Head Space

M'Figgins

 Octo

I loaded myself into the car beside Tuck and slammed the door shut after me. Dad inserted the key into the the ignition and the car roared to life. 

"Alright gang, lets roll out" he said with a smile, pulling on his sunglasses.

"Groan" Tuck responded dryly. I crossed my arms and dug them into my shirt, shivering in comfort at the warmth it provided. 

The Academy wasn't all that far from our neighborhood so the journey wouldn't be very long. Unfortunately that didn't give me much time to mentally prepare. Nothing gets a dull ache going in my stomach than short lull before the crushing storm.

I stared out the window, distracting myself momentarily by counting the amount of people we passed by. It's a small quirk of mine, being able to count large numbers in speedy amounts of time.

Sadly I never got the chance to show it off as often as I'd like. Tuck shifted uncomfortably next to me which caught my attention. She had her hands folded over her stomach and a stressed look on her face. Anyone who's been around Tuck long enough would recognize this as her nervous face.

"What's the matter Tucker? You're sweating calories." I asked jokingly. She squeezed her eyes  shut and opened them again. Another thing she does when she's panicking. Then she turned to me and said the following;

"Are you as nervous as I am?  Cause I'm really nervous."

Now if that isn't the dumbest thing I've ever heard out of someone's mouth. No shit! I'm nervous. I was nervous the moment I found out I was accepted! Not even that, I'm nervous all the time for no reason. I was BORN nervous!

Though this isn't the time nor place to be discussing who deserves to be nervous. I'm not that kind of person.

"Of course I'm nervous. I think we all are honestly." I said with a smirk, " But don't worry, we'll blend into the crowd. They'll barely notice us. Ease up."

She breathed shakily, but I could see her reasoning it out in her head.  Soon she slumped back and pulled her lips into a thin line. "Okay.." she mumbled.

"Yeah!! We'll go IN-COG-NITO mode!" Dad said with a bop of his head at each syllable. That had us grinning like idiots and bursting into laughter.

*                                           *                                               *

In about ten minutes or so, we pulled into the parking lot of the massive building. Though we were at Pare Quentin, the orientation was to be held in a separate building on an entirely different street.

"I wonder how many suckers pulled up at the wrong place. This place is like a maze." I commented. Dad shut his door with a slam and turned to us.

"Now please. As we go in there I want you two on your absolute best behavior. No snarky comments in British accents, Tuck." she frowned in response. " This first impression matters a lot if you didn't know. So we go in, and get seated quietly.  I mean it."

I curtly nodded and we followed after him down the drive and up the stairs. 

'That's a big ass building' I thought to myself as we neared the entrance. Two official looking people stood at the doors with clipboards in their hands. One of them stepped forward as we approached.

"Good afternoon sir. And what is your name?" he asked my Dad, glancing at his clipboard briefly.

"Wonderful 'noon to you too! My name is Ted." he gleefully replied. The man smiled awkwardly and repeated his question.

"No- sorry, I meant your last name." Dad made an 'o' shape with his mouth as if it wasn't already obvious they weren't asking for his first name.

"Numan. hehe" the man scribbled away at his clipboard and stepped aside, letting us through the tall doors.

Inside the building was cool and big. The walls were a soft brown and the lights on the ceiling gave the room a soft, barely noticeable, pink glow. There were several people walking about the place, chatting to themselves in excitement. Some of them were wearing brightly colored clothing and such.

Like true Littles.

Dad steered us to the low table where a nice looking lady dressed in a light pink floral dress smiled widely as we came closer.

"HeLLO! Oh! Don't you all look lovely. My name is Reeves, are you here for the orientation?" she exclaimed in a squeaky voice. 

"Hi, yes we are." Tuck responded, not matching her energy at all. The lady giggled and clacked away at her computer.

"Please follow the signs to the main hall where you will be seated. There's snacks and refreshments if you're hungry! Enjoy!" her eyes had reduced to slits with how wide she was smiling now. She sent us of with an enthusiastic wave.

"Dear god...Are they all like this?" I wondered out loud. Tuck made a noise of agreement. We stepped through the doors and into a wide hall filled with colorful chairs. There was a stage at the front with a few people stood on it. They seemed to be discussing something.

Other families were already seated. It looked like the the thing was about to start, so we quickly took our seats. Small pamphlets were placed on our chairs. Dad got busy reading his right away.

"I'm uhhh gonna go get us some snacks. You want any?" Tuck asked me. 

"Yeah if you see breadsticks then bring 'em back, Be quick though" I warned as she left.

I huffed and looked around, slumping in my chair. Some other families filled the spaces around us in groups. I spotted a family a few rows in front of us. 

Two men, one boy, and one girl. I could just tell the girl was the Little judging by how much she was fidgeting. She was kicking her legs everywhere, sometimes even hitting the boy next to her and jumping up on her seat. 

Her hair was a pale mix between light brown and blonde, but I noticed a little pink in some of the strands. It was a contrast to the rest of their brown hair.

Suddenly she turned and stared at me, this crazy look in her eyes. I could tell she squealed something or the other, because her brother and the men whipped around, their gazes on me.

"Oh fuck!" I cursed and  slid further down in my seat. Dad looked up at them and smiled brightly.

"Hiii!! Octo say hi to that little girl she's waving at us! Go on!" he urged me. I groaned and sat up a little. She was in fact waving at us.

I raised my hand slightly but that was enough to have her smiling ear to to ear and whispering something to the man next to her. Soon she turned back to the front and resumed kicking around.

Suddenly the lights dimmed and the stage lights flickered on. A slim, tall figure walked across to the podium that sat in the middle. The sound of shuffling paper could be heard before they tapped the mike gently.

"Good afternoon all! My name is M'Figgins. Welcome to Pare Quentin Academy for the Extraordinary!"    

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, see you next week.