Chatoyant College, Book 1: New Student Orientation

Chapter 3: Dawn

The dining hall was extremely crowded and loud. Dawn was suddenly very, very glad that she'd recruited people to come with her. She was not an especially shy person, but the press of strangers here was intimidating. Trying to communicate by way of gestures, since it was too loud to try to talk, the three of them found the line to get food, then looked for a place where three seats were available. They didn't find one, but one table had two seats free at the end, while the table next to it had an empty chair, so after checking that it wasn't in use, Corrie grabbed it and stuck it at the end of the other table, giving the three of them a cozy little nook, despite the basketball players (who were still wearing their uniforms) they shared the table with.

"So what are you two planning on majoring in?" asked Corrie between mouthfuls of mashed potatoes.

"I don't know," Edie admitted. Dawn could tell she was shy, and was already developing a motherly sort of attitude toward her. "I think maybe French, but I'm not sure I love the language enough to study it that deeply. Otherwise I don't really have any ideas, though."

"I kind of have the opposite problem," Dawn said. "I have too many ideas, and I don't know which one to pick! So I'm taking a lot of intro courses this term--sociology, biology, psychology, history, and of course, since this is Chatoyant, magic."

Corrie nodded. "I'm taking intro to magic too--I hope we're in the same class, that would be fun."

Edie was looking at the two of them in bewilderment. "You two are seriously taking magic courses?"

"Sure," said Corrie, turning to look at her. "I mean, I'm taking it just for fun and I don't intend to major in it, but it seems like a really cool course."

"People don't take that seriously, though, do they?" asked Edie, leaning in closer to them as if hoping not to be overheard. "I mean, it's, well, magic. It's just a fluff major."

"Oh no, it's completely serious," said Dawn, shaking her head. "My aunt went here and told me about it. Showed me a little, too. I'm really looking forward to learning it."

Edie leaned back again and stared down at her plate. Dawn realized she didn't want to talk about it anymore and turned the conversation back to the original topic. "Do you know what you're majoring in, Corrie?"

Corrie nodded. "English, almost definitely. I love reading and writing, so it seems like the obvious route." Dawn couldn't disagree with that. Soon they had finished their dinners and returned to the dorm, Edie back in a cheerful mood. Dawn went back to her room, but it was still dark and the second bed was empty; her roommate apparently still hadn't arrived. She took the opportunity to grab her class schedule and returned to Corrie and Edie's room. Edie was hanging up her clothes and Corrie shoving boxes under her bed, but they seemed pleased enough to greet her again.

They sat and compared schedules. None of them were in the same section of the First Year Experience class that everyone had to take, but Corrie and Dawn did have Intro to Magic together, which pleased them. Corrie also had a basic essay-writing course, which Dawn had placed out of, with Edie. Before long, there was a knock on the door, and Corrie jumped up to answer it.