I've Never Been The New Girl Before

The secretary at the front desk was more than happy to help the young girl. Having seen more than a few new students come into the Academy, the routine of getting them situated in the system was a swift and easy one. The more important task, as they grew to learn, from both experience and other faculty members, was being one of the first steps to acclimating the new student to the very different environment that was the Academy. More often than not, these young men and women were coming from distressed or complicated backgrounds, and more than a few were a little distrustful of the whole arrangement.

But as the secretary checked the computer system and got the paperwork together, they kept up a welcoming presence. They greeted Wind with warmth and attempted to talk her through all the things they were doing behind the front desk, like assigning her a Dorm or giving her pointers about Campus.

"Ah! So this is our newest arrival?"

The secretary's attempts to provide a welcoming atmosphere for Wind was derailed somewhat by the appearance of Lelei, from one of the offices behind the front desk. Lelei was a giant shark man, and even if his words were civil and warm, there was no shaking the fact that he giant shark man.

"And what might your name be, young miss? I'm eager to know!"

He leaned on the front desk, making it creak noticeably, and smiled at Wind, showing that he was still in possession of all those teeth sharks were known to have.

"Such an interesting name! Well, I'm Lelei 'A'amakualenalena and it is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Wise."

As the secretary worked, they silently tried to say Lelei's full name back. It was certainly a difficult name, requiring a lot of oral gymnastics. A few people found the irony in Lelei's being able to say the name with no trouble even though he was somewhat lacking in some of the features of a normal Human mouth, like cheeks or pronounced lips, and that he somehow managed to get it all out despite all the teeth.

He knelt down to be more at her height and held out his hand in welcome.

"I like you already, Miss. A steady eye and quick to rein-in that initial shock of my appearance. Confidence! I like it!

But why head to your Dorm so soon? Surely, I could interest you in a short tour. Perhaps answer some questions."

"Me? Creepy? Pfft."

Lelei had to make his dismissive noise off to the side, otherwise his lack of real lips would have made him spit all over Wind. The secretary was used to Lelei's mannerisms, especially the ones that compensated for his distinct physiological differences, and was just thankful that Lelei had not turned his head in such a way as to spittle on them. With their own warm smile again, they handed Wind her orientation papers and wished the two of them a good day.

"Despite my appearances, I am a perfect gentleman, Miss Wise. Now..."

Lelei rose to his towering height again.

"Just follow me and ask me any questions that pop into your head. Oh! And if you want, I can carry your bags for you."

Lelei could not speak for any of the other students nor faculty, but he had very few qualms with people looking at him strangely or thinking he was some kind of weirdo. He knew what he looked and sounded like, and he had grown to be perfectly fine with it. As long as Wind was not insulting about it, he was okay.

Wind's partial slip of the tongue was not lost on Lelei. There were plenty of new students who were iffy about the prospect of being around so many strange and exotic people, and a few were hesitant about their own inclusion to such a group. It was all such a succinct metaphor for their age, for their adolescence.

"Well, just know that you are among friends here. We're all a little strange here, and that's fine."

He picked up her luggage with little effort. What looked like a packed suitcase to her looked like a mere handbag for Lelei. Carrying her luggage would be easy as he started walking her through the hallways.

"Hmmm... I'm sure we have classes that include writing in their lessons. I don't know about any dedicated writing classes though. As for clubs, I'm sure there's some little circle of friends doing that. Or you could start one yourself!

Are you a writer, Miss Wise?"

"What I do for fun?... What DO I do for fun?"

Wind's question stumped him for a moment. Lelei was usually all business and work, and he enjoyed doing that kind of stuff. He liked a controlled and regimented lifestyle, which was probably a result of being a guard in the kingdom before he was exiled from the sea. But what did he do for fun that was NOT business? Was there anything he did beyond work?

"Um... I like drinks you have up here on the surface... No. That doesn't count. Swimming. That's kind of obvious, I suppose... Hm..."

He snapped his fingers when he thought he had something.

"Oh! I like going to the local host club and hanging out with a cute boy!"

Perhaps Lelei was so unaccustomed to describing, or even considering, his leisure time, he did not know what was appropriate to say out loud to other people.