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The heavy impact of his case against the floor as he pushed it onto its back resonated a dull echo, not a loud one, but clearly a result of the somewhat sparse room. Glancing between the two beds, he shrugged and dropped his rucksack onto the nearest one without much thought. As if it made a terrible amount of difference which bed he got, anyway.
Turning to look at the surroundings, he ran a quick inventory of what would allocate as 'his'. Four cabinets for clothing and personal effects, computers on a small bank of tables at one end, a fridge, interestingly enough...Nothing too out of the ordinary.
'I suppose I'll take these two...'
Glancing at the end of the bed he'd claimed, the first two of the drawer units sat side by side. Wheeling the case over, he began to lay his clothing into place, setting down any other stuff on top of the unit for now. As it stood, there was maybe twenty minutes to classes. A breeze, really, he was so particular about the layout of his things that he'd fine-tuned it into a process that took a little under ten minutes.
For the most part, everything was away, the case slid under the bed at the far end, and things like his shaving utensils and other hygiene products sat neatly on the softly polished wood. Sitting on the bed for a moment, he folded his arms back behind his head and sighed quietly. It wasn't a palace, hell, it wasn't much of anything, but it would do for now...Contemplating the uniform for a moment, he shook his head and decided to leave it. There would be sufficient time after classes to prepare for the next day, and inwardly he was a touch curious as to just how much shit could be stirred based solely on the 'refusal' to wear the school-appointed garb.
"If the earlier display was anything to go by, I'm sure it'll be a great way to make...friends...with the faculty."
Smirking at the notion, he shifted through his bag quickly, checking that the few things he'd need were there, at least until they were allotted books and such. Slinging it back over his shoulder as he pushed to his feet, he wedged his headphones back in and spun the volume in preparation of going back 'out' into public. In here, thankfully, the noise was limited. Sadly, he doubted that even that small solace would remain for terribly long.
Jinn walked down the campus, headed for the dorms. The first days of the campus and already students began trying to prove their worth. There was some respect for the effort, yet Jinn couldn’t help, but detest how some of his “peers” had been acting. The immaturity of some of his fellow students was rather detestable at best and it made him wonder just how this year would turn out. Or who would help keep it in shape.
Making his way into the assigned dorm room, and taking a quick scan, Jinn noticed that his roommate had already made himself at home. He stepped into the room, looking around to see what had been taken up already. The room, in majority, was divided for two students to share. The man who would be Jinn’s roommate already had claimed the bed nearest the door along with the cabinets at the beds end. ‘Well then.’ Jinn walked over to the other bed, placing his bag on the surface.
He frowned at the sight of only one small fridge and one television, but he doubted he’d be using either on a regular basis. There were only two windows to let light into the room, but it seemed to be enough with the sun out. Moving to the window, Jinn slid the one near the fridge open to let a breeze in.
“Oh, right.”
He had forgotten about the roommate that stood near the door. Turning to get a better look, Jinn took in a basic up and down of the man. A brunette who seemed to be in fairly good shape, although a little short compared to Jinn, stood before him. To be on good terms with a person he’d most likely be seeing fairly regularly, he walked over to the man, extending his hand in greeting.
“Hey, nice to meet you. I’m Jinn Campbell, and you?”
He was in the process of getting ready to leave for classes when the door opened. Almost on reflex, he flicked his head to the side sharply to see who was entering the room. Somewhat used to his privacy at home, it would take a little adapting to get used to that. Straightening himself out, he stood and gave a brief glance at the extended hand.
'It's not like he means any harm...'
Reaching out his own hand, he shook the offered appendage briefly, his face even. "Likewise. I'm Aroon Kamsing. This is my first year here, how about you?"
Figuring it easy to stick with common ground for the time being, he turned back to check over the contents of his bag, still poised to listen and respond to the other boy when he so chose to speak up again. He appeared pleasant enough, but the old adage stood that one does not judge a book by its cover...
Aroon seemed friendly enough. That would help if Jinn were to be living with him. After a brief introduction and shake, Jinn’s hand fell back to his side. He looked around the room, moving back to sit on his bed, landing with a soft thump. Aroon continued the conversation for good measure, Jinn watching him as he spoke.
“This will be my third year, actually. Anything you need to know about the school, I’m your man.”
That was true. Through the time he had spent at Fremont, Jinn had pretty much learned the ins and outs of the grounds, as well as which teachers to look out for, etc. Though, throughout this time, he found the uniforms and daily life to be rather bland. It was good to see all the surrounding areas of the Collective had been refreshed with new administration. Would make things more interesting, to say the least.
Jinn stared at the ceiling briefly. All the dorms looked the same. It was the students contributions to the room that made it any different from the others surrounding. One of the main ways to get through the year was interacting with the masses, after all. He looked back at Aroon, looking to keep the conversation going.
“So, you need any help with anything? It’s a fairly simple School.”
"Oh, I see. How have you enjoyed it here? I mean, I've seen some rather...poorly run places over the years, but I was told good things about this school...."
He would wait and listen to the answer given, mindfully aware that classes wouldn't be long to start and as such, presented himself as ready to make his way out and get the first day over and done with. However, one thing kept to mind even as he would stand and sling his bag over his shoulder again, with Jinn providing a suitable opening for him to ask.
"Actually, yeah. There's one thing I was wondering..."
Turning to face the older boy as he spoke, he carried on, "Does Fremont happen to have any clubs for Muay Thai?"
An innocuous question, but the hidden, mental grin he kept was waiting rather eagerly for the answer to that...It would prove a convenient place for him to get a foot on the ladder here, though he wasn't about to start broadcasting that fact just yet.
“School’s pretty exceptional actually. Though, honestly, large sums of the students have attitude problems. You both deal with it all and get used to them or you deal with them head on and end it.”
That was the truth. A lot of the students were out to prove how tough they were and boost their egos. Of course there were always the odd students to put them in their place. Jinn loved that about the school. They managed to keep general piece without being under constant military watch, like over at Knox. He grimaced at the though of living in such an area. The military was not Jinn’s type of place. Jinn’s thoughts were brought back as Aroon started speaking again, obviously ready to leave. Classes were starting soon and Jinn would have to make his way out as well.
“Muay Thai, huh?”
He thought for a moment. Fremont had the general clubs, but as far as physical contact went, Muay Thai wasn’t one of them, as far as he knew, at least. He had never seen one throughout his time here.
“Pretty sure there isn’t,” He said. “But maybe you’ll be the one to start it.”
Jinn stood up; grabbing the few supplies he’d need for class, and walked towards Aroon and the door. Patting him on the left shoulder as he opened the door with his other arm.
“Well, either way I have to get to class. You heading my way?”
Nodding with a pensive expression about his face, Aroon took the information with a mild pinch of annoyance. A club would be a good place to build reputation, albeit by beating seven shades out of its members to do so, but the lack of one was hardly a major kink in the overall works. Still, his room-mate...He appeared polite and at the least friendly, all the better to keep it to a minimum for the moment. Noticing that he'd lapsed off for a few seconds, he blinked, cracking a small, 'warm' smile.
"Perhaps, but I'm not really much for instructing someone. Maybe I'll try something else on-site and find a gym in town."
A partial thought, indeed. If there was a wrestling team, or boxing, or something along those lines...Well, a thought for another day at the least. For now, he shrugged his shoulders and turned to the door, stepping out as it was held open. "Maybe, I've got History if that's the way you're headed..."
Aroon had already made his way outside, with Jinn following, locking the door behind him. He looked down the left of the hall, the quickest way to get to the History section along with the way Jinn was heading. He looked over at Aroon, pointing down the direction he was about to head down.
“This is the way we want to go.”
He explained as he began to walk, assuming Aroon would be following. He looked around the hallway. They were rather high class compared to other schools. It was nice being in an environment where the walls weren’t falling down like some of the institutions out there. He detested such spots. Better to live comfortably in order to work your hardest, he found. He head tilted towards Aroon so he could see him as he spoke.
“So how are you enjoying your stay? Run into any trouble yet?”
It seemed inevitable. No matter how good the schools lately, there were always those ready to pick a fight.
ooc: No apologies needed. Sometimes a short post works equally well. -Avoids 'size' jokes-
ic:
Though he had made mental maps of the routes he would need to take, as was one of his minor quirks whenever he encountered a new place, Aroon nodded lightly at the directions given. Better to feign ignorance and allow his roommate the friendly gesture than refuse, after all. Both hands swung faintly at his sides, the rucksack hanging from his shoulder, and he walked with a contemplative silence for a few moments until Jinn piped up again. With a -only somewhat, he found- forced smile, he shrugged his shoulders.
"It's too early to tell, I guess. I mean, I only arrived this morning, and this is the first time I've been on campus at all. So far, it looks like a nice enough place. Honestly, I think I'll grow to like it. As for trouble, well...."
He hesitated briefly in his words, deliberately fawning an expression of 'concern'. Better to play the worried newcomer, he'd assume, "None yet, at least. I saw the fight that kicked off in the courtyard a while back when I was making my way to the dorms. Is there some kind of issue between the schools in the collective, or was that just guys who wanted to flex their egos?"
Lay the seeds, keep him talking, if he got the right response here, then he could find out a considerable amount of things in a fraction of the normal time...
It sounded like Aroon was enjoying the school for what is was worth. Hell, it was a good school, and it was nice to see he was having a good time as he spent it. But there wasn’t much to experience when it was only your first morning, except for the one incident earlier on, which Jinn remembered with a smirk. His head tilted to look at Aroon as he hesitated in his conversation, finally bringing up the rest of what he was talking about.
“Issue between the schools? I wouldn’t say that exactly. It’s more a tradition than anything. Honestly, I think the schools get along fine, side the competitive nature of some of them.”
People their age seemed to have the biggest egos of them all. If that wasn’t blatant enough simply based on the incident in the morning, the competitive nature naturally carried over to how some students from one school treated some from another. That’s just how it was. Hell almost any neighboring school was like that.
“Of course, that is only Knox. I don’t know much about the University. It seems relatively quiet as of late, however.”
Come to think of it, Jinn never really gave any effort into learning more of the college. He doubted he’d be going there when he graduated so it hardly seemed important. They also seemed to be very quiet over in the area, although, with a new administrator, that had the potential of changing.
“So yeah, with the occasional outbursts, the schools seem pretty normal and on good terms, at least.”
Again, he shrugged with a nonchalance that was expertly feigned, shifting his bag from one shoulder to the other with a flick of his wrist. Jinns 'explanation' made sense, to someone who hadn't been paying close attention anyway...Still, it had fed him the line needed to move forward smoothly onto his next
"Fair enough. After it, though, some guy in a suit showed up, started going all kinds of crazy...I guess he must be the new guy in charge..."
That was more of an observation on his part than anything, though he'd already come to the conclusion, but better not to appear unconcerned, "Still, Knox huh? Anything I should know so I'm not caught in the proverbial faux pas with them?"
He chuckled quietly as he asked this, Jinn had hinted towards an elitist nature amongst the students of the military academy, so certainly their pride would be an easy weapon to use against them, but if there were any long-standing social nuances then better to know them sooner rather than later. He didn't give much thought to the university for now. It was all fair and well to set high goals, but no point spreading himself thin when he could concentrate on one at a time. Besides, Jinn had made it pointedly clear that there wasn't anything of note going on there...
Despite making his presence quite known at the brawl, Jinn had forgotten about the old man through the scenario. Aroon, however, reminded Jinn of the situation of each institution. Something Jinn had basically forgotten to explain. He kept up in his step, but glanced to Aroon as he explained just what was going on with each school administration wise. It made sense that the newer students wouldn’t know about the events taking place.
“I forgot about him. I’m sure you know already, but each school has an administration of sorts. For example, each school has a “principle” or something similar. What’s different about this year is that each institution has hired new heads of their administration to look over the individual parts of the collective, which is incredibly odd by my standards.”
He thought about it for a moment. Never really bothering to look into it, so not knowing if there was a decent answer, but Jinn found it suspicious that every head of the campus would be replaced. Hell, maybe it was just a change of the times. Stuff needed to be kept fresh, exciting, and enthralling. With new management, that was bound to happen, especially after seeing how each of the three acted back at the scuffle.
“As for old man, Navarro; he’s the Director. He is basically the head of everyone. In other words; he gets to tell the heads of each individual school, or college, what to do. Understand?”
Jinn cracked a grin as Aroon asked about Knox. The man seemed to be fairly friendly, which was a good thing. It meant getting along would be that much easier. As for relations with Knox, those seemed fairly obvious as well.
“A lot of the students will tell you that Knox students aren’t the type to associate with, but that’s up to you. All this competitive heat really gets each school riled up at times. If you want some clear suggestions, I’d stay away from walking through the Knox campus when all the students are around, especially in your uniform. And it’s pretty clear that the majority of students around these parts have fairly large egos. So it’s up to you; either fight em or leave em.”
As per his pattern thus set, he nodded in acknowledgment of Jinns words, already aware of the principles of the school administrative system and the like, but still nodding all the same. That, in itself, revealed two small tidbits of information he hadn't been privy to, and his eyebrows raised slightly in mild surprise. A divided administration to handle each facet of the collective? Logically the idea was sound, but for schools of this size, putting it into practice was another thing entirely when the manpower and such were taken into account...
It also presented an additional problem for Aroon in his coming endeavours, there wouldn't be just one group of figureheads to focus on, but at least two, three if the university became involved..However, Director Navarro, he was clearly the peak of that ladder. Considering the Knox students, however, even Jinn seemed somewhat ambivalent to the prospect of actually fighting them. Then again, however, with large egos come quick tempers, so the 'suggestions' made were mentally filed away for future use...That uniform one in particular, that'd be quite the handy ignition for a fight or two when the need came.
"Okay, so don't piss off the Director, stay out of Knox in the uniform, and don't test peoples egos. Sounds simple, really...."
He laughed quietly at that, leaning his head back and looking around in a slow scan of the surroundings. Part of him hoped that Jinn didn't end up becoming involved in any trouble that could be tied to him, but he quickly pushed that aside. Casualties were something to be expected, but all the same...Perhaps some subtle changes would be in order...
Jinn said with a smirk as they made their way down the hall. He stopped in his step, turning to face Aroon. The men stood in front of one of the classroom doors, open to peer inside. The classroom was classroom was clean, the desks neatly arranged with the majority of the students attending the current subject placed in their assigned areas. Some of them glanced at the two as the stood outside.
“Well this is my stop then. Don’t feel like being late today, I have to say.”
Jinn threw a friendly grin in Aroon’s direction. It was good to see his roommate was someone easy to get along with. This would help in the future, to say the least and make it that much easier to get through his days of The Collective. He glanced at the man in front of him. Aroon also looked the part of a powerful ally. You could never have too many of those. He was aware of how the school was run, and that was all you really needed to know in a lace like this.
Survival of the fittest. He extended his arm once more for the man to shake; a final gesture of good will before making his way into the class.
He allowed a wry smirk to creep onto his face with that, knowing the comment would almost certainly pass as nothing more than sarcasm. A moment later when Jinn eventually stopped, Aroon followed suit and turned slightly as he assumed this would be his roommates class. He returned the grin in good spirit, strengthening his mental note that, all things considered, some of these people might be worth getting to know. The extra years Jinn had on the Thai here helped as well, making him a useful source of information for the days to come...
He took a glance at the outstretched hand for an instant before returning the gesture, shaking it briefly with a short nod.
"No doubt. Have a good one, Jinn."
Yeah, he could probably be friends with a guy like this...