. "Do you mind helping us?"

The man looked back at his friend.

"We're actually going to be handing out fliers soon, so I'm not sure-" He paused, thinking.

"Hmm. Actually, there is something we could do" he continued.

"What?" I asked.

"I'm assuming you're a new student here."

"Yeah"

"Cool, I'm recruiting for the history club. You promise to come to audit us, then I can consider helping you move as a part of my duties" He suggested smiling widely.

"Um, I don't know. This is kind of sudden-"

"Great!" Jimmy exclaimed. "You were droning on about how you wanted to join a club all the way here. Do you want to shake on it?". He extended a hand. What the hell Jimmy!?

The other guy frowned. "You know what? I changed my mind. Just promise me you'll think about it. I'll help you anyway"

"I can do that" I replied, relieved.

"Dope" He grabbed two bags "I'm Neil by the way."

"I'm Ella," I said.

"Is that short for Elanor?"

"No. Just Ella"

"Cool. I asked because the president of the History Club is named Elanor. We call her Nora though"

We all walked to the eastern wing of the building carrying my luggage. My room was on the third floor. 304, I think. I checked the inscription on my key. 314. I had asked Jimmy why he said I should try and get a room on the lower floors. He had mentioned something about fire drills, whatever that means. We never had to worry much about fire up north.

We pressed the button to call an elevator and waited. Both, Jimmy and Neil set my bags down. I just had a light backpack and a wheeled bag that I could drag around.

"Could you tell me a bit about the club?" I asked Neil.

"Well the club deals with general histories, but almost everyone is interested in Magic related histories. Here's a cool fact. About a decade ago the history club found a hidden crypt within the university grounds using an old journal of the founder, Mage Rafalio Borga"

"Woah".

"We recently found evidence that led us to believe we are onto something similar. But if you want to learn more, you're going to have to come to our club" he smiled.

Dang, he knows exactly what he's doing. Now my curiosity was piqued. Even Jimmy looked intrigued.

It looks like I might probably go to this club after all.